spaazlicious

...the newest member of the family, Sheila Doog!



She's my brother's dog and they're visiting from southeastern Arizona (Bisbee/Douglas area) while he gets his IFR (Instrument Flight Rating). He and my mother are the bemused figures in the background of this picture.

Here's a better pic of what my niece looks like when she's not buried headfirst in Coronado dogbeach:



Sheila Doog is a poster pup for rescue/shelter dogs--look at that face! Those markings! And to top it off, she's smart as hell. She is believed to be a Queensland Heeler, also known as an Australian Cattle Dog, a breed said to have a little dingo in them, and some bull terrier--remember Spudz MacKenzie? Since she's only five months old, she'll likely be about thirty-five pounds when she's finished growing.

My mom has been teaching her tricks and some basics--she learned "shake" and "down" very quickly, and Mom bought a book of dog training & tricks, so I expect that by next April she'll be doing everybody's taxes, as they're a great teaching/learning team.

As might be expected, there are a few jealousy issues between pups at Mom's, ('cuz she's a whippet Grandma dammit!) but when they are at the dog beach or in my Grandmother's backyard, they get along pretty well.

On the knitting front: Meh.

Still working on the Map of the World afghan and a critter cozy, but not very much at a time and not very often. I really should cast on for that crayonbox coloured mohair-silk bouclé cardigan, to get myself excited about knitting something new, but I also "really should" put a dent in all these WIPs laying around the house.

I did spin up a bobbin of Blue-faced Leicester while watching that old classic "Volunteers." (with Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, John Candy, Gedde Watanabe [remember "What'sa hoppenin' HotStuff?" from Long Duk Dong in "16 Candles?" Did you know he was born in Utah?])

I'll probably spin up another bobbin tonight, alternating it with chemistry homework. Summer session has started at the local community college, and I have some catching up to do from loafing around last semester. Somehow, through all my school switching around, I never took a chem class in my life. It's just an Intro lecture and lab, I'm married to a former biochemist, so I'm looking forward to it, despite all the chem horror stories and the faces people make.