Actually, Kips, my mum (who taught me) was born with one arm....so I can also knit in this manner, holding one needle between my knees and moving the yarn in a kind of european style round the other needle ....but I was also taught 'english' style at school. So, I often do 'continental' for knit rows or inh the round, but switch to 'english' style for purl rows. I never do lace patterns and I am not really keen on cables although I do a fair bit of textured and fair-isle colour work, often worked together but usually only having 2 or 3 colours in a row. I hate intarsia and I tend to not use patterns unless it is for something really specific.....or I will get the basics from a pattern then customise wildly. I can crochet....but don't tend to apart from edging. Kitty, I like baby alpaca too but am over cotton (although I still like milk cotton). Have used loads of baby cashmerino, a few Noro wools (although they can be hard on your hands). I really like auracania wools and Grace Harding silk blends.....and I like the Cascade colour ranges. Still fall back on Rowan wools more than anything though. Seil, true, youtube tutorials are pretty good - finally learned to cable using them (after 40 years of failure and disinterest). Knitting, no problem but I always feel so resentful about having to sew as well.....so I have been doing more and more engineered stuff (lots of short rows, circular needles, odd joining methods and as few seams as possible)

When your pet suffers from stress or anxiety, try a combination of the extracts of Oats, Valerian, and Chamomile. (Check with your vet for correct dosage.) Rub a little Lavender oil near the animal's muzzle, or place some on a cotton pad in the pet's bed or in his sleeping area. And remember that if you are stressed, the animal will be too, so sniff a little of that calming Lavender for yourself as well. Plenty of info on Bloody (red-veined) dock on the Web. See link. http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Rumex+sanguineus Here is a link that might be useful: bloody dock

There were so many funny stories posted years ago. I'd be laughing until the tears were rolling. Anyone remember Marlin, the lady from Cuba who became a US citizen? Her posts and Dottie's were hysterical.

Without having your dog right here in front of me I can't really offer good advice but the one thing I say over and over to people is to set a good example. If you want your dog to be calm, then YOU be calm. If you want your dog to be quiet then you can never raise your voice - you yelling is the same as barking. But dogs think about things differently then humans do so you'll have to learn as you go. The more you and your dog experience together the better you'll be at reading him and controlling him. Labs are usually very stable and warm natured dogs. Your more likely to have him pulling you over to meet other people rather than other dogs - but over friendliness is a problem also, just not a big one. My dog gets snarled at all the time, most often by little dogs. The owners make all sorts of justifications for it. Who knows the truth about it - it's just dogspeak, it doesn't seem to mean much to my dog and it soon settles down. My dog has also been attacked and bloodied while at the park. It looked horrible to us humans but the dogs got over it very quickly. It seemed to mean more to us than to them. I won't say they "worked it out", they seem to not like each other.. and that owner got banned from the park because of other dog owners complaints so we don't have to deal with them anymore. If you are concerned you can leave him in the car while you wait for the vet tech to assist you in bringing him in (they will understand when you tell them he is a new pet); or you can wait and go get him when they call your name; or you can wait outside the door if the waiting room is crowded. My main advice would be to NOT make a big deal out of it. Hold him by his collar if you can, keep him close to your side as you talk to the person at the desk. If you want to sit down, make him sit or lay down right in front of you or beside you. Stay as calm and still as you can. Don't talk to anyone, don't point out all the other animals, don't act differently than you do at home.. act like everything is normal and calm and that you don't even see the other animals. If he wants to sniff someone else I would stop him by pulling him by the collar away and keep him focused on your face. If all he wants to do is look around and your ok with that then let him but don't make a big deal out of it. If someone with another dog wants to allow them to interact ask them if you could take them outside to meet instead of dealing with it inside the waiting room. If they act put off just say you recently adopted him and don't know all of his quirks yet. I would not let people or children hang on him or play with him - leave that sort of stuff for the backyard or park. My dog is kinda glamorous so people often want to pet her which she loves but things do get out of control, especially with children so I make my vet appointments first thing in the morning so that I can be the first person there. One trick is to put a soft muzzle on the dogs face. Let the dog get used to it so that he looks like he wears one all the time. No one will want to bother him when he wears a muzzle. You are at a tender stage where you have to work out the details of the relationship with this new dog. Make sure he is understanding clearly what you want out of him. If not, get thee to a obedience class - it is mostly to train you how to communicate to your dog rather than the other way around.