Highlights

So much has happened since my last post, I hardly know where to start!

First, you know I was doing a lot of work in my yard this spring, trying to enlarge flower beds, planting more perennials, and ta-dah: my first raised bed garden!

I stacked together two kits bought from Home Depot and laid cardboard in the bottom to prevent weeds and grass from coming through, then just layered peat moss and compost and garden soil, as described in the book on lasagna gardening.

Those little plants in the back are squash (no more slugs for me!), and the two little plants to the right side are cherry tomatoes.  I also planted carrots, peppers, radishes, eggplant and one lone okra plant. Later, after I harvested the radishes, I transplanted a jalapeno plant from the large container it shared with a second plant.

In another large planter, I planted two heirloom tomato plants.

Well, here they are today:

The heirloom tomatoes aren't doing very well. This is the second time I've planted heirlooms in this planter, and I don't know what the problem is, but this combination doesn't work well.

The jalapenos:

They're doing MUCH better than the tomatoes. I've already harvested 4 and you can see there are at least a dozen more, and more blossoms besides.

But look at the squash and the cherry tomatoes!

I came home from vacation to find some branches broken off from the weight! I had to drag an old swing frame from under the deck, string some bungee cords and use fabric strips to support the branches! Note to self: tomatoes and squash LOVE fish emulsion!

Between the two veggies, the other plants are struggling for sunlight, but I do have some peppers and carrots hanging in there.

I'm so thrilled! My first successful garden! I think I may get another kit or two for the fall, and grow some greens, or at least have them for next spring. I believe the tomatoes and squash need beds of their own. Fortunately, my neighbor diligently watered my garden and flowerbeds while we were gone to visit my daughter last week, because we had temps in the upper 90s and NO RAIN for 3 weeks. My water bill was double the usual amount. However, it has rained for the last 3 days straight, and things are getting waterlogged, so I'm ready for a little sunshine so the tomatoes will ripen.

We went to Virginia to see our daughter, and visited Monticello while there. Knowing the crowds would be astronomical on the Fourth, with the nationalization ceremonies, we went on July 3. Holy cow, it was SOOO hot and humid there. Just miserable. I did spend a bit of time looking at the Jefferson vegetable garden, but decided not to try the flower gardens. Even with a big hat on and bottled water, it was almost unbearable out there, and then add pushing Jack around in his wheelchair, and I was wilted in minutes. The house tour was interesting, though still uncomfortably warm, but the cellar was pretty cool.  Thought you might like to see one of the sewing displays there:

You can click on the picture to enlarge. I lifted some of those irons--I'm thinking the house staff had arm muscles as bulky as those of the farm slaves!

In other news, I changed jobs. I have been increasingly unhappy at the hospital, and just couldn't support the direction they were taking us, so began looking around in April. This is not a large area, and opportunities are limited, but I was fortunate to find a job in an area I've been contemplating for years: hospice. I didn't realize how long I've been thinking about it until my daughter mentioned I was talking about it 10-12 years ago. Monday was my first day, though it was filled with paperwork, etc., and I didn't get to the floor til Tues. night. And yes, I'm still on nights, only it's a combination of 12- and 8-hour shifts, which will be nicer. Sometimes the 12-hour shifts kick my butt. My schedule could change later, but it's what I want right now. In another month or so, I will start cross-training to do home hospice visits as well, because I did take a sizable cut in pay. On the plus side, I'm already way less stressed, and only have to drive 3.5 miles to work as opposed to the 15 miles I was driving. With gas as high as it is, that's going to be helpful. 

I took 2 weeks off between jobs, and had a long list of things I planned to do. Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men, don't you? I did manage a few things, but that list doesn't look a whole lot shorter. One of the things I wanted to do was paint the kitchen, but it didn't happen. Yet.

All was going well with Tandi, and we had finally achieved full freedom last weekend. We put her wireless fence collar back on, allowing her to go out the pet door to potty, and she has been so happy. Then, Thurs. night, the pizza delivery guy came 15 min. earlier than they had predicted and I didn't have time to put Tandi in her crate. (The doorbell always initiates loud, mad barking--as if we don't know someone is at the door!)

