Fearless

I was camping in New Mexico at the time that I was searching for a greyhound in Arizona.   My male, Valentine (age 11 1/2) had needed to be euthanized due to osteosarcoma.

Val on left

Several agencies in Arizona wouldn't adopt to me because I didn't live in their town, but Greyhounds of the Verde Valley were very willing and accomodating.  I made arrangements to meet the adoption group in Arizona when they would be having their yearly appearance at the county fair.  The fair was at the end of Oct, and the weather was hot as blazes!  I could hardly walk from the shuttle bus to the greyhound booth.  They had set up in a shady area to protect the dogs as much as possible.  When I saw the dogs, they asked me if I wanted to take Power for a walk.  He had a bandage on his operated foot, but was walking on it really well.  I took his leash and tried to entice him to walk, but he was resistant.  I finally got him to walk and he was easy to walk.  (It was too hot to have much energy).

Power

I told the adoption people that I would like to get a dog who was not afraid of thunder. Val had been terrified of thunder and it was a matter of him suffering during a storm.  All the rest didn't really matter, such as color, size, age, gender. 

When looking over the dogs at the greyhound booth, the dogs ran the gamut of color and behavior.  One dog in particular was an outstandingly beautiful brindle color, but he was like a wild mustang, trying to jump over the fence, break down the gate, etc.  Another dog was in a section of fencing by himself, because he had just got through killing a cat!  Then there was Power who was lying on a bed being very well behaved.  I decided to get Power because of his mild behavior.  I didn't think he was beautiful, and I was a little worried because of the injuries he had sustained.  But the main thing I was wanting was the lack of fear of thunder.  I really wanted to have a "fearless" greyhound this time around.

Power has lived up to expectations.  When we experience a thunderstorm, he lifts his head, then puts it back down and goes back to sleep!

Heirloom quilt

This hand made quilt was pieced by my grandmother in the 1920's and was quilted by my mother in the 1940's.

Yellow pieces are new, including center circle

The fabrics are from the family's clothing, sheets, etc.  Much of the fabric has deteriorated to an alarming level, so I decided to take on the repairs necessary.  As you can see I was using white thread at first.

blue piece and black piece are new

I decided that I had to work with a better technique and color of thread.

bluish triangle piece is new

I was having a lot of trouble with the thread tangling, breaking, etc.  I heard from a friend that certain expensive quilting threads were better.  So, I ordered several different colors of quilting threads.  I am now resewing the pieces that looked so terrible!

I'm trying to get the stitches to be invisible, and hope that I will get it figured out soon!

The pieces in the quilt average about 1 in. in size, and my favorite thing about the quilt are the tiny pieces.  The squares in the quilt are each different in design, but are all very beautiful.  If any of you are quilters, and have suggestions, please share them with me. 

Twinkletoes

In my experience with Power, Fleur, Val, Pattie, etc., I have never seen but one "twinkletoes" greyhound!  By that term, I mean that instead of getting down to "business" the greyhound in question gets into a mentality in which he or she goes first one direction in a tight circle, then the other direction, then back in the first direction, and back and forth for a minimum of 4 cycles, while thinking about what direction is the best, and "do i or don't I?".  If the dog is at the end of a leash then the motions he or she goes through are even more pronounced, due to the short length of the leash.

The picture above is of Fleur and her friend.  The "twinkle toes" in this blog is not Fleur, but I could not get a photo of Power in all his twinkle toes glory!
He can try my patience if the sun is too hot, or the temp too cold, or if it's raining,  if my back is hurting, and walking is painful.  HOWEVER he is such an adorable personality that his "twinkle toes" activity is just a happy trait that adds to my life.

Playtime

Last night he could not decide that "business" was a necessity.  I walked him around in the area  near my RV.  He thoroughly enjoyed looking at the stars, checking out the rocks in the desert soil, searching for rabbits to lunge at, and just generally being happy to prolong the walk.  But after peeing a gallon or two he never got his mind on "business".  After a really long time of letting him carry his toy teddy bear around in his mouth, I finally decided that enough was enough, and we went back inside.  Fleur had been standing inside the door being very curious about WHY  Power is still outside.  She actually looked like she was sending him signals to say "what the heck?" Power of course just ignored her.

We all know what happens when our dogs won't get down to "business!  It means that at some ungodly hour, the dogs will need to go outside, and that involves us having to get out of bed and go through the routine with him so he can do his twinkle toes madness and let the stars be his witness that the 3:30 am urgent outside trip was a necissity!