Well, here’s something you don’t see every day here at Chappysmom–new yarn!

Yep. Today, I bought new yarn at Modern Yarn today. Louet Riverstone, in 6 skeins of “Blue Mirage,” and 1 skein of “Sandalwood.” The plan is to make Ingenue from Custom Knits. I’m going to do the neckband in the brown, and the rest of the sweater in this powdery, french blue. This, of course, is one of my very favorite color combinations–that gorgeous medium blue paired with a golden brown… yum!

And, except for those two skeins of MV Fiber Farm yarn in April, this is the first yarn I’ve bought since I got the wool for Autumn Rose last August. Oh, except for a few skeins of yarn for some string bags. I’d forgotten how much fun yarn shops can be. And, I finally got to see the new location for Stix-n-Stitches in Montclair, too. They moved across the street something like a year ago and this was my first chance to see the new digs.

Ooh! Speaking of the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm (which, really, I do so often, I should create it its own category)–Susan and Patrick just signed a book deal! And, not only that, but they’re having a contest for the best title–go check it out! The prizes sound just fantastic, and they’re having a contest for a new knitting pattern, too.

Chappy’s been having a good day–he LOVES when my niece is visiting! (Here, he’s wrapped around his toy in the hallway outside my room–just being cute.) Of course, he wasn’t happy when Mom, my niece, and I all in the car and drove away after lunch. As a rule, when we DO go out without him on weekends, we go out in the morning, so an afternoon departure? That, according to him, was just mean.

He was fidgety all night tonight, too, which was unusual. Even though we were all in our “correct” spots by 8:00, he spent a lot of the night sitting by the front windows, keeping an eye on things instead of getting in his pre-bedtime nap.

I came upstairs at 10:00 on my own, and when he didn’t follow, I assumed that he wanted to stay down with Mom and Tiffany a little longer, but they came up at 10:20 … with no Chappy. Where was he?

All three of us headed back downstairs to look for him. This so wasn’t like him, to not be with one of us, especially at bedtime. We checked outside in his bathroom, checked the dining room chair, looked in the corners … starting to get worried by now. There was one day, years ago, when our elderly dachshund Jilly got lost and confused in a corner behind the desk in the office and it took us over half an hour to find her, and this was bringing back those scary memories–especially since Chappy hadn’t been his usual self tonight.

…Until I thought of something. I checked the downstairs bathroom … Yes, the door was closed. I pushed it open and … there was Chappy! He’d wandered in there and the door had closed behind him. But he didn’t complain or whimper or make a fuss. No, he just sat there patiently and waited for me to come find him. Poor, sweet little boy! No howls of abandonment, not even a scratch at the door while we were all wandering around, calling his name. Just patient belief that I would find him.

And, yes, he got LOTS of love and attention when he came out of there!

Did you ever see the movie The Secret Garden? The absolutely stunning 1993 version with Kate Maberly? (If not, you should, it’s wonderful.) Well, there’s a scene in there where Mary is having a nightmare of being a very little girl, crying for her mother, lost in a garden, and every time I see it, I just hope that somebody just RAN to that little actress and gave her a huge hug as soon as the director yelled, “Cut!” because she just looks totally bereft and so, so sad in that scene–and much too young a child to really be acting–she had to have felt abandoned to have cried like that. Well, I just hope Chappy didn’t feel like that …

Switching directions …

There’s a cake decorating company downtown that does phenomenal cakes, and they have a blog with pictures of recent, mouthwatering, breathtaking cakes, which are always stunning. But, when I saw this one the other day–the Cake Disguised as Tom Jones–I just laughed out loud. What a fanTAStic cake! (The sheep on top of this one is adorable, too, even if he does look like he’s wearing ropes of pearls.)

Oh, and, thanks Kim!

• Tags: Chappy, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:What’s That? // 2 Comments »

So, seven years ago this morning, Mom and I went to Randy’s to pick up our new puppy.

Which turned out to be a lot more agonizing than I expected. (I’ve told you the story before.) How do you choose just one?  (That’s Chappy’s fur-mom standing next to me, making sure I didn’t run off with her kids.)

Ultimately, though, how could I resist this face? Besides, really, he picked ME.

Naturally, we said goodbye to Tawney and Buddy before we left.

Incidentally, weren’t Chappy’s fur-parents gorgeous? I think his face looks so much like his dad’s (on the left). His mom, on the right, looks a little worried. It’s got to be hard, seeing your puppies go out into the world without you. Though, considering how much fur she was losing taking care of her brood, there was probably a part of her that was looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Anyway, the three of us headed home, and Chappy thoughtfully offered to help with the driving. Considering he slept for 90% of the 6-hour drive home, though, we think it was smart that we told him to wait until he was bigger. It’s not like he could see over the steering wheel, anyway.

And, one of the first things I did that weekend? I took a picture of Chappy next to our Little Black Dog (from the Black Dog on Martha’s Vineyard), because they were almost exactly the same size.

You’d never know it now, though, huh?

Chappy’s gotten just a little bigger since then …

They certainly DO look cute together.

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• Tags: Chappy • Permalink:Seven Years Ago Today // 11 Comments »

Let’s see.

• Slept late, on the bed, with his Mom.
• 2-mile walk in the park on a beautiful day with his Mom and both his grandparents.
• Oohs and aahs from other people in the park (which he ate up, the flirt).
• Lunch (because his breakfast got split into two parts due to his car-sickness tendency.
• A couple hours outside, relaxing on the deck with his Mom and Grandma. (I love when he rests his chin on the lower railing bar.)
• A good nap inside, while Mom finished reading Harry Potter #6.
• Managed to stave off the much-needed haircut for one more day.

Yep. I’d say this was a practically perfect Saturday for my Chappy!

The bad news? The electric kettle broke. It’s only a little more than a year old, cost $70, made by the reputable Cuisinart company, and … it’s dead. Oh no! I love that kettle, and can’t afford another one right now. Back to the old-school, takes-forever, kettle-on-the-stove method of making tea. Darn it.

• Tags: Chappy • Permalink:Happy // 10 Comments »

Appearing now, on your computer screen, something never before seen. My sister found an old camera with some used film, and when she got it developed, she found these:

Baby Chappy photos!

These are from October 2001, when he was three and a half months old, and they’ve just been SITTING there in her camera for the last seven years.

Say it with me now … “Awwww!” Because, wasn’t he just adorable?

(sniffle)

Then there are these lovely socks. Completely done and ready to be mailed back to Martha’s Vineyard whence they came. We just need to cross our fingers and hope they fit Susan, is all… All that’s left is wrapping them up and putting them in the mail.

