Welcome Home, Blue-Eyed Rottweiler Mix Rescue Puppy!

The title speaks for itself! Take a look at those baby blue eyes on this Rottweiler mix rescue from the SPCA. He’s 7 lbs and fluffy and we named him Roscoe after Rosco P. Coltrane for those of you who are old enough to get the TV reference. 10-4 little buddy! We’re in love.

Blue eyed Rottweiler puppy

We were told 5 pups were dumped on a cardboard box and approximately 5-6 weeks old. The shelter thought they might be Rottweiler mixed with German Shepherd, but we’re thinking we got a Husky disguised as a Rottweiler — he’s so fluffy, he’s like a little bear.

Rescued Rottweiler puppy likes his new home

Join me in Big Dog Knits on Ravelry

I created a Ravelry group for those who like to knit for BIG dogs! All are welcome. This is a place to share customizations or good pattern tips and projects for BIG DOGS (you determine what BIG means to you!). I had a difficult time finding patterns for deep chested boxers so I customized this one for our Ellie, but we have a chubby pandemic dog, too, and I see a lot of customization in my future knitting…

JOIN HERE

My first knit dog sweater – a turtleneck for our boxer who is always chilly!

I had so much fun altering a basic knit dog sweater pattern for our boxer’s deep chest and long neck. It’s been a while since I knitted this, though, and even though I wrote down the changes, I’m worried I won’t be able to do it again – oh well, the fun is in trying, right?! Learning to enjoy the process as much as the product.

Knit dog turtleneck sweater ​for a boxer!
Knit dog turtleneck sweater for a boxer!
Knit dog turtleneck sweater ​for a boxer!

The pattern I based mine from is the Bernat Knit Dog Coat.

If you’re on Ravelry, let’s connect!

Crabbing at Crystal Beach

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More pics on our flickr account. We had a great time several weeks ago at Crystal Beach. It was a Thursday and Don had off work because he had done some extra (many extra!) hours while we were in Omaha. It paid off. We didn’t even have to wait for the ferry – Don saw dophins in the water both ways. We just drove right on and went over to “the zoo” at Crystal beach and there were maybe a handful of people there that day, since it was a weekday and rain had been in the forecast. We took a chance and it paid off! Solitude on such a beautiful, popular beach. Don found some crabs and took the boys crabbing. I made Cole clean them after we boiled them. I kept chanting “Fear Factor” as he was getting grossed out. I thought the “science” kid would love that, but I guess not. It was a great day!

Custom Made Round Dog Bed

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My first zipper. My first dog bed. My first custom made dog bed cover. While it’s in my blood, I ought to whip one up for Christmas. Otherwise, I may move on to something else and give it up completely. It’s adorable fabric – I just wish it matched something in my house (we’re all reds here) but it is really, really cute. The boys are enjoying it which makes me want to make them some bean bags for the playroom. There are some giant knitted bean bag type things I’d like to make for them…another day, another project!

Springer Dog Bike Ride Thing

Check this out! Me likey. I’m sure the pups would like it, too, so they can go on a bike ride with me. It’s called the Springer. I’ve linked the pic to their website.

Puppies in Ties

So cute. Pepper is growing HUGE very quickly. She also seems to be hungry ALL of the time. I think we may have adopted a puppy great dane by mistake.

A Hair Raising Mess!

I am tired. It’s 1:36. I am not holding out much hope for the rest of the day. I got to the gym and ran for an hour and then Costco…and my visiting teachers were waiting for me when I got home. No biggie, right? Right. This means that I did not have time to come in and vacuum up dog hair that collects daily in our entryway because of the white, smooth tile. Plus, she has taken to the floral couch (one we brought from Omaha) as her bed and lays in the formal room off the entryway while we’re gone. Today she went the extra mile and ate a bag of Orowheat Potato Bread in the formal room and left evidence. Dumb dog. She should at least know to eat the evidence, too. So, I kindly invited the sweet sisters in and mentioned they may want to sit on the other couch as it doesn’t have dog hair on it. One sister – pregnant with her 6th kid – was unfazed. She knows the territory. The other sister reminded me of myself when I was young and only had 2 kids (well, she’s much prettier, but you get my drift). She kept trying to brush her baby’s hands after he crawled on the carpet. Really it wasn’t that bad, but…I could do nothing about it. Well, I could have gotten up and vacuumed with my Dyson Animal but that would have been rude. Poor thing, I could tell she was really stressed about it. It was all I could do to offer her to let her children wash their hands on their way out. She accepted. I was humiliated but then reminded myself – just wait until she has 4 kids (may she be blessed with 3 more boys and a dog). And now I cannot bring myself to touch the vacuum. On principle.

