Catch Up Part 1 - I got mail!

After a sleep deprived very busy week, I get to start playing catch up... first up, I got mail... some great mail!

Last Monday, after returning from Charlotte, I received my absolutely amazing Knitters Virtual Vacation Swap package from Robin. I knew I was getting to go on a fabulous Virgina vacation when she started sending me postcards about 2 weeks before my box arrived (the beautiful postcards with little notes made the experience that much more fun!). I had no idea just how much fun I had on vacation until the box arrived! Everything was wrapped up in pretty tissue ... but not for long, as I anxiously tore into everything... and unwrapped one wonderful treat after another. Robin really took the time to get to know me and I can tell she read my blog! Look at all the wonderful treats she crammed in to that big 'ole box...


I swear it was a bottomless box! As I tore through the packages like a 6 year old at Christmas carefully unwrapped each item, I found a book on Historic Williamsburg, a whole bag full of local brochures & tourist info, a Virginia lanyard, an instrumental CD of music for the state parks, ginger cookies, chocolate covered cookie dough (yum-o!), 2 Virginia magnets, Earl Grey tea, a deck of cards, 2 of the bestest smelling soaps made by Robin herself under the "Bird Bath Essentials" line (I'm not sure if she sells on Etsy, but if she does you must check out her product - Robin???), a handy wood soap dish/saver, a doggie treat cookie cutter, the cutest doggy keychain I've ever seen ("most affectionate dog lover," why yes, that's me!), a just as cute "best friend" paw print ornament, a personalized set of doggie stitch markers with a scissors fob (which I needed!) also made by the amazinlgy talented Robin, and 4 skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in an absolutely stunning colorway (oh... what to make, what to make??!!). Everything is so amazing and so perfect for me... Thank you Robin - I feel truly lucky to have had you as my spoiler and now look forward to getting to know you more! Now for some close ups for your viewing pleasure...

Alpaca. Silk. Chocolate. Covered. Cookie. Dough. Need I say more?

Doggy themed goodyness...

The yummy-licious soap that I can't wait to use...

As if I weren't spoiled enough (is there such a thing as being too spoiled?), the next day I received my Dog Days of Summer dishcloth swap box from Nicol. The box took the declining USPS service an unexpected slow boat from the West Coast, but it eventually got here! Look how she decorated the box! She carefully wrapped up all the goodies in tissue and I once again tore thru them like a dog with a new stuffed toy carefully opened each one.


Nicol also paid close attention to my love of the 4-legged furbabies in my life as well and even knit me a super cool and thoughtful "DOG LUVR" dishcloth (its the dark purple one in the pic below, although you can't really see the wording well in the photo)!

Once again, I felt like it was a bottomless box...

Inside I found 2 handknit dishcloths, 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss (do I sense a theme here people? if so, nice theme!) Baby Cashmerino in a yummy minty green color, a huge oversized skein of Bernat cotton in white, Lantern Moon straight needles (omg - Nicol, you're awesome!), chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered cherries, a vanilla coconut candle (yummy) and some loose black honey flavorered tea & tea ball. I haven't had a chance to sit and relax and try the tea yet (did I mention how busy the past week has been??), but I'm really looking forward to it (my first experience with loose tea) - it smells soooooo good! I'm all set for a great night of relaxing and knitting now... if only that night will come soon!!! :) Thank you Nicol, everything is absolutely wonderful and great treats!!! I'm so happy to have gotten you in the dishcloth swap and look forward to reading your blog and getting to know you.

Okay, part 1 of the catch-up is done... part 2 to come tomorrow from the week which included returning home from vacation on Saturday afternoon and rushing straight from the airport to pick up the dogs at their new boarding place... Teutul coming to us with the hives & blown up snout on Sunday night and dealing with his mystery allergic reaction and a couple sleepless nights and vet trips (he's still on meds)... me getting sick on Tuesday and having to return to work, only to leave early... staying out way too late on Thursday night at the Tesla concert... a friends' cook-out on Saturday... Matt's racing on Sunday... the Hopkinton Fair on Monday & meeting friends there for the demolitian derby last night... and now back to work. I need a day off!

