Art in Action

The moment I saw the Zentangle books I knew I wanted to use it to decorate clothing. White t-shirts came to mind, of course – but not exclusively. I knew black and white would look great, just … not so great on me. I also knew color would be fun – but color is always trickier. Here are two versions of Zentangle inspired wearable art. I used Sharpie Fabric Markers on them both.

The important thing to remember when playing with these designs is that Less is More. I'm far too inclined to draw every favorite design all over everything. With this t-shirt I selected 7 patterns and repeated them throughout - carrying one of my favorites, the leafy vines across the back and another favorite - a blossom like design down both sleeves. 

Here I am in classic Librarian Pose

This colored one is nice enough but, alas, too many colors. If I want to do lots of colors on something I'll do it on white or cream. If I start with any more identifiable color as a background I'll select a strong contrast instead. I still like this - but I think the B&W is better.

Like tattoos without getting pricked. 

And here is a picture of the Birthday Girl - because today is our little princess Callie's first birthday. No. She won't get a cake. Yes. She will get extra biscuits. Happy Birthday Callie-Girl!

Creativity Gone Walkabout

A whole month? I have never gone a whole month without posting here. I'm blaming it on my creativity. It has decided to meander off on some walkabout and left me high'n'dry all the month of June.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

But I have not been dead, you know - just ... um ... uncreative.

How I spent the Last Day of June

I have tried to be creative, but mostly I have been trying to wind up all things fiscal at work while wallowing in Michael Connelly novels at home. BD started reading him a year ago and in a rare alignment of literary stars, I began reading him this spring. We never read the same books unless we read them out loud, but this author was an exception. We're both laughing at each other and ourselves, as we succumb to the torpor addiction to a detailed, skilled, mystery writer.

Of course, June was was the last month of the fiscal year and though I believe I've tied up all the strings, I have a funny feeling that maybe I did not. It all seems too easy this year. Of course, there have been huge personnel changes this year, both in the library and in the county government - so maybe that's what's giving me that odd sensation. Or maybe I screwed up royally - a lowering thought for someone who's had her job as long as I've had mine. At least I know the changes are for the better, so I will just throw out my blessing hook and expect the best.

A wee bit of creativity displayed itself in the kitchen during June. I purchased two good sized pots of lavender this spring. While the brief strawberry season was in flush I managed to get a single batch of Strawberry/Lavender jam cooked up. This is a delicate flavor blend - neither lavender nor strawberry but something unique and heavenly. There is never enough S/L jam and I pot it up in tiny  jars so that I can share it. This particular batch did not set very  hard but it's jam. It doesn't have to be gooey and it set up enough to take it out of the syrup category. I wish I had 10 times this much.

 In the middle of the month BD had a chance to go sailing in NY. It coincided the first week of Summer Reading Club as well as Bess' Girls Camp. Cousin F is such a big girl now and Cousin A makes everything twice as much fun. The weather gods decided to bless us with Perfect Weather so there was lots of outdoor fun - horseback riding, canoeing and hiking - it's a rare week in June when every day is the right weather for doing stuff outdoors. Last year we nearly died in triple digit temperatures. This year was the reward.

I took the Friday of that week off and we went for a hike in the woods. Just down the home path and back by way of the rim path - not that far - but always beautiful. I took that same walk on Saturday only starting out on the rim path and coming back on the home path. When I got home I told BD how proud I was of him for fixing the bridge over the middle swamp last week - when the weather was so wicked-hot. He stared a moment and then said "I fixed that weeks ago".

"No Way" I argued - claiming that I'd just taken the girls down the home path last week and I would have noticed.  I see now that, though I did not notice, I did photograph it. A lowering senior moment here. Isn't this the most magical spot, though? Deep in the woods - like an emerald tunnel?

ThePrince had told me about a tree that had come down right on top of a tree that had come down several years ago. This is a spot where trees tend to blow down - perhaps some vortex builds in this southern stretch of the fields - and the fallen giants are all exposed to the north and north east winds. What I do know is that there can not be a tree down in the woods and TheQueen not itching to climb it. It turned out to be a bit harder to get up onto it than I thought but of course - triumph was inevitable.

