Teddy

Meet Teddy!

He's a teeny Lhasa Apso who belongs to my Gran. He is so small, like a cat, and only eats about a 1/2 Cup of dog food a day. Quite a difference from my two dogs who seem to have bottomless pits for stomachs.

While my Gran was out of town I got to be Teddy's "dogsitter" and he ran with the big dogs for five glorious days. Such a cutie. He took a few tumbles but held his own while they were playing in the backyard. Whenever he tried to boss Darcy around, Banzai would come join the fray and break up the tussle.

1. Running with the big dogs, 2. Teddy, 3. Ted, 4. Everyone after the tug toy

The Case of the Disappearing Anthill

Strolling in the backyard after the recent rains I found a neatly shaped anthill. I happened to have my camera with me because I'm always searching for things to take on my Macro setting (I love my Canon Powershot). Here it is for your viewing pleasure!

I wandered around and took a few shots of some rain lilies too. It was then that I heard a familiar, excited snuffling behind me. I turned around to find an anthill "Destructor" in my midst!

It is undetermined if there were any casualties, however, reports indicate they all escaped to the safety of underground tunnels. A few stalwart soldiers were seen in the area looking to take a fiery bite out of the fur-clad perpetrator. The following is the mugshot of the guilty party involved in the unscheduled demolition of what was once a beautifully shaped anthill.

If you have seen this hairy male please contact the Anthill Police immediately. It is not known if there was an accomplice although a surveillance camera did capture this image of the suspect with an unknown white female not long after the crime was committed:

Sources later confirmed the young miss to be completely innocent in The Case of the Disappearing Anthill. She was recently seen enjoying a romp in the backyard with a huge grin of utter happiness.

Hurray for Crochet

...and Embroidery too!

I graduated from college with a bachelors of science degree in clinical laboratory science. Many people are curious to know exactly what the job entails. Here are just a few of the responsibilities:

• Identifying abnormal blood cells
• Identifying toxic agents, such as anthrax
• Detecting a cancerous tumor with DNA techniques
• Performing cultures and identifying bacteria and viruses
• Assuring safe transfusion of blood products
• Correlating test results with patient condition
• Selecting and evaluating laboratory equipment and new test methodologies
• Monitoring the quality of testing
• Supervising support staff
• Managing laboratory operations

In a nutshell, Clinical Laboratory Scientists juggle a lot of body fluids, bacteria, DNA, microscopes, paperwork, phone calls, data-entry, machines, hospital staff, and more!

If the mitochondria is the power-house of the cell then the CLS is the power-house of the hospital.

So the body fluid part, what is that all about? Well, it sounds unpleasant and really is occasionally stinky but also very important to analyze for our health. It includes urine, feces, amniotic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, serous fluids, and seminal fluids.

Yep, sounds pretty crazy but, not to worry, the tests are done in a sterile, professional environment requiring an extremely small amount of fluid.

SO...when I saw Tillie Ellie's Giveaway for a crocheted sperm cell (defined as the haploid cell that is the male gamete) and matching embroidery, it didn't phase me at all. As a matter of fact, I wanted to win! I signed up right away. I thought to myself, "Heck! Maybe if I win it will be a sign that we will conceive a baby!"

While I know it isn't up to me, or "luck", I was hoping and praying to be the grand prize winner. As soon as the giveaway ended I received notice from Tillie that I won!

By the way, you will all be the first to know (after my family) if we happen to conceive a bambino sometime soon.

In the meantime, here's my little Tillie-made, crocheted haploid cell (sperm) nestled in the pages of my "Fundamentals of Urine and Body Fluid Analysis" text book [author: Nancy A. Brunzel], cute as a tadpole with a little smile on his face.

Tillie also offers great crochet patterns as well as "mature" embroidery and adorable Jelly Babies. My favorite is the Cherry Jelly Baby, you can see it here.