The Adventures of SmudgeStick & the Flat Feet

Smudge still has a 90 degree head tilt and cannot move around more than a few inches on his own, but he can eat on his own if we put the hay or pellet bowls in the litter box with him...he was (and I assume still is) litter box trained, but can't get in or out of the box without help now so we line it with towels and change it frequently. One would think we'd of thought of that, but the small animal specialist vet thought of the idea. That way if he begins to roll he's in the box and catches himself.

In addition to Smudge being sick I was sick too:( I finally got out of the house yesterday and went to Stix with the ChalkDust Knitters. I got the black yarn I needed to finish the fair isle hat from the class with Sunday, also got some orange jitterbug and ... FLAT FEET!!!!







I'm doing the Harlot's basic sock pattern (it's in my ravelry) b/c I really want to do a simple pattern so I can see the colorway work itself out. I know its gimickie, but I really wanted it so I splurged.


Now for more crap...
the back of the Central Park Hoodie - Yes, I made it longer, and yes, the cables are backwards - I didn't have my pattern when I started the cables, made the mistake, and was up about a foot when I realized so they're stayin' as is:)



Griffin's Tomten - I saw him Monday. He is so freakin CUTE!! but I think he's still way too small for it. No news on the GrimmWitch baby front yet.



Sox for Griffin - too cute, bud!



And I finished the socks I made for my Mom.

Smudge Update: SmudgeStick Semi Stands

Smudge has been forcing himself to stand all day long. His head is still tilted almost 90 degrees, but he is so determine. Its sad when I see him standing, and then just collapse under the strain, but I can see that he is getting better - I hope he doesn't plateau.

Smudge Update

So Smudge got sick on Tuesday. He has this thing people call "head tilt" because literally his head tilts like 45 degrees to the left. The issue with this diagnosis is that it's a blanket statement, like "I have a headache," and you could have a headache for any number of reasons.

We took him to Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, NJ. This animal hospital is the most wonderful place I've ever taken my animals. My first rabbit passed away there, and they were so tender and supportive. I've always taken Smudge there.
The 1st doctor we dealt with checked him out, gave us antibiotics and anti nausea meds and sent him home. He slowly improved until Thursday.

Thursday Smudge and I watched Juno and had a very lovely evening. By 12 though, things began to go badly. Smudge couldn't hold himself up. His head kept pushing to rotate further left, and in turn his body would roll. I righted him, and he'd do it again. Mr. G and I were both working to keep Smudge straight. Smudge kept reaching for the water bottle, but couldn't drink from the special no mess nozzle b/c he was tilted at such a bizarre angle. We eventually held his older water bottle (the traditional small pet type that has the ball in the nozzle like a ball point pen) and he drank from it the way an infant drinks from a bottle. We saw we had to take him back to the hospital. I didn't want to fight him any more, so the next time he rolled I helped him to stay on his side. I wrapped him in a pillow case and we drove to Paramus.

It was like torture sitting there waiting for the vet to come talk to us. When she finally came this 2nd vet talked to us about Smudge's blood work. It showed normal levels that would lead one to believe that he did not have an ear infection, one of the most common and easiest to cure reasons for head tilt. She mused that it could be neurological, something that wouldn't go away.
We went home to what felt like a cavernously empty home. All day Friday things were dismal, and then I spoke with the 3rd vet. Smudge was rolling and tilted, but she felt he was fine otherwise. She suspected no pain, and when she fed him Critical Care (think rabbit pellets and water in a blender) he was loving it and eating greedily. She gave us hope.

This morning she called to tell us that Smudge ate greens and carrots!!! They released him on a flat surface and he was able to walk straight for a short length. She was so pleased, as were we. He may have a long recuperation ahead of him, but a rabbit that's had so many second chances at life may have more cat than rabbit in him. He is an incredible animal.

Smudge is sick

My poor little bunny is very sick. He's my righthand guy, and I'm so worried and upset.

Living Dead Dolls

There are only a few things I spend my money on - I'm cheap with everything else, but with some stuff you just can't restrain yourself. The first is food, specifically chocolate and sushi, second is yarn, and third...LIVING DEAD DOLLS. I love my Living Dead Dolls. Think Madame Alexander gone horribly wrong. CopperScaleDragon kinda got me rolling to take some pics and post them. They came out very fuzzy, but I'll eventually put nicer ones.

