08:07 pm - Knots
My current take-along sewing project:
That's 7_1, 7_3, 7_7 and 7_2 from the Rolfsen Knot Table.
What I eventually do with it depends on how far my patience extends.
My current take-along sewing project:
That's 7_1, 7_3, 7_7 and 7_2 from the Rolfsen Knot Table.
What I eventually do with it depends on how far my patience extends.
Here's the slightly disheveled Denton, after a long trick or treat outing.
He was a cheetah, made the same way as his last few costumes, because I am a one trick pony as far as these things go. Yes, the black dye wicked along the back of the fabric and left greenish streaks - next time padding the costume before painting it is needed.
I couldn't convince Denton to actually say "trick or treat" to anyone, and in fact he was pretty silent, until the last block of the trip home, in which he started saying "happy halloween" to everybody he passed. Being silent scarcely mattered; he seemed to get a lot of double handfuls and full size candy bars. One neighbor even chased after us with candy because Denton decided he was tired and skipped her house on his way home.
There seemed to be decent numbers of trick-or-treaters out anywhere there was a row of houses with decorations, but long gaps where the houses were dark, and nobody was about.
Denton has definitely been working on his stamina. This morning, he tantrummed for 57 minutes, over the fact that I made oatmeal for breakfast, when he wanted yogurt instead. (Yogurt would have been an acceptable breakfast choice, had I been notified prior to making the oatmeal.)
I even provided a mutually face saving option to fix low blood sugar (juice) to no avail. Well, more specifically, he threw it at the wall.
And a picture of our smaller one. George has been a lot more awake this week, but still much more easily satisfied than I remember Denton being at this (or any) age.
Also, he is furry all the way down to his eyebrows.
My mother has been visiting to help out with George; on Monday, Denton woke up sneezing, and we kept him home from preschool, but decided that since it was such a nice day, we'd go on a short visit to a nearby level crossing (Sherman Street) and see the train.
It was in fact delightful, and a much better way to see the train from a comfortable distance, than visiting a station is.
Baby George was born on Friday; see Monty's livejournal for the announcement.
I took Denton to Drumlin Farm on Saturday morning. He liked the chickens and tractors, but was dubious of the big animals. A good destination, though.
Dear Stranger,
Thank you for the spoon. I found it in my mailbox this afternoon.
I have owned many spoons, and lost some of them, but none have been exactly like this one. I will endeavor to allow it to fulfill its destiny in my care.
This spider seems to be another very common one, Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus). He's living in our grape arbor, right by the shed door; he seems to have rebuilt his web nicely since yesterday afternoon when I went to pick a grape and put my hand through it. I wanted a better picture, but couldn't get a view of his face where he wasn't backlit.
Stella had been scheduled for the followup surgery today, but I asked the vet to examine her first, and we concluded that it's not needed. The incision is dry and almost closed, and the swelling minimal. She's to be on another ten days of the Baytril, in case there's any remaining splinters or infection, and then I'm to bring her in for a recheck three days after she's done with that.
They waived the fee for the checkup and the Baytril refill (usually expensive) came from their 'returned meds' stash.
Stella's obedience has gone to hell in the meantime (does she think she's people, being allowed around the house without a collar?) and while she's hyper, she's lost fitness enough that about five throws of the frisbee temporarily tires her out. I will be glad to get her back in shape.
The train layouts on my bedroom floor tend to stay fairly static; encouraging Denton to build out track himself results in plaintive calls to "fix it" when he can't close the ends, and I am not willing to get down on the floor and help him with it before breakfast. I had previously settled on a layout that optimized for loops wide enough for him to sit in, and no tight curves at the bottom of ramps.
Today, we were around the house all day while an electrician did stuff; I decided that the previous layout was boring, and got Denton's permission to take it all apart. I took some direction from him, but also found ways to use up all the curves and close all the ends, while relaxing some of the previous tightness constraints. The Brio double-bridge is still awkwardly shimmed to let the taller Thomas trains pass under it, but I have a plan for re-cutting the side panels to make it fit.
So far, it's a huge hit. I couldn't even get him to come out and walk the dog with me this evening, he was so engrossed.
Here's how the other quilting project is coming along:
It needs a little pressing, then quilting. I want to pick out the opposite curve with the quilting thread only (that's why it's placed asymmetrically - another curve interlocks with it, if you rotate it 180 degrees) but I haven't decided exactly how; I don't know if my free motion skills are enough to do it justice.
I got finished piecing this quilt top a while back, then it sat around for a while before I managed to quilt it. I was rather dreading having to deal with ditch stitching among the piecing inaccuracies. Then I got into a "just get this finished" mood, and decided to quilt it along a different triangular grid, which turned out to work just fine.
The photo's wonky due to having spread the quilt on the lawn to photograph it, then fixing the perspective with the shear tool in gimp. I may try again later at taking a better photo.
Denton's puzzle solving has improved rapidly. He can do this one (16 pieces) with encouragement but no real help. He made headway on the next one up, but didn't have the attention span to finish it.
I recall taking a rather similar picture of Denton this time last year.
Stella's two week veterinary saga has resulted in the vet finding an infected salivary gland, and installing drainage tubing to help it heal. Not the outcome I was expecting, but everybody at the vet's office seems to think it's good news. Stella is currently swollen and oozing a steady trickle of foul-smelling pus/blood/saliva, but she is eating and drinking, and I think the pain medication she's on must be effective.
It all started two weeks ago, when she was chasing a stick, and stopped in her tracks (short of the stick) gagging and yelping. I assumed that she'd inhaled a stinging insect, and when the swelling came up, I took her to the vet's and he treated it accordingly, with lots of prednisone. She got briefly better, then worse, and a week later we tried antibiotics for the nasty smell that had developed. Again, there was some, but not complete relief, so yesterday she went in for anesthesia, xrays and surgical exploration.
Denton hasn't actually noticed what's going on, as far as I can tell; the way Stella tends to lie hides the worst of the mess. I've mentioned "she's sick and needs to rest" to him. The rest of the household tends to flinch when they look at her.
( Non-explicit picture )
Mostly for Denton's enjoyment, I bring you a picture of the Eurocopter AS-355N Twinstar maintained by the Massachusetts State Police, which we saw on Monday.
Or at least that's what this page has, and the paint job matches.
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