Doggie-Bag 2

One more, just for me

Tonights dinner – the largest (?) T-bone steaks on this side of the pond, home made potato wedges and some different butters = yummy

 

Doggie bags

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doggie bags

the first Monday of our obedience class I was struck by the need to make a sort of doggie bag to hold Diego’s training treats. Not looking like much (IMO) but some of the other participants thought it looked just fine. Not feeling up to do anything else, I made two more – modified for the two teenage girls who handles their dogs.

Mine to the left (bad pic, I know), the one in the middle has tiny dog houses in the print

The red and green, was wished colors.

Fun to make, I made one more for me

Hmm, not perfect either when it comes to choice of fabrics, so I’ll probably spend part of the upcoming 4 day holiday (Christ goes to Heaven Day tomorrow and Friday is a “squeeze” day ) taking it apart and re-use some of the parts. Edited: forgot to tell what I used to make the bags stay open. The first brown one I used one of these long plastic thin things you use to tie electrical cords etc. together (Swedish “buntband”) but it didn’t work 100%. So I racked my brain and came up with corset stays (Swedish “korsett fjädrar), you know the inserts you use to make strapless formal gowns stay up over your chest and not fall down and it worked quite well. Maybe not 100% either, but 98% maybe? There was no way to tie the ends of the stay together to make a O, place it in the fold at the top and stitch beneath it. The Janome 7700 do have a throat (compared to the 6600 machine) , but it was still to big to be able to put the bags around. I did try to sew the stay in place from the back, but it didn’t turn out ok from a sewing point of view. Well, even though I’m a nitpick for details, I think I’m gonna leave it at this. After all it’s not a ball gown, but a doggie bag

Class went fine, Diego’s attention was somewhere else at the beginning and me, I had only a hoodie on cause I forgot the sailing jacket I had saved from our yachting days at home. How on earth is it possible to forget a big red jacked that hangs just inside the door???? I was frozen to the bones when I got home, John who came along had his parka and mitts – smart guy. Well, Diego loves me for sure and he does obey me, but the bond between him and John is quite strong and John handled Diego most part of class and did it very well

When it’s cold and windy, it’s nice to have warm, safe arms to rest in.

Have a nice weekend all!

Dogs, kids and attachment parenting

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are you mom enough, attachment parenting, black pudding, dried hot dogs, obedience class

Me and Diego

went to the first of four puppy/youngster obedience class on Monday evening and it was fun – both for me and Diego. It was a very small class, five dogs and trainers and some on lookers – a flat, a softie, a Danish-Swedish yard dog and a Ridgeback. Interesting how very skittish all dogs was before and during the first part of class and then suddenly they became more focused. Well Diego was focused – on the treats LOL. Honestly, he was very intensely focused on how to behave so he could get the snacks. I had dried small pieces of black pudding (I know from Fiona’s training that is a verrrahhhh good treat if you don’t want to have meatballs in your pocket and mixed them with store bought kibbles. Oh, he’s so good my little sweetie, he got every part very quickly and I even had time to use some of my Fiona skills on him. Not to be mean or anything, but it’s a wast difference in training a JR and a self sufficient Ridgeback. Yup, RR are bred to take care of themselves and only do things they think are well worth the effort, so believe it or not Fiona and me came out first in the Obedience Class 1 and that was an achievement if there ever was

After 1 hour Diego’s poor little brain seemed to fry and he got all confused so we winded down and had some loooove time. We got some homework, but try to train Diego when Arwen and Fiona is nearby….”oh mummy did you say sit? Look – we can sit still and raise our paw too” <G>.

I found a tip on the web for dog treats; slice up hot dogs thinly, boil them for 10 minutes in water and then into the oven until dry. The whole house smelled like yuck…..but the “kids” loved them

Late note – kids are so fun at times. We have had mixed weather so to speak the last couple of days and some days ago John came home and declared that he hated rain. Cloudy was ok, rain sucks. Well, I said, at least rain os good for all things that grows. J: “I grow even though it doesn’t rain”. Try to put your feet into the soil then and see if you grow any faster, I replied. J: if I put my feet into the ground, the maggots will feed on them and I’ll be left with no feet at all”. Touche! He does grow and have quite large feet for a 13 year old, that’s for sure

Today I finally got my act together and called one of the schools in Norrköping who has dorms for teenagers. I know very well why I have dragged my but when it comes to this issue…..letting go will be the hardest thing. They to admit kids from other schools than their own, so I’ve printed and filled out an application form – it will go out in the mail tomorrow. And those silly dimwits in that Time article “Are You Mom Enough?”where some doc claims that mother-child attachment is greatly achieved by longtime breastfeeding. Pilutta dig as Pippi Longstocking said, I doubt very much that anyone can be more attached than me and my kids. And – if this theory would have any significant truth to it – all the men in the world would remain unattached to their children! Oh I know I know,  the thing people do to earn a buck…but the whole thing is very provocative and a show how incredible stupid people can be. I mean, what will happen to that poor, guileless kid when he starts kindergarten or school or someone digs out that cover when he starts high school? We all know how mean kids in any age can be, don’t we?

