Guess what?!?

On By CarynIn dog, Life Hack

Another puppy post! But I managed to squeeze in another life hack/craft project.

Missy’s favorite place to nap is under feet.

I don’t know how big little miss is going to end up. She has a vet appointment soon, but I don’t want to put her in a cat carrier. I don’t want to buy a soft carrier that only holds 10 pounds if she ends up being 17. So I drew on my baby days and sling wearing. I don’t have much time to craft, so I took an old t-shirt with no side seams from the recycle box, and cut it off under the armpits to make a wide tube of fabric.

Sad little app sketch because I couldn’t reach my sketch pad with the puppy asleep on my feet

I put this on cross body, and tucked little miss in. She likes it! I’m using it periodically at home to get her used to it. It also helps when I need to do something and can’t watch her. It isn’t hands free, but it does free up one hand to do things like make tea. I tried one of my husband’s old shirts first, but that held her too low. She actually prefers the sling a little snug.

Missy in a sling made from an old t-shirt

Whelp

On By CarynIn dog, Life Hack

Y’all are going to get a fair few puppy posts. Needless to say, I’m not getting much crafting done. Missy the mystery pup sleeps quite a bit, but when she is awake we have to stay wary! Even when she is sleeping we have to have one eye out for when she wakes up. Potty training is still going OK, but if her little feet hit grass or carpet after a nap she will do her business. So we’ve taken to carrying her out when she wakes.

Crashed puppy

She is also chewing everything, as puppies do. I didn’t realize how many cords are in our living room for charging various devices! To help keep the little miss from getting into trouble, I put a sheet of poster board between the chairs to keep her from the cords. (Hey, I managed to squeeze something crafty into the post!)

Poster board rolled between two chairs to keep the puppy out

Oh, puppy

On By CarynIn dog

We’ve been looking for another dog for while now, both as a companion for our current dog, Griffin, and as a potential family lap dog. We are an adopt kind of family, not a buying kind. We applied for some adoptions but were not selected, visited some other adoptables that were afraid of Griffin, then stumbled upon a litter of Chihuahua (maybe) mixes at a rescue where I had previously applied. Somehow, we ended up at the top of the list and so we went to meet a puppy at the foster home. So much sweetness and cuteness in a such a little package! And the puppy was enamored with Griffin.

Sleepy puppy getting ready for a nap

So this is Missy the (maybe) 2 month old, 3.6 pound puppy. Oh, puppy. It has been a long time since we’ve had a puppy, and never one this young! We’ve been puppy proofing the house, and watching carefully. When she wakes from a nap (I forgot how much puppies nap), we take her outside and she does her business! The only accident in the house was totally my fault. She whimpered at night and I thought she was lonely. Nope. Watching a 3 pound puppy play with our 50 pound dog is hilarious, and he is so careful around her.

Missy and Griffin

We are crate training, and taking turns with the cuddles with the hope she will bond to the whole family rather than one person. The humans are all enamored. Griffin was much happier when he realized she was a dog (she did the play position). Sophie the cat was wary, and Izzy the cat is hiding either in the catio or the craft room. She is an 11 pound, very long calico, absolutely scared of a 3 pound puppy. Oh my.

Fancy a dust bath?

On By CarynIn Cats, Wildlife

I moved the trail camera, and apparently zeroed in on the neighborhood cat dust bath. I had 200 pictures of cats laying in the dirt. I will spare you the whole collection, and just share the cutest.

Big Orange Tom, father of most of the neighborhood’s kittens, has a vulnerable moment
Black kitty also takes a dust bath. We have the most pictures of her on several days.
Not cats, but the four baby raccoons have grown up!

Making lucet cord

On By CarynIn Craft
How to make a lucet cord, no turn method, splash screen from video

Since I’ve been making lucets, I thought it was appropriate that I make a video on how to use them! I marked my yarn with colored dots to help the viewer see how the yarn moves around the lucet and how the loops are tightened. I talk about starting, tension, lengthening, and finishing (and have marked the sections so it is easy to skip through the video).

Lucet cord showing loose, nice, and too tight tension and loop size

Above is an image of how the lucet cord looks with different tension issues. If you pull the loops too tight, it is very difficult to make new loops because it is harder to pull the yarn through. Too loose and the cord doesn’t have the classic look. A classic lucet cord is square and even. Making the cord is also relaxing and a little addictive once you have the moves down. I’m thinking of keeping a ball of yarn and a lucet in my bag for moments I need to fidget!