Still no knitting

Still haven't had a stitch of free time to knit and starting to go a little nutty!!! I want that cardigan finished! I can't wait to wear it. But in other news, Ken and I headed to Sequim for a fishing derby (we didn't catch a single fish) and if you can tell from this picture, I am wearing BOTH my panta and my color change hat I recently finished!!! The panta worked wonders at keeping my ears warm and toasty!
Not that you can tell from this picture, but Guppy is sporting a new black pastaza sweater and staying all cuddly warm in the cutty of the boat. I was very impresse with Guppy! He did super great on the boat all day with us!!!

When we did get back, I was very excited to check on my sprouts and was pleased to see this!!! Look at how well all my little seedlings are doing!!!! I am really digging this growing thing...the results are so quick!
I was sad to see that my ground cover, that I planted right before the weather turned ridiculously cold, does not appear to be doing so well. I find that I am more and more eager for nice weather so I can get out in my yard and plant stuff. Stay tuned for more pictures :)

All the puppies at a petstore ARE from a puppymill

After my last post about petstore puppies being from puppymills I recieved so many responses not only in the comments but sent directly to my personal e-mail about this issue. Some comments were to say Thank You for spreading the word, others were comments that they are certain their petstore puppy is not from a puppy mill.
This is an issue that is just being learned about so most don't know enough about it. This picture is one of cages in a puppy mill. These dogs never come out of these cages, they never get to play, they never get petted, they are lucky if they ever get feed and when they pee or poop, it falls on the dog below.
The fact of the matter is, if the puppy is from a petstore IT IS A PUPPY MILL Puppy.
*A real breeder cares about their puppies as much as you do...would you let a store clerk pick a person to take care of your pet while you are on vacation-of course not. A real breeder would always want to know where their puppies homes are going to be....they would never leave that choice up to a pimpley faced store clerk. The petstore puppy DID NOT come from a breeder.
*But you say, 'I asked and they said it wasn't a puppy mill puppy'
~Of course they said it wasn't from a puppy mill...are they really going to say, "yes- we support cruel and inhumane conditions so we can make a buck".
*Were there more than 2 puppies in the petstore when you went in? If the answer is yes, you know that puppies don't grow on trees, they only grow in puppy mills. What are they odds that all the 'breeders' the petstore supposedly gets there puppies from happen to have a litter of puppies EVERY SINGLE WEEK. They are getting shipped in from puppymills.
*Are the puppies in the store younger than 8 weeks old? No real breeder would, in good conscious, let their puppies leave the mother until it was AT LEAST 8 weeks old- it lets the puppies be at risk for serious illnesses if they are taken away too soon. A petstore, however, can make much more money on a 6 week old pup that a 10 week old put so the mill takes the puppies away at 4 weeks or earlier. The petstore is in it for the money not the health of the puppy.
Any way you look at it, every puppy in a petstore is from a puppy mill. They are continually breed for puppies until they die. Death is the best thing that can possibly happen, because the pain and misery the dogs have gone through is unimaginable.
PLEASE DON'T BY YOUR PUPPIES FROM A PETSTORE. THEY ARE FROM PUPPY MILLS!!!!
If you want to learn more about it, please check out this site and do what you can to stop puppymills!
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/index.html

Tonight is SURVIVOR!!! The season is ok so far...I am still a die hard fan so I will be sticking with it! The most interesting part of the show is that this nut case Shane (I think is his name) went on Survivor and quit smoking that day and now is totally loosing it and being completely mental...what's even more suprising is he still has not gotten voted off, even after a couple very odd outbursts. Actually, now that I think of it, this season has a lot of kooky people in it and young guys who don't know how to do a dang thing in the outdoors. Who will be voted out tonight?!