Today (if weather permits) I’m going to help Sam with his new film assignment that has to be ready in a weeks time. Not especially fun, but a great way of attachment parenting

Terminator – moi??

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cataract, high eye pressure, terminator

OMG – you have turned into a terminator said The DH yesterday, when I told him that by some mysterious reason my eyesight have improved over the last 6 moths. Even my eye doctor is baffled – the pressure has dropped 10 degrees and I can read the 2nd line from the bottom, where I last time only could read the 7th…..You are a strange kind of patient the doctor said

80 Swedish Krona (SEK) down the drain

There are days when Fiona and me are kindred souls = real bitches and today was one of them. I normally don’t buy magazines in the supermarket, except for a very very occasional cooking/food one and “Level Presenterar World of Warcraft” for John. I do look when the mood strikes me, but never come home with anything. But today I spent 80SEK on a quilting magazine in Swedish and – honest to g-d it sucked. So boring that the clocks came to a stand still (så tråkig att klockorna stannar)…fell free to hit me over the head, but I found absolutely nothing inspirational in it. Nothing. Zip. No nada. And I though about one other quilters magazine (that I actually subscribed to for a year) in Swedish…..I quit the subscription for one reaon only – it was boooooring! WHY is it so? Typical Nordic peeled of (avskalat)? Can’t be, Marimekko, Gunilla Ponten and Gudrun Sjödin are far from bland, so why does this sort of quilting? OK, so there are not very many quilting magz from the rest of the world that I fancy……Vignette, some other Aussie ones and most of the Quilters Newsletter issues…. but that’s about it. Come to think about it, there are not very many magz that interest me at all …..Hundsport (the SKK monthly) I do read with interest and the weekly free ones about our municipality. Oh my, I think I’m turning into a sourpuss ROFLMAO.

Ack my head hurts, time to go to bed.

 

Good and great ideas

You know how it is, you suddenly get a vision, an idea of a creative kind, but you’re not sure how to make it come true? Like with my shadowy curtains in my green house – since I have bought some frippery to make it look a bit less stark and the uneven cut-of garden fleece shadow canopy I had put there a couple of years ago (just to have something) was ugly as sin….I got this “romantic” idea in my head. I did a trial run with some old plain of-white cotton curtain and it did look wayyyy better than the garden fleece. But I wanted something more decorative….striped thin cotton? Printed thin cotton?…..nahh. And then it hit me – poly lace! I looked here and there and thanks to a girl on the Swedish Quilt-Lappteknik group, I found that Stoff & Stil had opened a store here in Stockholm and – they got a thin with scalloped edges white lace. So today I went there (great store BTW) and bought 8 meters, sewed on piece and voila:

I think it turned out quite pretty, just need to even up the hemline and then there is only 4 more to go. As I said earlier, I have done some “pimping”, bought nice vintage looking things (wait for some more to be delivered) that I have put on the narrow shelf along one of the walls, but – since it is a green house and only have glass walls ;-9, it is almost impossible to take good photos. I managed to get one of a stileben of sorts – the watch is working, there are two hellebores in the back and in the zink pots apple minth, French tarragon and ordinary basil on one of the wire shelves, One small scalloped birds watch (but I hope to god no birds will fly in there) and a small dark, hard wood lidded bowl with tiny metallic trimmings:

I checked out the transplanted seedlings, sadly many of them look like sorry excuses of plants to be:-( Well, if I fail, I just drive over to Ulriksdal’s Castle Garden and by myself some tomatoes, cuces and hot chiliplants. Dang if I understand what I’ve done wrong…..have they been too cold during the nights even though I bedded them with garden fleece??

One that grows unbelivable fast is Diego who is starting to look like he is a Parson Russell instead of a Jack LOL

Picture taken on a windy afternoon in the porch swing – oh all them lovely scents!! On On monday evening we will begin a puppy/youngster obedience class. He surely need it, the little Houdini breakout dog of mine. John will probably tag along – fun-fun

Time to start dinner – “Plank Steak” made of rib eyed beef, potato daphinoise and sauce béarnaise – all made from scratch. Lucky my family who has me to cook for them LOL!

Strange kind of day

I’ve been so damned tired that it hurt, had no inspiration to do anything -not even cutting our the tiny pieces for the Delightful Quilted Garden wallhanger.  Thankful I remembered to water my seeds/seedling Then I just laid on the porchswing reading emails on the cell and playing some games too. Diego have been more than strange, thenormaly übercuddly and affectionate little guy, spent his day laying by himself, sunning – keeping some distance. And Arwen, the normally aloof girl, spend a big part of the afternoon sleeping alongside me in the porch swing with her head firmly planted on my chest. All +30kg furry girly head of her.

I’m trying to make a decision weather to make full length lacy curtains for every second (of 5) 180 cm panes in the green house or – making them as short (75cm) as the ones divided by the automatic window openers. You can’t very well make a ´full length curtain for these windows, cause when the open a lot of seeds etc. will blow in and be collected in the folds…. I have found some lace fabric I want/need to use, the question os only – how much??

