I did have a nice weekend, even if it turned out to be a little different from what I had in mine. I headed to my parents this weekend. It was the weekend for a local Herb Festival. Mum and I went last year and had a lovely time. This year we went and...it rained. It was ok when we got there, mostly just drizzle. Sadly, probably due to the rain, there wasn't as many vendors as usual. We still had fun walking.
And then it really began to rain. We tried not to mind and we continued trying to browse the stalls but, well, there comes a certain point when you're literally dripping and you can't help but be a littler miserable. We ended up giving up in search of lunch and some hot coffee with the hope that the rain would subside. It actually did end up stopping so, frizzy-haired and rumpled, we headed back to the festival. It was fun just not as fun as last year. Still, getting to spend the day with my mother while my dad puppy-sits is a lovely treat.
As for the rest of the weekend, much of it was spent in preparation for Sookie, Rory and my new house 'guest'. My parents are off to England on Tuesday so I'm dog-sitting for their elderly chihuahua, Odie.
Odie is over fourteen years old. He's very...old. He's had a couple of strokes and can't really move well. He's half-death and has no teeth. He's quite mean and horribly bad tempered.
Odie is over fourteen years old. He's very...old. He's had a couple of strokes and can't really move well. He's half-death and has no teeth. He's quite mean and horribly bad tempered.
But he's a big part of the family. He's also surprisingly able for such an elderly beast. Sometimes I joke that He's the Dog that Will Not Die but I don't wish that on him. Odie is part of our dog history. We found him at a flea market in Daytona Beach in my early days of high school. If he were a man, he would be one of those very neat and orderly men that liked fine foods, fine wine, got manicures and listen to show tunes. Odie loves show tunes. When I lived at home, I would caterwaul songs like, "The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow," and "My Favourite Things," and Odie would stare up, blissfully as if truly grateful that someone got him. He's horribly ashamed of his background. My dad used to tease him and call him "Flea Market Dog," and, as if he understood, Odie would growl and 'shout'.
In my less politically correct moments, I would shout names of Taco Bell items at Odie. This was during the days of the Taco Bell Chihuahua. Odie would get rather upset with me, again as if he understood.
Odie is a force to be reckoned with, even now. We no longer tease him because he's an old man and deserves respect. Yet he still manages to hold his ground with the young pups. He's the only one of my parents' three dogs that the puppies cower from and won't bully a little. It's interesting.
Now Odie is here to stay for two weeks. So far, he's done very little but be nosy and look around the house. He's also had his dinner because Odie is a creature that Needs to Be Fed. If you don't feed Odie on schedule, he has this rather infuriating woofing thing he does and he just goes on and on and on and on and on until you cave and feed him. Sometimes, this is at four o'clock in the afternoon. He really is an old man.
Still, he's here to make life interesting. It means the puppies routine is going to be a bit different for a while. It's hard because we have a Circle of Trust in our house and we aren't used to Interlopers. Odie is an Interloper. I'm hoping the puppies adjust. Actually, I'm hoping I adjust. So far, things haven't been too bad. I just have to keep an eye on the old dog just because he's quite sneaky. Last year when my parents went to England, my sister Odie-sat for them. Odie managed to find his way out of her fenced in yard and even with his hobbled legs, he managed to sprint off down the street and my sister had to run to catch him. He's known as "an escape artist". For an old man, when he wants to, he can certainly move.
For now, however, he's curled up by my feet, safe from the curious sniffs of Rory and Sookie. I think it's going to make life interesting for two weeks. I'll keep you posted.
Happy Monday!
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