Sister's Choice Quilts

And Ozzie Goes On Vacation

Oh yes.  Ozzie had a fine weekend.    We packed his kennel, his dog food and his leash and headed north east to the Sacramento area--a three and a half hour drive from our house---for the weekend.  We left behind our cooler weather, Ozzie's sometimes prickly sister Sophie, and hit the road for a little mini- vacation.  Ozzie loves to go anywhere in the car.  He stands at attention, a stalwart helmsman, constantly encouraging us forward in our journey.  Yes, Ozzie loves to go bye-bye in the car.  The only thing that would have made it more perfect for him would be if we had been traveling by pick up truck.  I know in his heart of hearts he wants to be a Pick Up Dog.

We took a brief break for lunch at McDonalds, where we shared the $3 meal of a double cheeseburger and fries.  I know it isn't good for him, but what the heck, we were on vacation.  Shoot, it wasn't good for me either, but life is short.

We arrived at RIck and Andrea's house in Granite Bay, and headed into their cool air conditioned house.  Ozzie had to jump up on the chair in the kitchen and have a look at his kennel--still out in the drive way.  He was just so happy.  No responsibilities.  No Sophie to herd him about.  No phones to answer.  No, that was me who was happy about that.

A little snooze on the chaise lounge on the deck.

Oh yeah.

Another little nap before dinner.

A little more napping.  Life is SO good.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ahren was taking care of Sophie, who is NOT a good traveler.  She gets car sick you see.  She prefers the well known comforts of her own back yard, thank you very much.  Ahren did take her for her first visit to the beach, and she loved it.  So, both dogs were happy, and we got our little mini-vacation.

The Case of the Orange Shoe Murders

It happened again Dear Readers.  I fell asleep in front of the TV, with my husband dozing in his chair across the room from me.  While we were snoozing, some fiend entered the premises and murdered another one of my orange shoes.  Here is one of the crime scene photos.

The Coroner reports that this sandal is quite dead, but hopefully did not suffer too much at the hands of it's murderer.  Sob.  I loved that little sandal.  You may have figured out that I love shoes in general, but even though I have many, the orange ones I tend to gravitate to in summer are my favorites.

Who is this creature who is sneaking about executing poor innocent orange shoes?  It must be the same individual who committed the Double Orange Shoe murder in March of 08.  Why orange?  Tell me, what can we do to protect ourselves?

Ozzie has no idea either, but just to be sure, the Sheriff's Department has him scheduled for a polygraph today.

Enough About Sophie

Hey, everyone, it's me Ozzie.  That darn Sophie has been stealing the lime light lately, so I thought I would give you an update on how I am getting along.  She is a trial to live with, but I am coping pretty well.  As you can see from the picture above (don't I look dapper?), I still have my sense of humor.  I am sitting on the back of my favorite chair, where Nicole lets me lie if I promise not to drool or nibble on the leather.  She keeps putting these quilts on top and I have to say they are pretty comfy.  Sophie is outside chasing birds, so I have a minute to chat with you all.

Oh man.  Just when I start to get really cozy, Sophie has to jump up and horn in on my space.  That's her on the left, trying to nudge me right off my spot.  I tell you, she is so pushy.  Did any of you have a younger brother or sister who always had to being doing whatever you were doing?  Well, then you know how it is for me.  She follows me everywhere.  I can hardly get away from her to hide my bones and toys like I like to do.  I do have a few secret spots in the yard she doesn't know about though.  When my hidden treasures get nasty enough, I will dig them up and won't she be jealous?

So, she got my spot on my favorite chair.  That's ok.  I can find something else to do, like watch Dennis get ready for work.  He puts this white stuff on his face and then scrapes it off again.  It makes him looks very strange.  He put some of it on my nose once, and I could smell it all day long.  People are so odd.

Nicole spends a heck of a lot of time sitting here looking into this thing.  I wonder what she sees in it?  Seems kinda boring to me.  Wait, maybe if I push these buttons, something will happen....  Whoops!

All in all, things aren't too bad.  I have to say that despite the pesky little sister, I do get my share of loving around here.  They keep telling me there is enough love to go around so everyone gets their fair share, and I guess it's true.  Love it when they rub my neck.  Yawn.  Time for a little shut eye.  So long for now.

Ozzie Update

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your supportive and heart felt responses to my post yesterday.  You are all just the best friends anyone could ever wish for.  I plan to answer each and every one of your emails tomorrow.