How much is that doggy in the window? Have you noticed that the petstores are getting more and more puppies and kittens lately? Have you ever stopped to wonder, where do they come from...the momma dog is no where to be seen. The sad truth is, just like every product in that petstore, those puppies and kittens have been mass produced in a puppy mill. What does that mean? A female dog is kept in a cage, with no socialization, no affection and likely no name. She is constantly pregnant, often abused and is left to lay in her own filth since she never gets to play outside. Then the puppies are taken away at least 3 weeks too early (should be with mother until 8 weeks old) and shipped to petstores. The momma dog is then quickly impregnated again to keep up with the demand of the petstores and goes through the painful process over and over again with no break until her body stops being able to make puppies, and what happens next to dispose of her is often unimaginable. Most people do not know this of petstore animals...I didn't until I got Guppy. The best thing you can do to help stop this process is to get your next pet from a breeder (found in the newspaper or from friends) or from your local animal shelter like www.petfinder.com Please do what you can to stop puppymills...tell everyone you know where petstore puppies come from, because just like you and me, they probably don't know about puppymills and the torture the animals are put through...they only know that the puppy in the window is so darn cute!!!

What is the matter with my blog?!

AAaaahhh!!! I can't figure out why my blog won't show my sidebar information...none of the links, buttons, archives, NOTHING!!! What the heck?! If any one can give me some suggestions how to fix this I would really appreciate it! If it is working when you see this post, then NEVER MIND :)

Knitting withdrawls

I have had no time to spare for knitting and I am really starting to have withdrawls!!! I am so close to finishing that sweater that it is making the withdrawls that much worse. We are heading to Sequim for a fishing derby this weekend, so I have high hopes for tons on knitting progress during the drive!!!
On the bright side, I have been trying my hand (or is it my green thumb) at gardening. This picture is some cobblestones I layed along the driveway and some ground cover planted in between. I also put in those flowers and Ken planted that lilac tree for me!!! I also planted a cherry blossom tree in the large planter box not shown as well as tons and tons of bulbs all throughout the yard!!! I am pretty excited and can't wait to see the results.
The bummer part is this darn frosty weather! I had to lay sheets out over the flowers and ground cover to keep them from freezing to death!!!
For our homemade Valentines Day Ken made me a lattice for my camelia!!! It looks great out by the planter box and it is going to cover up that ugly phone line box so well when it gets bigger :)
I ALSO got really crazy and started some seedlings. I bought a couple dozen little seed packets and Ken pulled out all his plant growing supples (because he is actually QUITE the little gardener) and he helped me put together this plant tray. I checked it every morning and evening and was so excited to see these little sprouts popping up this morning...after only 2 1/2 days of growing. I am so excited I want to run out right now and get another plant tray and start some more!!! I may sound so silly being this excited about growing plants, but this is my first time and I think it is so dang cool!!!

Do you feed your dog greenies? Dogs love 'em, but it turns out they are actually killing dogs!!! This Video is a news report on it, but the nutshell is that Greenies are now the 3rd largest cause of throat obstructions for dogs next to bones and fish hooks. Sad thing is it gets stuck in there esophagus, so surgery is the only thing that can be done if you notice in time. I know Guppy loves these things, but he definitely isn't getting any more!!!!!! His life isn't worth the risk!!

So dang close with no free time!!!! AAaaahh. This cardigan is knitting up so quickly, all I need is a few spare hours to finish it up, but can't seem to find a moment. Same with the clapotis...I am inches away from begining the decreases, then I will finally have this six month project done!!!! So close I can almost taste it!!! I do have to say, I really love how the Bollicine Victor is knitting up and I have gotten so many compliments on the color!

SURVIVOR Premier!!!!!! WooHoo!

Tonight is going to be a goooooood night. That's right!!! The season premier of SURVIVOR is on tonight!!! I have waited almost three months for Survivor to come back and now it here (picture me doing a happy dance). At 8pm tonight I can be found with a bowl of popcorn on one side, Guppy cuddled up on the other and my knitting in my lap and the channel set to #7. WooHoo, survivor is on!!! There should be a Survivor knit night...I wonder if there are any other knitters who are as die hard as I am...........

Desperate times call for desperate measures

A HUGE thank you for the comments with suggestions on where to look for bride's maid dresses!!! Sadly, I am still coming up empty handed...David's Bridal has had the best pink, but it's all in taffetta-and with a vintage style wedding dress I don't think it's going to quick match the style. Me and my gals have another stop this weekend to check out dresses, but I am now very seriously considering hitting the fabric stores and pulling out the sewing machine and making these dresses myself. It seems like the best way to get the colors I want, but I am a bit nervous about how rusty I might be...it's been a few years since I have made any clothing so I would definitely need a bit of practice.