Anyway, she slipped out of the collar and the leash that was loosely attached, and went barreling out the door, down the steps and into the yard, barking at the delivery man and his truck the entire time. I managed to scoop her up and bring her back into the house, but when I set her down, she was limping. Somewhere along the way, she must have slipped on the wet grass, because she has now torn the ligament in her other knee. 

So my vet will be contacting the surgeon on Monday, and we will start this whole process all over again. I can't believe it. Her little leg was so swollen and she was so miserable right after the surgery. 

We'll have to watch to make sure she doesn't eat her bandage again. Her last surgery was mid-Feb. and she just now completed all the restrictions. We're talking January before we reach this point again. Bless her heart, she's not having a good year at all.

I'm sure more has happened, but those are the highlights. I haven't even started thinking about Hallowe'en yet, and that's unbelievable! 

 Remember the catastrophe that was my sewing room?

Well, it's been downgraded to a minor disaster now:

Yeah, it's no coincidence there's a poster for the TITANIC in my sewing room. One good disaster deserves another, don't you think?

It's looking better. At least I was able to do a little sewing this weekend. No quilting yet, but some simple sewing to get back in the groove.

I covered some foam with muslin and then made another removable cover for it and placed it in Tandi's crate:

Her old pad is a fake fur kind of thing I bought at Petsmart when we first got her 5 years ago, and was getting pretty flat, so I opened a part of the side seam and shoved more stuffing into it, then whip-stitched it closed. But as it begins to get warmer, I figured the pad would get too hot and the foam might be a little cooler. Right now I put the fake fur pad on top so it's all super cushy for her.

We have a short pad that I lay out on the floor for when I tie her to the chair. She's still not happy to be confined, but it's better than staying in the crate so much.

Last Monday night, while we slept, she ate her bandage off her leg. As in swallowed it. I'll spare you the details, but she spent Tues. at the vet's getting progressive xrays to make sure it didn't remain in her system. I told you I was under no delusions about her level of intelligence. The vet just shook his head, and knocked $60 dollars off his bill, being as we have put out so much money on that rascal this year. He also took her staples out, saving us a trip to the specialist that was scheduled for Wed.  It's hard to keep her down now, as she's feeling so chipper.
 
Last, but definitely not least, I repaired the binding on a quilt I made my for my daughter years ago. It was my first flannel quilt, and I didn't realize you don't need batting for a quilt that's flannel front and back. This is one heavy quilt. Also, I didn't allow for the bulk when cutting the binding, so it pulled away from the quilt on the front in several places.

I tied this one (At least I had sense enough not to try to quilt it!) so that part's okay, though there was one square the cats had pulled loose and needed repairing. So I hauled the sewing machine to the dining room table and spent 3 hours yesterday machine stitching the binding to the front of the quilt. After a few stitches it was obvious I needed the walking foot, and then the upper thread kept breaking and the bobbin thread kept balling up. Grabbed the manual, loosened the top tension and that helped a little but not much. Searched the manual again and decided the thread must be too old (probably 6 years old), so switched to black YLI Select to finish it. Unless you look really closely, you can't see the areas that are a little balled up, because they're on the back, which is the same fabric as the border.

At any rate, I wasn't going to rip it out and redo it. Did I mention that thing is heavy?? Plus, it goes on the double bed in her guest room, so it won't be used much and I didn't make it to be an heirloom. Which is why I'll be taking it to the laundromat later this week to be washed and dried and then, after a final inspection, be mailed back to her. It's been languishing here for at least 2 years, so I'll be glad to get it off my to-do list and she'll be glad to get it back.

Now to finish the string quilt for her sofa, also started 2.5 years ago. Good thing she loves me, huh?

