Unfestive Dogs and Gingerbread House Amnesia

My dogs don’t seem to be quite as fond of Christmas as I am.

It started with the tree. I think my dogs wondered why their ‘mother’ was putting up a fake tree in the house and hanging things on it. They might have preferred a real tree but really, unless it had a squirrel in it, they probably wouldn’t like that either.

They didn’t like the tree going up it an activity that took up rather a lot of time in the evening which meant I wasn’t sitting on the sofa where they could cuddle up next to me. Also, the tree was DIFFERENT and, well, my dogs don’t like DIFFERENT. My dogs like their routine. This is why whenever I get home from work, it is time for a walk regardless of whether it’s bucketing down with rain or not. This is also why when they don’t get said walk due to the torrential rain, they sulk.

My dogs don’t like it when I bake. They mope if I’m in the kitchen because, again, I’m not paying any attention to them. My sense is that they seem to feel that while I am home, it is their canine right to have my full attention. When they don’t get it, they are not happy pups.

I’ve been baking quite a lot lately. Well, I’ve been in the kitchen a lot anyway, not necessarily just baking. The only time that the pups don’t seem to mind when I’m cooking is when it involves cheese. My girls love their cheese. I might have mentioned this. Rory, in particular, is rather partial to the more expensive types of cheese like parmigiano reggiano and gruyere. I know, I know…I shouldn’t give them cheese but…I do anyway. Just not that much.

They love cheese so much that they can actually tell when I’m getting my grater out of the cupboard. This may sound like I’m exaggerating but whenever I reach up to pull out the box grater, there are suddenly two pleading little dachshunds staring up at me whereas moments before, they were in the other room.

So, even though they don’t like it when I’m in the kitchen a lot, they don’t mind when it involves cheese.

However, they also don’t like it when I write Christmas cards. This is also an activity that means I’m not sitting on the couch with them. They don’t like it when I wrap gifts either. Not only am I still not cuddling with them but, also, I’m on the floor where they like to play and there’s a mess of which they don’t approve.

I have several other Christmas activities planned over the next week or two. One involves making a gingerbread house. I bought a kit because when it first becomes permissible to start diving into Christmas without seeming too premature, gingerbread houses seem like a lovely seasonal thing. I mean, gingerbread houses are a little symbol of Christmas festivity, are they not? I love gingerbread. I love houses. The combination seems pretty nifty when it comes in a neato kit with a carrying handle and you have a 50% off coupon.

The problem is that, well, they’re way better in theory than reality. Well, perhaps I should say, they’re way better in the picture on the box and in the images in your head than what generally manifests when you actually try to build one. I know that some of my readers are a lot…craftier than I am and thus may not be able to relate to the trials and tribulations of my former attempts to build gingerbread houses. However, I’ve built a few in the past. I always use kits because frankly I’m too lazy to bake them myself.

These kits usually involve making icing that theoretically should glue the house together. You have to get the icing exactly right otherwise it doesn’t work. And, actually, even if you get it right, it still doesn’t really work. I remember the time I assisted my friend’s son with his gingerbread house. My friend was also building a gingerbread construction with her other son- this was a tree that, essentially, was just a bunch of cookies stacked on top of one another. Our house, on the other hand, proved to be so problematic and the icing so un-gluelike that we literally resorted to duct tape to hold the blasted thing together while it dried. I’m not proud of this. Also, the duct tape did not work. We eventually got some semblance of a house that was standing and we covered the worst parts with lots of candy to hide the problems.

I should have learned from that experience and yet, two years later, I tried another gingerbread construction. This was a little more successful in that I eventually got the house to hold together. However, it did involve multiple dives across the counter to catch the walls as they fell and having to re-build it. Nevertheless, I did end up with a somewhat decent looking house. It just involved rather a lot of colourful adjectives every time I had to save it from collapsing.

I should have learned from THAT experience. Unfortunately, I think I simply suffer from Gingerbread House Amnesia. This is a condition that kicks in at the start of every Christmas season and manifests itself whenever I’m standing in front of a display of gingerbread houses. The amnesia causes me to say “Aw, fun!” instead of “HELL, NO!” and I end up buying a kit.

Then the kit sits in my house. One night, I will think, “time to make the house”. I’ll open the box and pull out that evil bag of icing that will be the glue. Then I’ll put the icing back in the box and put the kit away. This usually happens at least once.

I do eventually make the gingerbread house. I just haven’t done so when I’ve had the dogs. I’m hoping this effort will be slightly smoother than my last ones merely because I get a little mean and crotchety when things don’t go according to plan and I tend to yell a bit. The poor dogs have witnessed this many a time whether it involves my building IKEA furniture, laying down floor tiles, trying to decorate my clock for Christmas with a string of festive berries and knocking the clock off the wall or trying to get a picture on my wall to stay straight. I hate that I do get mean and that I shout but it’s a coping mechanism. It’s rather akin to, say, dropping a hammer on your foot and saying the f-word rather loudly. You can’t really stop it- it’s a reflex reaction. I have dropped a hammer on my foot a couple of times, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I am eventually going to build this gingerbread house. I just don’t think it will be tonight. Tonight I will wrap more gifts which will not make my dogs happy but it might be a little safer for them than the gingerbread house.

I think they actually like it better when I watch Christmas movies because then, at least, I’m doing what they want which is staying still long enough for them to bury their cold noses in my lap and get comfortable.

It’s even better when I have cheese.

Happy Wednesday and thanks for reading!(And Happy Birthday to my lovely mum and best friend, Saz!)

Resorting to Dog Trickery

It hasn’t stopped raining all day. Generally, I rather like rainy days but I prefer them when I can stay home, be lazy, listen to the rain and snuggle with the dogs. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days and, instead, I had to venture out into the wet landscape to go to work as usual.

The pups don’t like rainy days. It’s actually quite funny to see them. They get so excited when they get up in the mornings and I let them outside. They run out the back door and then…they stop. You can almost hear their little legs grinding to a halt as they realize it’s raining.

The unfortunate part is that they generally turn around and come back inside. This is fine if they’ve been out recently but when they just wake up after a night’s sleep, generally you’d think they had to go outside.

Even if they do, their desire to stay dry apparently overrules a full bladder. Since they’re completely housebroken and that they’re pretty smart, I used to assume that if they really needed to go, they’d go. Unfortunately, I discovered that this was the case only they decided to go indoors after I went to work.

This only happened once. Since then, I’ve found ways to get them to go outside. The meanest way I have is to trick them. It works well, I must admit. It’s pretty simple: I have two doors that lead to the back garden. They are in the same room, the Tuscan sunroom I redecorated earlier this year. The back doors face one another on opposite walls. One leads out to the patio. The other leads to the side of the house. On a normal day, I open up the door that leads to the side of the house and the pups run out.

On rainy days when they refuse to go out, I simply open up the other door. I step out onto the patio which has a slight overhang that keeps me dry. My loyal little pups follow, curious to see what I’m doing. Then, when they’re out, I quickly go back inside, shutting the door behind me. Meanwhile, I’ve left the other back door open. This means that they must go outside to get back into the house which inevitably leads to them realizing they might as well go to the bathroom since they’re already wet.

Yes, this is a mean trick. However, when I’m in a hurry and I have to get to work and I can’t coax them out any other way, it’s the best method to ensure they go outside. Also, they don’t seem to mind and come to greet me when they come back inside, trying to rub their little wet bodies against my legs- a small price to pay for my slightly cruel trick.

My nicer, kinder method to getting them to go outside is to simply go out with them. If it’s not raining too hard, I step outside for a minute. They follow. Then I go back under the overhang so I stay dry. They’re ok if they know I’m out there. If this doesn’t work, I have been known to stand out in the rain with an umbrella. They like it a lot more if I hold the umbrella over them too but, let’s face it, that’s just a little too indulgent. They seem content to be in the rain if they know I’m out there too.

If it’s not raining too hard, they don’t mind going out. It’s only when they get soaked that they mind. Of course, this is all dependent on their mood. There are times when they run out in the rain anyway. It seems that once they’re soaked, they figure that it doesn’t matter if they stay outside- they’re already wet. They tend to stay out for a while in this case. The bad part is that they’re soaked when they come in and if I’m not quick enough with the towel, they divebomb the carpet, rolling with glee as they get the beads of water off themselves.

Today was a day when they didn’t want to go out. In the morning, I had to resort to my cruel trickery. At lunch, I stood out there with them. This evening, well, I left the door open enough so that when the rain slowed and they really had to go out, they could go.

The only downside is that like young children, the dogs get bored if they’re stuck inside. Rory will lie on the floor and stare at me. When I look at her, she barks at me as if to say, “HUMAN! AMUSE ME! NOW!” Sookie, meanwhile, has given up and decided to resort to her favourite activity- sleeping. When I decide that playing with Rory on the floor is the best way to amuse her, Sookie automatically sprints up to join in. She does NOT like to miss out on fun. Usually, all I have to do is grab a squeaky toy and play tug-of-war with Rory and bam! Sookie is suddenly there, wanting to play too. Eventually, I try to sneak away and let the two play tug-of-war but this doesn’t last long and before I know it, Rory is woofing at me again.

It’s a vicious cycle. Last year, I resorted to those toys that are supposed to occupy dogs for a while- you stuff treats inside and the dogs are supposed to figure out how to release the treats. Unfortunately, my dachshunds tag-team and figuring it out takes half the time it should because one holds it down and the other sticks her tongue inside, forcing the treats out.

I suppose I should be happy that I have smart dogs. The problem is that they’re not quite smart enough that I can sit them down with a book or jigsaw puzzle.

Still, while they might get bored when it’s rainy, their presence ensures that I never do. Besides, when they do come inside and they’ve dried themselves on the carpet, it is rather pleasant to have them snuggle up beside me even though I know it’s 50% love and 50% need to warm up/dry off by using me as a human towel.

Besides, I think I owe them for tricking them into going outside. I always feel a little guilty about that.

Happy Wednesday and have a great Thanksgiving holiday!

My Somewhat Ridiculous and Really Not Practical Christmas Wishlist

1. I would like my dogs to be able to understand that they cannot climb trees and no matter how hard they try, they will never be able to follow a squirrel up one.

