Pippa

Meet Pippa.

She is also referred to as Pip Pip, Pipster, and the Terrorist.

For several years now, a life goal of mine has been to adopt a dog and train it as a therapy dog. Unlike service animals who help humans with physical disabilities, therapy dogs go on visits to nursing homes and hospitals in order to lift spirits and provide the unconditional love that only dogs seem know how to express so wholly. Obviously, this requires a very special dog with certain characteristics such as being laid-back, affectionate, and gentle.

When I finally reached a point in my life where I could take the time to properly train such an animal, the search was on! For months I scoured Petfinder for hours at a time, traveling to every shelter I could find, and returning multiple times. It was heart wrenching work and downright depressing at times. To see firsthand how cruel humans can be to their pets was sickening.

There were many dogs I fell in love with over the months. But they'd either be adopted or have some fatal character flaw that would mean they weren't good candidates as therapy dogs. And I was being picky! Training up a therapy dog is hard enough as it is, I would need as much of a head start as I could get by choosing the right temperament.

As I was starting to burn out from my search, and contemplating calling it quits for awhile, I saw the profile page for Judith. Those big black soulful eyes pulled me in and wouldn't let go. From her description, she seemed to good to be true and so a few days later, with the rest of the pack in tow, I drove several hours to go meet her.

She seemed to good to be true, climbing into my lap as soon as I met her. She was shy at first, but was trusting enough to fall asleep in my arms within thirty minutes of meeting her. My other two dogs, Oliver and Lily, didn't show any immediate objections towards her and Judith basically ignored them. It would take several days for me to figure out why.

Judith went home with me that night. As celebration (and starving having spent several hours at the shelter) we stopped for Culvers for dinner and the three dogs shared a meal. It was the first time I noticed something odd about the newest member of the family. While Oliver and Lily chowed down on their fries, Judith was slow to take them until it was directly in front of her nose. Odd manners for a shelter dog but I brushed it off and spent the rest of the car ride cuddling my new dog.

It took several days to decide on a new name since Judith just wasn't cutting it. Her personality was still very timid and slow, but as the days progressed and she became more familiar with the family, the bouncy puppy energy began to emerge. It needed to be something upbeat and preferably with British origin. Pippa it was.

JoAnn Sewing Classes

My first project for sewing was actually through a class with JoAnn fabrics. It was actually the 102 class, but since my mom was with me, I figured I'd be fine and dandy. Which I was, although I did wind up signing up for the 101 class a few weeks later.

Sewing Patterns for Dummies. That's my kind of pattern.

It was a really simple decorative pillow, but unfortunately I ran out of time before I could finish. Grr...And its still sitting in a lump over on the floor. Quietly begging to be finished. Perhaps tomorrow I'll put together the final stitches on my little pillow.

As for the class...the teacher was very friendly. And helpful with little tidbits and advice from many years worth of experience. But was it worth the price? Absolutely not. Besides shelling out the moolah for the training time, you still had to buy all the supplies necessary. (Except for machine, they had classroom machines thankfully) And at the end of it all I didn't even have a finished product! Boo.

However, there are times when they offer classes at half price. I would probably recommend signing up for a class or two then, because that's a decent price and it'll at least get your feet wet in the whole sewing arena.

So...Sewing

 So...

 Sewing is my latest obsession. To the point that I actually bought a handy dandy little sewing machine...complete with embroidering capabilities! Woohoo used machines at good prices! The Brother Innovis is a lovely machine, honestly. And the embroidery is a blast.

Mmm, nothing like the smell of cute fabrics in the morning! As you can see, I stocked up at the JoAnn sale. Bye bye paycheck. But I think I've got everything I'll need to be a SEWING MASTER.

Although I am really worried I'm going to utterly regret not stocking up on this gem...

It's Twilight meets Teen Wolf in convenient fabric form!

Pottery Painting

There is a fantastic pottery painting place in town. It's the kind of place where they have "naked" or plain white unpainted pottery. You can then paint whatever design you want, they'll glaze it and fire it up so that it has a nice glossy finished.

I seem to have a theme going on.

Chibilhu (Or better known as Louie by his friend)

Cthulhu was a creature of terrifying origins. His mere aura radiated with such evil that it could push a man to the brink of sanity, leaving him to teeter on its perilous ledge. To be actually exposed to the appearance of the Great One would shove a man over said ledge and leave him to wallow in a dark abyss of horrors so great only death would be relief.

Cthulhu was one to be feared, revered, and avoided.

His brother Chibilhu, however, was not. 

