In The Fog Of Puppyhood

I'm still here . . . at least I think so.  I'm existing in the fog of puppyhood.  We've been (or at least I have) looking for the right dog to add to our family since we lost our beloved Makita (a sheltie/shepherd mix) 4 years ago at the age of 16 . . . she was the perfect dog and irreplaceable, but I longed for another one. 

Makita at 10 years of age when we lived in Slovakia . . . yes, she learned some Slovak commands from our housekeeper Mary.  We also took her to Serbia with us . . . how many dogs can say they lived in 3 different countries!

Figured the right shelter pup would come along that would just tug at my heart.  Was looking for a female at least a year old, medium to large size . . . maybe a Golden Retriever mix or a Poodle mix.  Lots of Pitbull mix dogs out there . . . really like a dog with a little more hair . . . just  wasn't finding what felt like the right dog.

Then . . . went to get my hair cut and one of the hairdressers showed me a picture of puppies her dog had and BAM . . . my heart was being tugged big time!  She said the beige female was available.  Later in the day she texted me to say her mother had promised that one to another person . . . I was devastated!  Then several hours later she texted me again to say that the woman who wanted the black one never showed up.  That one was also a female . . . would I be interested?  YES, I'll be there in 20 minutes!!!

Well . . . she's not a year old . . . she's not a medium to large dog . . . she's not a Golden Retriever.  Her mother is an 8 pound Terrier and her father is a 10 pound Peekapoo . . . okay so there is a little poodle in her.   Her coloring is remarkably like Makita's was . . . it was meant to be!

 The day I picked her up . . . a week before Christmas at 6 1/2 weeks old.

After her first Vet visit at  9 weeks.

Her name is Myška which is a common nickname in Slovakia for children . . . roughly translated as "little mouse".  She is 3 pounds of pure mischief!

I haven't had a puppy in about 30 years (Makita was a year old when we got her and housebroken).  It's worse than having a newborn baby!  She's at least sleeping (usually) between 7 and 8 hours a night now . . . started out only 5 or 6 hours!   We've got a pretty good routine going now with visits outside after every nap and every half hour when she's awake . . . keeps the "accidents" down.  I think I picked a good one!!!

Stitchting?  Well . . . a little here and there.  I've got 3 new designs finished for Market the end of February.  Two are at the framer now and one is partially put together as a pillow.  Many ideas floating around, but haven't taken the time . . . what time . . . to put them on paper, let alone stitch them!

Here's a piece I finished not too long ago.  It's a Blackbird design that was part of The Ladies Prim Society club through Dyeing To Stitch.  I changed it a bit . . . well, maybe a lot.  I loved the concept.  Thought the boarder was a bit heavy and didn't like the one large motif.  Moved things around and I'm liking the outcome.  It all started when I made the mistake of stitching all the large center flowers red before realizing that two of them were supposed to be blue . . . then I felt I had to stitch the cardinals as bluejays to balance the colors and it grew from there . . . will do just about anything to not have to Frog (rip it, rip it)!  Will take it to the framer when I pick up my other two.

Well . . . puppy is waking up from her afternoon nap . . . outside we go!

Stitch a while for me!  ~*