2. I would like Kim Kardashian to go away. I don’t even know what she’s famous for but she’s certainly in a lot of headlines.


3. Re: #2, I would like celebrities and people of influence to realize that marriage is not just something for publicity. It actually is supposed to mean a lot and it does to most people. Kim Kardashian’s ridiculous wedding could have probably covered the salaries of several out-of-work people in this bad economy and it didn’t even last three months.


4. I would like Ryan Gosling to do the lift from “Dirty Dancing” with me. Shirtless. If you don’t know what I mean, watch “Crazy, Stupid Love.” You’ll get it. Maybe. And if not, I’m sorry but you’re weird or…not into Ryan Gosling which is perfectly fine.


5. I would like “Glee” to be good. I watch it and I don’t know why at this point. It’s over-the-top, irritating and for no reason whatsoever, Lea Michele really bugs me. There’s an easy solution, I know…stop watching. I just…can’t…not yet.


6. I would like the Twilight phenomenon to go away now. I sort of get it. It’s just…not that good and it’s gone on too long. Also, Breaking Dawn did not need to be two parts- it’s about a vampire and human who get married, get pregnant their first time in having sex, have a grisly birth scene and have a werewolf fall in love with their baby. Oh, and there’s some kind of standoff between vampires that ends up fizzling out into nothing more than a conversation. It’s not Harry Potter by any means- one part would have been just fine.


7. I would like my dogs to pick up their own toys and vacuum the floor. Also, it’d be nice if they could make me a cup of tea when I get home from work.


8. I would to know why sometimes I have the urge to climb over the stall door when I go to the bathroom at work. It’s a peculiar urge I have and I don’t know why.


9. I would still like someone to invent a three slice toaster preferably in a triangular design. I’m not scientific/engineering-y enough. However, sometimes, two slices is too little and four slices is too much. I suppose I could just get a four slice one and not use the last slot but a triangular one would just be niftier.


10. I’d like to be able to shoot water out of my finger. I know this is strange but wouldn’t it be fun to point and squirt sometime? This is not my desired superpower but it’d be fun. If I could have my desired superpower, I’d like to be able to heal people with my mind.


11. I would like to teleport. This way I’d never have to go to the airport again and pay ridiculous fees and charges.


12. Speaking of #11- I would like airline travel to become fun again. It was once. I even remember it. I miss the days of free Toblerones, free wine and politeness from the airline staff. Also, I miss the days were you didn’t have to check your bank balance before you got on a plane in case you got hungry.


13. I’d like to be able to perform telekinesis. It would make being lazy much easier.


14. I’d like to know what my dogs are thinking. Just my dogs though. I don’t want to know what people are thinking. That’d be scary and make things a little too complicated. And I don’t want to know what other animals are thinking because then I might have to become a vegetarian and we can’t have that.


15. I’d like to know why the “Happy Feet” movie gives me a feeling of distaste. It’s a movie about penguins! Yet something about it just gives me a slight case of the creeps.


16. I’d like wine to have no calories.


17. I’d like cheese to have no calories or fat.


18. I’d like butter to have no calories or fat.


19. I’d like Mario Batali to cook me dinner with the cheese that has no calories or fat, with plenty of calorie and fat-free butter with a nice bottle of no-calorie wine.


20. I’d like to solve everyone’s problems and make the world happy.


21. I’d like to know why rotting potatoes smell so much worse than rotting lemons.


22. I’d like “Veronica Mars,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Buffy” to come back on the air with new episodes.


23. I’d like it to snow without making the roads scary.


24. I’d like to buy the world a Coke but have it be a Mexican Coke with real sugar rather than corn syrup. And by Mexican Coke, I mean the tasty beverage that is Coca-Cola. Just in case there’s any confusion.


25. I’d like world peace because, well, this is a wish list and doesn’t everyone wish for world peace? Besides, I’ve never understood why people like to shoot each other and blow each other up. This is why I don’t understand boxing. Why do people want to watch people punch each other in the face? Yes, world peace would be very sensible.



I think that’s it for now.

By the way, this is intended to be silly and not an expression of greed in any way shape or form. Also, I tried to stay away from anything too personal or political. That’s my disclaimer.

Thanks for reading- Happy Wednesday!

The Halloween Decorating Police Game

I can’t believe it’s almost Halloween already. I mean that in more of a figurative way than a literal way. If I meant it literally, I’d be lying because the Halloween decorations began creeping into stores in early September and my neighbourhood has slowly become one long string of “who has the best fake cemetery” and “Who can hang the most ghosts, zombies, skeletons and Frankenstein’s Monsters from their porch.”

Also, there are the giant inflatables. I remember when they started popping up. It used to be just for Christmas. The first one I saw was pretty nifty- it was a giant snowglobe with a polar bear in it and a fan blew the snow around. Then they became more popular and there were trains with waving penguins and santas, reindeer popping out of presents and variations on the giant snowglobe theme.

Then, of course, they stopped being just for Christmas and giant Easter bunnies began cropping up. There were giant turkeys for Thanksgiving and, of course, the Halloween versions. The Halloween versions are actually exactly the same as the Christmas versions except there are ghosts and pumpkins instead of santas and reindeer. Oh, and they’re orange and black instead of green and red. I even saw the “Halloween on a train” inflatable yesterday. Do ghosts and ghouls really ride trains and wave at people? I think not.

I prefer the more gruesome Halloween decorations myself. Someone in my neighbourhood has decorated their cemetery as a crime scene. There are fake evidence numbers scattered around bloody body parts which seem to stick out of the ground. Naturally, I find this quite funny. Hey, if you haven’t figured out I’m a little dark and twisted yet, you clearly haven’t read enough of my blogs. I especially appreciate the touch that they have a decaying corpse watching over the entire scene and he looks disturbingly real.

I enjoy this time of year. It makes walking the pups in the evening even more fun. Our neighbourhood is clustered into batches. There are Those Who Decorate and Those Who Do Not Decorate. If one house decorates, those around it tend to at least place some token decorations outside. Then we’ll walk for a stretch into an area of Those Who Do Not Decorate. These are the boring houses. As daft as it sounds, I like to mentally grade houses on their efforts. It serves no purpose other than to allow myself a little extra amusement while the pups sniff and scamper their way on our walks.

My grading system is easy. A house gets points for efforts. If it’s a really well done decorating job, they get top marks. If they’ve at least made an effort, we take that into consideration. If not effort is made, they FAIL. Nothing much happens except I whisper to the pups that “We have a FAIL on our hands, girls!” They pay no attention to me because there are squirrels to chase and, frankly, when there are squirrels to be chased, a quirky ‘mother’/’owner’ is really not important enough to merit paying any attention.

I’m very generous with my points though. Even if a house has a mere single pumpkin on the porch, they get to scrape a ‘pass’ from me. I mean it’s something. We do take chrysanthemums into consideration too since they are a traditional autumn flower. If a house has a spectacular display of mums that was clearly planted with love and attention, we give them a pass. If they have a token dying chrysanthemum in their flower garden that’s clearly an afterthought, they don’t necessarily pass.

It’s a silly game but I enjoy it. One of my favourite houses is the one where the little old lady has a toy cat in the window and she dresses it in little outfits for the seasons. It has Easter bunny ears, an Uncle Sam hat and now it has a witches hat and cape. She also has a lovely display of Jack o’ Lanterns and some pretty mums. She gets high marks. It’s all about the effort and there’s bonus points for cuteness. I’m not a cat person but I adore her stuffed toy cat because you can tell she has fun with it and what’s life if you can’t have a little fun with it?

I also play the game at Christmas too although it’s usually a little colder and harder to linger. I like to grade the Christmas displays. I know that’s not politically correct because not everyone celebrates and there may be a reason there isn’t a shimmering display of Christmas lights out front but this is why I only grade the houses that do participate. Also, we grade on indoor decorations too so if there’s a particularly pretty tree inside the house but no outdoor decorations, it’s pretty obvious they’re celebrators of Chrismas and it’s ok to grade them.

I am aware that this is probably a peculiar habit and there’s absolutely no point at all. I have visualized forming a squad of Decorating Police but I think I’d be the only member and it would be rather odd to walk up to people and say, “By the way, your scarecrows are dirty and leaking straw. I think it’s time to get some new ones. Also, you have too many ghosts and not enough zombies.” It would be sort of entertaining but as I always say, I do like to keep up some attempt of normalcy with my neighbours.

Halloween is only the beginning. There will be some giant inflatable turkeys popping up over the next few weeks and they will soon be succeeded by all manner of holiday inflatables and lights. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to it. Walking with the dogs is always a nice way to get out and about but it’s even more fun when I can play Undercover Decorating Police.

Happy Wednesday!

The Other Side of Autumn

Well, we finally got the rain that was threatening us the last time I blogged. It’s pretty much been raining steadily ever since. I don’t mind although it’s a little colder than I expected. I even had to turn on the heat this morning since the pups and I were on the verge of shivering. I had the two of them curled up next to me under the covers last night since it was so chilly- they don’t like their noses to be cold. I’ve noticed they’re a lot cuddlier in the cooler months than in the summer.

It’s definitely another side to Autumn, this weather. Instead of getting to walk through the crisp, multicoloured fallen leaves, we get to see them pounded flat against the pavement in soggy clumps.

I don’t mind the rain though. It gives me an excuse to stay inside, put my pajamas on a little earlier than normal and curl up on the couch with the dogs. They’ve accepted there will be no walks in the rain. While it wouldn’t kill us to go out in the wetness, we all prefer not to if we can avoid it. Rory, especially, dislikes getting wet. She runs outside and then, when she realizes she’s getting wet, she quickly runs back to shelter and looks at me as if to say, “What on earth did you DO?”

It is supposed to stop raining this weekend though. I’m hoping to spend the weekend doing splendid autumn things with my family. My sister mentioned a pumpkin patch but our backup plan is pumpkin carving or something equally Halloweeny at home just in case it’s still raining. Also, her rather odd looking puppy had to have surgery this week to correct a problem with her legs and the poor thing is immobile at the moment so we may have to stay home with her. I don’t mind. I think I can be in the autumn spirit if we go out or not.