Update on Tandi

Well, we've survived the first post-op week for Miss Tandi. Thanks to scheduled offdays and a couple of unplanned offdays initiated by a flu-like illness, I've been able to be with her full-time for the past 8 days.

The first few days were really tough. We've learned to keep a leash on her at all times, (except when she's securely in her crate) because she doesn't understand why she can't hop onto or off of the sofa, and why Mommy has to carry her up and down steps. She's learning the routine, though, and most of the time goes willingly into her crate as long as we're around.  (If you enlarge the picture, you can see her shaved right hind leg.)

So at night, I tie her to the leg of a chair while I carry the crate into the bedroom, then lead her to the crate; and then in the morning, Jack holds her in his lap while I bring the crate back into the living room. She grumbles occasionally, and squirms when I pick her up, but seems to understand that the leash must be on before she can walk around in the house.

I really thought I'd get more done this week than I have, but sometimes the only way to keep her from licking her leg and bandage was to put her in my lap or beside me on the sofa and constantly stroke her or scratch her ears or rub her belly. In shaving her leg, they caused a couple of razor burns, and although the staff told me to put some aloe vera on it, Tandi liked the taste too well and would increase the licking.

This is the top of the knee where one of the razor burns is and if you look closely, you can see the faint beige of the bandage on the inside of the leg just a bit lower down. We've managed to keep the bandage on, though the staff says not to try to rewrap it if it comes off. We also bought her a Cone of Shame, but she was so terrified by it she would hardly move--just sit and quiver--and it was too large to allow her to turn around in the crate, which is really the only time she would need it. I had every intention of making her a soft cervical collar to keep her from getting to it, but then I came down with some flu-like cold and spent the greater part of 3 days lying on the couch sleeping or watching mindless sitcoms on TV.

Before the surgery I did manage to score a couple of doggy steps, but then found out she's not allowed to go up or down steps for as long as 6 weeks, so they've been put aside until later. One of the ladies at the groomer's advised me to buy Tandi a "sling" to help her get up and down the front steps, but the local pet store only carried one size--50-70 lbs--and as my girl only weighs 26 lbs, I think it would just allow her to slide on through the other end. I'm planning on taking that back to the store and taking a store credit or something.

 At the vet's office, they had some slings made by some local gal, and I bought one of those, but it's too narrow for Tandi, and I don't find it any more secure than the one from the store. She sells them for $12.00 each, but I'm thinking I could make a better one with velcro to secure it, and in different sizes besides.

I'd put the webbing farther back, as in the store-bought sling, with velcro at different places to customize the fit, and make them much wider. All this gal has done is put a little batting inside a rectangular sleeve of two coordinating fabrics and put one line of stitching straight up the middle.  I wonder if I could make some of these for MY vet's office to sell? It'd be a great way to use up some of the fabrics I'm tired of, and really, they wouldn't have to be cotton, so scoring some poly/cotton blend fabrics would work as well. Bet you could do the same.

Today I felt human again, and the weather was so balmy at 71 degrees (!), Tandi and I spent some time sitting on the front porch.

We had a visit from Cody, the red cocker spaniel one street over, and his daddy-man; saw lots of birds and squirrels; and barked loudly at the garbage truck. I was glad I had a firm grip on her leash because the little knucklehead was all primed to chase alongside the truck, despite the certainty of pain. I love my little Tandi-tot to death, but I'm under no delusions about her intelligence.

Tomorrow night, well, actually tonight, I have to go back to work. This means taking her out for a last potty before I leave, then dashing home after work--no errands--to take her out as soon as I get home in the mornings, because there's a 14-hr gap there. Then I'll probably have to get up about noon to take her out again, before tumbling back into bed to sleep another 4 hours until time to get up for work.

It's going to be a long 5 weeks.

But she's worth it.

 



Current Events

There's not much going on around here these days--including blogging!

Christmas has been put away, but the sewing room is still a disaster.

I've been going through boxes and bins and culling out craft items to give away. A blogging friend with 4 kiddos can use them, and I am happy to clear out all the unused supplies and the guilt that goes with them! One box is full and I'm looking for another box at work to bring home.

