Wolfi meets the goat boys.

When Wolfi arrived on the farm, his leash was

taken off for the first time. He doesn't quite

know what to do with his freedom and proceeds

to goof off. So it's time for a good talking to.

Roxy, the older, wiser one, takes on a serious

tone. At first, Wolfi is quite disrespectful and

not at all interested in Roxy's wise instructions.

Finally, Wolfi agrees to change his ways.

Seriously, he now has great respect for Roxy.

Wolfi pretends not to notice Pete and Reggie.

But then he chases Reggie nipping at his heels.

Wolfi is very surprised when Reggie turns

and butts him in the side. His feelings are very

hurt, and he seeks refuge on farmgirl's lap.
Pete feels sorry for Wolfi and wants to inspect

the 'damage'.

Later, Wolfi ran around with Roxy and the

goat boys for quite a while. On the way home

he fell asleep instantly. I even heard him snore

as he was dreaming about his first farm

adventures.

Wolfi's world expands

Leash training is very important. This is Wolfi's

idea of going for a walk.

Ok, I'll try harder next time. Can I come out

now?

Oh yeah! That's the life! Wolfi has to experience

everything with his whole body.

Go back into my crate?

I don't think so!

Wolfi and Miezel play all the time together.

Miezel, who is 13, tries hard to teach the

feisty little guy some manners.

Every day is a joy to watch this puppy grow

and learn. Even though he is not exceptionally

interested in food, he seems to be growing much

too fast. Having more than doubled his weight,

his legs and body are getting longer and stronger.

And he is sporting a wild and unruly hairdo with

eyebrows that often hide his beautiful black eyes.

He loves to be with us, no doubt! He greets us with

wild enthusiasm even if we were gone for just a few

minutes. Now isn't there a lesson here for us

humans?

Wolfi has doubled his size, oh my!

Roxy the Critter Farm pup is totally annoyed by the little whipper snapper. She can't believe how he has grown since she last saw him. She had secretly wished that he'd go away, go back where he came from or simply vanish from the face of her earth. Poor Roxy!

When we brought Wolfi home July 17, he weighed 3 lbs. 9 oz. The vet gasped last week when she put him on the baby scale: 7 lbs. 8 oz! He has practically doubled himself since he moved in with us. Is this something we should be worried about? Mini Wolfi turning into GIANT Wolfi right before our eyes? I don't think so. He is not a ravenous eater and often ignores the food put in front of him. What he really fills up on is love. From the time he first tumbles out of his crate in the morning (after sleeping 10 or so hours!), he wants to be held, kissed, hugged, petted and played with. Or is it the other way around? From the moment Bill and I stumble out of bed, open the crate and Wolfi falls out, we are the ones who want to hold, kiss, hug, pet and play. And it doesn't feel silly at all. In fact, it's a marvelous way to start our day!

So what ever happened to that little blanket?

First, I had to harvest the best peas ever!

Then I had to teach my daughter how to knit.

While flying to Europe.

Then my sister needed a refresher course in sock knitting. (Notice MY finished socks serving as examples).

Forgot to mention how hard these socks were for me. My first pair ever!

But despite these distractions, the 'no pattern followed' blanket is complete.

Wanna know what happened to ' knitting travelog'?

Well, this is what happened.

Wolfi.

And he has absolutely no interest in knitting, travelogs, blogging or the like.

A production pause is indicated.

A brief one.

Schnauzi said we could get another puppy...

...and here he is!

Meet 'Wolfi', an 11-week old miniature schnauzer. He is a happy, bright, and very loving little creature.

He eats three puppy meals a day, 'goes' outside (or not), plays wildly and loves his carrier where he sleeps through the night.

But man, are those little teeth sharp! Every time we tell him, "No biting!", he thinks he is being praised. Perhaps I'll try his native language, "Nicht beissen!" Nope. That doesn't work either. Oh well.

I'm not very good at photographing him yet. He is an incredibly wiggly 11-week old.

What's happened to the 'knitting revolution'?

Looking back at my knitting post, I simply can not believe how much time has passed since I started my little knitting experiment I talked about. You simply won't believe where that cheap yarn has been in the meantime! Shortly after sunrise tomorrow morning I shall reveal some of the places where this pale green fiber has spent the last few weeks. "Pale Green", as it is called now, has had to share the knitting bag with some unexpected cohorts as everyone was swept away to a European adventure and a domestic one as well.

(Note the balancing knitting bag with its precious cargo!)

Revolution in my knitting world

As a child in Germany, I was taught in school to knit, crochet, embroider, hand-sew and, I'm sure,much more. However, I never laid eyes on any pattern, I never learned to decipher any, so I have been on a warpath with all of them. American patterns, German patterns, French, Spanish, Russian, it's a major international conspiracy! Although I have been able to figure out a simple project with a hands-on technique, as you can see above, (Knitting for Super Dummies), and a slightly more difficult one, (the beginning was entirely unnatural and counter intuitive), I decided yesterday I was not going to be confined by instructions of any kind. And I don't care which language tries to seduce me into a pattern I simply cannot wrap my yarn around. ( Pun intended.)

So I decided to revolutionize my limited knitting world by designing my own pattern for an afghan. Using an idea and very cheap yarn, I cast on 140 stitches.




I knitted the first row, then proceeded with 2k, 2p the first two rows. I then reversed the order to 2p, 2k for the next two rows. As my excitement grew and my heart beat faster, I closed my eyes and gave my hands free reign....