Still, before the weekend, there’s a Friday to get through. They’re usually pretty quiet around here. People tend to leave early or find an excuse to be out of the office. I’d like to skedaddle a little early to be able to get on the road to my parents a little early. I’m don’t mind driving in the dark but it makes for a long day now the days are getting shorter. I’m actually looking forward to the clocks changing though- it would be rather nice to get up in the morning and have it not still be dark out there. At the moment when my alarm goes off at 6:45 a.m., it still looks like nighttime and trying to persuade two slumbering dachshunds that it really is time to get out of bed is proving difficult. Sookie doesn’t mind so much but for the past several mornings, I’m greeted with loud groans from Rory who refuses to move until she’s ready.

I actually don’t mind the clocks changing so much in the autumn because we get an extra hour of sleep and that’s never a bad thing. Spring is harder because we lose sleep and I’m a Monkeypants who needs her sleep. Even though I think we really don’t need to change the clocks, the extra hour in the Fall is like Autumns way of giving us a little present- a way of saying “Here, have an extra hour to do something with- you can use it for anything but I recommend sleep!”

I know I’ve been waxing poetical about Autumn in a lot of my blogs lately but for me, it’s that time of year. The world slows down a little and starts to die back readying itself for Winters season of recharge and recuperation. There’s colour everywhere. Suddenly the idea of a bowl of hot soup sounds much more appealing than a caprese salad which, only a month before, was a summer treat.

The rainy days we’re dealing with are simply another side of Autumn. It can’t all be crisp leaves, bonfires and balmy breezes. Winter, after all, is coming and Autumn is simply guiding us into that season as gently as she knows how with a little taste of it here and there until finally, she’s ready to step aside and let Winter have his say.

For now, though, Winter is still in the wings and I’m hoping we have quite a few more crisp leaf-apple cider days to go.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Happy Friday!

Outdoor Sort of Weekends...

This has been a beautiful autumn weekend. The weather has been warm with a cool wind and the sun has been shining. It's the kind of weather that makes you feel guilty for staying indoors.

Thus, I tried not to stay indoors. I spent much of the time with the girls outside. I took them for a long walk on Saturday over the park. We haven't been there since the spring- our last visit was after we'd had floods and it was a wet soggy mess. Soon after, the weather got too hot to walk for too long outside and so this was our first trip back for a while.

It was the perfect time for walking. I've found that the woods where we walk (aka, the park) is far less busy on Saturdays than Sundays. I think this is because most people use Saturdays for productivity and Sundays for relaxation.

Thus, we had the woods mostly to ourselves. We did our usual trek. It was a wonderful hike- the leaves were thick enough to crunch under our feet but the ground was dry enough that we didn't slip at all. Autumn was all around us as we walked.

I was a little apprehensive because Rory has become a little, uh, lazy since the spring. As I've mentioned, she has a penchant for sitting down when she's had enough. Still, since the weather has cooled, she hasn't sat down for a while so I was hopeful.

Well, we made it 3/4 of the way through our trek and then she dug her heels in and didn't want to walk anymore. Sookie was fine. After trying to coax her to keep moving, I eventually gave in and ended up carrying her for a little way. This seemed to appease her and shortly after, she began walking again, albeit a little more slowly.

By the time we were done, both dogs and I were all rather tired but happy. It was a windy day and there's nothing more refreshing than a long walk on a breezy autumn day.

As for today, I spent the majority of the day outside. It's coming time to winterize the garden and though many of my flowers are still in bloom, I decided to clean out my shed and clear off the patio. It's a little sad but it's also nice to know that I've accomplished something. I spent the rest of the afternoon weeding and trimming back the overgrown areas. In a couple of weeks, I'll start pulling up the flowers as they die back but for now, it's nice to see that the flowers aren't ready to give up yet.

I love weekends like this where I have no set agenda but have a flexible 'to do' list. I think since it is such a lovely day, I shall try to finish it off outside. The days are already getting shorter so I'll try to catch the sunshine while it's there.

Even though it's back to work tomorrow, I'm still forever grateful that we get two days a week away from the normal drudgery of the work day. I even like my job and I'm still happy to get away for a couple of days. This week, especially, is a big week for me as it's the year anniversary of when I left my old job that made me unhappy and started this one which has been significantly better. Obviously, no job is perfect but I'm pretty pleased with mine.

Still, before the work week starts all over, there's a few more hours of my autumnal weekend to enjoy. The breeze is still blowing and the sun is still shining...I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love Autumn!

Thanks, as always for reading and Happy Monday!

Walking and Tripping...

This will probably be my last blog before I leave for London. Even though I don't leave until Wednesday afternoon, I know myself well enough to know that I will be busy with packing and organizing and trying to prepare for missing eight days of work and won't be able to work in a blog.

Even though the focus of my weekend has been to get ready for my trip, I also managed to participate in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure walk on Saturday. Our company president wanted our office to sign up to participate and so we did. Thanks to my generous friends and family, I managed to raise a nice little sum to contribute.

The walk actually ended up being a lot of fun. Even though I had to get up earlier than I do on a workday and even though we ended up getting quite wet in the rain, I enjoyed both the exercise and walking with my teammates.

It wasn't supposed to rain. In fact one of my coworkers and I were waiting for the rest of our group to arrive and we spotted Mr. Weatherman- Frank Marzullo from Fox 19 news. My coworker called out to him and he said hi and assured us we'd have nice weather for the walk.

Less than ten minutes later, it started raining. I'm not kidding. By this time, Frank Marzullo was up on stage, doing some grandstanding and he didn't say a word about the rain. It didn't help that I had stupidly listened to him the day before when he promised it'd be dry for the walk. Thus, I came wearing a t-shirt with a thin hoodie over it. Had I known it was going to rain, I would have brought the umbrella I keep in my car or I would have brought a windbreaker. Silly Captain Monkeypants!

Still, in spite of the fact that we were dripping by the time the walk started, the rain stopped and we managed to dry out as we progressed. As the walk started, it became pretty clear that there were going to be two paces set by our team- the slow walkers and the fast walkers. I'm a fast walker by nature so I broke ahead with the fast walker pack from our office. We ended up finished about 25-30 minutes before the rest of the team.

It didn't take as long as I thought to finish the 5K walk and afterwards, I simply headed home to figure out what I still needed to shop for to take on my trip.

The rest of the weekend has been spent making a packing list and organizing my clothes. This seemed like an excellent time to switch over to my fall/winter wardrobe and pack the summer stuff away, sad as I was to do it. I also decided to be ruthless and donate a lot of my clothes from all seasons. It's probably the influence of "Hoarders" but I decided that if I had some clothing I hadn't worn over a year or if I hadn't worn it all during the last season, I would donate it. In the end, I had two large IKEA bags full of donations. Most of it is good stuff that either doesn't quite fit me any more or just isn't my style. Having moved from California back to the Midwest, my style has changed a lot since I moved.

It felt good to purge and organize. I now have a well organized closet and lots of leftover hangers. I also have my packing list made for my trip with only a few toiletries left to get.

The hard part is that even though I'm staying in a hotel for the first half of my trip, I'm going to be moving on to my grandparent's for the second half so I have to be prepared for both legs of the trip. Even though I can do some shopping in the UK if I need to, I'd still like to try and minimize it if I can.

Aside from physically packing, I'm pretty much ready to go, I think. I'm not ready to be apart from the pups for 10 days but I'm not thinking about that. I know, logically, they'll be safe with my parents but it still doesn't mean I won't worry about them. I'm an overprotective mother, I know it and knowing is half the battle. I have their bag half-packed- I stocked up on their favourite "chompers" which is our name for the long lasting treats they get whenever I have to leave them for a while. They're partial to Busy Chewnola's which keep them busy. It also stops them from chewing things they're not supposed to chew.

So, in three days, I'll be London-bound and my pups will be spoiled rotten by their grandparents. I won't be blogging while I'm gone because even if I took my laptop, I wouldn't necessarily have an internet connection and, frankly, lumping a computer to the UK is a lot of work. I've done it before and I'd rather not do it again. I'm sure, however, I will have plenty of stories to tell when I return. Thus, for now, I'll bid you all adieu until I return. Or, as the Brits say, "Cheerio!"

Thanks for reading! Happy Monday and on!

Accidental Invitations

It’s feeling a lot like autumn out there. Last night, we had a mini storm come in and by this morning, it had dropped about 20 degrees. I have to say, it feels wonderful and given that it’s almost the calendar start of Fall, I can’t help but want to welcome it with open arms. I’m actually over that hump where I feel like summer is being usurped. We’ve had enough days where it’s too chilly to wear open-toed shoes and I’ve resorted to my boots and socks and so, for me, it’s autumn.

This doesn’t mean I’m ready to decorate for the season but it does mean that I can start dressing a little warmer and appreciating the start of autumnal thinking.

I did finally get my bench built. Let me tell you, building a cast iron-backed bench by oneself is NOT an easy task. You’re supposed to screw the really heavy back piece into each side which would be fine if someone was available to hold it but, alas, as a singleton, I was on my own. The dogs were no help. They skedaddled as soon as I started swearing at the blasted thing. Yes, there was plenty of swearing. I got hot, sweaty and generally quite frustrated.

However, I persevered. I managed to use the wall as a support for the legs and with some creative maneuvering got it done. I now have a bench and you can even sit on it. The reason I’m telling you this is that the bench is involved in my autumn plans. I wanted to get it done and outside so that I had somewhere to sit while enjoying a fire in my new firepit on a cool evening.

The only thing I’m a bit worried about is that I might have accidentally invited Larry the Potential Serial Killer to join me. You see, I was walking the girls on Tuesday night and he was outside. We chatted politely about the weather as you so often do with neighbours. He mentioned how he wanted to get “one of those there firepits you see in Lowes” and I stupidly said, “I have one of those.” His eyes lit up and he said “You do? Well, that’s neato. Maybe I’ll come to yours then.” Thinking he was joking, I said “sure!”. I WAS joking. Larry was not. He said, “I’ll be over then.” And he meant it.

Lesson learned here: Do not stupidly agree to things if you think someone is joking because he might not be.

