Definintions

Two: 1)more than one 2)second in a series

Dog: a flesh eating domestic mammal related to wolves

Yarn: 1)a continuous often plied strand composed of fibers or filaments and used in knitting and weaving. 2)a story, especially a tall tale

Service Dog: an animal which has thousands of hours of training to perform specific tasks to assist a disabled person, improving their quality of life Per the ADA, Service Dogs are allowed everywhere their handler goes.

Therapy Dog: an animal with obedience training and a calm disposition who is invited to visit facilities to brighten up clients days

Emotional Support Animal: An animal with no special training, they give their owner comfort in times of stress. ESAs are covered by both the fair housing and travel acts.

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I have two dogs, and I like to knit. I'm also a spinner and a weaver. I like sharing stories about my life with the pups. I also enjoy teaching a few folks the textile arts. I'm also the owner of a retired therapy dog who doubles as my ESA. My younger dog is in training for public access. It's my hope she will be mentally and emotionally stable enough to become my service dog.

One of my bete noirs is folks who want to pass off their pets as something they aren't. It takes a solid temperament along with hours of training to make a service dog. Travel is very stressful for pets. If your dog isn't a service dog, don't try to pass it off as one. Bite liability is a major thing. When you have your pet in public, you are liable for any injuries your dog gives to others.

A Service Dog is a medical necessity. It's not a fashion statement or a way to draw attention. It's a way for a person to be able to leave their home and possibly have a job. Being disabled isn't being lucky. It's having a helper with you 24/7. It's carrying your rescue meds, a water bowl for the dog, clean up bags, and making sure to find quiet places for your dog to be able to relieve itself. Having a Service Dog means people stopping you and asking rude, invasive questions about your medical condition. It's random folks demanding they be allowed to pet your dog, or distracting your dog which can imperil you. It's having people try to not allow you to enter their business, judging you on the poor behavior of someone's pet that was passed off as a working dog. It's also running the risk of having a poorly trained dog attack your helper because someone never socialized their pet and bought a vest on the internet because they wanted to have their precious snowflake with them.

For Pete's sake, if your dog isn't a working dog, don't try to pass it off as one.

November daze

How time flies. I looked at the calendar yesterday and couldn't believe it was already the middle of November. I need to check the stashed presents and see who in the family I still want to shop for.

Along with copious amounts of reading (at 98 books for the year and counting), I have been working on smaller projects. The pumpkin bag I made up for Halloween inspired me to make a slouchy hat. I followed the pattern until the decreases matched a hat opening, changed to a pale green yarn and worked a few rows of ribbing.


I am not only amused by the results, I think I now have a hat to wear while shoveling the end of our driveway. If oncoming traffic cannot see this hat, they are blind.

In other knitting news, I am so far behind on my pay it forward knitting it isn't funny. My only excuse is procrastination. I have finished another project off that list and am going to be shipping it out this week.
Say hello to Norberta


The pattern is from Knitty.com, one of my favorite online knitting newsletters. I like the slightly puzzled air this little dragon has. It's as if everything the humans around her do is a wonder to her.

Last night, the hound and did some volunteer work. If it weren't for my dog, I probably would never be able to stand or move after an hour in a metal folding chair. Arthritis, dampness, plus fibromyalgia = a not happy body.
My fun discovery of the night is that the dog can recognize my phone's new ring tone. One week, with minimal calls and she was able to alert me to the phone ringing in my purse where it was sitting under a mound of coats.

On to the next project.

Went to the Animal Fair

Actually I went to the Fiber Event in Greencastle, Indiana. It was a very nice sunny day which made wandering through buildings at the Putnam county fairgrounds enjoyable. Lots of lovely yarns to fondle, pretty fleeces to covet and some spinning wheels that were works of art.

I had a good time. I was frugal. I came away with a small project bag, three skeins of yarn and a toy for the younger daughter. I thought she'd be amused by a dog made out of hot glue. I was right.

Today was a meet and greet at City Dog Grocery in Broad Ripple Village. It was very nice to take the pooch to meet up with bulldogs, assorted other pure breed dogs, more bulldogs and lovable mutts. Lots of tail wagging and puppy cuddling going on. I hope the fund raiser/raffle for the local English Bull Dog Rescue does well.

The pooch and I stopped at a local cemetery on the way home. It's a nice place to walk and relax after being in a large gathering. She's a hound mix so getting to sniff and stretch her legs is a very good thing.

Hubby is at an SCA event in Ohio. We're hoping he does well selling rattan there. It would be nice to have a bit more income since our roof decided to leak yet again.

Home Again, Home Again

We traveled to Lumberton, Mississippi the other week and camped at King's Arrow Ranch. This was for our hobby, the S.C.A. While attending Gulf Wars XX, I taught a class on darning and other mending and two classes on basic hand sewing.

The weather was clear, cool and almost ideal for camping. It did get a touch cold at night. We packed down on Saturday and managed to leave the camp before predicted rain arrived and missed out on the snow. Yes, it apparently snowed in southern Mississippi.

While on the road, I did a small amount of knitting.

This is another wimple. I plan on keeping this for myself. I have a few small trade silver charms I want to work into the lace border.

I also have a sock on my needles. It's the second of a pair and I sincerely hope to complete it by next weekend.

One other accomplishment from this trip

I learned I no longer should climb on furniture to lower the seven foot tall tent walls. There are some things even the best trained dog cannot prevent from happening.



We're home now. It's warmer here and I have flowers in bloom. Our next events might be the Greencastle Fiber Fair, Feast of Three Saints in Rivenstar, and Baron Wars in Perrysburg, Ohio.
Note the key word: might.