A Coat of Many Colours - Dog Rescue part 2

Millie looked a sorry sight when she was brought back to my daughter's house - her coat was very matted, hair falling into her eyes and the longest eye lashes I've even seen on a dog! She was very unsure and barked at everything. The lady that found her and looked after her brought her back from death's door, spending a lot of time to get her back to health.

After a few days in her new home she is starting to settle down, quite quickly in fact, and is already becoming part of the family.

An appointment was made for her at the Pamper Parlour to clean her up a little, so today she went in a ragamuffin and came out a fluffy little pooch. They had bathed and blow-dried her, trimmed her coat and removed all the tangles, of which it was all matted, cut back the hair on her face, and downsized the toe nails.

With the arrival of the new dog, along came the request 'can you make her a new coat?' So out come the needles and some dyed handspun yarn and I start knitting. After finding a basic pattern on the internet, I customised it by re-sizing and changing the neck shape. I decided on a simple rib to give a bit of extra warmth. It knitted up quickly, and I was surprised at how well the colours blended together. The dyeing of this skein was an experiment and I'm pleased with the result.

The dog coat is a success and looks beautiful on her. Now she is bathed and trimmed, the fluffy pooch is much happier, can see easier and is more mischievous than ever. Hopefully, she will fatten up a little with good food, plenty of love and attention, enough exercise, settle in and become part of the family for a long time to come.

      

One very smart little girl, all snug and warm.

Dog Rescue Industry in Australia

You know when it all gets a bit too much when you cannot find even a few minutes to sit and spin. That's when something has to change. It did, though I'm not sure it will give me more time...

A couple of months ago, an eight month old puppy arrived, a rescue pup actually. Very cute and lovable, and she will become a shadow to my six year old granddaughter. This little girl puppy is a poodle/silky terrier most likely, with more poodle characteristics than silky though she has a crinkly double coat and doesn't miss a trick. Having been 'rescued' only a few months ago by a very nice lady, she is still recovering from her experiences and has a long way to go but is already settling in well and has made herself right at home.

I find it absolutely incredible the huge 'industry' that has sprung up with rescue dogs. One cannot simply visit the pound and find a dog for free or little cost anymore. Its costs around $300-$400 to bring one home. That in itself would put many families, pensioners and older people out of the loop in being able to help rescue a dog - and there are many hundreds of them around Australia. It leaves one wondering what will happen to most of these poor animals that have been deserted, abused, lost or just not cared about.

Then there are the 'foster home' carers that also charge a fortune for the 'rescue' dog. If one takes on foster dog, they do it because they want to help the dog, not because they can make some money out of it. One such case a little while ago, this 'rescue carer' had to find a home for the dog quickly, but she would not let it go to a good home for free, she still wanted $200 for it and would not budge. I expect the dog is still waiting for a new home. On the whole the people who look after these animals do an excellent job, but those who try to profiteer are the ones who will give the whole dog rescue scene a bad name. There are many people who would love to give these animals a good home but simply cannot afford the incredibly high fees that are now being charged.

Its not only rescue dogs that are being exploited. Even dogs that were once classed as 'mongrels' are now being sold for many hundreds of dollars, especially if the puppy was a mistake mating between two 'purebred' dogs. What a rip 0ff! Again, it would be a miracle if many of these dogs found homes.

And it doesn't stop there. When it comes to 'Urgent home' wanted for pets where the owner cannot keep them for whatever reason, the majority are still charging and expecting, and arm and a leg instead of giving them free to a good home.

To those who think charging hundreds of dollars and thinking it will make the prospective home a better one need to think again. Accepting a large payment for a dog does not guarantee that it goes to a good kind home, these people can also abuse the animal - and do.

A house in the neighbourhood had two purebred samoyeds, a breeding pair. These two beautiful dogs were kept in a very small backyard, never taken out of the yard, never exercised, never given any attention, come rain or shine, mud or whatever, two miserable, always barking, very dirty dogs were finally rehomed somewhere else - or at least I hope so. They left the yard and have not come back so hopefully they are happier where they are now to where they were before.

It took quite a while, but my daughter finally found 'Millie' the rescue puppy, the newest member of her household - Free to a Good Home! And what an excellent home she will have. She will be loved and cared for and she didn't cost a cent!

Production Spinning in Afghanistan

Spinning is a world-wide occupation, and still gaining momentum, either as a hobby or as employment. Women working at one yarn production company in Afghanistan are now able to spin with a spinning wheel instead of using a drop spindle. Production of spun yarn has thereby increased. With this new production equipment and the increase in yarn output more women have gained employment and the opportunity to attain a rise in their wages.