Just in case you were wondering how Callie is doing - she is much improved. She still has a row of dimples along that femur where the screws were, but she has completely forgotten the cage and collar.  Here is a picture of her tormenting Jack on a walk. Whenever we reach this spot on the lane she always grabs his cheek and tries to pull him along. He has never snapped too hard at her even though she is digging sharp pointed teeth into his face. Evidently it's a dog thing.



Here they are in action:


 Last Friday evening there was a wine tasting in our local wine shop - She does these about twice a month on Friday evenings and they're like little parties. Afterwards there was a free bluegrass concert down the street at a riverside park. These are sponsored by our local main street organization and this is their second season. Last year I bought tickets for all of them and then never got to go to one - and gave my tickets away. It was fun to stroll down the street and listen to the music after sipping my wine (carefully calculated to fit within the days calories/points.)


And that's something I rarely discuss here at TheCastle - the calories/points/weight loss thing. You can't be an American Woman without having weight issues: weight loss, eating disorders, aging bodies, expanding girth, osteopenia  - you get the picture. I am no different from your typical (gasp 60 year old!!!) woman and have fought the good fight against Fat most of my adult life. It's just that I yammer on about it in a blog on a different website - Spark People dot com.

The weather turned hot almost as soon as the girls went home. Not killer hot, but in the low 90's. This week we are promised rain. Rain rain rain rain rain. I know some of my neighbors have had Enough Rain Already - but if I had to choose between enough rain and not enough - I'd take the rain every time. This is how green it is around here after the rainy month of June.

And so.  And so that's what's been going on at TheCastle. The year is half over. Time for the second half to begin. July July July July July

Callie Teaches TheQueen a Lesson

Seven weeks ago my 7 month old lab pup Callie broke her leg and we have been carefully tending her since then. Two and a half weeks ago, on a Friday, she got the pins out of her leg and was still on 2 more weeks of careful watching.  That Saturday she started playing in the yard and you guessed it - re-injured that leg. Worst yet - I didn't notice it till we were walking home on Sunday after picking up the paper. The rest of Sunday was pure torture for the two grownups in this house. Monday she went back in for surgery and came home with an exterior pin and a prescription for another month of confinement.

It has been a tough 2 weeks for us. (imagine how hard we had to work to not recriminate all over each other - only partially succeeded)

Callie? she could care less. all she can think of is "Where's The Fun?!?"

And that, my friends is the best lesson I could ever learn. I agonized. I blamed. I ached. I angered. I raged. I wept. I wrung* my hands.

Callie thumped her tail. Callie nuzzled my face. Callie ate a healthy dinner - neither too much nor too little. Callie has a much more enlightened soul. She takes what's good in life and concentrates on that. No obsessing for Callie.

Lord - Please make me more like Callie. Thank you.

Callie's Progress

It's been 4 weeks since my beautiful little dog leapt out of the truck and broke her leg. We've all adjusted to adjustments and the reward for our efforts has been some wonderful healing. I would say that she has become so spoiled that she can lie on any couch in the house - except that she was always that spoiled.



I think she looks like Manet's Olympia with her white throat and black collar - she can really give you that blase face. That's me, the servant girl in the back ground, offering things to tempt her pleasure. Can't you tell?

She is wearing the collar because we don't walk her unless she's on the leash now. Well. I take her off for short spurts so she can find the perfect spot in the barley to take care of business. And we release her when we're at the big ditch or at the riverbank since swimming is permitted and she loves it so.

The fur on her leg is growing out so that the stitches are hidden unless you stroke her and I believe the pins are sort of working their way back up the leg bone - as we were warned they might. They'll be taken out on Friday and then she'll be banned from the river again.

We were treated to the magic of a visit from LD this weekend and many a walk was taken, both with Callie and without her. She is a handful when there are two other dogs to chew on and though she struggles on the leash a little with me, she struggles A LOT with the guys (who have more tender hearts).

When it was time to say good-bye to LD, two dogs decided that they'd love to drive south and of course they aren't a bit crowded and there's plenty of room in the car for 3 dogs.




Even after they'd been called out, told "Nooo Nooo Nooo" and given lots of strokes, you can see how they don't believe a word of it. I love the expression on Jack's face.

 Please, please, take me with you.

But as BD says - who should feel sorry for dogs who have to stay at Chesituxent, a.k.a. Dog Heaven? They quickly settled down to life at home without Cousin Buster. 