Now I’m a bit worried that he might come over if he sees me having a fire in the firepit. I suppose it might be ok except, well, he’s a wee bit creepy and, also, at least 15 years older than me. Methinks I do not want Larry in my backyard when it’s dark outside. It didn’t help that while I was talking to him, he had been roaming around the backyard with no shoes or socks on his feet. I don’t have a problem with feet, per se. There are some men- surfers for example- who seem perfectly natural when they’re barefoot. Then there are men like Larry who just look…odd…when they’re barefoot.

Oh well, you live and learn, I suppose. It’s not going to stop me from enjoying my firepit- at least not unless he actually does show up. Since the dogs aren’t really fond of him, I expect they won’t be too happy about it either. He often tries to pet them when we go out for a walk and they sort of duck away and hide behind me whenever he does. They don’t do that with everyone.

Sookie tends to be a bit jumpy anyway. Today at lunch, I came home to find that one of the girls had an accident on the floor. This never happens and I mean never. I was a little surprised and annoyed but what can you do but clean it up? Then, Sookie started acting a little odd. I gave her a treat and she scoffed it down like normal. Then a few moments later when I gave her another one, she ignored it and tried to sit on my lap. Then, she suddenly backed away and started to run outside. I was worried she was having tummy issues and followed her. Nope, she just wanted to be outside. Then, when I went back to work, I noticed that she came in when I called her but then, when she normally hops in her crate, she didn’t. She tried to go outside again.

I figured out what was bothering her. I’d noticed my smoke detector had been chirping because I needed to change the battery. She was afraid of the chirp. Each time it made it’s annoying sound, she tried to run away. When I got back to work, I googled this to see if it was normal. Apparently, there are quite a few dogs out there who get upset/panicked/terrified by this mere chirping sound.

I did feel better. I had been worried she wasn’t well but it turns out she was just frightened which is still bad but easily remedied by removing the dying battery in the smoke detector for now. My guess is that she’s the one who had ‘the accident’ and was so frightened she couldn’t hold her bladder. Poor little thing- what seems like a mildly irritating noise to me must be a great deal more worrying to her.

Sookie is a worrier. She likes things to be the same all the time. She doesn’t like change and she most certainly doesn’t like it when her sister is naughty. Also, she doesn’t like strangers, particularly men. She’s quite protective of me which is both good and bad.

Thus, I’m hoping that she’ll be enough to deter Larry the Potential Serial Killer when he comes to visit. Of course, I’m really hoping he simply doesn’t come and visit but lately, nothing’s been quite going as planned so I’m not holding my breath.

Still, I can’t let it deter me from the fact that I’m starting to accept that summer is a fleeting visitor and that autumn is taking over. I don’t want it to come too fast but I do want it to come.

I’m ready.

To Blog or Not to Blog...That is the Question

So, I extended my blogging vacation a little longer than planned. This has been primarily for me to take time to think about whether I really want to continue to blog or not. Lately, it’s become more of a chore than a pleasure to write. I enjoy writing it but sometimes, it feels horribly self-indulgent to think that people might actually want to read…well, about me.

I started my blog as a writing exercise, more than anything. It’s a way for me to get some writing done every day. It’s a great way for me to capture little moments in life, to paint a picture of my life with words. It’s a great tool to rant and rave. I’ve enjoyed it immensely.

I just don’t know if I should keep it going. I don’t know if people really want to read it or if it’s an obligation. This is not an attempt to fish for compliments, it’s a genuine query.

I think my dilemma stems from my current mood. Lately, I’ve been going through one of those self-examination phases. The rational, logical part of me is immensely content and feeling rather blessed with all the good things in life.

The irrational part of me has been feeling rather lonely and a little discontented with my life. Nothing seems quite…right. No matter what I do, I feel like I should do it differently or better. My writing isn’t going as well as it could and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Everyone I know is super busy living their life and I feel like I’m just standing still. I usually don’t mind standing still but my life has recently felt like an episode of “Sex and the City,” where Miranda, the strong, independent lawyer who thinks she doesn’t need a man, almost chokes on her food in her apartment. She has no one to rescue her from choking but herself and she realizes that sometimes being independent just means that she’s alone. Or, like Bridget Jones, I worry that I’ll die in my house alone with only the dogs to find me and they can’t dial 911. It’s melancholy but sometimes being strong and resourceful like I try to be is not always best.

My slight case of melancholia is probably because it’s suddenly turned rather autumnal here, suddenly. I love autumn. I have blogs and blogs to prove that. I’m just not quite ready for it yet. I want the summer to last a little longer, for the last of my tomatoes to ripen and to ease me into the cooler days/nights and the falling leaves. This cold rainy weather shock is not really easing us into autumn as much as it’s shoving us there without letting us look back and question it. It’s making me feel like time is moving too fast and I’m not moving with it.

I’m just not sure what to do about it at the moment. I suppose I could try online dating again to fight the worry of choking and dying alone. The thought has occurred to me. I just end up talking myself out of it because I’ve had some bad experiences. Also, I’m just not very good at dating. I just would rather skip it and jump right to that comfortable stage where you can sit on the sofa watching crappy television without worrying that you’re wearing little makeup, old clothes and didn’t bother putting your contacts in.

This phase will pass. I know it will. When the sun comes out and life gets busier, I’ll feel angry with myself for feeling so self-indulgent. Worse, I’ll feel angry that I posted this on my blog and gave into my self-indulgent urge to whine.

Which is probably why I’m considering giving up the blog. It allows me a receptacle to deposit my whining. It’s more fun when I rant, I think. However, whining seems to be quite a lot easier sometimes. It’s a heck of a lot easier to complain that it is to say good things.

However, saying good things is infinitely better. So, I’ll say that I appreciate those of you that have read my blog while I’ve been writing it. I appreciate the fact that I love my life 95% of the time. I appreciate my two little dogs who are always there for me and will protect me both from Stranger Danger and the disgustingness of “Hoarders”. Rory often comes to my aid when I make noises of distressed disgust- last week, we watched an episode where a man had 2,500 pet rats running around and when I squealed with horror at the swarm of creatures running freely throughout the house, Rory sat on my head and tried to cover my eyes. This is a true story.

I also appreciate life in general, for better for worse, in rain and sun and in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Having a blog lets me have a way to appreciate that.

So, I still haven’t decided if I’ll give it up. Like Scarlett O’Hara said (and I paraphrase)…I’ll decide tomorrow. I can’t decide today.

And clearly since I’ve already blogged, I’m not giving it up today anyway.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Thursday.

Oops..Sorry Squirrels?

It turns out I may have been blaming the squirrels unjustly for the eating of my tomatoes. According to Possibly-Joe, there’s a groundhog living in the garden that’s diagonal to mine. He’s seen it a few times and his dog desperately wants to eat it.

Possibly-Joe has a rat terrier named Chloe that he ties out on a long chain in the garden. He doesn’t have the luxury of a fence the way I do and Chloe is a bit of a runner. There have been several times when I’ve seen Chloe squeeze out the back door when he’s going through and he’s run around the neighbourhood trying to chase her. He’s done it barefoot a few times too. So far, he’s always caught her. He has my sympathies. When I was a kid, my dad had a thing for Afghan Hounds so we had a couple of them. Afghan’s are REAL runners- if they have the space, they will run. There were several occasions when they managed to get out of our yard and we had to chase them like maniacs all around the neighbourhood. It was never fun, always embarrassing and always a triumph when we caught the dog. So Joe has my sympathies.

Anyway, I know about the groundhog because while I was squirrel-proofing my tomatoes last night, Possibly-Joe came out to chat. This was while the Trampoline Gang was at their wildest and I’d desperately been trying to ignore their yelling. Possibly Joe clearly felt the same way I did because the first thing he said to me was, “as if their dogs weren’t bad enough, now we have a trampoline.”

It made me smile. It’s nice to have catharsis in knowing you’re not the only one who’s irritated at something. I was starting to feel like a cranky old spinster because I can’t sit out on my patio anymore without it having the soundtrack of the kids next door. I mean, I am glad they’re able to keep amused and have fun playing but the selfish part of me wished they didn’t have to do it next door while I’m trying to relax.

Possibly Joe had a gripe about Dog Whisperer’s beasts and how they drove Chloe nuts and then he complained about how the kids on the trampoline liked to wind up Chloe which got her upset. I listened with sympathy. As I suspected, Dog Whisperer and Wife didn’t do themselves any favours by installing the trampoline. I know that their yapping dogs drive quite a few people crazy as I’ve mentioned before. However, add to that a trampoline full of shouting kids…they’re not exactly going to be the most popular house on the block.

Anyway, after Possibly Joe was done with his complaints, he mentioned that there was also a groundhog living next door to him which Chloe kept trying to eat. I didn’t know that I had one of the creatures quite so close to my house. Possibly Joe said he’s seen it stick its head up quite a few times and that’s usually when Chloe goes nuts and tries to eat it. Fortunately, her chain doesn’t go that far.

I was surprised. I’ve never seen the groundhog and I can’t help but think that if Rory and Sookie saw it, they, too, would want to join in the Eating of the Groundhog with Chloe. Well, they probably wouldn’t eat it. What would actually happen is that they would bark at it a lot. Sookie would be the leader of the barking and Rory would stand back, trying to be brave like her sister but rather wary anyway. The groundhog would probably stare at the two barking dogs and then saunter off, probably to eat Larry the Potential Serial Killers sweet pertaters or beans. If my girls did get close enough to the groundhog to actually confront it, chances are that Rory would run off, frightened and Sookie would attempt to bravely capture it but would probably run away if it got too close. The groundhog is, after all, bigger than Sook.

The thing is, Sookie thinks she’s a big dog. This is why when we got out walking, she gives no notice to the Chihuahua’s and Yorkies we pass. She barely acknowledges the miniature poodle. No, Sookie likes to stir up trouble when we pass the German Shepherds or the Golden Retriever. She also is quite fond of barking back at the Great Dane we pass by its back gate. Sookie is fierce and she likes dogs to know it except, really, she’s not. She just likes to bark and when they bark back, she hides behind my legs. This is why I know she wouldn’t really fight a groundhog. A squirrel, she’d fight. She has already taken on a rabbit. She likes voles. She’s fond of bugs. Yet when it comes to things that wouldn’t fit in her mouth, she’s not really that fond of getting too close.

