Here is Bart, doing what he loves best. I caught him just as he came out of the water from having a good wade.

Today I was going to post [finally] the blog entry on our anniversary extravaganza. But, life intervened, as it has been known to do on many an occasion. I spent the entire day at the vet’s office and the emergency referral vet’s office. It wasn’t good news. Two of our dogs have been diagnosed with imminent life-threatening diseases. Mostly cancer related. It brought to home that you need to celebrate each day, be it with each other, your kin, your animals, your children. Sorry, my scope is a bit skewed here since we don’t have any children, so naturally the animals come next in my thought progression.

It’s a longer story than I want to get into in this entry, but both Bart and Bode won’t be with us for very long. Bart more than likely has progressive renal failure, as yet in the early stages. More disturbing and upsetting is Bode, who we thought just had Lyme’s disease, turns out to have a very abnormal liver [cancerous more than 95% likely], and perhaps another tumor in his chest causing build up of fluids. I was totally unprepared for the news on my Bode. Very upsetting. A double whammy is more than any one person should have to endure in one day.

However, other than breathing a bit differently at this point, Bode seems to have a good attitude. As does Bart. Rather than dwell on how much I will miss them, or how awful this devastating news was today, I am going to do my best not to let them know. I will take Bart as many times as I can down to the pond to wade around in the water as he loves it so. He is a true water dog. Bode on the other hand, doesn’t like walks as much. So, he will just get lots of special treats and cuddles, trip in the car with me by himself [preferably with his head out the window], and lots of one-on-one time. I plan to treasure each moment with both of them, to the point where they will let me. They are both very independent dogs and I don’t want to make them come inside and ‘cuddle with mommy’ just for me. If they want to stay outside, then they should. I think they should do whatever brings them the most joy for whatever time they have left. I know I would want to. Don’t pander to me; let me do what I want to do.

Sometime in the next few days we are going to have a Birthday celebration for the dogs, even though it’s not their respective birthdays. We’ll get some Frosty Paws and do it up right. Yum. The dogs all love Frosty Paws.

So, tonight for me, please rethink your lives and your priorities. What are you doing solely for yourself, and what are doing for the sake of someone else? Think about it. Hug your loved ones tonight.

Rick’s Camembert is coming along nicely. I don’t know if you can see it or not, but the first fuzz of mold is starting to grow on the top and bottom. He’s holding it with two hands, by the way!

Yesterday he started a stirred-curd Cheddar which is still in the cheese press right now. If you want to learn more about home cheesemaking, visit Rick’s cheesemaking site.

Good grief. I guess my knitting dry spell is officially over. I have so many projects started I can hardly keep track of them. I really should settle on one, finish it, and go on to the next. Except I can’t. Each one offers different challenges, or states of mindlessness. I know my blog site is boring for those of you knitter-type-people who visit here because I am not talking about knitting much. On the other hand, all my non knitter-type-people will probably be bored by my posts on knitting. Or maybe not!

My newest project is one for a good cause. A blogger friend of mine, we’ll call her firefly, is collecting knitted squares to make blankets for Habitat for Humanity. She calls her project Gracious Parcels and you can read about it by following the link. I like her theme of squares that represent the countryside she lives in. My first square I call Grass and I chose a basketweave pattern to represent an open field. I plan on making two more squares. One to represent Autumn Leaves [yarn is Cherry Tree Hill’s Earth], and another using two colors of yarn worked in large ribbing to represent rows of either wheat or corn, called Bountiful Fields. If you have a pair of idle hands and want to help she’d be greatly appreciative. She’s trying to get a few ready in time to give by Christmas, but this project will go beyond Christmas in scope, so if you feel you can’t contribute a square or two by then, your contribution will still be put to good use in the future.

My favorite project in the works is Fetching, a fun pair of fingerless gloves; a free pattern from Knitty.com.  It’s my first try at cables and I think they are turning out pretty well. I think they’ll need to be blocked a bit, but I’m happy except for my thumb join. I think it ended up a bit messy. I’m using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It’s soft and really nice to work with. Sorry for the slight blurriness of the second photo. It’s too hard to take a photo of your own hand and get far enough away. I tried multiple times and finally gave up.

Another project that is pretty mindless is a scarf done in double seed stitch. I bought this gorgeous handpainted, handspun yarn from a shop on eBay. I’ve bought other yarn through her as well and just love it’s natural look. It’s very wooly and knobby; spun with some thick and some thin.

Last by not least is the pair of felted clogs for my Sis S that I’m supposed to have done in time for Christmas. One is already done [except for the felting] and they go fast so I’m not too worried. Hey, Sis, are you out there? How does the size look [hahaha]?  [I’ve been trying to get my sister to comment on my blog, but so far no luck.] I’ve used this pattern a lot and it’s so much fun I keep trying to find people I can knit them for. It’s a fiber trends pattern and you can find it here.

Well, that’s about it. Oh, except for the second pair of Fetching in a lovely blueish-tweedy yarn [merino, silk and cashmere blend] from Italy. Not enough progress to really take a photo of. What? You want to see the yarn? Okay, okay. Here it is. But now I’m going to go and take a dog for a walk down to the pond. Bart walked in the boggy bits of the yard today [another inch + of rain last night] and it’s a good way to get them clean again. Plus, some exercise for me. It’s gorgeous out there today!

Here are the dense woods behind my house as seen today.

The title to this blog entry has been weaving itself in and out of my mind for a few days now. My blog title is taking a play on words from The Incredible Lightness of Being, a phrase I’d heard but didn’t really know anything about. I just knew in my head what it meant to me. A grounding inside of the person I am and a feeling of peace with myself and my surroundings.

The past few days have been grey. Dim. Dark. No sun. Most people would be complaining, asking ‘where is the sun?’. Not me. I’ve had enough of the sun to last many years in to the future having lived in ‘sunny’ Colorado for the past 30 some-odd years. I know. I’m weird. I love days that are cloudy, rainy, gloomy, stormy. Doesn’t bother me one whit. I feel at peace, one with the world inside my own little space. Happy. Content. I totally welcome the grey, cloudy weather.

I knew the phrase [the incredible lightness of being] and thought it pertained to what I was feeling today, but didn’t really know how much it really rang true until I just now looked it up online. Here is what one search said:

Water, if you don’t stir it, becomes clear, says a Tibetan proverb. Similarly, the mind, if you don’t stir it, finds peace, says Sogyal Rinpoche, the renowned Buddhist teacher…

Well. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Go figure.