And, how about some brand-new yarn? I haven’t gotten very far, plying it, but this is from the singles I finished on Saturday. It’s stil got that pretty, “Old Rose” feel and is soft as anything. (50/50 Merino/Silk, you’ll remember.)

Okay, this isn’t new–in fact, it’s from 1962–but how about a tour of the White House, hosted by the First Lady, herself? I’ve seen pieces, but never the whole thing, so it’s new to me.

As was this. I saw an article in the newspaper this morning. Apparently there was a young, indie singer named Katie Reider in Montclair who died recently from a rare disease, and as a tribute, some of her fans are trying to get 500,000 people to visit her website and download her music. You can download 9 of her songs for a $1 donation–which I did (hey, money can’t be that tight, right?), and have to tell you, I’m enjoying them. They also ask that you “link” to one more person to add to their count. (Actually, the only thing I can’t find on their site is what the current count IS.) Anyway, their mission statement is this:

For over 10 years singer/songwriter Katie Reider (pronounced RIDER) has inspired the hearts of thousands with her music and genuine personality. Just as she was reaching the peak of her music career a tumor developed in her upper left jaw that progressed into her sinus, skull base and left eye orbit. Over the course of one year, the rare facial tumor took away her sight in one eye, her voice, and most importantly her ability to perform.
500Kin365.org, was created with the help of Katie Reider’s loyal fanbase to reconnect and introduce 500,000 people to Katie Reider, her music and her story over the next year. Help us continue to spread her music over the next year by downloading “katie’s Voice” (9 original songs written and performed by Katie Reider over the last 10 years) for a $1.00 donation to her cause and linking up ONE other person to www.500Kin365.org

Go take a listen. The comments over at her blog are kind of heart-breaking, too. What a shame. Because, really, I’ve got her music playing right now while I type, and what a nice voice she had…

Ooh, and this is also new to me–”Endless Shoes and Handbags.” Doesn’t the name just sound heavenly?

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Never Before Seen // 8 Comments »

Well, Chappy had a practically perfect day today.

First, he got to sleep on the bed last night, so this morning started by him doing one of his favorite things–waking up his Mom. Unlike some other dogs I hear about, he’s very patient about this in the morning–he’s not pestering me to get up at 6:45, when we get up on weekdays. No, he even knows that I usually hit the snooze button 2 times before I’m ready to wake up and waits patiently for it to beep the third time at 8:42 before he comes over and gives me a good morning kiss. Then, he stretches out alongside me with his paws on my pillow while we say good morning to each other. This, I love, because he’s normally not a smoochy boy at all, but I suppose he’s grateful for getting to sleep at the foot of the bed all night long.

Anyway, we got up and had breakfast–and Chappy got a little bit of corn muffin, just because. I did some basic cleaning and such, but about 10:30, the four of us all went for a long walk around the neighborhood. As in, we haven’t had a walk that long in months! But it was a beautiful day–about 85 degrees (F), no humidity to speak of, blue skies–the kind of rare NJ summer day that, on the occasions that it shows up at all, is almost always on a weekday when I’m at work. It would even have been a good Park day, if we had felt at all inclined to climb into the car. By the end of the walk, though, Chappy’s tongue was happily hanging out of his mouth–the perfect end to a good walk.

Then, lunch. I had tuna, and Chappy LOVES tuna. (Neither of us gets seafood as often as we’d like, really.) Naturally, I shared, and he very much enjoyed it.

Then, we sat outside on the deck. For a couple of hours. All that fresh air and relaxation. Bliss for Chappy. About the only drawback was that he wasn’t down in the yard in the grass … and, for the record, I would have let him, except then he would have spent the entire time sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me to join him. Neither of us would have been able to relax! And, of course, he never actually naps when he’s outside–too many interesting things to watch, hear, and sniff.

So, about the only negative to his day is that he really hasn’t had a good, serious nap all day.

Yeah, I know. Poor, tortured boy.

Oh, and supper? In addition to his regular, delicious, home-cooked food, he got leftover london broil added to his dish.

Yep. I know. We torture him.

He had to help clean out his grandpa’s ice cream dish, too.

Although, honestly? I haven’t heard him complaining.

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Chappy’s Perfect Sunday // 2 Comments »

There’s nothing like going out for coffee on a Saturday morning, huh?

  If only Grandma would share her muffin…

Ah well, at least there are interesting things to look at.

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Coffee // 5 Comments »

Okay, maybe I should rent Susan space on my blog, because lately I’ve been mentioning HER stuff almost more than my own! But, today? Oh, my, you MUST go watch this video. Trust  me. Go watch it.

No, seriously, I’ll wait. She had mentioned having the camera crew on the farm in May, the day Truman the lamb was born, in harrowing circumstances. The video is produced by Etsy and is just charming. It’s well put together, it’s got nice music. Watching the baby goats leaping around the barn is delightful, the scenery (being Martha’s Vineyard) is naturally wonderful, but the best part is listening to Susan talk about her flock–all that enthusiasm and happiness. And did I mention all those adorable sheep and goat faces? Really, Go Watch. (There are even more pictures which are adorable–even one of the chicken that freaked Chappy out. And this one makes me smile.)

Okay. Enough free advertising for one day (grin). (Seriously, I’m just so happy for her. And that video IS amazingly sweet.)

I’m kind of tired tonight. I put a full day in at work, and then came home and gave Chappy a bath, and then went downstairs to make dinner. But when I opened the pantry … pew! What a smell! I bent a little closer and saw the eye of a very-dead mouse in the trap on the floor. Poor thing. I thought I had smelled something yesterday, and Chappy certainly tried to tell us there was a problem, but we didn’t see the poor thing until today (and, really, I’m trying not to think about it). I, of course, immediately called Dad to come and take care of the trap because, well, that’s what Dad’s DO. Um. Let’s have a moment of silence for the poor, (very) dead mouse, shall we?

Luckily, I was in the kitchen to cook because that helped cover the smell. Chappy’s pot of food, first, then onions/celery/carrots for the leftover chicken dish for the three of us. And then biscuits and blueberry scones baking in the oven. All of which helped with the smell.

By the time I was through with all that, I was even more tired but–how could I have left any of them out? Especially the bath. Chappy really needed the bath because he finally made up for the disappointing weather for his birthday party last week and got his cousin in the backyard to play.

They had SO much fun!

Luckily, this was over my lunch break because I was HOME, so I grabbed my camera, added the telephoto lens and proceeded to take about 115 pictures.

Some of them, of course, are better than others, but my nephew was very patient about all the shutter-clicking. I even caught him smiling a few times. (grin) Did I mention that Chappy’s tail did not stop the entire time they were out there? Though towards the end, it was going about the same speed as his tongue.

