Month: March 2021

Foster Pup

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We have some pretty good news about our most recent foster!

This pretty girl ended up being adopted by Miss Butterfly’s dad and step mom! I’ll tell you a little about it.

When she arrived at our house, it turned out that our dogs didn’t seem to like her too much. She’s big and bouncy and they seemed to be threatened by that and couldn’t understand her. We learned how to maneuver this situation using baby gates and kennels in order to keep all 3 dogs safe and happy. It was a challenge this round. Foster dog was really a joy though, and one day Miss Butterfly’s dad came over to pick her up. Foster dog was out in the main area of the house chasing balls all around the room as she does to entertain herself. Miss Butterfly’s dad just….fell in love! He texted his wife photos and videos, and she showed up at the next meet and greet to meet our foster dog. They put in an application and it was accepted!

I was very nervous about the dog intro, they have an old black lab who is ball obsessed and fetch obsessed but not playful or interested in other dogs. He likes having other dogs around but doesn’t show signs of playing with them. Since foster dog didn’t really get on with our dogs I was quite concerned that maybe she wouldn’t get on with their old dog. On the other hand, I thought, he is significantly larger than her so unlikely to find her bouncy energy intimidating.

Well, she went over there last night to meet him. And what happened? They immediately started playing together. Her bouncy energy brought out the young playful dog in him and he bounced and played and fetched with her all over the yard. Then they went inside and played tug together and ball keep away from each other. They got on as if they were always meant to be together much to my surprise and delight!

So, in the end, she just stayed at their house. I got all the adoption paperwork completed and left a bunch of goodies with them and we snuck out while former foster dog and new family got to know each other.

It’s very exciting that she’s still “with us” in some way. We’ll likely get to see her, get to hang out at the dog park with her, etc as sometimes we’d already do that with their old dog. And I am really glad that this bouncy fun dog ended up in an active home that will keep her playing fetch all evening. A fairy tale ending!

A to Z Project Pan update 1

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It’s been a month and a little over a week since I began this project pan, so I think it’s time for an update. I’ll do the letters and products in sections along with a photo from last month and this month’s photo under it. I’ll also list usage for this first month. Shall we get started?

A: Mario Badescu facial spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater. The goal is to finish. (No usage in the first month)
B: ABH Sultry palette Bloom-goal is to hit pan. (2 uses)
C: ABH Sultry Palette Cinder-goal is to hit pan. (no usage)
D: ABH Sultry Palette Dystopian-goal is to hit pan. (3 uses)
E: ABH Sultry Palette Ember-goal is to hit pan. (1 use)
F: ABH Sultry Palette Fresh-goal is to hit pan. (4 uses)
G: Grace & Stella Spray all Day Rose Spray-goal is to finish. (24 uses)
H: Cover FX Palette Highlighter-goal is to hit pan on one of these. (I am making a change here as the highlighter is too dark, I am subbing in a pan highlighter from pur. I’ve already hit pan but my goal is to use it up. I used one or the other highlighter 14 times)
I: IT Cosmetics CC cream-Goal is to finish. (15 uses, I depotted this and put it in the little blue container for easy access.)
J: Elf Jellypop primer-goal is to finish. (16 uses, though it doesn’t look like any.)

First photo
Update1 with a new highlighter subbed in. I did not take photos of items I did not use.

K: Kilian princess sample-goal is to finish. (Used 6 times and it is gone.)
L: Estee Lauder Doublewear-goal is to finish. (no usage)
M:Tarte palette Mermosa-goal is to hit pan. (7 uses)
N: Tarte palette Nude Beach-goal is to hit pan. (8 uses)
O: C.Y.O Lifeproof foundation-goal is to finish. (16 uses, MAJOR dent in this product!)
P: ABH Sultry Palette Pearl-goal is to hit pan. (10 uses)
Q: Tarte blush color Quirky-goal is to hit pan. (17 uses)
R: Rom&nd bronzer: goal is to hit pan. (22uses)
S: ABH Sultry Palette Steamunk-goal is to hit pan. (4 uses)
T: ABH Sultry Palette Twig-goal is to hit pan. (5 uses)

First photo
Update 1

U: Urban Decay Eye Primer-goal is to finish. (18 uses)
V:Urban Decay eyeliner in Voodoo-goal is to use past the 24/7. (10 uses)
W: Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear foundation-goal is to finish. (no usage)
X: Too Faced Boudoir Eyes (soft and sexy) eyeshadow palette use up In The Buff eyeshadow. (21 uses)
Y: NYX eyeshadow pan (at the bottom of the black eyeshadow palette) goal is to use up. (3 uses)
Z: BH Cosmetics Zodiac Palette-goal is to hit pan on the matte Virgo shade. (5 uses)

First photo
Update 1

I’ve been trying to look at this project pan as a long term project and not get overly focused on it to the detriment of the remainder of my collection. And I think overall it’s been successful. There are items that I’ve got great progress on like the two foundations I concentrated on. I am hoping to have both of those finished off by next update. And I can see some good dips going on in some of the shadows. However, I’ve spread out my shadow usage between the 3 palettes and other palettes in my collection pretty well. I only finished one item over this month, but that’s all I expected to finish. I think I can finish 2 items for next update, possibly 3. The additional bonus on this project is that since I’ve got multiple eyeshadows from 2 palettes, the colors that aren’t technically in the project are also showing a nice amount of use. The mermaid palette in particular has expanded pan in two of the matte shades.