Still, now that I know there’s a groundhog, I’m a little more suspicious of my tomatoes. They were awfully large bite marks in them. I assumed that a squirrel had started the job and Rory had finished since I caught her taking a bite yesterday. However, now I know there really is a groundhog living close by, my suspicions have changed. I’m not sure if groundhogs can climb though- I don’t see how else they could have got to my tomatoes without scaling the fence. Still, it does make me wonder if I did blame the squirrels unjustly.

Hopefully, my chicken wire will suffice. Since I managed to cut myself on it as I was setting it up, I decided it might be dangerous to the girls if they ran through on one of their mad energy bursts that causes them to run round the garden on their circular track. In an effort to remind them the wire was there, I tied some very bright orange fabric all over it. If nothing else, I have the most stylish-squirrel deterrent in the neighbourhood.

Still, I’m going to be on the lookout for that groundhog now I know where he lives. I’ll also keep an eye on the girls just in case Sookie tries to play “Catch the Groundhog” which she is likely to attempt to do if she sees it. My guess is that our chain link fence will provide a safety barrier for both parties but you never know.

On the plus side, all that noise from the Trampoline next door probably discourages the creature from coming out as often as it wants to so maybe there is a silver lining to this after all.

Sorry, Squirrels…maybe it wasn’t your fault this time…

Happy Thursday!

Groundhog...Day

So, apparently, there is a groundhog running rampant around our neighbourhood. According to Larry the Potential Serial Killer, it has done major damage to his garden and he is not a happy camper.

Larry the Potential Serial Killer is precisely one of those people who actually says, “I am not a Happy Camper” (and it sounds capitalized when he says it, too). He actually sounds rather a lot like Ned Flanders from “The Simpsons” and even salutes me with a “Howdy, stranger” when he seems me walking with the pups. He’s very much a “gee-whizz”er meaning that he says things like “gee whiz- that groundhog surely is a nasty critter!”

I feel bad for Larry. He’s rather upset. The mean groundhog ate all his ‘sweet pertaters” and beans. He had apparently planted his sweet pertaters in a barrow and the groundhog had devoured them. I’m not quite sure why they were in a barrow but well, I’m not excited Captain MonkeyPants of the Greenthumb. I like to garden but my knowledge of gardening involves the following:

1) You dig a bit of ground
2) You plant a seed/bulb
3) You water it.
4) You hope it grows
5) You see weeds growing and occasionally pull them up
6) When the weeds grow out of control due to my severe case of Weed Pulling Avoidation, I half-heartedly dig over the soil where I can, slap a bit of weed control fabric over the top and cover it with pretty mulch.
7) If this is not possible because I have already planted stuff that’s overrun by weeds, I try to daintily spray weed killer on the weeds, avoiding the real plants. This inevitably doesn’t work as I usually accidentally end up killing my plants. Thus, I don’t use this method much.
8) Eventually giving up, hoping I can still pick my tomatoes and vowing to be a better weeder next year.

So, you see, while I like gardening, I’m not a die-hard gardener. I also don’t grow sweet potatoes or, even, sweet pertaters because while I enjoy the occasional yam, it’s not a huge part of my diet and I’d never really have too much use for them. Tomatoes, peppers, basil and corn, on the other hand…those I grow. You don’t really grow any of those in a barrow. I try to grow them in pots. This works well for the basil. The tomatoes start out well but end up being too big for the pot and transplanting them never works well for me.

Still, it doesn’t stop me from feeling bad for Larry. Last year, I had half my ‘crop’ devoured by a bunny including all my swiss chard, my corn and my sunflowers. It made me very unhappy. This year, thanks to the fearsome powers of Sookie and Rory, the bunny has been scarce. The one time it did appear, it was chased around frantically until the poor thing almost collapsed with exhaustion before making it out of a tiny hole in the fence. Having dogs is a good thing.

I’m hoping having the dogs means the groundhog won’t visit my garden. I do believe Larry. I’ve seen a couple of groundhogs capering around on this grassy area at the end of my neighbourhood. They’re actually quite cute. Of course, if they were eating my veggies, I probably wouldn’t feel that way. However, having seen the movie, “Groundhog Day,” one too many times, I always have the desire to yell “Don’t drive angry, Phil!” at the groundhogs. Not that I think they’d get my slightly obscure pop culture reference. Nor would they get it if they said, “I’m Ned! Ned Ryerson” or “Watch out for that last step, it’s a doozy!”

Ok, fine, I probably have seen that movie one too many times but I find the comedy of Bill Murray rather hilarious. I much preferred his “Ghostbusters”/”What about Bob”/”Groundhog Day”/”Man Who Knew Too Little” days to his deeper more artsy “Royal Tennenbaum” or “Life Aquatic” days. I miss Bill Murray although “Zombieland” made me love him again.

Sorry. I digress. I do that a lot, don’t I?

Back to the groundhog. I think I’ve actually seen the evil eater of sweet pertaters. On Saturday, I got up early and took the girls for a walk before it got too hot. There was a large furry creature ambling around across the road along with two squirrels. At first I thought it was a raccoon. It could have been a raccoon, I suppose but now I prefer to think that it was the groundhog and I saw it en route to doing more mischief.

Larry gave me the warning about the groundhog last night as I walked the girls. He was fresh off the discovery that his veggies had been devoured and he was hopping mad. The reason I know he was hopping mad was that, well, he said “I’m hopping mad!”

I do appreciate the warning because I do want to keep my precious veggies safe. I’ve worked hard to get them to wear they’re almost ready to pick and if I find a groundhog in my garden…well….I’d probably be hopping mad too. I suppose I could set Sookie and Rory on it but while they think they’re enormous tough dogs, they’re a bit smaller than a groundhog and those things have sharp teeth. Maybe they could tag team it or something.

Either way, I will be watching out for the nasty thing. The last thing I want is to come home and find out that all of my heirloom tomatoes are gone. I don’t even know if groundhogs like tomatoes but I admit, Larry the Potential Serial Killer has got me a bit nervous.

I suspect that it won’t be the last time the groundhog strikes. There are plenty of more-open gardens around the ‘hood where the vegetables are easily accessible. The horrible neighbour in me hopes that the groundhog goes for these before it goes to mine. That’s not very nice of me, is it? But fresh, organic tomatoes are serious business. Sure, you can buy them at the farmer’s market but it’s never the same as going outside, picking a ripe tomato off the vine and eating it there.

If that ground hog dares touch my tomatoes, I won’t be a Happy Camper either.
I’ll keep you posted. At least I didn’t grow sweet pertaters. It seems to like those best.

Happy Wednesday!

The Priorities of Being a Homeowner

The thing with being a homeowner is that it changes your priorities in life.

Just over two years ago, I moved into my house. I’d lived in apartments before and was ready to have something that was actually mine. It has been a joy having the freedom to do what I want whether it be painting, ripping up a floor and replacing it as well as having a garden fit for dogs and for growing vegetables.

It’s just that this has now become my life. I’m not complaining, trust me. I rather love my life. When I lived in an apartment, it was much easier to find time to go to my parents’ for the weekend or take off and fly to L.A. to visit. Nowadays, it’s not that easy because there’s always something to do at home.

I don’t mind. I’ve actually got to the point where I like mowing. If you read back over the blogs I wrote when I first moved into the house and had to start mowing, you’ll see this is quite a departure. I find it slightly peculiar that I now take a weird sort of pride in making sure my lawn looks tidy and looked after. I like to drive home and see my tidy lawn and how it contrasts with Mr. Enormous Trouser’s unkempt one. I find it therapeutic to pull out the mower and cut the lawn.

I especially like the feeling I have after the grass is cut and I can sit on my patio, drinking a beer and admiring how nice it looks while the pups roll in the clippings. Why the like to roll in the clippings, I do not know. When the grass is dry, it’s not so bad. When it’s wet, it makes a mess. It’s most annoying when I give the girls a bath and they immediately run outside and roll in the grass clippings.

If it’s not mowing, it’s laundry. I have to admit, after years of having to pump quarters into machines, including the college years, I’m still thankful that I have my own washer and dryer and that if I forget my clothes in the washer, there’s no one to dump them out on the floor. Since the pups are afraid of the laundry area due to the fact that I accidentally knocked a laundry basket on the floor, narrowly missing them, I highly doubt they’re likely to dump my clothes out. Also, they have no thumbs. This would make it difficult.

There’s also the small things such as remembering on Wednesdays that Rumpke come the next day so I should have my rubbish out by the curb. This is actually pretty easy to remember because my neighbours remind me by putting out their own rubbish. Also, confession time, the pups and I enjoy our Wednesday evening walks because we’re nosy and it’s quite fun to see the boxes and things by the curb and know who bought a new TV, who has a new baby and who got a new puppy. Yes, we’re nosy. I prefer to think of it as “studying humans” in order to be a more effective writer. Ok, fine…it is nosy and probably a little weird but I think I get it from my grandmother.

It’s nice to have the freedom to decide that I want to have DirecTV without having to find out from a landlord whether I’m allowed a dish or not. It’s nice to have dogs without having to pay a deposit for them. It’s nice to decide that I’m fed up with the window coverings and I can change them without having to worry about storing the old ones to put back up when I move out.

Of course, the flip side to having all this freedom is when you have a period of time where you have termites, your dryer dies and your fridge dies in the same week, it’s expensive. When the air conditioning goes out, it’s my responsibility to get it fixed. I have to be the one who’s there to let repairmen into my house because it’s my responsibility.

It’s an up and down journey that has become my life. I’ve somehow transitioned from someone who will splurge on a pair of Vans shoes to someone who’d rather buy a new side table for my Tuscan room. I price the cost of a new bathroom when I go in Home Depot. I get excited by the Lowes advertisement to see what’s on special.

You get it. I just did. It wasn’t until I was sitting at work thinking of all the things I had to do this evening when I realized that they’re things I have to do because I own my house. I don’t mind one little bit but it occurred to me that my life has become rather quiet and peaceful throughout the years. I don’t go out as much after work because I’d rather come home to the dogs, kick of my shoes and curl up with a good book in the sanctity of my Tuscan room.

I don’t know if this makes me boring or not. It probably does. Yet there’s a strange peace in finding a life where being able to own my own grill and use it is a little bit of a delight and where I can sit out on my patio, surrounded by sunflowers and herbs that I planted and know that this little corner of the world is all mine.

