Dogs and Quilts

Being pregnant has lead to some odder-than-usual observations; for instance, it makes me understand my dogs better.  They're beagles and they're known for a number of traits: their enthusiastic greetings, their loud beagling (beagle literally means "to trumpet"), their insanely sensitive noses, their insatiable appetites, and their willingness to nap on the couch at any time.

I can't compete with the noise they make (or their joy at meeting someone!), but in the first trimester, my hyper sensitive nose revealed all sorts of smells of which I was previously unaware.  For instance, I now know why my dogs run over every time I open the fridge or pull the kitchen garbage bag out.  Even though they never get anything out of either event, it smells like food... all the time.

Now that I'm past that stage, my sense of hunger has returned.  I'm actually supposed to eat every couple of hours because of sugar problems, so I'm also never allowed to over indulge.  This leaves me in a perpetual fix-food/eat-food/hungry-for-food cycle.  I often joke that my dogs will eat anything that will stay still, or occasionally just move slowly (Dog #2 and grasshoppers are great entertainment!).  In any case, I'm beginning to seriously sympathize with their continual drive to eat!

As I write this, both dogs are lounging on the couch "watching" the Yankees game with us.  Even with the increased energy of the second trimester (relatively speaking) I'm spending more time resting these days and can tire myself out in a hurry.  And when I need to sit and rest, it is nice to have two warm dogs to lay next to me on the couch.  :-)

In the mean time, I'm (ambitiously) starting my first quilt this weekend!  Well, let's be honest... my second quilt.  I started one way back when I was... 8?  9?  Anyway, it's a patchwork quilt that never got past the piecing stage (I'm seriously considering seam ripping the squares and using them for other projects).  I've meant to learn some quilting techniques for several months now and, as so often happens, it looks like I'm largely going to teach myself.  Pictures of the pattern and fabrics I've chosen are coming soon!