Socks & Sprouts

Since I have finished the baby knits (for now) I decided to start on a pair of socks using a beautiful merino yarn I picked up in Philly back in December. I've lost the band, so I can't tell you who it's by. This is my progress so far.
Windle decided he was being ignored & demanded to appear in the next one.
I'm knitting 72sts on size 2 needles. Started with a 2x2 rib and the rest is plain ol' stockinette. I have about 1/2" to go before beginning the heel flap.

Also, my seeds are beginning to sprout.

Oregano

Basil

Cucumbers & Beets

The weather has been beautiful these last few days, so I moved them outside this afternoon. Hopefully the other seeds will sprout under more direct sunlight. :)

In other news, I'm sure you've all heard about the new expanded pet food recall, which includes dry food. Apparently they now have reason to believe the poisoning was deliberate. They are also warning people against eating pork. Thankfully neither the kitties nor the puppy's dry food is on the list and they are getting their wet food home-cooked. How far is this thing going to go?

Edit: So I just realized that I'm knitting these socks on size 0 needles... how could I forget that?! I even had to go buy the damn needles, because I didn't have anything below size 1 and that was too loose with this yarn! Crazy!

Pet Food Recall Aftermath

First off, let me just say that Corrina is fine. Now I can relate my story without worrying anyone! :)

This morning I awoke to not one, but two piles of vomit on the floor (one of which I stepped in, bleck!). They were obviously from the dog. Not good. She didn't seem lethargic, which was a good sign, and she ate her breakfast fine. Still, I was concerned. I called the vet and, even though she was fully booked, she wanted me to bring Corrina in. The dog's demeanor was that of a healthy pup, but sometimes they don't want you to know they are in pain, so better to be safe than sorry. Dr. Rhode (who is the most awesome vet ever!) had me bring in a couple pouches of Corrina's old food and ran blood & urine tests on the pup. She said it was probably that the puppy ate something that didn't agree with her, but she was glad I brought her in just be safe. And she is fine, as I stated earlier. Dr. Rhode said that she is extremely healthy. Thank goodness! Now I can obsess about something else! ;)

Now, onto the Recall news. As you may have heard they have identified the substance that caused the deaths as aminopterin, which is a chemotherapy drug that is also used as a rat poison in other countries, but not the US. Apparently it was used as an abortion drug at one time as well. This drug is not even in current use as a cancer treatment, only in research! According to the news reports, they have no idea how it found it's way into the food, however they are NOT launching a criminal investigation! WHAT?! Why the hell not?! How did this substance, that is basically outlawed in the US except for research, find it's way into 2 separate food processing plants?!

Your government at work, folks!

Pet Food Recall

So by now I'm sure you've all heard about the massive pet food recall by Menu Foods, which includes wet food under Eukanuba, Iams and Nutro brands. We have been feeding Corrina the Nutro Natural Choice pouches for at least 6 months, with the odd Eukanuba & Iams pouch thrown in for variety. Needless to say I am fairly wigged! We went through the cupboards and don't have any of the recalled products, but who knows how many of the suspect packages we may have fed her unknowingly? These things have been on the shelves since December at the places where we shop. I threw out any that were manufactured around the same date (we had a few that were made the next day or the day before), but now I don't feel comfortable feeding ANY of them to her.

Am I over-reacting? I just don't have any confidence in the manufacturers anymore. Are they not taking the precautions they should because it's "just dog & cat " food? Here I thought I was being a good puppy momma by spending the extra 10-20 cents a pouch to get brands that are supposedly more nutritious... would I have been better off with Alpo?

I am really upset about this. We don't have children, may never be able to have children, and these animals are our babies!

I'm seriously considering making her food myself from now on. I found a couple of good articles online about it. I will have to discuss it with my vet. (sigh)

As if life isn't stressful enough!