In my search, I've found UFOs I'd forgotten even existed. There are enough projects and fabric to last me a couple of years, at least, and that's if I get my butt in gear before spring gets here for good. It's been such a mild winter, I've been itching to get outside and start planting, but really, it's too soon.

Work has been busy the last few weeks. It's the season. In addition it seems there's always some inservice or staff meeting or mandatory meeting to attend. Funny, they don't want us to bring our personal lives to work, but they don't mind inserting their meetings into our personal lives! Agghh!

Also on the agenda for the next few weeks: Tandi. She tore the ligament in her right back leg and will have surgery next week. It's going to cost a pretty penny, but we can't just not fix it. She's only 7 1/2 years old, with probably another 7-8 years left, and if we don't fix this leg, she'll be at greater risk to injure the other back leg.

I'm looking for doggy steps to get her off and on the bed and sofa, as she inevitably jumps and could reinjure the leg. We're gradually reducing the radius on her fence collar, too, as the surgeon prefers she be on a leash to go outside to potty, but with my work schedule, and Jack's limitations, it just isn't possible every time.

We've pulled the crate into the living room and will start putting her in it now and then to get her used to spending time in there again. This situation will last for 6 weeks--which seems like a reeeallllyy long time to try to keep her calm and inactive. When she feels good, which doesn't occur much these days, she runs pell-mell down the front steps, plays fetch with her squeaky football, runs barking up and down the yard when the big brown truck or the postal worker appear, and dances for treats. Once the leg is fixed, she'll start feeling good long before she's allowed to show it. I'm seriously considering asking the vet for something to keep her sleepy the days I have to sleep, so maybe I could just bring her to bed with me and still get some shut-eye myself.

Bless her heart, it's hard to see her limping around. She never whimpers, never yelps, and was so resigned when the vets manipulated her leg and drew her labs.

I can't wait to have my sweet little companion steal my socks again.

Face Your Fears

Tandi has Issues.  I guess most rescue dogs do, but hers don't ever seem to resolve..

She's got the sweetest nature in the world, but she missed out on brain rations.

 She's very obsessive-compulsive and does not like changes in her environment. The first year the hostas grew flowers that hung over the sidewalk, she refused to go down the sidewalk and across the driveway to the potty place. Instead she gave them a very wide berth and barked until she was almost hoarse. It took forever to get her back into the house and away from the dreaded purple hosta flowers.

Halloween and Christmas, with their additions to the house and the yard, almost push her over the edge every year. She must be present to see me put it out to know that it's all okay, and she prefers to check everything out ahead of time.

That doesn't mean she approves of everything.

She doesn't like anyone unless they're on the other end of a leash. In those instances, she figures they've been pre-approved and it's okay to hang out with them--but not too close and only if Mom is there, too.  Delivery people are not to be tolerated under any circumstances, and the mailman, who loved my last dog, doesn't like delivering packages to my porch anymore.  He'll do his best to cram everything into the mailbox which sits at the end of the driveway, a good 12 feet beyond the range of Tandi's wireless fence collar. That doesn't stop her from alerting the neighborhood that Someone is Out of Place.

                                                         She is ever vigilant.

However, she is finding her own way to adapt to the constant changes of nature.  Remember the hostas that had the audacity to grow long flowers over her sidewalk? Right there at the corner of the house?

Well, they grew flowers again this year.  The nerve.

Tandi's new Take-Charge philosophy?

Face your fears...

....and bite their heads off.

Problem solved.

Growth

(When I took the camera from the cool air inside to the warm, humid air outside, the lens fogged up.  I like the effect, so kept it.)

The green onions--and I've already harvested some.

Sunflowers

The Bachelor's Buttons are getting long and leggy and the blooms are almost spent.  As I deadhead the dead stalks, look what's happening underneath.

I'm going to try my hand at lavender wands this weekend.

And Tandi?

Well, she's having a birthday.  She's six years old!