Ok, I'll Play...

I've been seeing the Pay it Forward going around on a lot of blogs lately and I finally decided to join in via Chan's blog. So, here's the scoop...

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange, based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return... just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness continue to pass it along as well. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. Here’s how it works: I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So who will my 3 lucky peeps to join me in PIF (if you comment among the first 3 and don't want to play, just say so... no pressure!)?

Speaking of exchanges, I received my Virtual Vacation Swap (I went to Virginia!) package on Monday and my Dog Days of Summer box yesterday... and promise to post info & photos very soon! Both of my spoilers, Robin in VVS and Nicol in DDS, were super duper treaters!!! I absolutely loved everything and both of them really got to know me, which always adds that extra little touch when you realize your spoiler actually read your blog and took the time to learn what you like! You'll see soon...

Mom is now home, resting comfortably and happily knitting away! She has a visiting nurse twice a day and will be back to see Mr. Surgeon the end of next week. She thanks everyone for their well wishes, notes, cards, thoughts and prayers! I also wanted to publicly thank Heather for the wonderful knitting goody bag she sent for her (which I photoed but they're still on the camera), blogless Karen for the yummy See's chocolates she sent and the incredibly caring Grace for the beautiful shawl she sent. I can't wait to see my Mom wear it and will get photos when she does - but for now I tracked back a little on Grace's blog and found this and this (its the stunning Cherry Tree Hill / Mr Joe Montalpulcino shawl). Mom loves everything!

We had a bit of a scare with Mr. Teutul this week when he came to us on Sunday night with hives all over his head and his snout swelled up to about 3 times its usually size (he looked like a Rottie!). Off we raced to the emergency vet clinic where he received 2 shots and we were told it was an allergic reaction from "something" (well yes, thank you for that insight - the vet seemed like she was quite new and funny thing was, Tut knew she was not his "doctor lady," didn't really want much to do with her and even refused to get on their scale!). So, we were sent home, told to wake him at 2am and check for hives. Nothing then, but he woke me at 4am with them so I got up and gave him Benadryl, as they said to. He woke me again around 8am with move hives (including a bunch around his eye), so I called our wonderful vet and raced him down to see her before she went in to surgery... Another shot and a prescription of Prednisone, then it was back home (and he happily got on the scale there, sat right down ... aren't they fussy children funny how they know who their doctor is and all??!!). By then he had hives all over his body, so much that he looked like a wrinkly shar-pei... another dose of Benadryl... since then we haven't seen any hives, he takes the Prednisone for the next week or so (you have to start out with 2 a day, then 1 a day, then every other ... oh how fun!). They still can't tell for sure what he got in to or what made us worry like crazy about the baby boy, but we're leaning towards either a bee sting or maybe a spider bite. He had been rubbing his face on the couch & dog bed about an hour or so before (we thought he just got his face wet and was using the "couch napkin" like his sister does) the hives appeared and since that was the only time his snout swelled, that's my uneducated guess........ so, I ended up not getting all that I had hoped to get done on my day off on Monday... then I got sick yesterday... oh the joys! But I promise to download pics from the camera and get to some prettier blogging shortly!!

Happy 1st Day of Summer!

You Should Spend Your Summer in Europe

You're in to almost all forms of culture - art, music, architecture, food...And spending a summer at the beach sounds pretty darn boring to you.So head off to Europe, where you can have your tiramisu (and even eat it on the beach!)

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

Anyone volunteering to send me to Europe for the summer??? Yea, I didn't think so... but maybe I'll get a European spoiler in the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap??

Note to all doggy parents, rescuers and lovers... please take a second to check out my sidebar for the Dog Detective website. A fellow dog Mom forwarded this to me -- great source for lost / stolen / found dogs across the country. Help spread the word about the site!

