Spa Sunday

This is how we spend many summer Sundays. Tillie cannot jump up onto the grooming table by herself, but - as you can see from the middle photograph - Rowdy easily jumps up onto it. Anyone thinking about agility training for her dog might want to consider the unintended consequences. (And how 'bout that recovery from knee surgery? Special note to rehab vet: he's jumping and running like an Aussie puppy - had to increase his caloric intake to keep him UP to his atheletic goal weight! ) We have no pictures of the washing, because it takes two people to manage two Aussies when they are both in a participatory mood and the project involves cool water on a hot day. When I groom alone, one dog stays in the house until the other one is done. Today Mike helped, which meant we were able to do almost all the Full Grooming Routine - from thoroughly brushing out all that undercoat, dremeling claws, trimming feet fur, leaving the oatmeal shampoo on for a 10 minute treatment, and blow-drying - for both dogs in about 40 minutes. It also means we both got pretty wet. Aussies are very easy to groom, if you don't consider all the shenanigans that go on.

Tillie loves to be groomed on the deck, where everyone can see her, and well, that's what divas do best. Because her eyes can't tolerate a flash at all, it's great to get some nice pictures of her using bright natural light. Rowdy just thinks anything involving water and his people is wonderful. As you can see, he plays to the camera.

Farmer's Market

Mother and I went to the big Farmer's Market on Saturday. This one is the official Farmer's Market that is open year-round and has a nice facility. I'm sure it's small by big-city standards, but it was a nice size for us. Every parking place was taken; we parked next door. We found more local or regionally grown foods and bought some very interesting things - rice grown from a South Carolina rice plantation that began growing rice in the 1700s, stone-ground grits from a mill in Piedmont. We came home with quite a bit of produce, and are looking forward to dinner tonight. Actually - we're looking forward to dessert: homemade strawberry ice cream! Then we'll use up the remaining strawberries by making strawberry sorbet which is fat-free.

Mike and I decided to put the bread machine to good use and try some whole-wheat pizza dough - probably next weekend.

The knitted lace stole is completed, and awaiting blocking. A new pair of socks is on the needles. This uses self-striping yarn, and the stitch pattern pulls the fabric into waves. This is using yarn I bought at the going-out-of-business sale recently.