Ozzie is doing much better today.  It is like day and night to spend time without Sophie.  He is his relaxed, goof ball, affectionate self.  His shoulder still hurts him, but the pain meds and the antibiotics seem to be doing their job.  We have just gotten back from a walk in the neighborhood and his enjoyment of it seemed almost normal.

My husband gets home tomorrow and we have some serious talking to do.

Again, you are the best.  Thank you all.

Ozzie Gets Some News

 

"Ozzie!  Listen!  Slow down a sec!  Do you like to play?  Do you like to play with other doggies?  I thought so!  Well, guess what sweetie?  Your sister Harmony is going to come and live with us!  She will be your new friend, who will be here with you all the time when I am off at work at my new job!  You won't be alone any more!  You will be able to play all day and learn to share your toys and treats!  Isn't that wonderful?"

Ozzie Gets Left Behind

On the day of my daughter and son in law's wine tasting party, we decided that it would be best if Ozzie stayed behind at my dad's house while we attended the event.  Ozzie is, as you know, a very exuberant fellow and I just couldn't see him careening around amidst all the guests and their glasses of red wine.  Ozzie was heart broken not to be able to go with us.  He seemed to have a sense that we were going somewhere fabulous that he would love too.  There he is looking out the window in total dismay and disbelief as we drive off to the party without him.

As it turned out, there were other dogs at the party, including his friend Remy and a very cute girl named Meela.  Meela is a Labradoodle, or is it Poodador?  Anyway, she is a beauty.  Here she is below with Remy.  Wouldn't Ozzie have had fun playing with those two pals?  Now I feel so guilty not to have brought him along with us.  You can tell by the expression on Remy's face that he is very excited to show off for this gorgeous girl.  Meela is looking into the camera as if to say "Please.  Get me out of here and away from this maniac terrier".  She has the expression of someone who is on a really bad blind date.  Meela is the Calm One, and makes Ozzie and Remy look like they need a doggie version of Ritalin.

Poor Ozzie.   He is looking so dejected.  Here he is on my father's sofa with his head turned toward the front door waiting for us to get home.  I am going to have to come up with something really great to help him get over the disappointment of being left behind.

Back to Normal, Whatever That Is

 

Ozzie is much much better.  Thanks to all of you for your good wishes. 

He looks serious in the picture above, because I took the photo while he was in his spot watching me cook dinner.  He waits stoically for me to clumsily drop a bit of food out of the sky.  This is what they call "intermittent conditioning".  A few times in the past, I dropped something tasty, so his brain figures that it could happen again.  So he waits.  I wish I could achieve that effect with "stay" and "off".

It was very traumatic to see him in pain and to worry that he could have caused himself some serious damage.  All's well that ends well, except for DH, whose wallet is still smarting.

Saturday, I spent the entire morning Ozzie Proofing my sewing room.  I swept and tidied and put every single loose item out of his reach.  I may reap some benefit from that activity myself----it sure was nice to sew in an uncluttered and clean room! 

I still have no idea where he got all that black thread.   There were no spools or bobbins to be found anywhere.  My best guess is he stood up and grabbed a string of thread off of my bobbin rack (you know how they unravel and can hang down).  He must have chewed it around until he bit off a long long piece and then got it all wrapped 'round his tongue. Now we could not have done that if we tried for a zillion years.

Hope all of you had a splendid weekend.  I am off to visit Dad for Sunday Dinner, but will be back Monday afternoon with something quilty.

Ozzie's "Incident", and a Cautionary Tale

I have been a couple hours at the emergency veterinary clinic this afternoon.  Ozzie gave me quite a scare.  I had invited him to jump into the car with me for a ride to the post office, and while we were en route, I noticed he was acting like he had something in his mouth.  A very long black thread was trailing out the side of his muzzle.  When I stopped the car, I had a closer look.  I gently pulled on the end of the thread, and Ozzie squealed in pain.  I tried to open his mouth to see what was in there and managed to get a peek at the inside.

He had black thread all knotted and wrapped around his tongue.  His tongue was swollen, the thread  was cutting into him and I could not get it off.  He cried and thrashed and I realized this was too much of a job for me.  So I kept on going right to the nearest veterinary hospital.

They whisked us in immediately, which was wonderful, since we had never even been there before.   The veterinarian was super concerned that he might have swallowed a bobbin!  That is extremely serious, because the thread can wind all around the intestines and cut the blood flow off and even kill a pet.  I was terrified.  Had he gotten a bobbin and swallowed it?  I didn't think so, but you know Ozzie, he is pretty tricky and always into everything.  They did ex-rays which, thank goodness, did not reveal that he had a bobbin in his tummy.  That would have involved a drive to Santa Cruz to a canine specialist to have it fished out, and possibly even surgery!!