So. That's the story from Chesatuxent, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the dogs are above average. 

The Wintergreen Springtime of 2013

The equinoctial spring arrived last Thursday with a beam of light down our upstairs hallway. TheCastle is built on an east/west axis perpendicular to the North Star and we can mark the seasons by the sunlight coming up in the windows of the east bedroom and setting into the window of the west bedroom.  Stellar observations notwithstanding, it is a chilly spring if it is spring at all. Even yesterday, with it's blue skies and bright sunlight, had a breeze with a nip of winter in it. There is some greening around me, but it's a winter green and the air smelled as if there were some gusts of snow not far away. 

Still and all - Callie was not to be ignored yesterday. She'd gone 2 days without a walk and she was either getting a walk or getting into trouble. BD was working on the boat, taking advantage of a brief day of paint-drying sunshine and Callie was eager to help. In the interests of peace and safety I took her for a walk instead.

She couldn't wait to dash out on her three good legs into the barley. See how she gleams in the sunshine.

But she's a good girl and comes when she calls. In fact, she's called so often these days that she's much better behaved than she was before the broken leg. Shes also much more attuned to me than she was. It's common for a Lab to have a Special Person and then to be merely friendly to the rest of the pack and since BD is home all the time he was and is her Special Person. Even before her break I had started taking her on a Girls Only walk in the morning to form a closer bond with her. In fact, we continue to do that. Also, she's glad for more cuddling from Mama - which is giving me more status. 

I hadn't intended for Saturday's morning walk to be just us girls but Jack was very comfortable, thank you, underneath his bush so we started off without him. Lots of opportunities for sniffs and squints and peeks.

But at the big bend, Jack joined us. Fortunately, Callie, way out front as usual, did not see what I saw - way up ahead.

You probably can't see it either but if I use my maximum zoom and stand very still look what Jack sniffed and I saw.

I called Miss Callie back before any stray breezes could carry their scent to her but later that afternoon she did sort of follow a rabbit. She will walk much more closely supervised from now on. And she's not allowed to wrestle with Jack either, though she tries at every opportunity. I'm not sure if he misses that or not, but we are not taking any chances on a tussle turning into a tumble and undoing all the good work Drs. L and L did  2 weeks ago.

Instead, we went out and got the mail - and looked back at the beauty that is a spring day; even a Wintergreen spring day. Don't you just want to drive down this deliciously pretty lane?  And imagine how beautiful it will be in a month when all those trees have leafed out?

Of course, Jack and Callie take it all for granted - but in that good way a dog takes things for granted. Not callously but all-accepting - like some Buddhist priest.

The afternoon continued all blues and white clouds. Callie prefers to stay outdoors when she's not sleeping on the couch and she looked so cute out front that I had to go play with her. I will hand wrestle with her while she's lying down so that she can't get hurt. She's good for only about 5 minutes and then, since it's not the real thing, she grows bored. But Mama is always good for a cuddle and a snuggle.

Just so long as I don't try to take her picture.  "Mo - om! Don't take my picture with that silver clicky thing!"  just like a teenager.

Here she is, like Gollum, guarding her precious(es). Goodness - can there be a plural of Precious when it's a proper noun? 3 leg bones and a skull - what more could a dog ask for in life?

And here she is at her most noble. She looks like she's about to burst into Brutus' speech to the Romans. 

Yesterday was also a great day to dry clothes on the clothes line. I actually hang clothes out all year 'round and only use a dryer in town if we get extended rain. Most of the time I prefer this but one of these days I'll get up off it and buy a dryer. It's more laziness and a bit of miserliness but I am sure Mother Nature will one day push me into Lowes with a credit card in hand.


We took another longer walk through the woods in the afternoon. Once we got to the lane Callie was hot and thirsty and since her stitches are healed, she got to take a swim. Ahh. how sweet that cold water is.

See my shaddow? And BD's? and the very top of Jack's head? Yes. He has entirely too much dignity to get all wet like that while Mama is holding her silver clicky thing.

Today is a completely different day. It's colder and grey and it's also Sunday which means everything starts back up tomorrow. Back to werk and it's Budget Time, and time to get the summer reading program on it's feet, and oh la - just so much.  I will certainly have to think about it tomorrow - even if I am not at Tara.  And now - it is snowing.