Read the full story...
http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/en/Article.915.aspx

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To be Obese - or Not

With 1.6billion obese people in the world, its little wonder health is deteriorating at an astronomical rate. It’s a 'wake-up' call for civilization—and it had better take notice. This is one issue needing to be addressed immediately, before people loose sight of what they are becoming and take it as ‘normal’ to be obese.

What is Obesity?
Obesity is not just being fat and over-weight, it’s much more than that. It’s also how YOU perceive yourself. If you think ‘fat’ that is what you will become. If you do not think about what you are putting into your body, you can also become obese.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are 1.6billion adults overweight in the world. That figure is projected to increase by about 40% over the next 10 years. Not a good future. A person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese, and a BMI equal to, or more than, 25 is considered overweight.

Admittedly, some people have no control over weight gain, especially those on steroid treatments or anyone with body malfunction. But, the rest of us CAN help what we are and what we look like.

Obesity is most likely a result of the ‘modern western diet’ way of eating and living, and lack of exercise. That can be changed. A high carbohydrate diet and lack of exercise leads only to one thing – becoming overweight or even obese. By the time one has taken on board all the ads on television for bread, biscuits, chocolate, pizza, fried chicken, other fast-food commercials, rushing around grabbing the first thing that comes to hand, it’s not surprising there are so many obese people in the world today.

In the end, it all comes down to ‘diet’ – the way we eat and live. Until there is change in the way people ‘think about’ what they put into their bodies, the number of obese people will not reduce.

‘Diet’ – as in a way of eating and not a way of reducing weight, IS the be-all and end-all of common sense. The saying ‘You are what you eat’ is very true. You eat rubbish, and rubbish will cling to you – literally, in the form of fat. The high carb and ‘added’ fat diet only serves to ‘hand around’. Some of course are more susceptible than others, as is the case with everything. Anyone with a slow metabolism and/or sedentary lifestyle the high carb eating is not the way to go as the ‘deposits’ will not burn off, and hence attach themselves to the fat cells in the body.

Being obese not only affects the size of the body, it also affects the whole lifestyle. Fashion clothes are out of the question, getting around becomes very difficult creating a tendency to stay home, except for having to go to work, which in turn raises the question of social activities and making friends. This in turn affects ones self-confidence levels, thus creating a ‘comfort eating’ pattern – and the cycle continues.

What can be done about it? That depends on how you would like to be, think and feel…
The first step is to make the decision that you want to be smaller and loose the weight to become a size that is comfortable to you, be it 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 or whatever. Then look at what you have been eating. A good idea is to write down everything you eat for two weeks – and no cheating. You might get quite a surprise.

To burn off the fat, one does not continue to eat the same as that which put it on in the first place – most likely being a diet high in carbohydrates, fried foods, takeaways, sweets, and alcohol. The science of nutrition is another subject and too complex to go into here but it can be simplified. And to simplify it, cut out all of those foods, increase your protein and eat more vegetables, salads (and not just lettuce, tomato, cucumber but a variety of foods to make it fun to eat, some fruit (many fruits have a higher carb level too), and plenty of water. Another fun way to drink water is using Fruit herbal tea; they can be drunk hot or cold and iced. Both ways are delicious. Fresh vegetable juices are excellent and also health-giving at the same time.

The above is not a ‘diet’ just to loose weight, but a way of living. It’s about making changes, even small ones, to your lifestyle. The weight will come off naturally, without even thinking about it.

It pays to know what you are eating, and if you wish to learn more there are numerous books to assist and courses that can be undertaken, depending on the level of knowledge you wish to acquire.

But above all, it’s about being able to live a long, healthy life – and enjoying the way you are.

It’s about being happy with yourself.

Handspun Cable Jumper

Done! Finito! It's finally completed! Considering the time it eventually took, I'm pleased with the result. The pattern was easy to follow after sorting out the three stitch variations and working the three of them simultaneously to keep track of the  rows in each pattern.

The pattern was easy to follow, especially once I had worked out how to cope with three different patterns, all with different numbers of rows per pattern. The main cable was twenty-four rows, and luckily the other two patterns worked into that number perfectly.

How did I do it?

I used a child's Primary School exercise book with the wide and narrow lines and going between the red lines, set all the pattern out in their multiples. It worked perfectly.

The yarn was a dream to knit - very soft with plenty of spring. Once I had got into the swing of the pattern, it knitted up very quickly.

Very little that went wrong, apart from a couple of times, one when one of the single cables insisted going the opposite way,  the second was when the middle section decided to go walkabout and it too went in the opposite direction so had to be unpicked - somewhere around ten rows before it was noticed. Ouch! But it all turned out fine.

And hopefully, the proud owner of the jumper will have many years of wear - as these handspun jumpers seem to last forever...