Really, though, I’m not sure which of them was having a better time. My guess was that it was one of those even-steven kinds of things because they both sure looked like they were enjoying themselves.

I do need to figure out what my camera settings really should be for action shots, though. I got a lot of blurry-Chappy photos, but not quite so many freeze-action kinds of pictures as I would have liked.

And, of course, I DID have to go back to work … even if I was a little late.

Totally worth it.

Now, for tomorrow? Kim is coming over in the morning for a little bit of spinning–something we haven’t done since January. Considering that we’re only about 3 miles away from each other, and considering that we were originally trying to get together every other week … it seems time to end this 6 month hiatus, wouldn’t you agree? I’m looking forward to it–and so is my wheel! Despite my best efforts, it’s only spun for, what, 20 minutes since April, poor thing.

• Tags: Chappy, Eye-Candy Friday, Family, General, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Squirrel // 5 Comments »

Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you about the high school friend I found on Ravelry, after about 20 years? Well, the world is getting even smaller. When I posted the other day about the Bunch of Grapes fire, Sarah saw it and, having just come back from MV herself, posted about it on her blog … where Joan read it and told her she couldn’t believe Sarah read my blog and that she and I were good friends in high school. Because it turns out that Joan and Sarah are good friends, AND that she and Jessica went to library school together. What are the odds?

But wait … there’s more! At just about the same time, I saw a post on Copyblogger about good articles for freelance writers to read, and one was a link to Julie over at Writing Roads–a blog I hadn’t heard of before. In her post, she mentioned living on Martha’s Vineyard. Naturally, I had to leave her a comment. I mentioned Mom’s blog, and she replied with two links–one for the MV Fiber Farm, which I naturally know all about–but it turns out that she and Susan are good friends, and that Susan is all excited that she and I found each other.

I tell you, this world is getting smaller and smaller all the time. But, how COOL!

You’ll all be glad to hear, I’m sure, that Chappy had a good birthday.

  He had his family home, got out for a walk, played with his toys, got lots of extra attention. Not to mention popcorn. And half a cheeseburger with his supper.

He even got another present–a new blanket for his favorite chair.

Not to mention a little more cake. (Yes, I think he’s had enough sugar for the day!)

We picked a winner for his RSVP contest, but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow. AFTER I figure out what the prize should be…

And, jeez, I have to go back to work tomorrow….

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Friends, General, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Smaller World // 7 Comments »

 Excerpts from my Journal from 2001: 

7/8/2001

 Sunday. I got an email from Randy in PA today–the puppies were born! Eight, but one was stillborn. He hasn’t had a chance to tally the sexes yet, but he sent me a photo of the happy mom and family. They’re so little. Of course they are, only hours old in the picture, but … tiny. They even still have their full tails and everything … so, let’s see, eight weeks from today is Sept 2nd….

7/9/2001

Some bad news today about Tawney’s puppies. Only one is a girl, and she’s already spoken for. I’m so disappointed. But still, surprisingly quickly, we’ve sort of considered a boy puppy and decided that maybe a boy would be nice anyway. Bigger, yes, but maybe different isn’t such a bad thing? Certainly we’ve come up with more boy-names than girl-names (Edgar and Chappy head the list). What surprises me most is that Mom seems to have no trouble considering a 35-40 lb dog when 2 months ago the thought of a 30-lb female was big. But we believe in the fate thing–maybe someone’s trying to tell us something.

7/13/2001

 Randy sent me a photo of the puppies and a ruler to give me an idea how big they are. Looks like about 6″ from tail to shoulder, give or take. Either way, tiny.

7/28/2001

I got an email from Randy … we’ll be getting one of Tawney’s boys. Chappy, it is! Mom and I will still go out on 8/11 to pick him out, but no more mystery aboug gender or name. I can stop referring to NewPuppy.

7/29/2001

 Randy emailed me two pictures of the puppies at 3 weeks old. What a difference! They look twice the size they were as newborns and no longer all fit in a row to nurse. Their coats are starting to show wavy vs curly fur, too. Even the curly ones won’t be VERY curly any time soon, but they’ve got a lot more crimp to their coats than their smoother siblings. Randy also said that in certain lights you can see the different browns, too (liver or chocolate). They aren’t quite walking yet, he said, but crawling–doggy paddling as he put it–swimming along on their bellies, but they can stand and are practicing walking. Sweet.

8/1/2001

Okay, it’s the oddest thing. Randy sent me a picture of the puppies eating their first meal of solid food (puppy food, oatmeal, and water). It’s adorable–they’re standing, and everything! The first picture I’ve seen where they haven’t been a puppy pile heaped around Tawney. But–and this is the odd part–now that I’ve seen Chappy (whichever pup he is) looking like a Puppy and not just an infant … i almost miss him. I haven’t even met him yet, but some part of me almost expects him to be around somewhere.

8/11/2001

So, we saw Chappy! What a cutie. The drive was about 320 miles, 6 hours. We barely saw Buddy–he gave a friendly, enthusiastic hello, but that was about it. Tawney, on the other hand, was a sweetheart. mellow, very calm. Every time she went into the puppy pen, all the puppies practically attacked her–crowding under her to nurse at every opportunity. Then she’d move away and leave two to four puppies lying on his back or side, looking all surprised. “Drat! She’s gone again. Where’d she go?” She was really friendly, though, and we kept petting her while we oohed and aahed over the puppies.

Ah, the puppies! Tiny–about 5 lbs, maybe? Easily lifted in one hand, with all four legs outstretched. (”Whoa!”) Tiny little heads and noses about 1/2″ long, with a little, button, brown nose about the size of my fingertip. Short little legs with paw-pads about the size of a dime. Soft, puppy coats. Tiny ears, maybe the size of a quarter. Fuzzy blue baby puppy eyes. They nails are tiny little lace-crochet hooks, needlelike,s harp, and curved. The teeth are coming and in and pretty needle-sharp, too.

And then, how to pick one? I didn’t have a love at first sight moment, but they were all so cute! Finally, we picked out two and them around us on the floor–though by that time they were pretty tired and just wanted to snooze. Chappy’s the one I ended up holding and couldn’t put down. He kept snuggling his nose in and snoozing. Randy marked the inside of his ear with red marker….