Is This What I Think It Is? (and a status report from Life-0-TheQueen)

 Is this an Oreo stuffed brownie? I'm already having a chocolate meltdown. I found this on a SparkPage as a sidebar add and the link is protected - evidently you have to be a member to get in and there isn't any way to become a member on their website. Or maybe it's my ancient computer or maybe it doesn't like Google Chrome for a browser or perhaps you just can't be from a red state .... even if Virginia isn't so red anymore. But the photo was worth drawing attention to and if you want to contact them, here's an email.  info@thefoodieshop.com  It's enough for me to just look at the photo and maybe that's enough for you too. Wow.

Anyway - I know you're here to find out what's happenin' at TheCastle and how Callie is. Callie is improving ... I'm tempted to say by leaps and bounds but we work very hard to keep her from leaping at least. She's done with pain pills and antibiotics and she's sleeping less - more like a normal dog - sleeping till something interesting comes along. She's still talking all the time - which is adorable and effective since if she ROWLEROWLs, her mama comes running and brings her a treat and snuggles. She gets very hot, very fast and would much rather sleep outside. She also seems to be growing still. Both BD and I think she looks a little bigger and a lot skinnier. We're adjusting her food daily.

Dr.L warned us that the pins might begin to push their way out of her bone ... sounds creepy to me ... and I think they may be shifting - because there's a slight puffiness where they'll take the pin out. Okay, okay, TMI. What this means is she's getting to the stage where she'll need to be watched more closely so that she doesn't do too much and injure a rapidly healing leg. Am I afraid we'll fail at this. Yes. But we won't. Just because I'm afraid of something doesn't mean I can't do it.

Not going there.

Instead, showing you how much she's enjoying herself and how Capt. Jack is taking advantage of the lowering of the bar around here.

In other news:

Last Monday I visited Mama with an old diary of hers and we read it out-loud and laughed with happy memories. It was from 1960 and it was full of our childhood and her vigorous youth. The day began hideously with a slushy snowfall so I got a late start. The idea had been to visit with Mama, check out the perfume at Sax 5th Ave that I will probably never buy, but at least wanted to smell, meet up with my sister and then window shop for spring clothes till late ... after the 5 o'clock rush hour. I managed to do most of that - though I had to skip the sniffing at Sax and I left before the rush hour - which seriously shortened the time I had to browse. Happily, sister and I had a great visit and I did score one fashion triumph. I have been longing for a pair of flowered skinny jeans. I had fun trying on the utterly wild ones in the Junior department of Sears - but as cute as they were, they were definitely too jejune for me. These, though - a pair of Jordache in a pastel flowered pattern - I picked up at Walmart of all places. Yes. I do love them. Yes. I don't care if I am 60 years old. Cute Cute Cute.

Fortunately I had gone through about half my warm weather clothes the day before because I have been in a spending mood for weeks - but it turns out the attic is full of cute clothes. I'll sort out the other half in the next week or two and once the budget season is over (ugh don't ask. it's horrible and it begins this week and I dread it.) I will celebrate by filling in as many gaps in my wardrobe as I can.   

Of course, a trip to the city is not complete without a stop by a Barnes & Noble. This time I hit the drawing books, partly because I was buying a birthday present for someone who is learning how to draw, but partly because I want to learn more too. As I've been playing with Zentangle® I finally admitted that I am in love with the cartoon fairy&dragon world of graphic novels. I don't like them as books but I love the pretty ones as artwork. Every Zentangle® I've drawn has cried out for a fairy and lately I've yielded to that cry. So. I would like to improve my cartoon fairy drawing skills and lo - there was a book! (Librarians' Credo  "Of Course You Can. It's In A Booooook!")  Click here to get this at a super sale price. 

I love this book because it's both an instructional book and a sketch book. There are lots of blank pages in it after each aspect of fantasy art they demonstrate. Of course - I bet it takes me a while to mar the beautiful white pages, but that's okay. I have lots of paper.  So here you can see how TheQueen has been spending her free time this week.

Yes. I do believe there is a story line. It's on its way. Patience. 

Callie's Progress

It occurred to me that folks would like to hear how my little Callie Dog is doing so here's a catch-up on the life of the incredible flying dog.