Again, I am not planning to roll in new products when I am done with goals on current products. This is just a project to complete, the products will dwindle as I complete them. Once finished, I’ll see then how I am feeling about another project. But, this has been an enjoyable lowkey project for me this season as I ease back into the office more fully post vaccination.

Another Foster Dog

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When I last talked about our foster dog journey, we had a very perfect little dog who didn’t stay with us long at all, and I talked about taking a little break since we had a bit of a trip coming up. Well, it didn’t work out that way. There was a return of a 2 year old dog adopted out as a puppy. She wasn’t a dramatic case, she’d been loved well but her owner was moving to NYC and didn’t want an active dog to suffer in a tiny apartment.

She’s a boxer lab mix and she is indeed very active. Also puppy like though not destructive and perfectly potty trained.

She’s utterly ball obsessed and will entertain herself beautifully for as long as we’ll let her. She also LOVES the dog park. And she’s very smart which makes getting her the training and manners she needs so much easier.

Our taking her in was borne out of need for our rescue rather than us choosing her and waiting for her to come in. She needed a place to land and we were able to provide it.

The biggest trouble is that she and our dogs do not get along. This is not their fault, each dog on their own is a fantastic dog. But the combo of personalities doesn’t work. I think our smaller dogs are a big intimidated by her puppy like energy in a big body. I am sure it was bound to happen at some point, and we were probably lucky it didn’t happen until our 7th foster. But we are over a week in and things have gotten progressively worse rather than better. As much as we love her we do hope she’ll find a new home soon!

Thankfully if she doesn’t find a home I do have another foster home lined up for her to stay with while we are away. We are glad for the support of other homes, making sure our rescue is a village of help to get these dogs homes.

Cozy

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I’ve been working on a new project, the Cozy Corner shawl. I decided that since the one project in particular that I really was inspired to knit last year was a Stephen West project, I should take a look at what else I could knit out of his pattern library. Cozy Corner really struck me as one that would hold my attention.

I am using a natural grey handspun yarn I made out of a fleece I processed paired with handspun that Miss Marja created (so far.) I am just kind of adding in color as I see fit, not being particular about color placement and just kind of knitting until I run out of a particular color. If I run out of the colorful yarns I am sure I’ll have others in my stash I can bring in.

It does indeed hold my attention so I am glad I chose it. And it is possible I already know what my next project will be as well, I am appreciating the botanique stole and if I can find appropriate handspun yarns in my stash, I think I’ll knit it.

Our foster dog did indeed find her home, she will be going there permanently on Tuesday evening. In the meantime we are really enjoying having her, mostly because she’s just such an easy dog. In other dog news, our Fury dog has been in advanced flyball class and today she ran the full course a few times, I was so impressed!

That’s it from here, it’s been a very busy weekend but also pretty lovely since the weather is pleasant!

A Finish

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I finished up my striped baktus scarf recently. I actually think if I make this again I’ll elongate it instead of making it this much of a triangle. And I probably will make this again, it’s a pleasant knit.

I used handspun yarn for this, grey and yellow, but the grey had some yellow in it. So while it’s striped, the striping is a little bit vague in certain areas. I kind of love that! I ran out of grey yarn, so one end fully yellow but I don’t think it’s too noticeable.

In other news, our new foster dog arrived.

She has winged eyeliner! She’s super cute and sweet and absolutely the most laid back dog we’ve ever fostered. She’s too easy. Fully potty trained with absolutely no adjustment accidents, loves to chill and nap, is not a morning dog and would prefer to stay warm and cozy in bed, just super easy all the way around. She is finishing up her last few days of kennel rest from heartworm treatment and I haven’t had to kennel her since she’s perfectly happy to laze around the house without the kennel. Naturally, because she’s so easy, she’ll be meeting her potential new home less than a week after she arrived to us.

This went so fast that it may be quite some time before we get another foster dog! I imagined having her through the bulk of March and then getting the next in April, but she’ll likely be gone so fast that we’ll have a pretty long break between fosters this time. That’s ok, a quick turn around means she gets to land in her forever home as fast as possible and that’s a good thing!

That’s all for today, but I do have a new project on the needles I should try to get posted shortly!