Cody

Cody is my psychic dog. He reads my mind, but only really tunes into two thoughts that I have. "I think I'll give Cody a bath," and "I'm going to take a picture of Cody, " will garner the same results each time. Cody will calmly get up and walk away to find somewhere to hide. I know I've mentioned this before and I've just been waiting for the right moment to be able to prove it. lol His favorite hiding/sleeping spot is next to or behind the toilet. This picture was snapped and once he saw the camera he moved to here....

Yes, he's under the bed. lol. See why I don't have any good pictures of him? This is also why you will not see him posted much on the blog.

So, imagine how he felt when we combined his two least favorite things. A bath and Pictures!!!

Poor Cody!

DOT-VICTORY! Oh And A Little Fiber.

*I know, a DOT post actually on Thursday! Before you die of shock, read on!
Dogs On Thursday-VICTORY!

I once stated on this blog that it's near impossible to get a photo of Cody, our "middle child". Since I blogged that, I determined to test that theory and see if maybe I was exaggerating it for humor sake. Well, I wasn't exaggerating at all. I've tried off and on to get quick candid shots of him and all I can say is, he's my dog. I hate having my picture taken and so does he. I was finally able to get a couple of decent shots of his front end tonight; however, every time he figured out the camera was out, on and pointed at him he would casually walk out of the room, through the next room and down the hallway. He's pretty adamant about not having his picture taken. I do love me a challenge. ;) (The next time the bathroom is clean and he's hiding behind the toilet, I'll snap one just to prove I'm not kidding!)

So first off here's Cody waiting in line at the "soup kitchen" we call Bandit's dinner. Bandit, having no teeth, eats special food and is watched over carefully so that other, teeth bearing, animals do not eat his dinner. (Yes the cats are included in this as they are bigger than him and sometimes willing to take his food. This ritual is performed at breakfast too. Yes, I have to prepare breakfast and dinner for him. Sad, I know.) Cody lives in hope that Bandit will walk away and that we will not notice him stealing the left overs. When this ritual started, Cody used to keep a few feet away. As you can see here, he's right up on him, next in line.

This one was taken as he's making his get away. I got another shot later of his rear end as he retreated, but the pic was to dark to see anything. lol. Every time he came in the room I'd turn on the camera and point it at him. Every time I did, he'd just turn around and walk away. Too funny!

This final one was taken by the hubster. Props to him for proving that Cody notices nothing while he's clearing the flavor of left overs out of Bandit's dish. ;)

On a completely fibrey note, I do save the undercoat from Cody when I groom him and plan on spinning it up some time. I've got a bit saved up, not sure how much exactly, but it's beautiful stuff and he puts out a beautiful coat of fluff. Pretty ironic considering how much he hates to be groomed.

Fiber!

Last night was our Spring Sale at Valley Spinners Guild. Historically the Spring Sale is not as large as the Fall one due to a large show that's going on down in Puyallup. (I'm going to get to that one eventually!) Most of the non-member vendors end up going to the south show, leaving a nearly member only vendor group. This years showing was pretty good though and there was lots of books, magazines and fiber to be had. I had a small bit of cash in my pocket last night, just in case. ;) Having spent the day "on the road", I hadn't taken my wheel with me this time. I think it's the first time I've shown up without spinning to work on in the whole time I've been a member. Many others bring knitting or crochet when they're not in a spinning mood, so I wasn't completely out of place with only having my sock to work on. Anyway, I walked through the vendor booths several times and couldn't settle on anything I had to have, but found myself at the same booth at the beginning and end of each walk through. The gal manning the booth was one I met on my first night at the guild and although she's not able to be there every month, I enjoy her when she is. I had looked at the natural colored fiber at the booth next to her, and the dyed super wash from across the way. Both were either alluring or within my budget for the night, but nether were speaking to me. Odd, because both were what I normally would buy. Amy's booth however kept calling to me. She had bright purple and "citrus" colors. Bright orange, yellow, neon green, neon teal, bright melon and pink and blends of them all. There was also a "ocean" blend that had teal, neon green, blue and purple. Absolutely beautiful! By the time I found myself in the purchasing mood, I was looking at "Mermaid" and trying to decide if I was buying a solid neon to go with it. Now wait a minute! I don't do neon anything. All of these colors were just way too bright for my normal palette. I think it was all explained perfectly when Amy asked me if I had a question and without thinking I answered, "No, I'm just mentally talking myself out of my comfort zone." I really wanted that Mermaid. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it spun up, but I wanted to spin it. lol. So, for $7.90, 7.9 oz of Mermaid blend came home with me. I started spinning it tonight and it's going altogether too fast. I'm calling it color therapy. Maybe it's the snow that fell at the end of last month and the fact that they're talking snow for this weekend. Maybe it's the rain that's fallen all week. Maybe it's the fact that the garden is not planted and it's the middle of April. I don't know. But this little bag of fiber spoke Spring to me. I'm so ready for Spring. I had to bring a little home with me!

I'm hoping to get some time in with the drum carder soon. I've dyed up some different colors in the hopes of creating blended batts similar to this and I've checked out the Deb Menz book to get some pointers on color blending but I'd love some pointers if you have some. I think I'll take stock of the colors I have already dyed and see if there are some obvious choices I've missed. Lord knows I've got plenty of white in the shed. lol. When I get around to that project I'll be careful to take pics and share that as I (hope) think some of you may be interested. Failure can be amusing some times.

I'm hoping to get up to the Alpaca Ranch this weekend to drop off the yarn I've spun for them. With the elevation they are at, I've been waiting for the weather to be decent at the same time that they are free for a visit.;) There's a possibility that I'll be picking up more Alpaca Fleece at that time too. OOOOO! Anticipation. lol If so, I've a couple of friends I'd like to share with. If it works out and the weather cooperates, I'll be doing quite a bit of Alpaca washing soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Bath Day

Today was grooming day for Bandit and Cody. It's a time filled with clippers, nail trimmers, scissors, combs, brushes and hide and seek. It's also the time I can closely inspect each one and look for owies, mats and ugg...fleas.

Bandit has always enjoyed being groomed. He usually lays on his back and falls asleep while I trim toe nails and his underside hair. It's also a great time to trim up around the ears. Then he gets flipped over and brushed out. Then it's bath time. (I know that most groomers will tell you to wash them before grooming, but I've always bathed afterwards. Yes, I have to clean my equipment more, but the dogs prefer it this way.) Being so small he fits easily in the sink and the sprayer nozzle works much like a shower massager on his little body. He loves it.

Cody has always hated to be groomed. His session usually starts with a hide and seek session. Me seeking.....him hiding. He's pretty good at changing hiding spots midway if he thinks it will avoid the bath part. Once caught, he lays on his back the same as Bandit and goes through the motions of being groomed. He's always been ticklish and the toe nail/hair trimming is always our major hurdle in the grooming process. As he's larger and has scads more hair, his trimming takes much longer. Then it's into the sink for a bath. He a tighter fit in the sink, but still fits. His whole body goes rigid and we bathe as quickly as possible.

When they are all done and towel dried off is the magic moment. The two of them running through the house side by side, like little buddies showing off how cute they are! Too perfect! It's the one time that they are united as friends. A moment that every mother waits for.