On Monday Dr's L and L operated on Callie, setting her broken femur with 2 pins. Alas, Dr. L said there were some fragments that couldn't be replaced so her leg will be a tad big shorter than it was - but he assured us that she'd adapt. She spent a second night at the clinic but BD took her home on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, I had a night meeting, but I drove home between the end of work and the start of the meeting so I could pet my little girl anyway and arrived to find all three of them, BD, Jack and Callie, on the way home from Jacob's Gut. That's half a mile from the house and of course, inside I was shrieking at the stupidity of Guys Who Walk Dogs Who Just Had Surgery (and I confess, guys in general). She had a pronounced limp and I scooped her up and drove her the rest of the way home.

I know that my methods of caring for sick and injured is to coddle and swaddle and Someone Else's methods include getting up and taking long walks. Somewhere in the middle is probably best and as this week has progressed we've moderated from our extreme stances to a fairly reasonable routine. Of course, as she heals, that routine changes and as she grows stronger, we must be more vigilant because once she thinks she's strong enough to move fast, she will try to.

For the most part she sleeps all day. We didn't get a crate for her, yet, because we thought we'd try penning her in the bathroom, where she spent her early puppy days. She used to love that room and would go lie on the rug whenever she was tired. Not so much now. She prefers the couch. In fact, she prefers the new white bed laid on the couch ... which is fine with me since it's got a waterproof lining and it catches all the shedding white hair.

I say "yet", though, because we may borrow one anyway, so that BD can leave home while I'm at work. Another option is to get a baby gate (a kind neighbor has offered to lend us one) for the bathroom. We shall see. This is an ongoing process.

The big deal for us is blocking the staircase. Not that she's interested in going upstairs right now - or even that she might have trouble going upstairs. The danger is falling down - so we have barricaded the staircases - a makeshift solution which Jack just shoves aside so he can go get up in the Big Bed every morning. Yeah. I know. We should do better but we are slugs. Besides, I can step up on the little chair to the side of the staircase, then over the card table and onto the 3rd step. It's a nice bit of aerobic exercise. I am always finding reasons to be glad we don't have a railing and banister on that staircase.

All last week we had nice enough spring days and Callie spent her few waking hours outdoors. Here she is checking out the incision on her leg. BD was working on his boat every afternoon and she went out to supervise. Her gait is much less tortured looking - that first day she really seemed to have to pump her whole body to move but she sort of glides along now. I love walking with dogs and love to see their pretty little legs trotting along in front of me - so although her movement is graceful, my heart constricts as I see her carry her right leg off the ground. It's shaved too, so it looks so much smaller than her left leg. Whenever I start to feel gloomy about this I put the feelings in a box which I will open later - At Tara - when she is healed.

Which I have every confidence she will be - just look at the difference between Wednesday and Sunday! She also wanted to play a little with her toys and to tooth wrestle with the red leather glove. She tires quickly when I play with her, but just seeing that little bit of interest in her usual pursuits lifts me up a bit. She's also developed a few new vocabulary barks. She has a little ARF for when she wants to go outside or come in. Then there is the YIP that means it's time to be fed. (Jack is much more subtle. He just comes up and shovels his nose beneath your hand over and over till you feed him.) And now she has a ROWELROWL that she moans out whenever she's left alone and wants you to come play with her. A talkative dog - ya just gotta love it!

Till her incision heals she is not supposed to get wet and with the spotty rain we had all weekend, she had to stay indoors for most of the time - something she definitely did NOT like. In the wee hours of this morning I thought I heard her ARFFING by the front door but I knew BD wouldn't have forgotten to bring her in last night.

WRONG-ish. She was outside and he didn't forget. She refused to come in. And in the slushy wet snow and the black darkness of a country yard he wasn't about to go prowling around looking for her. She spent the night with Jack in one of his dry spots - they neither of them ever use the dog house unless LD is here with his dog, when Jack gets very with-a-bone-ish and tries to shove Buster out of His House. But when I let them in this morning they were both dry so I know they were alright.

So. That is the state of Callie's Progress. Let us hope it continues apace and in a month I will be able to show you a picture of her dashing out into the world. Thank you all for caring so much about my little white dog.

Life is a Roller Coaster

This has been a full week - with ups and downs and goods and bads.

