Rants And Ramblings

I am so disillusioned with the human race today. Yesterday the news covered a story that took place in Darby PA. Some sick little SOB set fire to a cat! A young boy was reported to have been seen in the area where the cat was discovered by an animal control officer. The officer found the cat was alive – just barely. A vet tried to save it, but it died. They say that by the look of it, the young cat – a year old at most – had been mistreated all of its young life. Multiple older injuries were present before the cat was ignited. In fact, the last few hours it lived were probably the only hours it was given love and caring attention. That is too too sad! There is a $1600 reward for the identification of the person responsible for the cat’s death. I hope they find him. That person needs help, before their cruelty escalates to unspeakable proportions. This is how serial killers get their start. Our pets give us so much love that they deserve to be treated with the utmost care and kindness. I still miss our Brutus and can’t imagine my life without our pets.

Pushing these dark thoughts from my mind, let me tell you about my canine buddies. Both dogs are on diets! At their last checkup, the vet said he would like to see about 4 pounds come off the min pin and 8 pounds off the beagle. Since the dogs have come to live with us, my husband and I have been at odds as to how to feed them. He has always been a firm believer in “grazing” – their food bowls should always have something in them. I wanted to feed them once in the morning and once in the evening and not have food out for them all the time. So many times my husband and I would take part in the following exchange:
DH enters after work at 8:00 pm and the sound of kibble hitting the metal bowl reaches my ears.
Me: “They ate already – don’t feed them!”
DH: “Their dishes are empty”
Me: “That’s because they ate already – don’t feed them!”
DH: “Well, they’re still hungry – look at them eating!”
Me: “That’s because their stomachs are twice as big as they ought to be – DON’T FEED THEM!”
Me – enter kitchen, pick up bowls before dogs can wolf it all down and dump the kibble back in the bag…

Well, I’ve finally convinced hubby not to feed the animals. He is "encouraged not to" (read "don't you dare")touch the dog food bag with the exception of carrying it into the house for me. LOL! In fact, when the dogs beg, he says “Go see Mommy!” Mommy stands firm. The Little Scamp min pin is looking rather dashing these days, and feeling much better for it, as evidenced by the fact that he can now jump up on the bed himself like he used to do. For a while there, he was forced to submit to the humiliation of having a human PICK HIM UP (which he hates) in order to sleep under the covers. I'd say "Sleepytime!" and he would sidle up to my feet, with ears pinned back and a mortified look on his face – you could read his expression like a book! Now he makes a beeline for the bedroom and leaps up to find a comfortable place to curl up at the foot of the bed. I don’t know if he’s lost the whole 4 pounds yet, but at least he isn’t looking like 10 pounds of sausage stuffed into a 5 pound casing anymore!

We’re still working on the beagle. I don’t see much of a change in him yet. But he’s not the high-energy dog the Little Scamp is. So it may take a little longer to see a difference.

What a nice weekend it was – 4 days off and the best weather we’ve had so far. It did my heart good to see my husband in his element on Saturday. He and one of the diving instructors were working with a student at Dutch Springs on Saturday. My husband has really found his niche in scuba diving. He has been so unhappy at his day job lately and I worry about him. If you are so inclined, please say a prayer for him for peace of mind.

On a crochet note, I pulled out my project bag (love those reusable grocery store canvas bags!) with the Sweetheart Ripple afghan in it. I start a new bag with each project I pick up. The hook and the pattern remain in the bag with the WIP. I currently have 4 or 5 project bags in and around the house. I really have to work on reducing that number! The sweetheart ripple has been sitting idle since March (found a catalog inside the bag reminding me that Easter is (was) April 12. I find that if I set a project aside too long, I tend to have a few gauge problems – stitching too loose or too tight when I get back to it. But it hasn’t been as long for this one, so my tension seems fine so far. I can’t imagine what will happen with the afghan I started two years ago which has been languishing in my attic. It’s pink and white, reversible with hearts on both sides. I still have pangs of guilt over that one. Someday…