When Life Punches You in the Gut

It's been one of those weeks.

Kipp,  just turned 9 in December. Probable lymphoma that's gone from no symptoms to pretty bad in 6 days. We went into the vet on Monday because he threw up a couple times. Tuesday I picked up some different meds because the first ones didn't solve the issue. Thursday he was still having some issues so we went back to the vet to try and get some more answers. They found a bunch of unexpected, weird stuff that wasn't good.

I've spent 2 days kind of in shock, randomly crying. It was bad enough when I lost Missy to hemangiosarcoma. But she was 12. Kipp is still in the single digits. He was supposed to be around until he was 15 at least. He's been a constant in my crazy life of school and work.

Steady, pushy, goofy, honest. My SAR partner, my chore buddy. He's cemented a place in my heart.

It's incredibly hard to wrap my head around idea of him not being around.

Lab results should be in on Monday. Then  I get to make those final tough decisions. Treat (and if so how aggressively) or go with palliative care. Treatment (surgery and/or chemo) is expensive. I'd try to figure out how to swing it if there was a good chance of some quality time ahead. I mean, he's only nine and an otherwise fit, healthy nine

He was pretty slow and dopey yesterday and not eating (which worries me the most). Due in part to spending all day Thursday at the vet's office, but also the meds he's on and the fact that he's just, well, sick. I got another med to try with him today. It's an appetite stimulant and used for an antidepressant in humans. It worked. He's a bit wobbly but was happy and eager to play frisbee and check on sheep this afternoon. I took lots of pictures.

I have no clue what Monday will bring. Well, actually I do and I don't like it one bit. But Kipp is living in the moment right now and I'm ridiculously grateful for a good afternoon today.

                                               

It's a baby!

Last year my American history loving father decided that he wanted to have a small flock of "historical sheep"

He looked into Leicester Longwool sheep from Colonial Williamsburg

He looked into Hog Island sheep from Ferry Farm (George Washington's boyhood home)

He ended up with Delaine Merino sheep from Greenfield village. The deciding factor was the fact that it was only a 6 hour round trip to pick up the sheep instead of a 24 hour round trip.

The sheep have super nice fleeces and they're talking about sending the wool out to get processes into yarn after they're sheared this spring - yay!

Two of his ewes lambed this week. Thankfully that waited until after the snowstorm and 0 degree night

Lambs are cute little buggers. They are infinitely cuter when all I have to do is answer my mom's lamb care questions and take pictures of them

Dog Powered Fun

Spent the night with the nieces last week.

My 4 y/o niece enjoyed some dog powered sledding fun.

I towed her up the huge snowdrift out by their barn then Kenzi pulled her down

There was a really nice 100 ft gentle downward slope that had been shaped by two separate major snowstorms and the 10 or so ft of snow that we've gotten this season.  It worked great and they both had fun!

Kenzi is a puller, but I think she would have been just as happy riding. Yup, we tried the dog riding in the tube earlier this winter and yup, my crazy snow dog loved that, too!

Dogs and Cowls

 Winter is still hanging on for dear life. The temps dipped below 0 again last night and at almost noon today they've only gotten back up to 14.

 Brrr.

In my cold, bored state this winter, I discover cowls. Fun and quick to knit and oh. so. warm!!

The first one I made from unspun silk (if you're interested in how that works, check out this youtube video )

I put it on when finished and didn't take it off for the rest of the day - silk is incredibly soft and warm!

Then I just had to make another one. The second time I used a skien of Araucania Atacama from my stash. I loved the colors but since it was only 110 yards I hadn't yet figured out the perfect project.  A cowl was perfect - a small accessory that showcased the colors beautifully!

Then I wanted pictures. Enter the dogs. I was the only person around and they were laying right there waiting for me to put a cowl around their necks and take pictures

Kipp was horribly unimpressed

Kenzi was slightly more impressed. Probably because I had treats in my hand ;)