They had to sedate him to get his mouth open and to cut out the knotted thread and pull the thread that he had swallowed out of his esophagus.  I finally got him home, but he is all knocked out from the sedation.  Poor fellow.  I just cannot believe the things he can get into.  I don't even know where he got the thread!  I don't have any projects that use black thread, and I didn't think he could get up where I keep my bobbins, where I do have one that holds black thread.

So all my friends out there with pets, watch out for long pieces of thread, attached to a spool or bobbin or not.  The vet told me that cats are even more prone to swallowing it than dogs, and the consequences can be dire.

$300 later, we are home safe and I am just cuddling him in my arms thanking my lucky stars this story didn't have a different ending.

Friday Finish #2 and Peace With Ozzie

Here is Ozzie, still sitting on a pile of Posh fabric and chewing on his bone.  He is behaving though, and keeping right next to me on the bed next to my sewing machine.  For now, the devil horns have been replaced by a halo.  I guess he really likes this fabric line.  I had a pile of Posh scraps ready to send to my friend Lisa, and Ozzie hopped right up on them and made himself at home.  Still want them Lisa?  (Yes, that is a piece of rawhide bone in the foreground).  Perhaps I should save some of the scraps out and make him a little Posh cuddle quilt to remember our first big fight.  We worked out our issues yesterday, after he made a royal mess of my carefully laid out pieces.  I forgave him and he let me work in peace today.

Um, so what did I learn?  Close the door to the design bed, and no more slime bones.  It isn't Ozzie's fault.  Just look at the experession in those soulful eyes.  His entire being is focused on trying to understand me, and a little hurt that he may have failed somehow.  He tries to be good, and is completley mystified when I blow a gasket over some weirdo thing he can't comprehend.  Honestly, if we are lucky, he will be my companion for good dozen or so years.  So, shouldn't it behoove me to make the most of them?  My promise to Ozzie:  more play time, more cuddles and more understanding on my part of what it is that will make your life more meaningful.  Aside from tormenting me that is.  My heart swells.

Balance.  That is what we need.  More balance.  Time for Ozzie, time for sewing. And on that note, I have a Friday reveal!

Ta da!  My second Friday Finish.  Can't promise I will keep this up all summer, but I am sure going to try.  Gotta get these quilts out.  But not at the expense of neglecting Ozzie.  He is a high maintenance little guy, and I was the one who brought him into my life.  We need to make some compromises.

Note on the quilt top.  The inspiration was a book called Basket Bonanza by Nancy Mahoney, but I did my own thing by combining several ideas from the book and making the quilt bed sized.  Fabric is Posh by Chez Moi for Moda.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH (Sound of Nicole Screaming)

The kids are coming home for a visit this weekend, so I thought "Nicole, you had better get Posh Baskets off the guest bed".  I had a gazillion little pieces laid out because the setting is really complicated (to my feeble brain anyway).  There are two sizes of lattice, 10 1/2 inches and 11 1/2 inches.  I have to really concentrate on which size goes where.  Plus there are tiny little corner stones that measure an inch and a half.  Seriously, this setting needs a rocket scientist to visualize it correctly so it doesn't get put together all wonky.  My brain hurt after laying it all out.  Lots and lots of pieces, all carefully arranged just so.

Ozzie has been driving me NUTS all morning, grabbing things from the sewing room and running off, snatching patterns, chewing on pillows etc.  I decided to give him a nice chicken basted rawhide bone so he wouldn't bother me and I could sew and concentrate on Posh Baskets.  The chicken basted ones can get kind of slimy and messy after a dog chews on them for a couple of hours, but I thought the risk was worth it to keep Ozzie occupied.

Not too much time passed when I heard a scuffling in the guest room.  I got up from the Bernina to see what Ozzie was up to.   I am leaving his eyes green so you can see him as the Demon from Hell he really is.

He had scuffled half of all my little lattice strips, micro corner stones and basket blocks into a pile at the head of the bed and BURIED HIS SLIMY BONE in them under the pillow.

That is his head on the right. gazing in dismay at his foiled efforts.  If you could have seen the huffy look he gave me for disturbing his hiding place you would have cracked up.  But not me.  Not funny.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.