On 28 September, Sue asks:
I'm wondering . . .
. . . whether, out there in the Big Airedale Heartland of the world, there might be someone with an overflow of Airedale stuffies, who would be prepared to sell me one.
I'm searching for a really lovely Airedale toy for Maia, Enzo's little skinkid 'sister'.
Maia is about to enter hospital on October 13 for a truly major operation, quite horrific for a tiny six-year-old.
One leg is refusing to grow properly and is already four centimeters shorter than the other. The operation will require major surgical intervention; for the next nine months, she'll be confined to a wheelchair, with a leg apparatus of steel rods & calipers not unlike that which Kekoa has endured. (And from which he has happily been recently released . . . and is looking marvellous - HERE.)
I do so want Maia to go into hospital clutching Enzo to her heart. She is already SO excited that her big brotherdale will be home in December, and cannot stop talking about him to her Mummy, Atia. She already has plans for Enzo to push her around in her wheelchair.
I had my heart set on buying one of AireCanada's darling little Airedales, Kipper, but sadly, Maureen Scott tells me they are no longer available. There is nothing like Kipper in OZ, so I suddenly thought . . . maybe, just maybe, there's a spaire Kipper 'out there' with little Maia's name on him.
So if there is a spairedale you feel you CAN spaire, I would be so happy to hear from you. There is one little girl in OZ who would be utterly overjoyed to have her own Enzo in her arms.
ANDREA DENNINGER:
I have a Singing Airedale available . . .
Jackie McGuinness:
Tonight I will start knitting and with flying fingers (probably dropping more stitches than usual), I will attempt to break my world speed record of three months to knit an infamous Picasso Jacdale and send a genuine, one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated ''MacEnzo'' care of your address. I will try my best to get it to you in time but we are at the mercy of the British postal system
Sue: MacEnzoDale
Big chuckle . . . thanks so much, Jackie. One-of-a-kind is right.
MacIain, whom you sent to us last year, is sitting on our dining table along with his pals Duke, Bill & Shirl-ee (also one-of-a-kinds).
MacEnzo will be v-e-r-y special. I am sure Atia & Maia will treasure him.
Jackie:
When Diane Jennison passed on copies of the pattern, I rose to the challenge, Tom laughed & laughed at my attempts, convinced they were either dinosaurs or aliens I was attempting to knit; to be faire, most people start with a scarf, so they will never be perfect but each one is knitted with love.
The strange thing is I can't just knit several and put them in the cupboard until needed; I have to have a person & a name in mind. It's as if I have to knit the character as well. So that's how they became Picasso 'dales because all his pictures look a bit distorted to me just like these a'dales.
Jackie, knitting like fury & The Wild Bunch, trying to steal wool, needles, dropped stitches, stuffing
Sue, on 4 October:
When I sent my appeal last week to the lists for a Kipper for our little Maia, in Sydney (OZ) so she would have an Enzo'dale to take care of her during the forthcoming ordeal of her leg operation, I hoped that maybe there would be just one out there that I could buy.
Imagine my astonishment when - within moments of posting - an answer flew back from Paul Diggins in Kuwait, far from his usual home-base of Colorado. In a nano-moment, he had offered, packed, and arranged the paperwork for an Enzo MiniMe to fly to OZ (accompanied by a little brass lantern to light the way & a packet of kibble so he wouldn't get hungry.)
This was a more than generous gift from Paul, as he is a long long way from his own Jupiter pack, and I rather think that Enzo MiniMe was his one very precious link with home & hearth.
Would this guy work? His ear was slightly tattered by our Belle but he is beautiful otherwise - he kinda reminds me of Enzo with his big face. He is yours for no cost and he is just itchin' to travel in a FedEx pouch to Australia from Kuwait.
But he insisted, so Enzo MiniMe is on his way now ---- thank you Paul!
Enzo's Mini-Me is preparing his OZ paperwork for the up-and-coming trip to Australia. He would like an address so that he can prepare for his journey. Paul has a little stock of ProPlan kibble in his apartment so he will have
food for the trip. He will get a special travel container with some Kuwaiti sand and a brass lantern and he is ready to travel almost immediately.
And then, over the weekend, an array of offers for Kipper & Friends came from all over the globe. For a (tiny) moment, I hesitated, feeling a little overwhelmed, and even a bit guilty - but then, my other-side brain kicked in and said YES! Of course we would just LOVE to have them, each of them, for the simple reason that all of you, whether able to send Maia an Enzo'dale or not, are giving of yourselves in this 'adventure'.
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