Scary Dog Story

Yesterday on a walk with all three dogs Beau slipped through the slats of a fence where there are two labs who always bark at us. I didn't know the labs were out in the yard or I would have crossed to the other side of the street. B. jumped in there before I could react. Both dogs latched on to him and wouldn't let go. I couldn't get B. back out and I didn't want to choke him to death by pulling him out by his leash. I yelled and yelled for the owner to come out and call off his dogs. Finally I did manage to pull B. out by his leash, and he was literally hanging by the neck as I pulled him over the fence. I couldn't get him out any other way.

He survived, but I knew he had been bit up pretty badly. I took B. to the emergency clinic where they cleaned and stitched his wounds. He had three fairly deep punctures, including one inside his mouth. He and I are both on antibiotics now--I also got bit twice in the process!

Needless to say, I will never walk by that yard again! And Beau...what a dumb little dog to go after those labs...what was he thinking? I hope he learned a lesson.

I'm still shaking today. I think I'll do some knitting and take it easy!

In Love with Purple

I love to knit and decorate with purple, or more specifically, lavender and what I like to call "aubergine" (a deep eggplant color). These shades are rich, yet also soft and subtle, and they go with many other colors (especially green and turquoise). The purple bowl contains variegated purple yarn on the left and the lavender and aubergine socks (knitted on two circular needles) on the right. The variegated purple yarn is a super bulky-weight cotton/acrylic blend by Sirdar called "Denim Ultra," and it is to become a sweater for sister Fran. Our aubergine couch is in the background.

Book news:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. There's a reason they call books like this "classics." What a moving story! So much about the treatment of women in Hardy's time seems like it could still apply today. The latest PBS film of this story is beautifully done and follows the book exactly.

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. This amazing memoir was written by a ballet dancer who defected from China in the early 1980s to dance with the Houston Ballet. He came from a peasant family and was chosen as a young boy to be trained at Madam Mao's dance school. It's written in a simple, straightforward style that reveals the author's intelligence and sensitivity--and the story is also very dramatic!

Euro Bed

Our new European-style bed is ready to show off...we've been assembling the various parts of it since early January. Notice how we each have our own mattress and our own comforter so that we can sleep in the same bed without bothering each other (Greg says I pull the covers and jiggle the bed). The mattresses and foundations are "Tempur-pedic," and we really do think they are extremely comfortable.

Signs of Spring

We have been vicariously enjoying Conrad's recent purchase of this little red scooter...it must be so much fun to drive around in Seattle with it! Now his morning commute is only 10 minutes instead of the half hour it was with the bus.

In project news, I finally finished this quilt. All that was left to do was the binding, but it had been folded up near my sewing machine for over a year. Also, it took me several years to complete. The fabric and pattern are from a JoAnn's block-of-the-month kit, so the quilt is not too clever or special, but it turned out pretty anyway.

Late February Update

My current knitting projects are: socks on two needles, the clapotis, a baby sweater, a top-down cream-colored sweater for me, and another top-down cotton sweater in shades of orange for me started eons ago. Oh, and the pink lace scarf also started eons ago.

I am taking a sock class to master the two-needle technique, and I found that once I got the idea in the first session, I didn't really need the rest of the classes. Since I paid for it and committed to it, I will probably finish the class, but I'm rather annoyed at having to sit in a class where I already know the stuff (a good lesson for a teacher, no?!). I'm also surprised that I appear to be the youngest person there. Knitting is supposed to be so young and trendy!! Not on the north side of Spokane, I guess.

Other news: the local paper is raking the VA docs over the coals...again. It is very demoralizing for Greg and all involved because the story contains lies that Greg and the VA cannot set straight due to confidentiality laws. Also, the conversation that was reported was fabricated by the vet's family, and the reporter wrote it as though it were the truth. How do you fix that? The more you deny it, the guiltier you look. This is now the 6th or 7th time Greg and his docs have been in the paper for supposed sub-standard care issues, and each time it causes such an uproar within the VA system and mountains of work to deal with it. Greg is having trouble recruiting new docs because they don't want to end up with their names all over the local paper and strong innuendos of malpractice. One perceptive citizen wrote a letter to the editor saying that VA doctors are the latest victims and scapegoats of the Iraq war.

Here's an article in the New York Times about the difficulties faced by the humanities in this time of budget cutting. What's interesting to me about this topic is that it is really nothing new...this battle has been going on for a long time. I think we should just admit defeat and figure out ways to reinvent ourselves. I know that sounds vague...I don't have a real plan. It just seems that we are wasting a lot of energy fighting this particular battle. I have dealt with it in my own life by becoming an English instructor! Now there's a practical, useful skill!

Speaking of which, many of you already know that I am going to Munich to be a lecturer in the English department at the university. I'm leaving on March 23, so the time is getting nearer. I am excited and also anxious about this big change in our lives...excited to have a real and hopefully interesting and fulfilling job and anxious about my family here...especially the dogs! But we are all committed to working this out, so I feel very positive about it. I should have some fun blog entries in Munich.

"A Goodnight Crisis"

The "cover" for Chris's band (A Goodnight Crisis) is up on their MySpace page, as well as some of their other songs: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=408657695

Seattle Weekend

Greg and I took a quick trip to the West Side this past weekend to visit Conrad and Greg's brother and his family. Here are a few of the highlights.

Our very gracious hosts, Ronald and Barbara:



Julie, Samuel, Anthony, Ronald, Barbara and Oliver at Olympic Sculpture Park:



A perfect alignment:



How do they keep this so shiny?



Conrad, Julie and Greg with the Seattle skyline:



Oh yes, we went here too. The doughnuts are as good as they're said to be!