8/26/2001

 Well, we brought Chappy home yesterday. The biggest news is–we didn’t get the puppy we’d picked out. We went to Randy’s and went inside. The puppies were all piled together and just waking up when we walked in. All those bright little faces. But one of them didn’t want to wake up–he ran away into the corner as the others started to untangle themselves to be charming. And that’s the one we’d picked. I managed to catch him and lift him, but he squirmed to get away. When I put him back in the pen, he ran over to the wall and just lay there while one of his brothers lied down on top of him. There was no way we could bring that puppy home. …

I narrowed it down to two–one of the big, wavy-furred calmer boys, and a smaller curly-coat who was more active. It was so hard choosing between them. Really hard. Finally though, went for the calm wavy-coat. Gave Randy his check and headed for home. We let him sit in our laps for the whole drive. He slept almost the entire drive and the only thing that bothered him was the sun shining in his face.

 We got him home and he immediately started exploring. No clinging like Katy did. He did NOT like his crate and does NOT like being alone yet. He has quite a voice. He cried during supper when he was in his pen and he definitely cried in his crate last night … but when I woke up and could actually see that adorable little face … it’s so cute. His paw pads are about the size of a quarter now, and his ears about the size of an egg. he’s stretched out asleep now, just fitting lengthwise inside the base of the kitchen chair. He tried getting up the step through the front door and got stuck, his hips were level with the doorsill. And every time he sits down on our floors, his hips slide out from under him until he’s on his stomach. And did I mention the puppy bumbling run he’s got, his paws flying in all directions and his middle swaying from side to side? Precious!

(Hey, you know … a Mom can’t help but feel a little indulgent on her boy’s birthday….)

• Tags: Chappy, Family • Permalink:7 on 07-07 // 9 Comments »

Yep. Today we celebrated Chappy’s turning 7. (Although his actual birthday is Monday–and his Party Invitation/contest is still open until then.)

Naturally, the birthday boy got a cake and was sung to. Though, no, he did NOT blow out his candle on his own.

He really enjoyed the cake, though.

Carrot cake, with buttercream icing–his choice.

And there were presents.

He thought this toy from his aunt, uncle, and cousins was particularly fun–it “crinkles” in the middle, like a soda bottle or a milk carton–and since he adores playing with empty milk cartons, this made him very happy.

Really, we all had a good time–though special thanks go to my brother-in-law,  nephew, and sister for doing weeding and yardwork before the rain really started to come down.

His friend Cindy came for dessert, too, which made Chappy really happy.

The only real disappointment of the day? The weather didn’t cooperate, but who can control the weather?

About the fire in Vineyard Haven yesterday? There’s video of it on Plum TV, and it’s just so heart-breaking to watch. According to today’s update, the Bunch of Grapes bookstore looks to be a total loss–in terms of stock, if not the actual building. Susan said on Ravelry today that, “It was a bit of a down day on the Island. Pat and I just walked by BOG after getting coffee at Mocha Motts and it was so sad seeing all the smoke damaged books in the window and the postcards on racks.” Poor Martha’s Vineyard!

On the plus side, she also said on Ravelry today that she’s raised $3000 for her uncle’s wheelchair. Don’t forget, you, too, can be eligible to win her entire stash of yarn (that didn’t come from her own sheep and goats).

• Tags: Chappy, Family, Friends, General, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:Chappy’s Birthday // 12 Comments »

Hi. Chappy, here.

I don’t know if you all know, or not, but next week is my birthday and I want to invite you all to a party!

No, really. I love having guests, and the more, the merrier, I always say.

Mom, though, told me that our house isn’t big enough for ALL of you, and suggested a virtual party, instead. Well, it’s not the same thing (is there cake at a virtual party?), but if it’s the best I can do, I don’t want to complain. Because, I want to celebrate! (wag)

So, here’s what I thought we could do. I’m going to invite you–right here, right now–to help me celebrate my birthday. Since you can’t bring biscuits or toys to a virtual party, and since Mom said that it would be conceited of me to ask you all to say nice things about me, what I want is for each of you to tell a cute, happy, funny, sweet, or just generally good story about one of the fabulous dogs you know. (Because, you know as well as I do that my species is just wonderful, right?)

What if you’re a cat person and don’t know any good dog stories? Well, first, I personally don’t understand how you can BE a cat person, but Mom keeps telling me that cats are perfectly nice and that if a person can’t have a dog, it’s still better for them to have some kind of furry, four-legged creature to love which, I suppose, is true. But still, you have to understand that I AM a dog, so if you’re a cat person, I want a funny, possibly even embarrassing, story about a cat you know. Because, they just are all so smug and think they’re so perfect…. (Oops. My prejudices are showing.) But, you know, nothing bad, but something a little embarrassing, like the time they ran nose-first into a mirror. (Be quiet, Mom!)

What if you’re not a cat OR a dog person? You poor, poor human….just do the best you can, and we’ll try to make allowances. (wag)

So, tell me your stories here in the comments on this post and Mom promised that there would be a party favor for at least one lucky person. I’ll personally take time out of my celebrating on Monday (the seventh, my actual birthday) to select a winner, but your story has to be HERE to be eligible. (I’m bred to be a hunting dog, but Mom never trained me to hunt anything more complicated than crumbs on the kitchen floor.)

Isn’t this exciting? I love parties–especially when they’re all about ME. Though, still, I wish there were some way you could send biscuits over the internet…

Hope you can come! My tail is wagging already!

• Tags: Chappy, Family, General • Permalink:Please R.S.V.P. // 26 Comments »

Isn’t this a nice face to wake up to? When I got out of bed this morning, Chappy draped himself over the ottoman (his hind legs are on the floor behind it) and just looked so cute, I reached for the camera, even before putting on my slippers. He does this all the time–on weekends, as soon as I actually get out of bed (where we’ve already said good morning), he heads over to the ottoman and we say good morning again. That’s the kind of boy Chappy is–the more “good mornings” he can squeeze into a morning, the happier he is!

I know, such a shock that I thought he was cute, huh? My family laughs at me every time I look at Chappy and say, “Oh, how cute!” but, well, he IS!

And if all that cuteness isn’t enough to wake a girl up in the morning, well, there are plenty of opportunities for caffeine in town, since Starbucks reopened the other day, after being closed since December. But now they’ve got some serious competition–right there, across the street, in Starbucks’ old location, is Smart World coffee. We’ve been anticipating this coffee stare-down for months now, and it’s finally here. I mean, our town isn’t THAT big, you know? And there’s Mara’s, the independent coffee shop/bakery around the corner, too. Three businesses dedicated to serving people coffee and baked goods, all clustered around the same intersection.

