The Doggie Alarm Clock

I really do love my dogs…  not so much when Leonardo insists he needs to go out at 2:30am.   He stands next to my bed, wagging his tail and growling at me.  If I don’t wake up fast enough (which, really, how could I not – having a 200 lb dog looking down at me in bed & growling?!), then I am treated to the classic “nose poke”.  He pokes me in the arm, in the back, on my tummy – whereever he can – with his nose.  Hard.  When he does that to me while I’m standing up, he literally knocks me over – so you can imagine what it feels like to wake up to that!!  LOL  So…  I get up to let him outside, but then I’m wide awake.  I sit up for another hour, then  I go back to my bed only to discover that Li’l Missy has taken my spot, curling up against my pillows & looking up at me as if to say “just exactly what do YOU want?!”  I pick her up, lay back down & cuddle with her for a minute…  and she darts off, insulted because I took “her” spot.  Promptly at 6:00am, there’s Leonardo again.  Looking down at me, growling softly “it’s time to get up!”.  I give up on getting any more sleep & go make coffee.

Just as well, because I got a support call at 7:00am for work, so I guess I can’t complain about that doggie alarm clock too much.  I was wide awake & totally capable of solving the problem.  While waiting for the all clear signal, I cleared out my email inbox some.  Came across this gem from my father and in spite of feeling a wee bit grumpy towards my own canine companions (with the odd exception of Scorpio for once), just had to share this story.

Running

So I was scheduled to do 4 today.  Since I missed a couple days last week because of the cold temps, I decided to head out to the beach & back – my favorite 5 mile path.  I started off cold despite the running pants, tank, long sleeved running shirt…  but it turned out perfect in the end.  By the time I made it back, I had pushed the sleeves up on my forearms a bit, but wasn’t too hot nor too cold!  I felt like Goldilocks, “just right”.  he he he

So what IS the deal with 1) people tossing beer bottles out their windows so that they smash on the sidewalks?  and 2) people riding bicycles on the sidewalk in spite of a clear bicycle lane on the road??  I just do NOT get it – I nearly got mowed down by 3 different bicycles on my run today.  Very irksome, I must say!  In the process of my 100 inclined push-ups for today, though…

My shoulders are totally feeling the push-ups I did yesterday!  I did 4 sets of the usual 25 inclined push-ups, then another 4 sets of 25, but I did these a bit differently.  Still inclined, but I placed my hands closer together, raised up on one foot to my toes, held the other leg up in the air & then did the push-ups.  After 25, I switched legs & so on.   Worked my arms & shoulders harder than chest & back, but it’s always good to mix things up a bit.  :)

Knitting

Spent yesterday afternoon with some friends, having lunch & doing some knitting.  It was wonderful to get caught up with everyone!  I made some solid progress on my candle flame shawl, too.  I went through my stash & discovered that I had already tossed one skein of the colorway I’m using, so it’s going to be a bit smaller than I originally thought – but will still be plenty big enough for a nice shawl, though.  I found that I did have 3 skeins of the same colorway that have a gold thread through it, so it’s going to have some plain & some sparkly through it.  I think it will still be a nice wrap for wintertime, though.  Plus it’s clearing out a nice chunk of stash!  I’m determined to unload a good amount of stash this year.  I made some good progress on it last year & am determined to make even more progress this year!  I shouldn’t need to buy any new yarn for a very long time – provided I don’t get suddenly inspired to do something that I just don’t have the right yarn for, that is.  LOL!

Speaking of knitting & dogs – do check out the new blog I added to my list ~ BarknKnit!  I just realized this morning that I didn’t have her blog listed, so I remedied that real quick this morning!  :)

Today’s Ravelry Search

So, since this post has totally gone to the dogs…

It's Spike!! How can you not love this face?! LOL

A free pattern from The Snuggles Project, which is a very worthy cause for dog lovers! This image is linked to their website for more information, btw.

This is a really cute idea - designed so you can line with a plastic baggy for being a responsible dog owner!

What an adorable idea for Scottie lovers!

Because my guys would love this one, even if their girl Jessie at their father's is a long haird GS. :)

Cool dog leash! I should definitely make at least one of these. :)

Oh wow - my sister would totally love this little guy, he looks just like her Attila! :D

Bob mittens!! How can you not love 'em?! :D

My young manlets would NEVER let me make these for any of our dogs, but seriously, how cute is this picture?? :D

I just realized that I never posted pictures of Rocky’s finished saddlebags here.  I have them up on Ravelry, but never got around to here.  When Dad took pictures, he hadn’t tied the front strap on in the right place, so it’s drooping a bit more than it should, but here we go…

On the left, the pocket is a flat pocket with a button closure.  On the right, the pouch is a mesh bag with a tied closure.  This way, Dad can put things like veggies in the mesh bag and other things like business cards or small books in the other.

Dad has taken Rocky to the Saturday Morning Market a couple of times with his saddlebags, though he hasn’t bought anything yet, so no word yet on just how useful it has been.

Rocky wears it like a champ – no running around like a mad dog trying to get it off of him.  And yes, that should sound like the voice of experience – let’s just say that Leonardo made for a lousy model, hence the delay in getting pictures!

Happy Sunday, all!