Fourteen and a half.

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Jen

We’ve been hunkered down through a week long power out and biting our nails while Kincade Fire raged in Sonoma County very close by, and my friends from around the world have been worried about us from hearing about it on the news. California is once again the crazy Wild West, its been a rough last week in October, but November is at long last here. Oh, and today is Emma’s half birthday.

As a little celebration of Emma’s fourteenth half birthday, I am having a little two-for-one pattern spree for Walking With Emma (a collection of eight sock patterns) over on Ravelry , and for details on that, please check it out on my forum post here.

In any case, we’re busy hanging doors, tiling, and in general making our house more of a home every weekend. I suppose soon I ought to post some house project photos, but here is one ~~ the laundry line is up!

laundry line up, and Emma.JPG

Emma is Fourteen

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Jen

Emma is fourteen today!

She is surprising us all how she is hanging in there . . .

. . . for another spring on the mountain . . .

. . . for another May birthday . . .

. . . perhaps a few more months yet, to move into the new house with us . . .

. . . she has lived beyond her breed’s life expectancy, and our old girl is a real trooper!

The three of us have lived in our ~~shoebox~~ tiny house for exactly a year now, although Emma has quite taken to wanting to be in ‘her car’ a lot of the time. She being around has made it so much easier for us to get through this time. I must accredit Emma’s incredible longevity to her extreme athletic youth, running all over the mountain chasing critters, in part to the wonderful veterinarians at Napa Small Animal , as well as the two raw eggs she gets every day, a very good recipe for a healthy happy old dog. Emma, we love you, and what a happy day it is indeed!

((click 1st photo in mosaic to see slideshow))

Back home, in the Charcoal Forest . . .

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Jen

jenjoycedesign© Emma 13th BD 3

Do you know what day it is today?

jenjoycedesign© Emma is thirteen!.JPG

It is Emma’s birthday!

She is thirteen!!

Woof !!! :: shake ::

She is wearing just her sock now, and finally her inflatable collar & cone seem to be phasing out more because her old surgery wound which very mysteriously un-healed in the last six months, is beginning to heal again. I don’t know about you, but I really do think its stress related. Which brings me to mention we have moved back up to our Charcoal Forest! We are now living in a Tiny House which arrived April 30th, and what an unbelievable ordeal it was to get it up here !!! All I can say is that we three are exhausted and recovering from a load of stress, but ever so grateful that we are home.

Emma’s office

Since it is Emma’s birthday, I will give her a belly rub and a pat on the head from all of you! I had really meant to brush her up nice before her portrait shot, but did not happen, therefore the birthday girl is looking a bit scruffy & ungroomed. I thought in honor of her birthday I’d link to all Emma posts here.

♣ ♣ ♣

Now home, with a sense of belonging to a place, and I feel a great release of stress and sadness, so I will close this post as my old signature use to be, by saying even with all of its trials & tribulations…

Life is good.

jenjoycedesign© Emma's leash.JPG

Emma is Twelve

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Jen

Emma is twelve!

Amidst all the quiet commotion around here, Emma has turned twelve today!

early morning, waiting to go to town

Her birthday present thus far has been a trip into town to visit Dr.Tracy (her favorite veterinarian) and got another blood panel test, which I’m sure will be as blue-ribbon results as a year ago. Tip top shape for a ‘tween’ German Shepherd with grey whiskers and a little arthritis, a good regimen of a lot of walks and naps!

home from town

Well, just look at her here with her birthday presents from last year and the year before, Mr Raccoon and Mr Squirrel….

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The three of them seem to be having some kind of discussion, which I fear to disturb for they seem to be reaching some kind of consensus.

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Meeting appears to be adjourned….

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regardless of the uncertainties…

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the doubts…

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… its a go… they got it worked out, and now on to other things!

Um, like more napping.

Emma is twelve.JPG

Because Emma’s trip into town was an event to take in, and it being her twelfth birthday I let her ride up the mountain with all windows down! Oh the smells, pure heaven! I think she’s going to be fine for another birthday check-up next year. When Jeff returns from Peru (more on that later) we will have the celebratory ‘burger with hotdog candles cake’ with perhaps even another toy!

Edit in 5pm closing time : Vet called to tell me that Emma’s bloodwork came back blue-ribbon beautiful again! We’re just so happy here, for our healthy t’ween-aged Emma.

Emma is Eleven

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jen

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Today is Emma’s eleventh birthday.

014 We had a party for her with some friends, who brought her lots of doggie treats and presents! 006 (2)
We had home-made tamales, chocolate cake & icecream, and we can bake Emma her own dog biscuits now because we have a biscuit form, doggie cookbook and biscuit mix too!

And …

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. . . there’s a new squeaking raccoon toy to torture!

We went for our traditional walk after the party was over, but Emma and I were too tired to go far. I followed her out into the woods….

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Then she stopped a while,

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and we both decided to go back home and play with her new toys and take a long nap!

Emma Is Ten

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Jen

Emma is ten today, and she’s had a BIG day. Two walks ((it is tradition that we follow her on her birthday, wherever she wants to go, within limits of course)), broken up by unwrapping presents and having a doggie birthday cake, and right now she is quite tired, sleeping on the rug while I post the photos. Here she is opening her birthday present ~~ Mr Squirrel !

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People!!! Ya gotta help me !!! I’m being slobbered to death by a German Shepherd who’s been squeeking me for hours (in squirrel time, that is days) with no end in sight….HELP!!!

(( wait… shhh…. she seems to be falling asleep , I gotta make my escape !!!)))

Glimpses From The Knitting Trail

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Jen

A big granite rock stack leads from our door out into the woods.

Recently Emma had a birthday ! She is nine. Every year on her birthday I take her for a long walk and follow her wherever she wants to go. There was a rather hesitant beginning as she contemplated what was down the road…

Emma’s 9th birthday walk.

Then after we walked all over the place, unexpected places she led me, and I followed without question. As our walk ended she found herself mesmerized in the sun beams of the forest, a little spellbound perhaps. There’s lots to think about when one is Nine.

Emma in woods.

For those of you who have been visiting Yarnings for any length of time, know about my Knitting Trail, I talked about a while ago in this post. I am gradually putting it all together, this spot and that, through forest and wood, through hilly and hollow lands.

Such a beautiful warm spring day!

Some silly photos as I try in vain to get a portrait selfie photo of Emma & me, but Emma was reluctant …