Olivia

Quail's return to our home was dampened by the fact that a few days earlier we had learned that our oldest cat, Olivia, had cancer. We brought her back from the vet's office and she spent the following week eating her favorite food -- Gerber baby food in chicken, beef or turkey flavors.

By this past Sunday, she wasn't eating at all which made our decision to put her down on Monday a little easier.

She was 15 years old and one of the strays we picked up. When we first got her, she was 2 pounds and our vet thought about 2 months old. But one month later, she was 4 pounds and had teeth that come in around 6 months so our guess at her age was really off. One month of living with us on a well fed diet turned her into a foodie and she loved to eat cheerios, nuts, and crunchy things. For the rest of her life, if food went missing, Olivia took the blame.

There are no pictures of Olivia and our first puppy, Gusto, because he chased all the cats. Olivia wasn't so fond of Harley the first time around, but she did like Anita and Ava. She tolerated Quail.

She really seemed to like Harley after he returned to our family and I would find the both of them sleeping on our bed. I kept hoping for the day that they would cuddle but they both seemed happy to just share the same bed.

Of all our cats, Olivia got along best with Donovan who died five years ago but she always willing to share a plate of something yummy with Harrison.

Her original name was Oliver after the cat in the cartoon Oliver (Oliver Twist with cartoon animals). When we learned she was a girl, we switched it over to Olivia but she was always my "O Girl" and our beautiful gray kitty.

Quail is Home!

There's our tired little girl on her first day home.

We got the call on Wednesday that we could have her back -- she was being released because she collapsed during a training walk. They couldn't find any reason why despite all the tests they ran. She was just one day shy of The Seeing Eye sending us a letter to invite us up for her Town Walk so she could go into breeding.

So instead of going to the Breeding Center, she came home to us. When The Seeing Eye calls to let you know your puppy is being released, you have the option to take the puppy back or put it up for adoption. We're not grown up enough to do the adoption thing so we now have two black labs in our home.

Thursday morning, they called and said she was ready to come home so I went that afternoon. She sniffed the room for a little bit before realizing I was in the room and then she started jumping up trying to kiss my face...it was great :-)

She's shaved in a bunch of spots -- from where the put heart monitors on her and from her spay. The pretty collar is to stop her from licking her stitches and we only put it on when we're not paying as much attention to her.

We're so happy to have her back!

PS And YES, we are still on the waiting list to raise another puppy...we are crazy but in a good way :-)

Our Girl is Coming HOME!!!

Well, we are getting our first released puppy from The Seeing Eye. Quail is coming home.

We've been waiting anxiously to hear from her -- we were waiting for a letter inviting us to her Town Walk since last we heard, she was being evaluated for the breeding program. The longer we waited with no news, the better -- because as they say, no news is good news.

But we got our phone call today and Quail is being released for Exercise Induced Collapse which apparently is something that can be found in labradors. After she is spayed, we'll get the phone call to come get her.

There was the option to put her up for adoption but I don't think we're grown up enough to do that yet.

We are excited to have her come home but I have to admit, I was also really looking forward to another Town Walk and pictures of Mama Quail in the little wading pool with lots of little Quail puppies. I also liked being able to say that all the puppies we raised had graduated.

And yes, we are still waiting for another puppy. We are crazy! But in a good way :-)

My Favorite Riley Pose

Isn't he cute? Too bad my shoes are in the picture too.

Aiming for 100...81 pairs so far

So I'm still hoping to knit my 100th pair of socks this year. I finished pair #80 last month and gave them to my sister for her birthday.

If you've never worn hand knit socks, you probably think that it is an odd present to ask for but believe it or not, a lot of people ask me to knit them socks especially if I've knit socks for them before.

My 81st pair of socks is another Cookie A sock. The pattern came from the Cookie A sock club I belong to and it came in the April edition. A new set of patterns comes out every two months so I should be able to keep up if I knit one pair a month.

I love this yarn!
It's a Sneak Peek of a new yarn line from Lorna's Laces and it is called Solemate. It has some new space age fiber in it called Outlast. It's supposed to keep your feet warm when they are cold and cool when you are warm. NASA uses it is in spacesuits so this is just so me! I can't wait for the yarn to become available for purchase!

Geocaching!

My friend, JY, and her hubby are really into geocaching. She actually named a cache after me! We stopped by to visit my namesake the other day and I signed the log -- my first geocaching experience -- well, the first one where we found the cache :-)

Toddler Nephew Visits!

My nephew came to visit for a weekend. He's a toddler now and just too cute.

He really liked Harley and Riley and amazingly, they liked him too!

He also liked the little bunny I knit for him and his new car. We took him for a drive through the neighborhood.

However, he did not like the haircut at all!
But I have to admit, I loved taking pictures of him in full bawl -- he's so cute, even when he is crying!