After our coffee, Mom and I went to DSW to take advantage of my coupon for shoes, and I bought these very cute Rocket Dog ballet flats. Comfortable, and they should look good with skirts, and so will be great for work. I know what you’re thinking–I just bought a computer I couldn’t really afford, what am I doing buying shoes? But the thing is, I have the hardest time coming up with footwear in the summer. (I even started a thread on Ravelry the other day.) I hate wearing sandals, and I’ve got tender, sensitive feet who complain about stiff shoes, so when wearing shoes “barefoot” (as in, no socks or stockings), they’ve got very particular requirements about softness and such. It’s HARD finding footware that isn’t too hot, isn’t too hard on my prima-donna-ish feet, looks acceptable with skirts for work, and, oh yeah, aren’t too expensive. So … just, don’t pick on me, okay? I resisted the siren call of the bookstore today, doesn’t that count for something?

Oh, and good news, the new computer was shipped and should be here on Tuesday. In the meantime, Mom and Dad have been sharing his computer very nicely. First Mom’s car, now Dad’s computer … I wonder what they’ll be sharing next!

Otherwise? It’s been a hot and muggy day, which means no walk for Chappy. It’s just downright icky–but then, you all know I hate summer weather. Especially hot, humid summer weather. And tomorrow I get to go to a barbeque … weather-wise, I am NOT looking forward to that at all, though the event (best friend’s father’s surprise 70th birthday) itself should be nice.

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Coffee Wars // 3 Comments »

Such boring knitting to show you! The bottom of bag #2 is done, and I’ve just started the sides. Yep. Riveting, I know. I feel exactly the same way.

I gave Chappy a haircut today, which he badly needed. He’s been looking kind of shaggy lately, and now he looks all nice and trim. Though I keep looking at him and seeing curls I missed. He recognizes that particular look in my eye, though, and ever-so-casually gets up and leaves the room before I can reach for the scissors, though (grin). That’s okay, he still looks so much better than he did. I know there are lots of people who don’t groom their Boykin Spaniels at all, but I like my dog to look trim, and Chappy needs haircuts a lot more than Katy did

Speaking of Boykin Spaniels, I heard about the perfect “club” for them the other day: The Dang Yankee Boykin Spaniel Club. Isn’t that a great name for a club?

Boykins, of course, are the state dog of South Carolina, and so most of the breed activities take place down south–entirely out of reach for me and my carsick boy. There’s a lot of politics going on with the breed, too. The original breed organization is at BoykinSpaniel.org and has been registering the breed for decades, since 1977. They were/are against the breed becoming part of the AKC, though, wanting the breed to remain focused on good, healthy hunting dogs, rather than show dogs. But, there has been movement from people who want to participate in AKC events, and so another Boykin Spaniel organization started up, the Boykin Spaniel Club, which started in 1997 and has worked hard to get the breed into the AKC. That started what amounts to a civil war in Boykin Spaniel circles, with some people loyal to the original group, and some loyal to the newcomers out of sheer desire to be able to show their dogs in the AKC shows, or do AKC agility, or whatever.

Now, personally, since I’m not a breeder or a dog-show kind of person, I don’t really feel strongly one way or another. When I first got Katy in 1999, I truly longed to be able to train her for obedience showing and to participate in obedience and agility, and the AKC is really the only show in town, since I’m so far away from “Boykin Central” in South Carolina. (Yes, there’s the UKC, but their shows don’t tend to be easily accessible from NJ, either.) So, I would have been thrilled if the original group had started the process for AKC membership. They didn’t, and so this other group–which the AKC considers to be the official breed club–stepped up. So, I’m torn. I feel loyal to the original group (not least because it’s through them I found Katy in the first place, and it’s with them that Chappy is registered), but at the same time, I like the idea of (theoretically) being able to take Chappy to a dog show, which is only possible because of the “upstarts.” And, as you can imagine, the fighting between the two groups is bitter.

One thing I find interesting, though? The breed description for the pro-AKC-group is quite different than the description of the independent, but older group. According to the Boykin Spaniel Club, the breed should have a double-coat and brown eyes–no amber eyes like Katy had. The Boykin Spaniel Society, though, allows them and does not require a double coat. Chappy, for the record does not have a double coat. Which means, of course, that he doesn’t live up to the “new” standard as seen by the AKC. Not that he’s a show dog, or that we particularly care, and he IS registered with the BSS, so we’re content with that and I’m sure we would be made welcome if we ever made it to South Carolina.

Oh, and the Dang Yankee Boykin club? They’re loyal to the original BSS. The politics are interesting, huh? Who knew that there was so much back-biting among dog fanciers??

• Tags: Chappy, General • Permalink:Jeez… // 3 Comments »

I’ve mentioned that poor Chappy hasn’t been out for a walk since Friday because it’s been so hot, but have I mentioned how bored he looks? Unlike a/c-deprived dogs, he hasn’t been stretched out on the floor panting through this heatwave, but he’s been draped over the arm of his chair in the window, looking listless and bored, bored, bored.

Well, that won’t do!

On my way home at lunch today, I was trying to come up with something he and I could do for the 25 minutes of my lunch break that is usually filled in with a walk. Sometimes I’ve inflicted things like nail-trimmings or quick haircuts on him. And neither of us minds the occasional missed day–it just gives us a chance to hang out in the window together–but after three days of that, he deserved something fun, so I decided to pull out the clicker, and we could work on a new trick or something–but it would give him something to DO, which was the whole point.

I came home, made my sandwich, and then grabbed the clicker and some treats and headed into the living room, with Chappy happily beside me, because that’s something we haven’t done in ages. (Don’t ask me why, because it’s great fun for both of us.)

I sat down on the ottoman and waited for him to do something, anything … so he started “throwing” his tricks at me. Sit! Down! Bravo! Spin! And when I didn’t click any of those because I was looking for something new, he started barking at me. Not in a mean-bark kind of way, but in a, “Look at me, Mom!” kind of way. (You know, in case I was missing that he was doing such a fabulous play-bow.)

After a few minutes of this, Dad came downstairs to see what was going on, and when he saw it was a lesson, sat down on the couch to watch. (Because, no, having an audience isn’t the least bit intimidating when trying to learn something new.) And then he started to ask questions–what was I clicking for? Why was he barking? And when Chappy would glance over at him, he’d tell him, “No, I don’t know what she’s clicking for, either.”

So, that was our first distraction.

Then, the lawn-mowers arrived in their big truck-and-trailer and started to unload the mowers and blowers and other assorted noise-makers. Naturally, Chappy had to excuse himself from the lesson to run to his window to announce that they were there (even though we knew that already), but he came back to the living room quickly enough when I reminded him I was sitting there with treats, but now, he kept looking past my shoulder to keep an eye on the mowers. (They can be dangerous, you know.)

So, that was our second distraction.

