Monday afternoon I picked up our new foster dog from the shelter. Known at the shelter at Pebbles and as Rocket at our house, she is one sweet girl.
Rocket is a petite pit bull mix. I do not know a great deal about her back story- just that she was a Dixie dog sent up from the south and, like many Dixie dogs, was left outside for most of her life. She is now three.
Things are going well here. Last night Rocket spent some time in bed with Luke and I. She curled herself into a tight little ball 'o dog between the two of us, and fell fast asleep. Watching her sweet little chest rise and fall as she rested safely made me feel as though I could cry. How anyone could remotely mistreat this creature is beyond me. How no one has fallen in love with her is also.


Well, we love her. I'm having a lovely time with her. While we need to work on manners, it seems a small task. So what if she pulls on the leash? So what if she licks incessantly? So what if she jumps up on people? And really, so what if Luke found her sitting in the middle of the dining room table this morning? Nothing a little clicker and bits of cheese can't take care of.

Bpui, Rocket and I went on a nice hike through the woods today. They got along swimmingly, which was heartening to see. I think Rocket really enjoyed herself- even if she had to stay on the Flexi the whole time.




Watching dogs be dogs is one of my favorite things to do. I got a great deal of joy from watching Rocket sniff, bound, trot, and jump around the wooded path today. She seemed truly happy. And in the short time she has been with us, I have seen none of the anxiety the shelter staff spoke of. In a home environment, I am gifted with her true colors.

We will show off those true colors at Country Fair this weekend. It is parent's weekend here at our school in the Valley, and campus will be teeming with people. Perhaps there will be a lovely family in search of their perfect companion, who are unbiased about a dog who happens to be stigmatized, black, and not yet trained.
Yet.
Selfishly of me.
I hope she stays with us a long time.
It doesn't take me long to give my heart away to a dog, and I have done so with Rocket.
I'm thinking by the way she looks at me and doesn't let me out of her sight that she has given me hers, too.

With This D Ring I Thee Wed...

This post, my friends, is all about Tucker. Tucker is the MAN. He is the namesake of my blog and budding business. A snuggle partner. Couch surfing pal. My heart wrapped up in 56 pounds covered in fur.

When Lucas asked me to marry him, he used Tucker to help him propose. It was only fitting. It isn't that I don't love our other dogs. My love for them is also unquestionable. But Tucker was my first "on-my-own" dog and he and I lived together, by ourselves for awhile. We got each other through some tough times. So as you can tell, he's a special guy. (Not to mention Bpui and Sherman couldn't be trusted to get a ring to me. Tucker obediently came to me when Luke told me to call him. The sweet guy stood in front of me, bedecked in a new collar, shiny ring for me hanging from his D ring. Good boy!) Once we started planning our wedding, the question arose, "do we have any of the dogs at the wedding?" I was not slightly concerned with what people would think- let them think. I knew it was the only wedding I was going to have, and let's face it- we dog people would rather be around our dogs than some people. So people snickering or rolling their eyes was a non-issue. Which canine companions could join us was.

I knew that Bpui would be too much of a handful, bless her little heart. There would be attempts at squirrel chasing, whining, barking. Not to mention the possibility of jumping...mix that with a lace dress and we might have a problem.

Then there was Sherm. Sherman is a) epileptic b)quirky and jerky with his movements and
c)terrible on a lead. Nope, no Sherm.

I felt horrible that they couldn't come, but I also knew Luke and I wouldn't be able to relax if they came. Therefore, Tucker was to do wedding duty alone.

I spent the weeks leading up to the wedding walking through historic Deerfield instead of our usual wooded hikes. After our walk, we would head up the walkway of the main building at Deerfield Academy and up onto the steps where Luke and I were to be wed. Then we would hang out for a while, watching the passers by. I figured if I introduced him to the place where he would need to stand for about a half hour for the wedding, he would be more apt to be calm. (That coupled with a Gentle Leader.)