And, a little later, I found this in my lap :



But in my meditative knitting state I must have also created this:



Oh my gosh, it looks like a.....PATTERN! Well, I certainly won't be able to read it.

Never too old

I have always loved the water and considered myself a really good swimmer.  There was just one thing lacking - the crawl (freestyle).  When I learned to swim in Germany, that stroke was not taught and over the years I've tried to teach myself.  I am fortunate to report that I didn't drown trying.  Never could get the breathing down.  So when I saw a sign at my pool that said:  "Do you want to perfect a stroke or refresh your skills?", I jumped at the opportunity.  The very young man teaching the class is a saint.  His face remained kind and interested when I approached him the first day of class.  You see, he had seen me in the arthritis pool, but his demeanor betrayed no skepticism.  First, I wanted to show him my two perfect strokes - the back stroke and the breast stroke. I needed to establish right away that he was not dealing with a novice.  "Very nice!" he said and proceeded to gently point out some major errors.  Heartbroken, I'm 65, you know, I proceeded to relearn those strokes until the saint was satisfied.  Then came the BIG day.  "Ready to learn the crawl?" the saint asked yesterday.  With my heart beating wildly, I whispered, "Not sure."  But the acoustics being what they are in a big pool, he understood "Yes, of course I am!!"  So, long story short, I learned that elusive stroke yesterday, with breathing!  So on Thursday, I'll dazzle the young swimming saint with absolute perfection.  I can see it now.  The crowd roaring, "There she goes!  She has beaten her own time!"

Where do I apply for olympic try-outs? 

The last photo

Schnauzi in her last rays of sunshine - May 23, 2009

The lavender delphinium is about to bloom on Schnauzi's grave

The young pear tree will provide cool shade.

My little granddaughter Julia said she will bring many 

flowers tomorrow.  And I am filled with gratitude for

having had this sweet dog in my life for 14 years.

Hardest decision ever

Schnauzi - August 15, 1995 - May 23, 2009


For 14 years, my Schnauzi (miniature Schnauzer) has been my companion, dearest friend, my baby.  Today Schnauzi will take her last breath.  She hasn't eaten in five days, her kidneys and liver aren't functioning well, and her little system is shutting down.  This has been going on for several weeks, and although she doesn't seem to be in pain, the vet said that she is in a deep malaise.  She still purrs like a cat when I'm holding her, and she tries to be close to me at all times.  They say one can't prepare for the inevitable.  It is true.  I have known for a while now that I have to let her go, but that doesn't mean anything today.  At 3 pm today my husband is going to put her in my lap, and we are going to a very caring vet.  When we come back home, she'll be buried under the little pear tree, and I'll plant a young lavender delphinium.  My tears haven't stopped since yesterday.  My heart is breaking.

Happy Friday

Here's a picture of three well behaved doggies waiting for a cookie.  

Left to right:  Schnauzi the geriatric, Kai the deaf, Roxy the wild farm pup.

Graceful aging, anyone?

Getting old gracefully is a full time job!  Every morning when I open my eyes I devise a new plan for the day ahead.  How will I age gracefully today? 

Well, this morning I decided to call everybody together for a meeting.  I asked my body to summon all the parts necessary to move, suggested to my inner organs they participate, and  had a stern yet gentle discussion with my brain.  There was a bit of a delay when I called willingness to join us.  But finally all participants were ready to hear my plan for the day.  I assured everyone that these were suggestions only and that no one was under any obligation to perform.  So here are the points I stressed:

1.  Let's all cooperate in doing the best we can when getting out of bed slowly.

2.  No whining, groaning and moaning, or complaining.

3.  Cheerful and light-hearted completion of morning ritual.

4.  There should not be any hurt feelings when we aren't showered with compliments when other members of the household first lay eyes on us.

5.   When leaving the house we are wearing something chic and colorful. 

6.  In the event that during the course of the day we feel overlooked or not noticed, we will intuitively know that it is not our fault and remain confident and sure of ourselves.....

And here I was interrupted by uproarious laughter.  Not one member of my body thought this plan was remotely feasible.  They stopped laughing, however, when they saw my disappointed face.  Finally everyone reluctantly agreed to give it a try.

So here I am now at 9:30 p.m.  My body is complaining, my inner organs are slumping, and my brain is looking all over the place for willingness.  Was our mission accomplished?  Yes! We did phenomenally well with point #1.  It was delightful to see effort and cooperation.  We skip ahead to #4.  No hurt feelings were observed because no one else was home and thus could not shower us with compliments. 

 And as to points 2, 3, 5 and 6 -- there is always tomorrow when the quest for graceful aging continues.  

          

  

First blog entry ever - a scary thing to do

Ok, so this is my very first entry, and I'm actually kind of nervous.  I'm about to tell you who I am, what my interests and passions are, and why I started a blog.  I'd like to connect with other people in all areas of life and perhaps those who have also entered the second half of life.  What keeps them enthusiastic about life in general and passionate about the specific?  

I am a very optimistic, hands-on kind of person who approaches most tasks spontaneously and enthusiastically.  But there is a limit to that and when problems arise, I tend to go inward to listen for new options.

I am in the process of writing a memoir of my childhood as a refugee from the former East Germany, a journey back into the often dark and frightening past.  And it is also a journey of discovery of what events shaped me and how much of this past is still with me every day.

I think I'll stop now.  It is a scary thing to write to an unknown reader.