Then, third distraction, the UPS truck arrived. (Sigh)

Then Dad lost interest because he couldn’t figure out what I was clicking (though Chappy was doing just fine when he wasn’t staring out the window), and finally I gave up, too, and headed into the kitchen to eat my lunch. I figured that at least I’d given him something to do, even if for not as long as I would have liked … and, besides, I had one more thing in mind for him.

I ate my lunch and then went to sit with Chappy on the chair in the dining room for a few minutes before I had to go back to work. I’d been there for all of 5 minutes when my sister pulled up. She and Mom had gone to visit an old friend this morning, but Patty had to get back home to pick up my nephew from school, so they had to cut it short. But Chappy was thrilled when they came in the house. I’ve told you how much he adores saying hello, and two family members at once? Even better! Though Patty only stayed about 5 minutes, and then he had to say goodbye (his tail stopped wagging), followed very quickly by MY having to go back to work.

As I say, though, I had one more idea for Chappy-entertainment. I took an empty Kong toy out of the freezer, filled it with kibble (which we keep around the house solely for this reason), plugged the end with a little cream cheese, and then had him sit while I hid it. I obviously didn’t hide it very well, though, because he found it in about 30 seconds flat, and since I’d put it on his chair, it was held perfectly in place by his blanket and pillow, so that he didn’t even need to HOLD it to clean it out.

He enjoyed it, though.

And the best part?

He doesn’t look bored anymore.

• Tags: Chappy • Permalink:Chappy’s Ironically Exciting Lunch // 7 Comments »

I mentioned yesterday that I hadn’t actually thought to check to make sure my buttons and my button holes were simpatico, so I figured I should check now, while there’s still plenty of time to get replacement buttons before I need them. (Finding out they were the wrong size when I was all ready to sew them on would be frustrating.) But, as luck would have it, I planned just right and they’re the perfect size. I lined up a couple and then slid one halfway through the next hole, just so I could show you a picture.

As to the other button possibilities? I suppose either of these could have worked, if they had had to–silver goes with the blue, of course, and the multi-color kind of sort of mostly works, but it doesn’t do anything for the sweater at all.

No, I really, really like this blue button.

And, besides, how exciting is showing you a picture of my one-row-long sleeve, for heaven’s sake?

Okay, this was cute…

Last night, after we’d said good night to Mom and Dad, Chappy and I headed into our room and he burrowed under his towel to snooze. I had just picked up my camera to snap this picture–all you can see is his nose, and the tips of his two front paws, and I thought he looked adorable–when Mom came upstairs for bed.

Instead of just sleeping through the noise in the hallway like he usually does, Chappy jumped out of his crate and went running to the door. So, there he was, standing there, still covered in his blanket, wagging his tail, hoping his Grandma would open the door to say goodnight. Awww! So I got up and went to open the door, and luckily Mom had turned around when she heard me gushing at all the cuteness, because she saw him draped in his towel just before he charged down the hallway to say goodnight to Dad again … who had just taken off his socks, so naturally, Chappy promptly stole one of them. I intercepted him at the top of the stairs (he takes them to the dining room) and then he good-naturedly went back to Mom and Dad’s room wagging his tail to get some more pets and love, before prancing back to our room. Boy, he was feeling good about that little excursion! He pounced on his chew bone and stretched out on the floor, pleased as punch with himself. If he’d been a cat, he would have been purring.

• Tags: Chappy, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:More about Buttons // 7 Comments »

If you look really carefully at that first picture, you can see a string of drool… You can almost hear him saying, “Please!”

Brought to you by:

• Tags: Chappy, Eye-Candy Friday • Permalink:Please // 4 Comments »

So, you don’t think Chappy should be blond, huh? Well, what about these options?

No? Not even a cute redhead?

I guess we’ll just have to stick to the original.

I mean, really, how do you improve on THAT?

My mother had a fabulous time last night at the Carly Simon concert but today, she barely has a voice. It was scratchy and cough-y from the cold before she left the house yesterday, but after the concert and all that “so loud you have to shout” chatting with her Carly-board friends, today, she sounds just terrible. Poor Mom! Though, I told her you can’t go to a fun, concert event with friends and have a fabulous time on top of being sick and not have to pay for it. Well, today, her throat is paying, poor thing. Still, it sounds like it was well worth it–she wrote about it and posted pictures on her blog, so go take a look!

And it’s lucky, too. Even though I knitted for an hour last night, my sweater doesn’t look that much different than when I posted my last picture….

• Tags: Chappy, Family • Permalink:Warhol // 7 Comments »

How great a picture is this, huh? When I took Chappy out for his, um, personal needs yesterday morning, the sun was just up, and our inn was so close to the water, I couldn’t resist walking up the street to take a look. I just caught this shot, of him sniffing into the sea breeze, ears flying in the wind. Love it!

I like this one, too.

Anyway, yes, yesterday was our last morning on the island. We got up, had breakfast, and then went over to Espresso Love so Mom could get some blueberry scones for her stash. Then, we drove to Oak Bluffs so Chappy could get some biscuits from Good Dog Goods, and then we went to Vineyard Haven to stop at the Chamber of Commerce to see Susan one last time before we left. We walked around town for a bit, but were at the Steamship Authority by 12:00 and then hung out until our 1:15 ferry, grabbing a quick snack for lunch at the Black Dog. (I had a multi-grain roll with butter and a ginger cookie, Mom had a corn muffin and an oatmeal raisin cookie.)

The drive home was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Mystic for about 20 minutes, as is our custom–it’s a nice spot for stretching our legs, and it’s dog-friendly. (In fact, their store of cat and dog-inspired stuff is one of the few places I regularly find things for Boykin Spaniels.) Other than that, we stopped at a McDonalds on I-95 for a quick supper and to feed the car, slowed down for a bit due to an accident at the far, western end of CT, but were home about 7:20. JUST before the sun completely went down, and I was very grateful that I’d brought my Chappy baseball cap with me, because the sun was so low and in my eyes for the last hour or two that sunglasses just would not have been enough.

Today has been pretty low-key. Slept until 8:00 in my own bed, gave Chappy a much-needed bath. Took my car to a car-wash for an also much-needed bath. Stopped at a grocery store. Stopped at the mechanic for a new lightbulb for my brake light. Put away my laundry. Took Chappy for a walk. Made spaghetti and meatballs for supper. (Okay, I did the meatballs and sauce, Mom cooked the spaghetti.)

If you haven’t noticed, I updated the posts from the last few days so that they now include pictures! So, if you’re interested, please go back and take a look. There’s the post from the day we travelled up to MV, the post ALL about the MV Fiber Festival, and then the post from Sunday when Mom and I got to meet the itty-bitty baby kids. Additionally, there are lots and lots of pictures over on Flickr–here’s my page of pictures, but there’s also a Flickr group for festival pictures. Not only that, I got to add Susan to my “Bloggers I’ve Met” list–something she was almost as excited about as I was!