Chibilhu was quite minuscule compared to his mammoth sibling.  His greatest ambition in life had little to do with the destruction of humanity. In fact, he rather enjoyed the company of the few pitiful creatures that stumbled into his brother’s lair. Well, enjoyed them until they started with the maniacal laughing and hysterical screaming. That was a bit annoying.

All around, Chibilhu was a simple creature. He spent his days fluttering about the caves in hopes of finding some bats to chat with. They were dull animals, but better than the conversations with Cthulhu, who was entirely short tempered with the younger’s lack of villainous aspirations. Great Ones simply did not have time to discuss such rubbish as the weather! (Although it never really changed, dark and dank seemed to cover it sufficiently.)

So it was that Chibilhu found himself being thrown out of his brother’s lair due to his tendency for gabbing. While idly wandering about the lair, he made the offhand remark that sea moss green was a relaxing color and might replace amber as his new favorite shade. He went on to ponder redecorating the lair in a more neutral color scheme.

Cthulhu gave a roar of frustration, grabbing his brother in one massive claw. Muttering about only putting up with him as a favor to their mother, he gracelessly threw Chibilhu promptly from his home with a glare that made it abundantly clear that the little pipsqueak was not to return anytime soon. Chibilhu sat indignantly in the puddle of mud as he watched the lumbering back of his brother retreat.

“Well…good riddance!” he mumbled, “I’m certain I can find far better roommates who will appreciate my sense of style! Fung shui reduces stress levels, you know!” So, with his mind made up, and having no other options anyway, he flapped his leathery black wings and embarked on his quest...

The (Chibi) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The criminal had eluded the dynamic duo of Holmes and Watson by escaping down a manhole. (A manhole that looks suspiciously like a cupholder on the bus, but I digress) Of course, the great detective can't allow for such an escape to happen and sends his trusty colleague down after the evil doer...

Cambridge, York, Leeds -October 10

Day 6

Our big fantastic bus that was to take us on our magical adventure across the United kingdom. Not to mention that the big fantastic bus was a Mercedes, so it was fantastic AND fancy. And incredibly comfortable. We climbed aboard the Cosmo bus and met our fellow travel companions. They came from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, and Korea, if I remember correctly.

Traveling by bus across the UK is a wonderful way to see the scenery, especially picturesque countrysides in Scotland. The unfortunate side effect of such a comfortable ride, however, is that it lulls you to sleep. So it was a restful vacation by the end of the trip.

Our first stop was the lovely Cambridge University. What I wouldn't do to be a student there, although there is another school in the UK I am more eager to attend. More on that later. Anyway, the buildings were old, gigantic, and downright breathtaking. Spirals jutted into the air, stones formed intricate patterns, and everywhere you turned was just a saturation of history. 

However, whenever you turned about, another student was bombarding you with offers for a campus tour for a small fee. Being short on time, the three of us dodged past all the offers and hunted down a cup of hot tea. By that point, I had unfortunately begun to grow sick and was eager for something warm to drink on the brisk October day.

Like any good college town, there were plenty of little shops serving tea and lunch. And like any good college town, there were also plenty of shops selling University books and paraphernalia. I couldn't resist buying a book about writing by C.S. Lewis. I've always been enthralled by his books about Christianity that I was quite eager to get my hands on something he had written about other subjects. Especially a subject I had gone to school for. I also bought a Cambridge University sweatshirt, mostly because I had gotten quite a chill, but also for pretend bragging rights when wearing it back in the States. Since my college had been shut down, I figured I should at least be walking around in another school I supported just as much.

Anyhow, back onto the bus we went! On our way to York, we passed by Sherwood Forrest. Despite my best attempts I didn't catch a glimpse of the infamous Robin Hood or any of his merry men (in tights).

Several naps later, we arrived in York. This particularly city is known for its rich history. In fact, it is one of the oldest medieval cities in England. It served as capital for the Romans, and at one point, for the Church of England. It's most famous street is Shambles street, the old 1800s meat market. As tour guide described it, the street used to be paved with the..mess that goes along with being a butcher. And if that weren't quite awful enough, above the street shops, people lived in homes above and would remove of their waste by hurling it out the window. The overhangs of the street were where the shoppers would duck in order to avoid any droppings. Needless to say, I was glad I was wearing my boots that day despite the fact that it was over 200 years ago.

We stopped for lunch at a tea at a cafe nearly as well known as the city itself: Betty's Tea Room. It offered a fantastic view of Shambles street below and carried the Big Rascal, a scone of mammoth proportions. It was an enjoyable way to spend our last bit of time in York before clambering on the bus to drive into Leeds. Unfortunately, it was quite late by the time we arrived and night obscured a decent impression of the city. The Jury's Lane hotel was one of the nicest we stayed at with a proper sized bathroom and cots that didn't collapse. Hooray!