Whether it’s exciting or not is irrelevant. It is exciting to me, even in the quietness of the life I have. I think that’s what really matters. And I think the dogs would agree.

Happy Thursday!

A Hot Summer Day

I think today is probably one of the hottest days we've had so far. As soon as I go outside, a wall of heat hits me. The air is thick and even the breeze is warm and provides no relief.

It's about that time of year where the weather stays hot for a while. We wait for storms in the simple hope that it means we won't have to water the garden. My garden is currently parched and the plants look wilted from the heat. They'll revive after I water them tonight but for now, they look rather pathetic.

The dogs don't waste much time out there either. As much as I try to take the girls for a walk every night, even if it's a quick one, tonight, they won't get their walk. It's too hot. The pavement is scorching and I'm afraid for their paws. Also, knowing my girls the way I do, it won't take more than a few moments of walking before Little Miss Rory decides that she's had quite enough, thank you very much and she simply sits down. Sookie will join her and our walk will disintigrate into Captain Monkeypants Attempts to Get Her Dachshunds to Stand Up and Walk Without Dragging them.

There's little sign of life out there anyway. This heat is too much even for the kids who usually have no problem running around, riding bikes and spraying each other with the hose. That's for ninety degree days. We're currently over 100 degrees with a heat index of 108.

It's times like this that I am grateful that my air conditioning is working and that I can escape from the heat into the sanctuary of a cool room. I've made a point this summer of trying hard to get outside as much as possible. I'm an indoor girl by nature but I try to at least sit outside and enjoy the summer once a day. At the moment, it's too hot to sit outside and far too hot to work in the garden. Besides, it's not pleasant to do so anyway. There are these nasty little black flies that converge on me the moment I start to sweat and even when I swat them away, they still feel like they're crawling on me. I'm not fond of that buggy sensation that the humidity brings.

It's the type of heat that makes me want ice-cream. I don't like ice-cream much except for when it gets hot. I've still resisted those Magnum Bars mostly because my parents tried them and said they weren't anything special. Here I was picturing them as the most luxurious combination of vanilla ice cream and Swiss chocolate and they're about comparable to a Dove bar. I don't mind the Dove bars but not enough to spend the calories on them- I'll stick with my Skinny Cow treats. They're yummy, low fat and rather tasty. Also, they're nice and cold and that makes them a nice treat on a hot day like this.

Summer is fully upon us. It has been for a while but this is the first time she's truly pulled out all the stops and said HERE I AM! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU MELT! It does make me miss the days of those 78 degree temperatures and cool nights but then again, without summer, I probably wouldn't appreciate them so much. What I do wish I had, however, was a pool. I'm not much on swimming- I never have been. I didn't learn to swim until I was 11 and I've never much liked swimming. I do, however, like floating in a pool of cool water or doing the dog padde onto a floating raft and letting the cool water slowly evaporate as the sun takes it away and then doing it all over again. One of my favourite hot day memories of late was at a spa in California where my friend and I lay on rafts after doing spa-type of things all day. The air was warm but the wetness of our swimsuits kept us cool and we just relaxed, talking and laughing and enjoying the peace of the day.

I like that feeling. I like that summer makes that feeling even better because of the relief the water gives you from the heat. I don't really want a pool- my garden isn't big enough- but I'd quite like to float again on a raft somewhere. The trouble is, all the public pools are filled with cannonballing kids and there's never enough space to float on a raft. Also, this is going to sound a little snobby but with all those kids and a pool of water, I've always worried how much pee is actually in the pool. I know, I know, I can't think of that and that's why chlorine is good but, well, I still think of it anyway.

I don't even have a hose that works. Stupid me left it out over the winter and it sprung a million tiny leaks when I turned it on in the spring. Besides, since I only have a privacy fence on one side of my garden, the other sides might find it a little crazy if I stand there and hose myself. It's the type of thing you might do when you're alone or if you were playing around with other people but to do it alone in full view of the neighbourhood...well, I'm odd but not that silly.

So, for now, I'll stick to my air conditioning and enjoy the relief it brings. I'll continue with the ice-cream and try to keep the dogs cool. If a storm comes, I'll welcome it and, if not, I'll have to water my plants.

Ah, summer...you're fun but I'm glad you only last three months.

Happy Tuesday!

The Snap, Crackle and Pop of an Extra Long Weekend...

It's a very sticky 4th of July evening. The humidity is pressing close and the heat seems magnified by the close air.

At present, I'm sitting outside. Even though it's hot and humid, it's not altogether unpleasant and it seems right to write this outside. Occasionally, I'm hearing the odd pop of a firecracker. I don't know if there will be more fireworks later tonight or if my neighbours got them out of their systems over the weekend. All I know is that from Friday night through Sunday night, I had two alert dachshunds who were a little afraid of all the bangs and whizzes coming from local firework lighters.

It's been a nice weekend. Mother Monkeypants came down to stay and we had a very nice time. The wonderful thing about my mother is...well, she's my mother. We can do something or nothing and be very happy. We ended up doing some things but we also ended up just relaxing which I think is the best way to spend time with someone you love.

She left not too long ago and the house seems empty as it always does after a guest leaves. THe pups seem a little lost too. All weekend, they've had their choice of laps and attention and now they're back to just me.

It seems strange that we have to go back to work tomorrow. It makes sense, of course. It'd be greedy to expect more than a three day weekend but it seems so...anticlimactic to have a holiday and then...boom, right back to work. Yet it's the way of the world and so off tomorrow, to work I shall go.

On the plus side, it's only a four-day work week so I won't complain. It's only four more days until the next weekend. That's definitely not a bad trade off.

As I write, aside from the odd snap, crackle and pop of fireworks, the neighbourhood seems quiet. I think lots of people must be away for celebrations. My family sometimes has a gathering over the 4th even though, technically, as Brits, we're not exactly Independence Day celebrators. Yet, it's a good excuse to get everyone together.

This year, I had the luxury of having my mum come and stay and my siblings spent their holiday with their family. It's actually nice to spend a holiday like this in my own home as much as I like seeing everyone get together. It's been two years officially since I started to move into this house and I spent the long weekend painting my living room a shade of cranberry red. This weekend, I planted a tree, shopped, cooked and spent the time hanging out with my mother. I feel like I've come a long way.

The firework sounds are getting a little more constant and a little less sporadic. I think as darkness starts to fall, the sounds will intensify. My guess is that I will have two little dogs cowering inside, woofing at each crack and pop. I might stick my head out and see if I can see any fireworks but I haven't decided yet. It's been that kind of weekend where it's been nice to play things by ear and not have a firm plan. While it's nice to be organized, there's something to be said from being spontaneous and unplanned.

Whether or not I decide to look for fireworks tonight, I plan on relaxing and enjoying the last waning hours of a fun, extra-long weekend. I hope you, too, make/made the most of it.

Happy July 4th and happy Monday!

Embracing the Season...Bugs, Worms and All

I woke up today and thought it was Friday. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I heard the sound of the Rumpke Recycling truck and soon after heard the sound of my recycling bin being emptied and realized as I lay in bed that it was, in fact, Thursday.

I decided to embrace the fact that I still had another day to go until the weekend because, well, I quite like Thursdays. They’re on the downward slide of the climb towards the weekend. Also, during the regular TV season, they’re good nights for TV. Also…I just like Thursdays.

When I got to work and we had our morning meeting, my boss asked if anyone else felt like it was Friday. I was surprised that several people said yes and not just me. It must be the anticipation of the three-day weekend.

Even though we do have to work tomorrow, I anticipate it being rather quiet. That’s the thing with holiday weekends. People leave early and come back late so the days before and after the holiday are pretty quiet.

I don’t mind. In there, for me, are three lovely days away from the office where I get to hang out with my mother and my pups and just enjoy the summer days.

Even though summer isn’t my favourite season, I’m finding ways to appreciate it. Obviously, the best way that I appreciate it is through food. I love summer food. I love going outside, picking fresh basil and tossing it with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella to make the perfect summer caprese salad. I love seeing the cucumber on my vine growing to the size of one you actually buy in a store and knowing that I had a part in that cucumber growing. I love the promise of my own fresh tomatoes as the first flowers on my tomato plants appear.

Most of all, I love that everything is so…fresh.

That’s the thing with winter food. While I love it’s heartiness and the comfort food overtones of autumn and winter flavours, it’s not fresh. It’s heavy as cold-weather food should be.

It’s why I love the seasons. It’s so nice that when we’re finally getting tired of salads and grilled fare, it’s time to bring out the pumpkins, winter squash and stewed dishes. Then, when we’re growing tired of heavier winter fare suddenly the first asparagus and fresh vegetables appear in the stores.

So, even though I’m not a fan of the heat and humidity of the lazy days of summer, I do appreciate the fresh produce it gives me. I love grilling a piece of fish quickly and having it with two sides of fresh veggies.

I also love that I can sit outside in the evenings and appreciate the summer nights. Granted, these evenings are accompanied by the gentle ‘whirr’ of my Off battery operated mosquito fan but it’s still a nice way to spend the evenings. I do think that the mosquito fan works. The only thing is that it only works on mosquitoes. There are still plenty of other irritating little insect life forms that circle but since they don’t bite like mosquitoes, it’s not so bad.

I like to sit outside until it’s just about to get dark when the fireflies first come out. I find there’s something magical about fireflies. One minute, it’s dusk and then it’s filled with these little sparks of green glow that flicker out so quickly you wonder if they were ever there.

My only problem with the fireflies is that I have to remind Sookie constantly not to eat them. Unfortunately, she’s got a certain fondness towards eating bugs. Well, she doesn’t actually eat them as much as like to catch them with her mouth for sport. Of course, she accidentally kills them at which point they’re no longer fun and she spits them out. Sometimes, she brings them as a gift. It’s a little vile but a dog’s got to do what a dog’s got to do.

Rory, on the other hand, doesn’t like bugs. Her preference is worms- dried ones. I discovered when we were out for a walk one night after it had been rainy for a few days and then the sun had been shining for a few more. The rain had caused a mass population of worms to be washed onto the paths and roads. Then, when the sun shone, they dried up and their little dessicated corpses were all that remained.