Also, about the MV Fiber Festival, not only was there the article in the Wall Street Journal, but there was a follow-up on their blog. AND a really lovely article in the Vineyard Gazette. Not to mention a 15-minute video that Patrick’s son Harry put together. For bunches of reasons, Susan is very, very excited and happy. She’s added a bunch of stuff to her Etsy page, too.

Now, you’re probably wondering what I came home with, right?

Really, I restrained myself VERY well.

As a shareholder, I was gifted a tote bag, a t-shirt, and a pin, but then I bought an extra bag, anyway. They’re light and sturdy and meant to be used for things like groceries, so I figured–what with today being Earth Day, and all–I’d get an extra.

I bought a set of the postcards, too, which may have been unnecessarily frivolous, but Susan takes such nice pictures and those little sheepy/goaty faces are just too cute.

And, of course, some yarn. The two skeins of worsted-weight yarn on the right (in colors Parsley and Saffron) are for me, though I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet. They’re both great colors, though, so how could I resist? The two skeins of Chili sock yarn are still, technically, Susan’s, but I get to knit it up anyway, since I told her I would make her a pair of socks. I mean, you all know how, um, speedy I am about knitting socks, but hey, it’s practically summer out there … there’s no rush!

And, that’s it! I’m proudly sporting my MV Fiber Farm pin on my purse. I’m thinking about turning it into a refrigerator magnet, instead of risking losing it on my purse. And then, I am trying to think of the perfect project for that yarn. Would you believe that–other than socks–I didn’t do any knitting all weekend? I never touched my cardigan (except for showing it to Susan), and my spinning wheel never made it out of the bag. I had totally planned to spend some of Sunday afternoon sitting on that porch with my spinning wheel but it really was too cold. The only other stuff I bought this weekend was basically food. Biscuits from Chappy’s favorite bakery and some coffee beans from my favorite cafe. Oh, and a Black Dog frisbee that Chappy got very enthusiastic about in the Black Dog store the other day. And, well, doesn’t a kid deserve a toy on vacation once in a while?

• Tags: Chappy, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard, Sky • Permalink:MV Leftovers // 6 Comments »

So, day three, and our last full day on the island. It started off really well, though—we got to see the really little babies over at Susan’s. Oh, so cute.

She actually gathered a group of people this morning at 8:00, but we were running late. (Our innkeeper really likes to chat.) But when we called her to tell her, she said that she would drive them back to their hotels and then meet us there. We then displaced extra wisdom and waited outside one of the inns and then followed her back. (Much easier!)

So, back to those babies. Adorable.

The littlest ones were even smaller than Chappy and he was oh, so intrigued. So many interesting smells! And there were chickens, too! Chappy’s never seen a chicken outside his food dish, so that was particularly intriguing.

And then we stood there and chatted and gushed over the sweet kids for over an hour. It was just fabulous seeing Susan again, and she was so in her element with all those four-legged, wooly creatures. Clearly, she’s meant to be a shepherd.

Did I mention that Patrick and Logan came by to feed and water the goats?

After we finally managed to tear ourselves away … (and you know, Susan, that we really DID mean that invitation to NJ where you could wear non-goaty clothes for three days in a row) … we drove into Edgartown and Mom had a blueberry scone for lunch (bliss). I found a wireless internet connection and was able to post about the fiber festival (which I had luckily written out the night before), and we spent some time just walking around. Not as long as we might have, though, because the temperature started to drop, and the wind kicked up, and, well, brrr. It was still beautiful, though—bright and sunny, and about 54 degrees.

We came back to our room (can I just tell you that I’m in love with this window seat), so Chappy could get a nap, and then headed back to Oak Bluffs to meet an e-friend of Mom’s. Which was nice enough, except we were sitting outside and the temperature was diving down to about 47 with wind, and it was COLD. By the time we left, Mom was frozen and I was feeling so very grateful that I’d put my Ribby sweater on before leaving the room. The decision at that point of stopping for something (hot) to eat and bringing it back to the inn was easy. Mom went into Linda Jean’s to place the order, I took Chappy to the car … and found it so cold on the walk, that I decided I would pray for good Parking Karma and try to move it closer to where Mom was, so she wouldn’t have to hike in the cold.

I was lucky, and did get a good parking spot, and then called her cellphone to tell her where I was, and then we came back to the inn. Brady very nicely made Mom some tea which was helpful.

Um. We’re all decided that we will NOT be going out for another walk tonight. And that the decision to take the car into Oak Bluffs instead of walking (which we did last night) was definitely the right choice. (Considering how frozen Mom looked just walking to the restaurant, the walk back to the inn with food? Not an option! In fact, she’s sitting on the bed right now, wrapped up in one of the shawls I brought.)

Tomorrow? We have to go to Edgartown to get Mom a stash of blueberry scones to bring home, and Chappy wants to go to his favorite dog-store to get some biscuits. Susan told us that we MUST stop by the Chamber of Commerce to see her at work—especially since everybody there reads Mom’s blog. I mean, gosh, I suppose that if we HAVE to…. And then our ferry home is at 1:15 (unless we follow tradition and catch an earlier one), and we’re all hoping that Chappy will be fine in the car. As in, not carsick. And that the traffic won’t be too bad around rush hour. Wish us luck!

• Tags: Chappy, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV Sunday // 7 Comments »

(Note: I found an internet connection but it’s SO slow, I can’t upload all the pictures I’d like to load, so this post is going to be mostly text UNTIL I get home. I promise, on Tuesday, I’ll add pictures!)

So, where to start when trying to describe such a fantastic day?

Oh, of course. I know.

Susan and Patrick (seen here with his son, Logan) are just wonderful people. Mom, Chappy, and I walked in and Susan immediately excused herself to the person she was talking to and practically ran over to give both of us big hugs. (And a pet for Chappy, of course.) Then Patrick (who is something like 9 feet tall) came in and she said, “This is Deb, Joan, and Chappy” and his face lit up as he said, “I’m so glad you could make it!” You know, not in that polite kind of way that you welcome people, but in the truly sincere, “I really do know who you are and really mean this” kind of way. Mom and I both said that there are people you meet who are nice and likeable and just lovely people (which pretty much describes everybody we met today), and then there are people that you immediately want to be friends with. Susan and Patrick fall into that category. Would you believe, though, that of all the pictures we took today (216 of them between me and Mom), we didn’t get a single picture of the two of them together?