And a special thank you to those of you who've already donated and helped me in my goal of raising $1000 for ASPCA (see the fundraising banner at the top of my blog)! Unfortunately they don't tell me who donated, so unless you send me a note I don't know who you are... so far I do know of Lisa, Karen and Christy. Thank you ladies - you are awesome!

I promise some actual knitting content coming soon!!! I finished another Duduza doll over the weekend and already cast on another, plus have several other WIP's - my ankle socks, lace headband, shaped scarf... and am about to cast on a shawl, tank top and felted bag. :-)

Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap questionnaire

I've joined the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap and need to have my questionnaire posted by June 30th. This one sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait to get matched up and start shopping for my pal. There's still about a week left to sign up, but only as of this morning, only 20 spots were open so act fast if you're interested!

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?
Hawaii and Alaska. They are 2 places that I really do want to visit and explore because they are both so unique and beautiful.

2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?
I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland (I’m part Irish). I’d also love to see and explore my way through Iceland, Scotland, Portugal and Italy. Touching down someplace in Africa would be a dream as well!

3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?
The furthest I’ve driven was from New England to Virginia. I’ve driven to New Jersey several times, also New York and Pennsylvania and once to Canada many, many years ago. I’d love to have enough vacation time to do a real road trip sometime though!

4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?
No, no place I would consider exotic. The closest might’ve been when we went to Miami and spent a day going through some of the Everglades outskirts.

5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?
Every May we head to Charlotte, NC for a week … its our annual trip to meet up with friends for the NASCAR race and I really look forward to it. Lots of things to see & do, lots of yummy food to eat and time to spend with friends that we only get to see once or twice a year. The area & locals are wonderful too – great place to visit.

6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state? Explain.
A little bit. I was born & raised in Gloucester, MA and moved to Southern NH about 6 ½ years ago. Before moving to NH, we vacationed in the White Mountains once per year and did all the touristy things. When we first moved here, we started to explore some of the local places but still have many “tourist spots” close to us that we’ve yet to visit.

7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker?
A little of all rolled in to one! I love to visit the touristy things in a new area, check out the sites & local food. Not much of a lay-out-on-the-beach person, but love to stroll the beaches later in the day. What about LYS seeker?!?!? I love finding the LYS when we visit other cities and states now.

8. What's your favorite type of yarn?
Alpaca … merino wool … superwash wool … handspun & hand painted … and of course, who doesn't love cashmere!

9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?
Cheap acrylic… acrylic has its place, but the real cheap stuff just does not.

10. What items do you like to knit?
Small projects are always wonderful because they are nearly instant gratification… Socks, fingerless mitts, hats, washcloths, bags…

11. What do you pack, knit wise when you go on vacation?
Usually 1 small project that is easily portable. For my last trip to Charlotte last month, I took a sock project bag with my current ankle sock project inside.

12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit?
I’m just starting to dabble a little in beading… I want to learn to knit with beads and also to make some of my own stitch markers. I'm learning to spin on a drop spindle. I used to do almost every crafty thing when I was a kid though (ceramics, plastic canvas, macramé, etc.)

13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)
I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke. I don't do well with floral smelling candles or soaps (i.e. rose, lilac).

14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?
Favorite colors are shades of purples, blues, reds… fall colors.
Least favorite colors are anything neon or too bright/gaudy.

15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?
Ooh… I love some of each. Love sweedish fish, chocolate covered gummy bears, peanut butter cups, really good milk or white chocolate, macadamia nuts. Beverage wise - coffee (not too strong – love flavors & breakfast blends), Vitamin Water… and of course, good wine!

16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?
I’m pretty much an open book if you read my blog... as you can see, I love dogs! :-) I'm a Boston girl at heart (sports fan too - love my Bruins & Patriots). I also like Rachael Ray, some reality tv (Amazing Race, Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen), traveling, reading, NASCAR, touring wineries & LYS while on vacation......