I had no idea just how wonderful he would be. He behaved as a complete gentleman. He heeled fairly well for my sister-in-law Jess, who kindly took the "Tucker reigns" during the ceremony. He wore his shirt collar and tie with pride. He stood quietly and waited patiently through the ceremony. The photo above is one of my favorites- a quiet moment the photographer captured- my friend Erin reaching back to gently touch the top of Tuckie's head.

My Tucker buddy is one gentle soul. It meant the world to me to have him with us on such a special occasion. Though he doesn't understand the meaning of "standing up for me" at my wedding, it brought me joy to see him standing there with some of the closest women in my life.

He makes my heart soar.

I look forward to the next milestone Lucas and I experience, when I know Tucker will be there, once again, right by my side.

It's going to be on my floor...it might as well look good laying there.

The other day I was at the fabric store. (Ah, yes!!) As I stood at the counter, waiting for my brightly-colored fleece choices to be cut, I chatted with the clerk about my projects. As I described the pile of dog scarves, crate blankets and toys I I was about to make, a woman approached. Having overheard my conversation with the clerk, she looked at me and asked, "Do dogs like synthetics?"

"Geez, I don't know. I haven't known them to complain" I responded.

"I would think they would prefer natural fabrics, and not those made with- what is it- spun milk bottles?" she laughed.

*groan*

I shrugged my shoulders and continued on my way.

Since purchasing my seven yards of synthetic happiness, I have made multiple rope toys, a few scarves, and I am about to embark on a journey of crate blankets.

I wish I knew the phone number of the lady in the fabric store, so I could tell her that my dogs LOVE their fleece rope toys. I made a long rope toy for my fuzzy friends who have spent a good deal of their time playing with one another. They seem to like the feel of the fleece in their teeth. It wasn't tough or abrasive on their gums as they wrestled and tugged with all their might.

It also goes without saying for all experienced dog owners out there- that it is a pleasure to not have to worry about pieces of rope from a rope toy being ingested and caught in tummies...which, generally speaking, ends up coming out the other end of the dog- but only with assistance from the nearest and least squeamish human. Blegh.

I will be selling these fleece rope toys at the Crafty Rumpus Artisan Fair at The Center School on December 5th, 2009.

Ah, here we are. A special bloggy-blog all to myself. Now I can be self-involved and sound off about all things important to me. Hence the aptly titled "fuzzy ears in my pocket and other good things." I'll explain later.



It is the second to last day of October, and I find myself thinking about all of the reasons I love this month so. First off, being fortunate enough to live in New England is reason enough to adore autumn, and I am sad to see October's 31 days draw to a close. The colors, the harvest and the smell are among my favorite aspects of life these days.



And let's take a moment to honor kid art. Seriously. The pumpkin you see to the left- the one all dolled up- was crafted by one of my students. Looks like it took a few stabs (ahem) before Jack here really and truly came to life. But what a clever creation! Adorned with pushpins and sewing pins he is happy as a clam in gourd clothing. The photo doesn't show it all that well, but he is also wearing a "leaf-and-other-bits-of-nature" hat. Kids are the best.



I have a box full of notions that was given to me by a textile company owner. I can't wait to give it to the students to see what they create. They always come up with the most innovative, interesting ideas.

Speaking of ideas...I have been oh-so-crafty recently.

I don't know if I have any talent at all, but I am enjoying making things with my hands.

That being said, I need to be cautious.

I have always maintained that the word CRAFT is a mere consonant from the word CRAP.

I've seen more cinnamon sticks hot-glued on to wooden pieces of ridiculousness in my years than I care to recall.

Don't want to be caught in that category.

In addition to which, my creations might be considered off-beat.

Nonsensical.

Unnecessary.

Whimsical.

Silly.

But I love them. I love them and they make me smile.

Par example:

Une collar pour chien avec fleurs.

A beauty queen, c'est vrai?

It is a simple fabric collar with a brightly colored button. Cool.

They serve no purpose save to make me happy. Want one?