Off to the Dachshund Races!

It's really autumn. Finally. For days, summer has been refusing to relinquish her hold. We've had 94 degree days and 78 degree nights. Then, suddenly, autumn decided she'd had enough and suddenly the temperature dropped to a pleasant 72 degrees and the nights are chilly enough that a jacket or, at least, a thick cardigan is necessary.

Overnight, the leaves decided to start falling and now there are large piles of dried leaves all over the garden, even though we don't have any trees. They come from our neighbour's sycamore tree. I actually don't mind. I like the leaves because I love autumn and they're a symbol. The puppies love the leaves because diving in the piles gives them great pleasure. They emerge from the piles dripping with dried leaves but a happy wag in their tail.

This weekend was when it turned from summer to fall and it was the perfect time for it to happen. As I mentioned, it was the weekend of the annual Street Fair in my parents' town. It's supposed to be crisp during street fair nights and it was fantastic autumn weather for it on Saturday night.

It was actually my second time at the fair that day. My mother and I went up at lunchtime. I'd decided that I wanted to see what went on at the "Weiner Dog Races" because I happen to own a pair of rather speedy dachshunds who can move like the wind when either a) prey, b) squeaky toy or c) food is being offered to them.

Well, I have to say, the Dachshund races were absolutely hilarious. For one thing, I didn't realize that there were so many dachshunds around and, for another, it's nice to see that my own slightly quirky dogs are actually pretty normal for dachshunds.

They had three different heats- the puppy, the girls and then the boys. The very first race was between two rather small pups. The announcer called "On your marks, get set and go!" and then...

Nothing. The poor pups stood there. Then one of them decided to high tail it out of the little 'track' (which was really just a lightly fenced area in a car park that was probably less than 20 feel long and ten feet wide). That dog did NOT want to race. Fortunately, she was returned to the track and after a period of a few minutes, was finally enticed to her waiting owner at the other end by the offer of treats.

It was my first ever spectatoring of such a sport. In a nutshell, the dogs are taken off their leashes at one end of the little 'track' and held by a friend or owner until the "GO!" is sounded. Then the dachshunds are supposed to race to the opposite end where their owner awaits.

Some of the dachshunds got it. Some of them didn't. There was more than one that, bewildered, blinked and just sat down at the starting line. Others decided to run far away from their owners and make a break for freedom. Then there were the dogs that actually could run and they even ran in the right direction.

My favourite of the dogs was a girl named Pixie. She had a very large fluffy toy of which she was clearly very fond. All her owner had to do was show her the toy before backing up to the finish line and Pixie was ready. She had a very continuous, determined little bark that did not stop until the announcer said "Go" and then she ran for her toy. Her barking was so comical, I just loved her. She came in third, overall, I think.

My other favourite dog whose name I unfortunately can't remember, I called "Doughnut Dog." He was a dachshund whose toy was a large squeaky doughnut. Doughnut Dog was spastic. When he wasn't racing, his owner tried to hold him. Most of the other dogs were placid and quiet and sat quietly either on their leash or in their owner's arms. Not Doughnut Dog. He wriggled, squirmed, whined, yipped and finally yelled. His owner clearly had a very hard time holding his dog. When Doughnut Dog raced, he was a spaz but he was fast. When he and Pixie went head to head, it was a battle of the spazzy dachshunds and it was hilarious to watch.

There were other dachshunds who raced well. The overall winner was Fonzerelli. He was a fast little dappled dog who didn't seem to have quite as much personality as some of the other dogs.

What I did like was hearing the names of the other dogs. The most obvious choice for a dachshund's name for some owners seemed to be based on their colour. There was a Goldie, a Sable, a Brownie and a Suede and various other dogs whose names were very much suited to their names. Then there were the ones whose owners clearly had fun naming their dogs. My favourite was Leder Von Weinerstein. Yes, that was his name. When he showed up to the starting line, he was a tiny little wire-haired dachshund who seemed far less impressive than his name. There was also Reesie Weinut Butter Cup. Nope, didn't make that one up either.

Reesie did well until the finals in which he decided that he was going to switch owners and ran for another dogs treats instead. He didn't place in the top three, sadly.

Overall, it was just a fun thing to watch. Dachshund owners love their dogs and it was pretty clear that there were some other spoiled dogs there who might rival my own. The dogs seemed to have a fun time too even when they were making a break for freedom.