The DOWNS AND BADS -

1. Daylight Savings Time - an anathema for a morning person like me  
2. Baby Puppy Callie's broken leg 
3. 4 of my library staff down with bronchitis/flu/pneumonia 
4. Tuesday night board of supervisors meeting - had to skip gym and stay out late   
5. Began to feel 'off' Thursday and didn't feel any better on Friday. Actually feeling low down by the afternoon.
6. As a result of all above - have not gotten in the exercise I normally do  

The UPS AND GOODS -

1. Baby Puppy Callie back on at least 3 of her feet again after surgery. 
2. 2 of my sick library staff were much better by end of week
3. BoS meeting didn't last too long and I had good news to share that brought big smiles. Just in time for the budget sessions which start in 2 weeks.   
4. Got 3 big tasks done at work - three things that had been nagging at me and making me feel guilty. DONE! Yes.  
5. Had the absolutely most awesome strength training workout Thursday morning ever. Actually did 2 sets of pushups much deeper than I've ever done before.  
6. Got to go home early on Friday and slept 11 straight hours  
7. Got to within 2 lbs of my goal weight and no longer have to pay for WW meetings.  

What a week! Still, it looks like the good outweighed the bad. And sometimes a week is just like that. Plans had to change and routines got disrupted and most important of all - I had to adjust and adapt. I do regret not getting in the exercise I normally do because I seriously love exercise. But I don't worship it. It is high on my priority list but not at the top. Balance is at the top. And today I do feel better so I'll get in some exercise and some housework - which, around here, in the land of guys and dogs and farm fields, tends to be very aerobic.

A week like this doesn't leave much time or opportunity for creativity but I hope to get in some Art and some Fiber tomorrow. And on Monday I go to the city and after a brief dr. apt. I get to visit my mama, have lunch with my sister and shop for myself. That's a triple whammy! What a roller coaster ride!

Callie wishes a happy, healthy weekend to you all.

Broken Bones

Jack and Callie on Friday - before her leap from the truck.

 On Sundays we like to take long walks. On beautiful Sundays, like yesterday, we like to take very long walks. So around 2 o'clock, yesterday, we loaded the dogs into the back of the truck and drove over to White Oak Swamp. That's about 2 miles away - down our dirt lane and over about a mile and a half of tar surface. The truck is ancient. It does not go very fast. In a mile it can  hardly get up to 30 mph. Not very fast but fast enough that when a wild spoiled impulsive 7 month old puppy sees her neighbor dog running down the field and decides she wants to PLAY - and leaps out of the truck - broken bones will follow.

I'd been watching her out the back window. We weren't going fast. I turned my head for just a moment, then heard a thump and looked back to see white puppiness on the slope of the field as it dips down from the road. I hollered and BD slammed on the brakes. "She can't get up!" I could see her try to get up and fall back down and then try again. We were at her side in a flash. BD scooped her up and she yelped. He set her gently on the front seat of the truck. Instantly the bossy school marm in my left brain began issuing instructions but before things could deteriorate into an adrenalin squabble my wiser self clamped my mouth shut tight. BD was already wrestling with his own accusatory and self accusatory brains and we drove back to the house in silence.

I would NOT be scared and I would not imagine The Worst. In the living room we set Callie down and examined her for breaks but - neither of us being anatomists - couldn't really tell and didn't want to hurt her more by moving her about. I sat on the floor with her head in my lap while BD called Dr. Lauriel, who, thank God, was home and in her very sober quiet kind and gentle way said "I'll meet you in 45 minutes".

I got up to change my shirt and my little baby, wanting her mother, tried to follow me. She could hop on 3 legs but fell down when she tried to climb the steps. Did I mention that my heart, lodged somewhere just below my uvula, constricted yet again? I sat back with my baby and stroked her gently till she was calm again. She never really did yelp or complain so we could battle those black demons of fear.

Jack wondered why we didn't take him with us in the car, but he's very forgiving about that sort of thing. Callie was silent on the back seat, head down, slightly sleepy. Dr. L was already at the surgery when we got to town and right away identified a broken femur.

