A word from the Pug

"My teeth are clean, but they hurt. My nails are shorter, but they hurt. My chest just hurts! But my grandma is the best because she let me sleep on her favorite pillow last night - and that has made all the difference! Oh and lets not forget how wonderful Papa is, 'cause he paid the enormous vet bill." Grimace

Total Steps: 3675 - even less steps than normal because if nursing a sickly pug - sitting and petting was all he wanted.

A word from the Bulldog

"So, big deal! My teeth are clean." Meathead

One sad Pug

There is nothing sadder than a Pug that is in pain!

Today Grimace and Meaty went in for their routine dental cleanings. Grimace had a fatty tumor on his chest for over a year. But lately it had grown in size so the recommendation was to remove and biopsy it - which was done today while he was under anesthesia for the teeth cleaning.

He was one sad pup today, and this evening (of course, his Grandma wanted to keep them overnight and into tomorrow) - this evening he is hurting. You know you are in trouble, when he can't (won't) walk to the end of your 10 foot sidewalk (his walks with Grandma are what he lives for), when he has to be encouraged to eat a "cookie" (i.e. a cheese wrapped pain pill), when he can't find a comfortable position, so he stands or sits for most of the day and evening when he is dead tired and can't keep his eyes open, and you know for sure you are in trouble when he finally gets comfortable on your pillow ... you know the one ... the one that works perfectly for your problem neck and shoulders ... and you think "oh well, it is only one night and he looks comfortable ... finally".

I don't think either one of us will get much sleep tonight.

Just gave him a pill for pain - hoping that does the trick. Better go get another ice pack for that sore chest of his.

Total Steps: 8784 (will be more when my walking buddy is back on his feet - Get Well Grimace)

Tai Chi in the Park

Earlier this summer our Tai Chi class started practicing at a local park one morning a week. We were lucky find a covered pavillion for our practices. We had shade and we had a beautiful lake for the backdrop to our practices. During one of our first visits to this site, local geese would gather to watch our efforts. When the music started playing, they would "sing" along.

I need to practice more.

Aggie (Agatha) has been born!!

So here she is! Agatha was born this morning. That "spring-y thing-y" (known to spinners as a tension spring - pictured below) that was giving me so much trouble just finally fell into place and then everything else seemed to follow logically.

And the wheel actually spins!! Too funny saying that, but I just was surprised when I had all the pieces in place and I pushed on the pedals and it moved the wheel and the wheel moved the thing-y with all the hooks (OK, I am still learning the terminology). It made me smile.

The green bag beside the wheel is specially designed to hold the spinning wheel when it is folded down. It has various pockets designed to hold pieces of the wheel when it is folded. It is padded and molded inside to hold the wheel snugly.

So I am still oiling and adjusting and reading up on what I need to have a "happy and healthy" Aggie. I am please so far with this spinning wheel.

Total steps: 4421 (pathetic - need to do better)

#4 Photo Family History

Some goals are hopefully life-long activities (walking, Tai Chi, stretching), and some are long-term. spanning years to complete.

An important long-term goal for me is the completion of my family's photo albums. When I retired it was #1 on my to-do list, and I had grand plans. Scrapbook everything!! With enthusiasm I went to the craft store, bought specialty paper, stickers, paper punches, special pens, idea books. It was a fun fest, but when I sat down to do the first page I realized it was not do-able. My old albums were falling apart, old sticky album pages were damaging my photos, and the idea of "scrap books" faded very quickly. My focus changed. Scrapbooks weren't for all your pictures - just for a single topic or person. One page of a scrapbook would contain a single picture or two surrounded by artistic elements and could take a day to design and complete. Forty years of pictures would take 50 years of scrap booking (well, maybe not really, but way longer than I wanted to do). And many of the pictures wouldn't make the scrapbook - too many would be unused. What I wanted was as many of the memories in these pictures as I could capture, not the art work.

Over the last 40+ years, I have taken pictures - lots (just ask my kids). Pictures document family history in a way that print can't capture. I started to consolidate, crop, label, cull (how many pictures of elephants in a zoo do you need) and re-mount these pictures into new photo albums - albums that are simple and are archival. It has been a JOB. So far I have completed the albums up to the early 1990's - with dates, peoples' names and locations. And I still have many years of pictures to process - hard copy and electronic.

My goal is to complete the photo mounting/archiving, and then begin the process of writing diary-like entries in the album so that if someone enjoys seeing and knowing the history of this family during my time as a part of it, they will have the details. The expect that this whole process should take several more years.

And as for all the scrap booking supplies?? Well I haven't totally given up the idea of a single scrap book at some point. I just need to narrow the focus.

My spinning wheel has a "birth-mark"!

Well the assembly of the spinning wheel has hit a snag. There is a spring-y thing-y that I can't seem to get attached properly.

The wheel comes partially assembled and with assembly instructions and tools. But the instructions come with a cover sheet that says in BOLDED, ITALICIZED AND UNDERLINED, and over-sized print, that the distributor wants to help you if you have questions, they give a phone number and the whole sheet is filled with assurances that they want your spinning wheel experience to positive - so please call if you have questions with assembly!! hmmm .....

I am always suspicious of overly-formatted text. I can't help but wonder if the writer thinks you can't read it unless it is big, or pick out the important parts without help, or maybe added emphasis is the goal - but it always looks like yelling to me, or ... (and here is what I really think is going on with the spinning wheel instructions) ... the assembly instructions are a bit convoluted and are not easily understood by a non-spinner.

Thankfully I am seeing my cousin on Saturday who is handy at tinkering and experienced in spinning. If I am unsuccessful this week, she will rescue me! On the up-side. The walnut stain is beautiful and the wheel is beautiful. I did notice a small ding on one of the wood pedals. I am treating it as 'birth-mark" ... I think I will love this wheel when it is put together. I will let you know when it is "born".

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