To me, they were rather yucky little additions to our nightly work. To Rory, they were a sumptuous feast. It took me a while to realize why it was taking my little dachshund so long to catch up to Sookie and I when I realized she was trying to eat all the worms.

Yes, again, this is a little vile. However…worms are supposed to nutritious…right? I did try and stop her for a while but unless we just stopped going for walks, the sheer amount of dried worms that were out there made it impossible. Also, we had some on our patio. I just made sure to give her some teeth cleaning biscuits after she’d had her ‘feast’.

I will say that the eating of the worms and bugs are not exactly one of the best things about summer but, well, in the winter, I deal with snow-covered dogs who like to go out and roll in the white stuff and then come in and roll on the carpet to get the snow off.

Each season has its merits. When summer gets really hot, muggy and comfortable, I might start looking towards Autumn but, for now, I’m enjoying the fact that the summer bring fresh food, long days and fireflies.

I also like that it brings us a nice long Fourth of July Weekend. I intend to enjoy mine. I hope you do too!

Happy Friday!

You Can't Please Two Dogs At Once...

I got out on the right side of bed today. I just thought I’d share since I was so grumpy yesterday.

It was actually hard to get up. It was very cool outside last night and I slept with the windows open, a fan blowing the air into the room. I find there’s no sleep better than that with fresh air, while I’m curled up under my covers. It helps even more if you have a cuddly dachshund who likes to crawl under the covers and tuck herself under your arm. Of course, this does lead to all sorts of complications because the other dachshund gets jealous. In this case, it was Rory who was jealous. This meant that when I finally woke up this morning and opened my eyes, Rory was sitting far enough away to indicate she did NOT want to cuddle and she was glaring at me. It may seem odd that a dog could glare but, trust me, they certainly can. When Rory is mad or sad, her ears flatten and she looks very, very dejected or she glares. This morning, she was glaring.

She still hadn’t forgiven me by the time I left for work. I can tell when she’s mad because she makes a point of rudely ignoring me even when I’m attempting to pet her.

Meanwhile, Sookie smugly sat nearby, knowing that she was in favour.

I find the politics of my dogs rather amusing. They love each other but there are times when you can’t actually tell. It’s actually quite peculiar. Sometimes, they fight and play so roughly I’m worried they’ll hurt each other but, moments later, they’re laying peacefully, side by side, resting.

One of their favourite games is “Torment The Beasts Next Door.” This involves tearing up and down the fence line several times while the Dog Whisperer’s beasts try to chase them through the fence. Then, just as Dog Whisperer’s beasts are in a complete frenzy…Rory and Sookie dart away and hide behind the tool shed. Meanwhile, the beasts next door turn on one another, sniping because they’re so wound up they take their energy out on one another. It shouldn’t be amusing but it is.

Some nights, when Dog Whisperer’s dogs aren’t outside, I watch Sookie and Rory run around and around the garden. Last night, Rory was not in the mood to run whereas Sookie was. I watched my peculiar pup run with delight around and around and around the shed. When she was finally done, she decided to go chew on Rory.

The odd thing is that Rory doesn’t seem to mind being chewed. There are often nights where Rory sits happily chomping on one of her chew bones while Sookie sits astride her back, chewing on her ears. There’s no damage done except for a bit of slobber but it still surprises me when it happens before Rory just takes it in stride, placidly ignoring the chewing. Sookie soon gets bored and finds something else to do. It’s just as though Rory is tolerating her annoying sibling’s behavior and deliberately doesn’t react because she knows that eventually Sookie will stop because she’s not getting a reaction. Rory is a smart dog so I wouldn’t be surprised if that was her strategy.

Rory has some fun habits of her own. She likes to jump in the air, completely leaving the ground. This isn’t any hopping…this is full on leaping into the air as though she’s on an invisible doggie trampoline. Her new favourite leaping routine is to run up to me and then leap up by my knees. She loves it when I catch her and scoop her up. She’s got to the point where this is now expected and we have certain cues at which point I know she wants me to catch her as she jumps. The main cue is whenever I go into my bedroom and take my shoes off for some reason. This is Rory’s cue to eagerly leap, all paws off the ground and my cue to catch her under her belly and scoop her up. It took a little practice but we have the routine down now.

Sookie, meanwhile, stares at me with her Very Serious expression. She does not like to jump but she does like to be picked up and cuddled so I must make sure that I play “Scoop up the Leaping Rory,” I must quickly follow it by “Pick up the Serious Sookie.”

Another habit of Rory’s that both endearing and slightly irksome is that she despises it when I’m at the computer. For example, right now as I sat down to blog, she cast me a disgusted look and then slunk off outside. She will continue to sulk outside. Periodically, she’ll come inside and see if I’m still at the computer. If I am, the whole routine begins again. Usually, I end up having to go coax her inside and showing her I’m done with the computer.

For a while, I did think the problem was not so much me being at the computer but, rather, more the chair I was sitting in when I typed. My chairs, you see, are not very heavy. Sometimes, I hang things like my coat over the back. Occasionally, when I take my coat off the back of the chair, the chair tips over. This has happened more than once and it scares Rory whenever it happens. Thus, she doesn’t like my chairs.

However, one night when I took my laptop and sat on the sofa, Rory did the same thing: Gave me a dirty look and ran outside. Meanwhile, Sookie just ignores it. She likes to sit near me while I’m typing. Actually, she prefers to sit on me but that makes it hard to type.

If she does sit on my lap, I thus have to contend with a jealous Rory. She’ll come in from one of her sulks, see Sookie on my lap while I’m working on the hated computer and, well, let’s just say it takes more than a little coaxing for her to forgive me.

I know, I know…I write about my dogs a lot. I also spoil my dogs too much. Some would say I’m exaggerating to say that dogs have moods and that I’m anthropomorphize them too much. However, it’s very hard not to because, well, there’s no mistaking it…my dogs do have moods and they do act decidedly human at times.

I mean, I began my day with a sulky Rory and a cuddly Sookie. At present, I have…a sulky Rory and a happy Sookie because she’s sitting by my feet while Rory is outside, currently yipping her “COME OUT HERE” yip because…she’s bored and wants attention.

One thing I’ll say is that I’m never bored when my two girls are around.

Happy Thursday!

For the Love of Two Dachshunds...

I think that no matter how much I try to be mistress of my two dogs, it is really they who are the mistresses of me.

I don’t think that’s exactly a surprise.

It’s actually more of a situation that I find occurs with cat owners. In my experience, cats never belong to a human being. Instead, the human being belongs to them.

This is a situation I’ve tried to avoid with my dachshunds. However, I think it might be time to face the truth. Even though I pay the bills, clean the house and feed them, I do, occasionally, feel a little like a sucker.

For example, I’ve mentioned that Rory has lately taken to protesting the heat by sitting down when we’re out for a walk. The walk usually occurs after I’ve already decided it’s too hot and rather than have to deal with a stubborn dachshund, it would be better for us all if we bypass the walk in the heat and just spend time in the garden.

Unfortunately, at about the same time every evening, I am approached by Rory and Sookie who go and sit by the front door, expectantly. They know it’s time for walkies and no matter what I do, they will either sit and stare at me in reproach or follow me around, accusingly, until I give in and walk them.

This may not sound like much of a threat but, trust me, of all the dog breeds out there, dachshunds, in my opinion, are among the most talented at making you feel horribly sad and guilty just by looking at their big, sad, pathetic eyes.

So, I usually give in and take them for a walk. As anticipated, Rory sits down at certain points of the walk because she’s hot. She prefers to sit on longer grassy patches under a tree. I’m sure this is because it’s fairly cool compared to the heat of the pavement.

It was a nuisance but I usually managed to get her moving.

Then Sookie seemed to decide that “if Rory’s doing it, I will too.” And she, too, began to simply lie down when we’d walked enough and she got hot.

This was a wee bit embarrassing, as you can imagine. However, I could eventually get them up and moving. A squirrel or bird got them moving more quickly. It’s amazing how fast they could recover from their ‘heatstroke’ that caused them to lie down when a squirrel scampered by.

Then, last week, it got worse. Rory would not budge. She stubbornly refused to walk any further and plonked herself down on all fours, back feet kicked out in the irritatingly cute way she sits and that was it.

Thus, I ended up carrying her. Sookie, fortunately, walked along behind us while I carried Rory.

Yes, I was a little embarrassed. Well, more than a little embarrassed. When you’re out for a walk with your dogs, it makes far more sense when they actually walk.

I ended up putting Rory down and making her walk the last 50 feet to our house on her own legs. Nevertheless, it taught me a valuable lesson that when it’s hot, no matter how pleading the eyes, we will NOT go for a walk because, in the end, I will most likely be the only one walking.

Last night, on our walk, it was thankfully cooler and I had only one ‘sitting down’ incident which ended up actually being Rory relieving herself and not actually sitting. Oops.

We did, however, have another incident. Someone had thrown some type of pork bone outside one of the houses along our walk. Because I don’t usually look down at the ground when I walk, I didn’t notice it until Rory seized it and started to chomp on it.

I hate when this happens. I mentioned in an earlier blog that we’re always running into chicken wing bones and that irritates me. Those also worry me because in addition to it being rather vile when one of the girls tries to eat it, I know chicken bones are bad for dogs because they splinter.

I’m not happy that my dogs eat bones that they find. However, the reality is that they’re dogs and, well, that’s what dogs do. They like to eat bones. Dogs eat bones. Cat eat fish. At least this is what cartoons have portrayed for many years.

Anyway, when I saw Rory with the pork bone, I did not really want her to eat it because, well, you don’t know where that bone had been. So, as I usually do with the chicken bones, I showed her the treat I had for her to try to get her to drop the bone. This usually works 75% of the time. The other 25%, I try to grab the bone from her mouth, toss it away and give her a treat instead.

That didn’t work last night. Instead, Rory bit down on my fingers and I ended up with two puncture wounds and she ended up with the bone.

The wounds weren’t deep but I was a little upset. I knew instantly that it was an accident and my fingers were just in the way of her bone. It was a little silly to reach into her mouth anyway- normally, I don’t have to- I can grab the piece of bone that’s sticking out of her mouth and gently pry it away.