This is not a photo of Callie's broken femur - her's is the right leg. She tested her for other things - internal bleeding, and such - but there didn't seem to be anything else wrong. Callie lay as sweet and gentle as could be. She even flapped a tail as BD lifted her, only to gently lay her down on that broken leg for the x-ray. She never whimpered and she never complained. I don't know if that's because she was in shock or there is nerve damage so she couldn't feel it - but she just acquiesced to whatever her humans did to her. Dr. L did say that if she could hop on 3 legs it was a good sign that she was going to be alright.

The treatment will be surgery, this morning, first thing. They will put a pin - or pins - inside her bone to hold it straight while it heals and then take it/them out in 4 to 6 weeks. We left her at the vets for the night to be sure she would be confined and quiet. Dr. L gave her some shots to keep her relaxed and some antibiotics to prep her for surgery.

It was a sober and somewhat sad afternoon without our little wild puppy. But we're deeply grateful that there are good doctors near by and that Callie is young, can heal fast, and is in great health at the moment. Whatever comes next we will just take it a step at a time. But what a day!

Puppy Puppy Puppy Puppy Puppy

Yes. Look who's come to live at our house. A little debel puppy to chew things up.

When we lost our Socks last summer in that intense heatwave of early July it seemed too much to add another little animal to the long hot days of summer but it was always our intention to add another dog to TheCastle. We didn't want Jack to be an only dog. We needed at least two dogs to pet. But I was not in any big hurry, either. I felt the new dog would come along when it was the right time.

Himself, otoh, had different plans. He began to hanker after another Lab in August and one day he called me at work with the news that he was looking at Labrador puppies. I was a bit surprised since I'd thought we were going to get a pound puppy first. But I could hear the longing in his voice. I knew it was time to get a puppy and it was time to get another Lab. It was a given that we wanted only girl dogs and I'd already told him that if we got another Lab I wanted a black one. But that was merely abstract thinking. Puppy love knows no color and since this summer, in Virginia, most of the litters with girls had only white, yellow or chocolate, I was willing to have a look.

We had cousins F and A visiting the day we drove up to Fauquier County to wallow in puppylove, so we could get lots of opinions on which one was the cutest. There were 8 girls in 2 litters and they were all so perfect I could hardly pick among them. They were only 3 and a half weeks old so it was a moot point anyway but we plunked down a deposit (Lawsie I was not prepared for the price of AKC labs) and went home to wait.

Last Monday the furbabies were at last old enough to go to new homes and BD and I drove up to pick out our own little sweetie pie. It was still impossible to pick because each one of them was a perfect specimen of cuteness and puppiness. First we narrowed it down to the two girls who were old enough to go home with us then and there. One was a little more golden than the other  - a selling point with us since Jack is so white already. She was also the most high octane energizer of them all, though her sister was no slouch, chewing on her cousins from the other litter. Wild baby never stopped chewing and pouncing but suddenly she began to make little coughing sounds as if she had some puppy fur caught in her throat and the whiter one ran up to see what was wrong. That tenderhearted gesture was the tipping point for me. I knew I had my new dog. 

So home we came, Little Miss Tenderheart sleeping in my arms the whole way

Jack is already taking an avuncular interest in her, teaching her all about long walks and leaving the garbage can alone. When those needle teeth sink in too deep, he just rumbles in his chest a little and she backs off. Besides, there is always something else to chew on in TheCastle. You can be sure - my good shoes get put in the closet every night. 

It was hard to go to work every day last week. There were moments when I wondered if we ought to have waited till Friday to pick her up - though I comforted myself with the thought that, had I not picked her on Monday, somebody else would have gotten her. But my long absences made it hard to pick out a name. I liked Molly. BD liked Toots. I said Toots was not a name a woman would ever use. He thought there were already too many Labs named Molly. We kicked around 2 or 3 dozen names till Friday night when we got to borrowing names from our Bedford cousins; the Burks. It felt funny, sort of like we were poaching, but we've always loved all their dogs: Cora, Ace, Belle. And I liked the name Bella because our puppy had such a pretty face. But them BD said "Calliope" - which actually means beautiful voice... she is the muse of epic poetry .... I knew we had a name.  

Chesituxent's Calliope

And I believe she approves.

(or maybe she's just hot)

So - look who is at home in my lap while I struggle to reach the keyboard.

Yes. 

PuppyPuppyPuppyPuppyPuppy 

Puppy Love

At Tara