The rest of the fair was a lot of fun. I did get to ride the carousel again this year with my niece and we got to play the games. I also got to ride the ferris wheel with my sister, the newly registered nurse. We thought it'd be fun. Then we went up and got stuck. It looked rather a long way down and we both had a momentary attack of the, "WHAT WERE WE THINKING!" 's. Still, in the end, it turned out to not be that scary and, in fact, was a lovely way to spend a crisp autumn night.

This year, the fair seemed to be much better. I think, maybe, it was just my attitude towards it. I wasn't attempting to try to remember why I'd loved it so much as a youth but, instead, looked at it with my adult eyes and saw that it was a nice way to spend time in a small town on a lovely autumn day/night.

And I got to see dachshunds race. Next year, I think Rory and Sookie might be competers. I think if I managed to get a squirrel or a rabbit for them, they'd win without a doubt. However, I might have to use something a little less alive like, say, cheese.

All in all, the fair was a great way to spend the first official weekend of Autumn. I'm going to keep my eye out for other 'harvest festivals' and that sort of thing. They're just a great way to appreciate the beauty of fall now that she's finally here.

Happy Monday!

Pumpkin Cookie Potlucks

Tomorrow is Friday. That is always a little like having a present at the end of the week. I don't know anyone who doesn't look forward to Fridays, honestly. Unless they're people who don't work from Monday through Friday and have weekends off but, even then, they have their own Friday even if it isn't actually Friday.

My Friday is looking good. We have a barbecue/potluck at our president's house tomorrow at lunch. We all have to drive out there. Afterwards, a group from the office are going to play paintball. I had originally planned to play paintball. I quite like a bit of organized violence. However, it's supposed to be in the 90's tomorrow. I don't find the idea of running around in layers of clothing (for protection) that appealing in that kind of heat. Thus, I backed out of the paintball. To my immense delight, our president, in a strange fit of office generosity, made an announcement that those who weren't playing paintball could go home after the potluck. Thus, I get tomorrow afternoon off.

I don't even mind the idea of a slightly awkward office barbecue. This time, I decided not to go gourmet with my offerings. Last time, people were a bit afraid to try my trio of salads because they weren't your typical midwestern potato salad/macaroni salad type of fare. This time, I'm baking iced pumpkin cookies. Yes, I said baking.

As I've said before, I find myself as more of a cook than a baker. I think you're pretty much one or the other. I like the flexibility of cooking. You can throw in some extra ingredients as you go along to enhance the flavour. With baking, it's precise. You have to get it right before it bakes. Otherwise you're left with a bit of a disaster.

Still, I thought I'd give the iced-pumpkin cookies a go. They're actually a cookie that my former roommate used to make in the autumn. They're quite easy but very delicious. I'm not sure if they'll turn out or the Luck of the Monkeypants will strike and they'll turn into disastrous little bullets but I'm giving it a whirl anyway.

I think I followed the instructions properly. The only hitch I had was discovering that while I was busy trying to be a precise baker, the puppies had somehow found some of my underwear and were running around the back garden with it. They were having quite a lovely time. Since I tend not to like my neighbours to see my underwear, I had to retrieve it. I'm not that much of a prude but I live next door to Dog Whisperer and his rather creepy way of just staring makes me reluctant to let him know that my underwear of choice is Halloween themed.

Yes. Now you know a rather embarrassing personal fact about me.

Still, the cookies are baking. They smell rather nice. The puppies no longer have access to my underwear. I'm just waiting to find out if the cookies are going to be a success or a failure.

I'm hoping that if they turn out, people will actually eat them tomorrow. There's nothing worse than attempting to make something tasty so that people will enjoy it only to find out that someone else's strawberry pretzel casserole or store-bought chocolate chip cookies are far more popular.

If not, I'll try to steal the cookies back. Is that bad etiquette, do you think? I never know whether you're supposed to take your leavings home with you if you go to a potluck at someone's house or you leave them there for the host and family to eat. I have no idea. I don't like to be rude but, on the other hand, if my cookies are nice, I might quite like to take them home. I supposed I should see how they turn out first.

Still, even if they don't get eaten and I do have to leave them there, I have the reward of having the afternoon off. I'm heading to my parents' again since it's the annual street fair and this year is the 100th anniversary. I'm hoping that I get to hang out with my niece again. We had fun last year.

In addition, I have to congratulate my clever little sister who managed to pass her nursing exam, the NCLEX. She's now officially an RN. I am a very, very proud monkeypants. I have a congratulations gift for her. It also occured to me that I should give her some pumpkin cookies.

Of course, there might not be any left.

Or they might not turn out right. I suppose I should go and find out.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!