Natalie Knits

This has been a week of highs and lows. All week we had been planning to go meet (and hopefully adopt) a puppy, but yesterday we found out one of her littermates had come down with the parvo virus-- pretty serious for dogs, and not a good sign about the shelter she was at. So it's been hard, but we've had to let go of that puppy. Luckily there are lots of other puppies around to go and meet, and we have plans to go meet some tomorrow.

I also found out this week that I got a fellowship from the National Science Foundation (as did my friend Melissa-- yay! congrats!), which I am very psyched about. It's a pretty good deal-- 3 continuous years of funding, which should take me through the end of this degree (fingers crossed)! It also should keep me adequately supplied with yarn and clay, 2 things I don't think I could live without :)

Last, this semester I have been taking a pottery class in town, and it has been my savior! My parents gave me the class and all supplies as my Christmas gift, and I think it is by far the best gift I've gotten. I love going into the studio and really getting my hands dirty and making some cool stuff. This week I had two pieces come out more beautifully than I could have hoped-- a large bowl and pitcher, glazed blue and white. I love the combo of glazes so much I'm sure it'll be a repeat, and I had a lot of compliments about it last time I was in to work on stuff. I'll have pictures tomorrow.

Well, I haven't been very good about keeping up with posting my projects, and I have quite a backlog of things I need to post, but I'll get to them soon. We've had a new project this week, one that has been taking up most of my time:

Meet Simon!

He's a mutt, and we know his mom was a wirehaired daschund, but we don't know about that dad. Obviously he looks a lot like a black lab, but we don't know if there is anything else mixed in. We also don't know how big he'll get, but he has been very well behaved, and is losing baby teeth :)

He was very sleepy and shy the first few days, but now he's as playful as can be. We love going to the park to run around and play. We have been waiting for years to get a dog-- it took a while for all the elements to line up, but now that we have Simon we couldn't be happier.

Last weekend when my parents were visiting, my mom commented on how changing the fabric on the dining room chairs could make a big difference in the room. So last weekend Molly and I went on an adventure to JoAnns, and found some bright and cheery fabric that matches the curtains (red) and the placetmats (green) without looking Christmas-y.

Before:

And After!

It only took about 13 dollars and 30 minutes. A pretty good payoff for a little bit of time and money!