And then, the sheep and goats. Well, they’re just adorable—especially those babies that we’ve been reading so much about. So. Cute. It was particularly cute when we walked Chappy over. He was curious and stretched toward the goat closest to him, but when several more came over to take a look at Chappy? Well, he decided that they were all a lot bigger than he was, and you know, he was on vacation and didn’t want any trouble. They all decided that he was a potential threat, and so Chappy backed away from them, they backed away from him, and it was really pretty funny.

Throughout the rest of the day, I got some pretty good pictures because the group of them would all turn to face Chappy—presumably because he was (genetically, at least) a potential threat. Do you remember in the movie Babe, how the sheep call all dogs “wolves,” and don’t trust any of them? That’s pretty much the reaction Chappy was getting. The adults would close ranks around the babies, and at least some of them would stand guard. But, as I say, that made for some good photos.

And then, the fiber festival itself. It took place in the Ag Hall (that’s the Agricultural Hall, but nobody uses the full word when describing it). First, it’s a beautiful building. It was actually a barn in New Hampshire that they transported in pieces to MV and rebuilt it several years ago. This was my first time seeing it, and it’s just beautiful. Lots of warm, golden wood color, great structural elements in the beams and ceilings. Just lovely. And while the festival got a really nice turnout, the building was never so jam-packed that you couldn’t see the building.

There were musicians down at the far end playing some really nice, mellow music, and there were some booths from other island fiber places. One table had a display of skeins dyed with different natural dyes (onion skins, hibiscus flowers, comfrey, nettles, and so on) and set with different mordants so that the colors looked different from skein to skein.

It was fascinating watching the sheep and goats be sheared. They’re so patient about it—not that they really have a choice. The shearer, Jeff, did a great job. And, really, we all just stood around watching for huge chunks of time. Just really cool. Even Chappy was impressed. Mom got excited, too, because we saw Sally Taylor (Carly Simon’s daughter) there, too. That alone would have made her happy.

Susan and Patrick did proud by their shareholders, too. Not only did I get a tote bag and a t-shirt, just for being there, I got lunch, too! The entire festival took a lunch break. They set up tables and chairs in the entrance hall and we all sat together and ate. Including a whole bunch of Ravelrers. And, here’s the horrible part, I can’t remember all the names. (I’ll try to find them later, when I can get internet access again.) But one name I DO remember? Nora—one of the sweetest little 11-months old you’d want to meet. Her Mom drove to Falmouth this morning, took a shuttle bus to the ferry dock, rode the ferry to the island, and then caught a bus to the Ag Hall—all with an 11-month old and a stroller. And Nora was just a bright, sunshiny, little girl all day long. She wailed in protest at something a couple of times, but was back to being happy again within 60 seconds. All. Day.

Chappy was good, too. Despite not having a chance to nap all day long, he was sweet and charming almost the entire day. He barked a couple of times when he saw other dogs—not in a “go away” kind of way, but as anybody would when travelling in a strange land and see somebody who speaks the same language they do. And he and Fritz, an Island Sheltie not only hit it off, but played, too. His only real fall of grace was, a couple of times, when he had finally relaxed enough to let his guard down and then did a “Woo-woo-woo-woof!” bark at people who dared to walk past him. Including Patrick’s younger son, who went off and stood in the corner for a few minutes afterwards. Chappy kind of felt badly about that, but really, considering how tired he was by that point, he was so good!

At this point—I’m typing this at 8:30 on Saturday night—Chappy is just exhausted. Not only did he have a long, full day out in the sun, watching the sheep, occasionally barking at unsuspecting bystanders, but he didn’t get much sleep last night. I know this because he kept waking Mom and me up—jumping on the bed, off the bed, on the bed, off the bed. And, at one point, jumping INTO the bed, when the throw rug on the floor slippe as he launched himself, so that he hit chest-first into the side of the bed which, you know, is quite a shock in the dark! Oh, and then there was the extra awakening when the clock-radio alarm went off at midnight … let’s just say that none of the three of us exactly got a full night’s sleep. And we were up around 6:30/6:45 which, really, is ridiculous while on vacation. I’m not that worried about tonight though, Chappy is so zonked out on the bed at the moment, I really can’t imagine that he’s going to have trouble relaxing enough to sleep.

Oh, and yes, I DID buy some yarn, but restricted myself to two skeins. I did think about buying enough to make a sweater but decided that that would be too pricey. And besides, if I’m lucky, my spinner’s share of roving will be big enough to make a sweater, which will be even better, right? I AM coming home with two more skeins of yarn, though—I offered to make Susan a pair of socks, if she gave me the yarn to do it in. I know, it SOUNDS remarkably generous of me, but really, this way I get to try out more of the yarn and I didn’t even have to pay for it. How sneaky of me is THAT?

Really, it was a wonderful day. We got there about 9:50 and left about 4:40. That’s a full day and we weren’t bored even once. Every person we met was great. Susan’s mother and sister were so sweet and helpful … and tired. As were Patrick’s sons who are both really nice kids and helped out all day without complaining (that I heard). (And, again, Chappy says he’s sorry about the barking—he was just startled.) The Ravelrers were all great and interesting and funny, and it was also great at lunch when several of us pulled out our knitting. There’s just something so cozy about a group that can do that. The weather could NOT have been better. It was right about 70 degrees and sunny—a little warm in the sun at times, but never actually hot, and the Ag Hall was nice and cool for when we felt a little warm. It was a stunningly beautiful day. And did I mention that we weren’t bored once? And that we really liked Patrick and Susan a lot?

How much? Well, they’re planning on doing something similar for the Autumn shearing and, gosh, I do have vacation time in October … I wonder what weekend that will be? Because this CSA share was one of the best $100 investments I’ve ever made—and I haven’t even gotten my share of the wool yet. But for this much sheer (shear??) fun? Absolutely worth every penny—and do you know why?

Because Susan and Patrick made a point of making it so. They could have just taken the money and sent the wool in due course with maybe a note or something. But, no. Not only does Susan write her blog, filled with lots of pictures of her flock and updates so that the animals have real names and faces to make that wool extra special with that personal touch. But they make their shareholders feel really welcome and appreciated. We’re not just people who sent money. We’re like an extended family. Or at least, it certainly felt that way. So. Cool. All that great publicity (did you see the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning??) couldn’t happen to nicer people.

Really. Perfect day. Even if Chappy couldn’t quite get his sheep imitation down . . . every time he tried to say “Baaaa,” he just couldn’t help turning it into a “Baaaaark!”

• Tags: Chappy, Friends, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard • Permalink:MV: Baaaa…rk! // 15 Comments »