We were almost home when she found the bone. By the time we got home, my finger was bleeding, I was upset that my little pup had bitten me even though I knew it was my fault and I was just generally feeling horrible.

Rory, being the smart creature she is, knew she’d done something wrong. I tried not to be upset with her but it was hard because my feelings were hurt. It’s the same type of hurt I felt when they escaped out of the gate for the first time when I brought them home: Rationally, I knew that they didn’t understand and were just hunting prey. Irrationally, I felt like they were trying to get away from me.

Last night, even though I rationally knew Rory didn’t mean to hurt me, the irrational side of my brain was hurt anyway. I was bleeding and my little ball of fluff had bitten me because of a stupid bone.

I tried very hard to stay mad at her but, well, as I said, I’ve realized she’s really the mistress of me and as she attempted to cram as much of her body up against me in the strange way she has when she needs comfort and love, I realized that I was being silly. As such, a few mouth cleansing biscuits later, we’d made up.

I suppose that it’s like any relationship that involves unconditional love: No matter what she does, I can’t help but love her and forgive her. As I said, she didn’t mean to do it and she made sure I knew she was sorry. Sookie, meanwhile, just watched us in the way she has. She gets very serious and watches me solemnly, trying to figure out if I’m a) ok, b) angry with HER and c) willing to give her a cuddle to prove everything’s ok.

I know, I know…my dogs are spoiled rotten. I know this. I can’t help this. This is why I end up carrying my poor, lazy, heat-suffering pup a block or two instead of dragging her along on a leash. This is why I often end up stuck in a small corner of my bed while my two dogs stretch out and make themselves comfy. This is why my dogs have an overflowing toy box including a new orange monkey because I couldn’t resist.

Yet for all that I give them, they do give it back to me. This morning, I woke up to discover Rory lying parallel to me, her head on my pillow and her nose just very barely touching mine, her eyes watching me sweetly, waiting for me to wake. For non-dog lovers/owners, that sounds weird but, for me, it makes me feel very loved and needed.

And no matter who the mistress of the house really is, that’s worth every treat I give them.

Random Ramblings of An Uneven Week

I’m very glad that it’s Friday tomorrow. This has been one of those weeks that has been uneven. Sometimes, time has rushed by so fast I can’t seem to catch it and then there are other times when it’s slowed down to a crawl. Even though I know the weekend will go by way too fast, I still am looking forward to it.

I have a busy weekend ahead since it’s Father’s Day. The pups and I will head to my parents’ tomorrow night. My mum and I will be garage-sale-ing for part of Saturday and then I get to cook my dad a Father’s Day dinner. Interestingly, I don’t have the menu finalized the way I did with my Mother’s day meal. I have a rough idea of what I want to make but nothing completely finalized. Since I’ll have far prep/cook time than I had last time, I have to adjust.

I’m sure I’ll figure something out. My dad is a lot fussier than my mother when it comes to things like cooking. He can be a little…difficult. If he doesn’t like something, he’s not terribly subtle about letting people know. He tends to make faces and not eat it. Sometimes, he gets a bit dramatic and refuses to eat it. When we cook for him, my family has learned to make sure to always make things he’s going to like. It’s just easier that way.

Since it’s Father’s day, I’m going to try hard to make sure I do cook things he likes.

Still, before the weekend, there’s one more day of work to get through. I’m hoping it’s a good Friday since today wasn’t necessarily a good Thursday. It was a very inactive Thursday meaning that I didn’t have any luck filling any jobs nor finding anyone who was likely to do so. Like I said in the beginning, this week has been uneven- full of activity one day and then dead as a doornail the next.

So, it’s no wonder I’m already looking forward to the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing my parents’ again since it’s been a couple of weeks as well as the rest of my family who will probably stop over on Sunday before I leave to pay court to my dad on Father’s Day.

Speaking of paying court, I also can’t wait for Sunday night when the season final of “Game of Thrones” airs. I’ve become quite addicted to that show even though last week, the ending made me gasp out loud with shock. Even though I love to read and I’m usually horribly impatient to find out what’s going to happen next, I’ve enjoyed watching “Game of Thrones” so much that I’ve avoided reading the book ahead to see what was going to happen. However, since it’s going to be a year before I see the second series, I know for a fact I’m going to have to read the books. I can be patient…but not that patient.

I’m rambling but, as I always say, knowing is half the battle, right? Days like this inspire me to ramble. It’s actually quite nice to let my brain shut down and just wander freely through the odd thoughts I have sometimes. For example, I was wondering again if there are ever male miniature poodles. I posed this question to my mother. I suppose there are but does anyone ever picture miniature poodles being boys? I mean, they’re usually all frilled up and dressed in pink.

Also, why do people leave chicken bones all over the place? It seems like whenever I walk my dogs, there’s some bones discarded left over from a chicken wing and I have to drag the dogs away before they try to eat it. This is not fun. I’ve never actually seen someone walking down the street munching on a chicken wing so where do they come from?

Also, Possibl-Joe, the neighbour who lives behind me is chopping down most of his trees. He keeps cutting them down and then dragging them to the front of his house and dumping them on the strip of grass between sidewalk and road. There are so many, the sidewalk is impassable now. Yet he keeps going. There’s nowhere to put them so he’s putting them in front of his neighbours’ houses. At some point, the City will pick them up but I’m a little surprised he doesn’t wait until he has more space. Also, it’s a pain when I’m walking the dogs because we have to either cross the street or walk in the road. I don’t like doing either.

Also, I liked his trees. I don’t know why he’s chopping them down. I’m thinking he may be getting ready to put a fence up so his dog can run freely without being tied down. I’m sort of hoping he builds a privacy fence because while he’s pleasant enough to chat to, it would be quite nice to have a bit more privacy. If the neighbour puts up the fence, I don’t have to. I wish Dog Whisperer would follow suit but that will NEVER happen.

I’m also wondering about my seeds. This year, I planted several packs of vegetable seeds and yet, of all of them, I managed to grow four zucchini plants and two tomato plants. That’s it. Usually, I have far more success than that. Why didn’t my seeds grow?

I have a lot more random thoughts in my head but you probably don’t want to hear them. I actually apologize for sharing as many as I did. It’s just that, as I’ve said before, there are times when I blog that I don’t really know what to write and then it just comes out.

Hopefully, since tomorrow’s Thursday, my blog for Monday will be a bit more focused. Of course, it may be about food since I’m cooking this weekend but I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to see what comes out when I start to type.

I do appreciate you reading though. Thank you.

Have a great weekend and happy Friday!

Beautiful Weather, Mundane Days...

Today was one of those sort-of-nothing days where not much of any significance happened at all. I was woken early to the wonderful sound of Dog Whisperer’s Beasts barking themselves into a frenzy very close to my bedroom window. They like to stand at the gate and bark. My window is probably six feet from the gate. Thus, when they bark and I’m trying to sleep, it’s frustrating. Even Rory had a good moan about it. My pups used to sit upright when they’d hear the yapping. Now, like me, they grumble and try to shut it out so we can sleep longer. I find that amusing.

When we did finally get up, it was to a day at work that was busy but not terribly productive, if that makes sense. I’m trying hard to fill jobs but the ones we have are the hard ones that no one in Cincinnati has been able to fill. I did manage to get two interviews set up for candidates but since it’s for the same job, it really only counts as one since only one of them can get the job.

I also did lose a candidate who my account manager and I have been working very hard to make happy. He got an offer from our client which was a very good offer. Unfortunately, he had another job offer- ironically from my old company- for a lot less money.

For some reason, he decided to reject our offer and take the one with my old company. I’m sure something about it appealed more but, well, I can’t help but think he’s making a bit of a mistake. It’s not just about the money. When we met with him, he told us he was looking for a position where he could move up, learn new technologies and rise in his career. I don’t think that’s possible at my old company, honestly.

Still, it’s his choice. I didn’t tell him that in my soon-to-be-published novel, Emmy goes to Hell, there’s a whole level of Hell dedicated to my old job. Maybe I should have done. Still, he made his choice and as frustrating as it is, there’s nothing I can do about it.

Aside from that, my day was rather dull. I had another candidate come in who’s been out of work for a while. He actually lives in my neighbourhood and the dogs and I walk by his house on our sojourns fairly regularly. He was very nice but a little odd. Still, at the very least, it was nice to meet another neighbour.

All-in-all, it wasn’t the most exciting day on the planet. My boss is out of the office. This, of course, means that Mr. Lazy Account Manager in our office left at 1 p.m. Today, he had a stomach ache. Last week, he left each day by 3 p.m. One day, he had to pick up his kids, another day, one was sick, another day, he had to go help his wife, another day, he had a meeting. He’s very good with excuses. He only does it when my boss isn’t around. Also, since he tells our administrator his reason for leaving, it’s oddly different from what he tells the rest of us. While I think it’s nice to get out of the office early once in a while, he’s got to the point where everyone knows he’s just not doing any work. Well, everyone except my boss and I have a feeling that, thanks to my endearingly interfering coworker, he’ll know very soon.

Fortunately, it’s a beautiful day outdoors which redeems the somewhat dull indoor day. On days like this where it’s in the mid 70 degree range, my favourite thing to do is sit outside and either read or, as I’m currently doing, edit the proof copy of Emmy Goes To Hell. I got it back from the publisher last week and while I like the cover, there was still quite a lot of edits to make inside. It’s nice to sit outside with a cold drink, my book and my pen. Usually, I have a Sookie trying to sit on my lap which not only makes it a little hard to edit but, also, makes her sister rather jealous and having two dogs on my lap is just downright uncomfortable. I don’t have that much lap.

The trouble with the evenings is that they go so fast. By the time I get home, walk the pups and make dinner, the evening is waning away. I probably could cut down on the time I spend making dinner but where’s the fun in that?

On the plus side, after a slightly dull day at work, it’s a sheer pleasure to sit outside and relax with the pups milling around my feet. Except for the barks of the Beasts next door, it’s a peaceful thing to do. While I still hate their incessant yapping, I’ve got to the point where I can literally ignore it when I’m outside. It’s all I can do.

Besides, it’s an even nicer pleasure when they finally go inside and, suddenly, there’s a blissful silence.

That makes it almost worthwhile.

Happy Wednesday!