Daisy in the Kitchen

So how cute is this?? I was headed back to the kitchen to finish up dinner dishes and look how cute…she’s such a good dog! The pig and puppy are Jack’s and Ben’s, respectively, but they didn’t mind at all. Daisy needed good company!

Dash & Albert Rug Store

Beautiful catalog. Beautiful rugs. Puppies in the pictures…what more could a girl ask for? Love rugs. Love puppies. My only suggestion is if you HAVE dogs, look for olefin or a natural fiber you can wash! My Capel wool oval rug is the nastiest for vacuuming up – the yellow fibers clog my Dyson brush all the time.

Warm Heart, Cold Weather

I had just finished a new Everlast: Strike class at the gym and needed to get milk at the grocery store. I love Baker’s because of the Manager’s Special milk. Anyway, there are two boys who work there with Downs Syndrome who bag groceries and help you to your car. I frequent the store enough that I’ve been helped by them at least a few times. I’m ashamed to say I still do not know their names. Well, today I was standing there, holding a very heavy Ben, with my hair still half wet from showering at the gym – no coat – just a sweatshirt and the weather was plummeting into the single digits with extreme wind and snow pellets. I was freezing cold but it didn’t bother me at all because of what I was saw: one of those divine moments when you witness the Lord’s hand in everyday details. I happened to have Daisy, our chocolate lab, with me in the car today because while I was at the gym, somebody was going through our house that is for sale. I asked the bag boy if he was afraid of dogs and he said that he wasn’t. Well, when the car door opened and he started loading groceries, she kissed him and when he was done he stood in the car door and hugged and kissed that dog and told her that he loved her for the longest time. It was really touching. There was no pretense, no social mores or taboo, he just kissed that dog right on the snout. I was freezing, holding Ben, and my heart was so warm that the cold didn’t bother me a bit. I can see why dogs are so therapeutic to us all – it just took a very special bag boy to help me remember that.

Junkyard Dog Collar Contest

Any pet’s collar can actually enter, not just dogs. This contest is from the blog of Sue Whitney, of Junk Market fame. Be sure to check it out – there are some adorable ideas for collars out there. The picture above is from Sue’s blog (hyperlinked on the word “contest” above).

Making Felted Wool Hand Puppets!

These turned out so cute. The first one took about 4 hours because I’m inept at sewing, really inept is giving it a positive spin. The second one only took about an hour because I had figured it out and knew what I was doing! I can’t wait to make more. I hunted for pink wool to felt at Goodwill today so that I could make the pink mouths like in the book Warm Fuzzies by Betz White which can be purchased from Amazon here. The boys have loved these and now I’m in love with felted wool projects. NO finished edges – I can handle that! We named the first one, Gus – he’s got the red nose. The second one is named Lucy. They’re coming to church with us tomorrow.

I Love My Dog(s)

Okay, so only one of them is mine. The jumping dog is Marcie (our neighbor’s dog is named after the Snoopy character). We kind of claim her, too, as Cole has taken care of her almost daily since she was just a puppy. Daisy: I do love her. Even if I didn’t touch her for the entire 9 months of my last pregnancy and she has now been banned from the master bedroom since my allergies flared (with said pregnancy). I do know that she is spoiled, however, because other dogs are not even allowed in the house (gasp!). Perfectly beautiful dogs. I do not think I will ever have enough restraint to enforce that. I am a doormat for dogs. Daisy spent the weekend frolicking in the wild and when I was getting ready for my run this morning – with baby and stroller and happy to go sans dog – she looked at me so expectantly that I gave in almost instantaneously. I couldn’t help it. She was so perfectly excited for the run that I was not nearly as excited for – I could not deny her.

I put the pic of Jack in. He’s not a dog but I love him, too (just in case any of you wondered about that!).

White Boys Can Jump! Nikon D90 Adventures

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Yesterday, I drove to the Branched Oak Farm to get grass fed beef, eggs and raw milk and the farm is next to Branched Oak Lake so I drove out there with the new Nikon D90 camera, dog and Ben to see what it was like…beautiful! We were the only people there on a Tuesday morning at noon so everybody ran free and Ben liked playing in the gravel. There were some empty Budweiser glass bottles on the ground and Ben kept saying, “There’s a juice drink.” when he saw them (yes, he speaks in very advanced complete sentences). I took pictures of many things, lots of textures for Photoshop of bark, trees and gravel, but my favorite picture is this one of Ben after I told him to stand VERY STILL and NOT to jump. Man, he can get some air for a 2 year old! The flying hair is just a bonus.