And – now the time has come to start looking for housing for Sam in Norrtälje for the fall. When asked if he wanted to live by himself in a small apartment or share with other out-of-towners, he did lean against the sharing possibility. Much seem to go in the direction that he will be admited to the Animal/Zoo keeper edication, we will hear a bit more in two weeks time. I think I have to email all the parents in the list from the school and find out who else is going to move away from home and – who wants to share. There is a lot of stuff to be fixed – the contractand rent, furnitures( we do have som along with table ware and cutlery to send with him)e, money, location location location, not to mention the cost for traveling by train from Norrköping to Stockholm every weekend.

But thew thought, the mere though make my eyes water ;-(

And I’m so friggin tired!!

OMFG, my nerves are startting acting up and I will probably have the biggest of breakdowns when the day come when we leave him down there………….In fact, I’m pretty sure that the dogs will find ot mighty strange that he’s no longer here with us.

Ack ack

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C´Valborg, Walpurgis, worry about kids

Today is Valborgsmässoafton and for once the weather is nice. Sam has said a word about going out until last night and although I am a bit apprehensive about it, I have to allow him to go out. As he said – all went well and according to plan last year. I’m not sure I got Johns views on this – if he wat to go to the bonfire with his friends or stay home talking to them on Skype while gaming….I do think 13 years is too you to be let out alone with his friends under these circumstances, but who am I to talk – heh???

1st of May is still a holiday here and as my neighbor and friend G said – why should one party still have their own holiday? I agree, if one of the major political parties are allowed to have a day of for the people/workforce, why not all of the 5 leading parties have one each? I mean – the Russian Revolution is faaaaaar behind us in time ;-6

OK, need to make up for two weeks of non laundry, then grocery shopping (what on earth to have d´for dinner today and tomorrow?) and to the one and only fabric store in the northern parts of this city, to see if I can find some lacy fabric at a good proce for curtains in the green house. Then I have to go out in the RV with The DH to measure some seams on a curtain. Then Sam will be back home from school and I have tio drive around while he’s filming and then -the big discussion about tonight will come on….I get tired just of think of it LOL.

During the weekend, I replanted some of me seedlings and have them under fiber-fleece out in the green house. Looking at them I can’t help but wonder of they are ever going to grow into large succulent plants??? Can’t remember if they always have looked like this when young???

Have a lovely Valborg!

Out of the mouth

I bought some “curtain spiral” (gardin spiral) to use for the to be shadow curtains in the green house. It came in a 5m length so it needed to be cut up in 7 pieces (need to buy one more set though) and my is that steel spiral inside the plastic cover tough to cut!!! sam came up to me and said “wow – are you doing techie stuff??”. Well, I replied, I did have a life before The DH you know. Ha, said the son “it’s like you telling me dad used to cook before he met you”. Big <G<.

As soon as I have made one curtain and put it up, I will post a picture.

Thanksgiving in April ;-)

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mamama fiona, Realgymnasiet i Norrköping, Väsby Veterinärsjukhus

Sometimes there are things to be more than usual happyr for. In no particular order;

After months of worry, my beloved furry gal Fiona is a OK again. Last weeks visit to the vets ultrasound at Väsby Veterinärsjukhus (the one and only that have got to treat our dogs) showed her uterus all dried up and the udder tumors has encapsuled and not grown. The surgeon vet (the lovely Ash ;-o) sais there is no reason whatsoever to have any suregury done on her and both vets claimed that Fiffi is a marvelous exaple of her breed and xtremley well kept for her age. Proud doggie mommy But they don’t know here dark secret – Queen Bitch of the Universe who can levitate to get to a cinnamon roll and – snatch the hot dog bun from Johns mouth ;-o As he laconically claimed when she hit his front teeth with her nose “Fiffi – you have gotten spoiled rotten during your illnesses”.

Sam has been prelimnary admited to all four educations he has applied for, with Real Gymnasiet in Norrköping on the top

Today for exactly 20yrs ago, The DH and I met and fell in love, now that is an achievement if there was

I know there was one more thing, but heck if I can remember it right now. The DH and Sam has gone to the Judas Priest concert, so it’s me, John and the dogs. Oh – got to tell – I am so proud of John who is not very studying/cram oriented, but he studied diligently for a biology test today – both with my help and along with his friends on Skype

The smudge in the glass (smolket i bägaren in Swedish – haha) is that the once so grand employer which nowadays only think SEK and SEK and SEK – for themselves and the stockholders!!! has decided to change the early retirement program we have had for the last 15v years or so (you could get retirement at 57 with a nice portion of your salary until the formal retirement age). And they have changed it in a major way – you have to be 61 now!!! Holy cow, how am I ever going to survive???

Well, it’s pitch black and very rainy outside and it was hart near impossible to get the dogs outside. Luckily the concert is indoors……just hope they will keep quiet when they get back home Diego is curled up near my feet, snoozing away = high cosy factor.