First Fair Isle at Stix

We missed Flynnie, who was feeling very under the weather, when half the ChalkDust Knitters went to Stix and Stitches for a Fair Isle lesson with Sunday. Pepper had already been practicing, so she and my mom took to it pretty quick. K and I, however, two throwers, stumbled a bit, but we both got it (at least I hope I did).




The second part of the lesson will be next Friday. Sunday from Stix is one of the most talented knitters I've ever met. She's really this incredible wealth of knowledge. The pattern is the Nordic Headband by Heidi Nyberg. Ravel it and the PDF is right on there for free, but here's her blog. I'm planning on turning it into a hat; the pattern is very pretty.
I've also done some more work on Griffin's Tomten, adn bought the yarn for his cousin, Sophia's as well.

I took some stash pics too for Ravelry, and took this one of two favorites...

Araucania Pehuen and Philippa Gregory. Are they making Pehuen again? I've seen some of the newer Araucania labels...they all kinda look the same...on pics of Pehuen on Flickr. That's one of my favorite yarns and I would love them to bring it back into production. It's a cotton boucle incase you haven't seen and fell in love with it, and it feels awesome.

7-23-2005, Aurora's Estate Sale, Tomten for Griffin, and Central Park Hoodie

Tomorrow Mr.G and I will have been married for three years. We were going to go away but between my knee injury and all this stuff going on with Aurora's (my late mother-in-law) estate we were unable. So we'll be bonding in the tri state area tomorrow.

Aurora's estate sale was this past weekend. I would suggest that if anyone reading this every finds themselves in the position to have to sell the belongings of someone you cared for to hire professionals if at all possible. This is also a reminder to myself...may I never forget how emotionally hard this was even with help and not do this on my own ever.

The company we hired is called Dusty Old Bags. It's two women and their husbands who come into the home, research and price things, and then conduct the sale. I just sat in the background. The sale was Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I was there with the help of the DOB ladies and their hubbies as well as Mom and Pepper. This was the more difficult of the two days. Some people came in like beasts, throwing Aurora's things around in order to find what they were looking for. Some people tried (and I'm sure some were successful) pocketing things. Loosing whatever dollar or so we would have made off the stolen items wasn't what bothered me, it was just the thought that something my mother in law had used was stolen from within her own house. Some people were very mean, I assume not knowing or caring that there were family members in the house and criticized my mother in law's taste, spending habits ("What kind of person spends so much money on herself," sort of stuff). She did spend a lot of money on herself. She was a shopaholic. She was not proud of the fact, and told me that she wished she weren't that way. It did not make her a bad person, but the way some of those people spoke...There were two girls in particular. Both had the I've-Plucked-My-Eyebrows-To -Oblivion-&-Now-They'll-Never-Grow-Back disease. Wherever you are, ladies, may this message be carried on the wind to you...you're emotional age needs to catch up to your late twenty something but somehow saggy faces! Get thee to a salon to get thy brows done properly! Three fold, man, that's just what I kept telling myself.

Some people said really nice things, ("This lady had great taste," or "This is someone's home and stuff we're going through, how sad.") Those people were like a breath of fresh air and I hope their actions come back to them as well. Kind words meant so much.

So now her house is almost empty. The basement is still a hell hole. I've found so much stuff...pictures, keepsakes, precious documents, but until Sunday I hadn't found very much baby stuff from Mr. Grimm Witch's childhood. Late Sunday night I was tunneling through the ancient grilling utensils, bills from 1987, broken glass, fake flowers, etc and found it. Like some wooden crate out of Indiana Jones, preserved and forgotten, a box of baby shower paraphernalia circa 1974, and three baby books, one for my husband, one for my brother-in-law, and a thin pamphlet dated 1927 for their dad. I also found a heap of slides with cherubie baby images of my b-i-l and husband as well as 8mm films...Disney World, Great Adventure, and all you Jersey kids...there might be pics of Jungle Habitat! I feel a lot better having found that stuff.

So I started this tomten for Griffin - who, by the way, is one of the most beautiful children ever born (aren't they all, though:)

No, I have not finished his ripple blanket, but I'm almost done. It's just the yarn felt so great! The label says Raggi Jarbo Garn. I have to look into this on Ravelry. They had a girlier yet awesomely unbabyish colorway of the same stuff at Stix and I think I'll make his cousin a tomten as well out of that so they can match.

Still working on the Central Park Hoodie.

Moving along.