Sunny Days Were Here Again!

Once again, I write this as the weekend is waning and the workweek is looming closer. As always, I wish it was reversed but, unfortunately, I have no figured out a way to reverse time.

Nevertheless, as weekends go, this has been a nice one. We managed to have 2.5 days with both rain and sunshine. It was a welcome treat. I even managed to get my lawn mowed on Friday night as well as do a little weeding. It's a welcome treat to wind up a productive week with a productive evening outside that culminates in sitting back at the end of it all with a class of wine and sitting outside, smelling the freshly cut grass.

Wine seemed to be the order of the weekend. I spent Saturday with a friend in the little town where I used to live before I bought my house. They were having their annual wine tasting and arts festival. All of the wineries were local to Ohio so it was nice to sample some different blends. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and I think I honoured in the best way possible: drinking wine, sitting outside and spending it with good company.

Even though I ended up sunburned, it was worth every bit of pink flesh. Besides, being British, it's not like it's a shocker. Even if I did put on the 45 spf sunscreen, I still manage to burn. Tis the nature of being fair skinned.

Today, I took advantage of the sunshine this morning and the pups and I got an early start. We took a long walk around the neighbourhood at the very beginning of our day. I love doing that: The dew is still fresh on the grass and most people aren't out and about. It's peaceful. There were, however, a very large number of squirrels out and about foraging for thier breakfast. Sookie and Rory were delighted by this. Sometimes, I'm amazed by the squirrels' dexterity- one manage to run and climb up a tree while holding on to some type of metal can. It was quite interesting to watch.

After our walk, we spent the rest of the morning outside. While weeding is an uphill battle, I did manage to clear an area big enough to plant my zucchini and tomato plants. I also managed to get my herb garden cleared of weeds and plant a few more seeds.

Unfortunately, it was very hot. It's the type of heat and humidity that builds up before a huge thunderstorm. Eventually, it became too much to work outside and the pups and I retreated indoors where it was cooler.

The thunderstorm just arrived. We're having a torrential downpour at present and the thunder is booming away. Even though it means more rain, I don't mind this time. I'm a big fan of thunderstorms like this and it's somewhat soothing to hear it clatter away.

We're supposed to have more storms tonight. It seems like a good way to wind up a weekend. Even though I'd much prefer sitting outside with my glass of wine, there's nothing that says that can't be an indoor activity.

Besides, even though tomorrow means another workweek has begun, I really can't complain. It's a short week for me. I'm off to New York on Friday to spend the weekend with my friend Saz. It's been 20 years of friendship for us and I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

And next week is also a short work week too so, really, I can't complain that this weekend is going too fast when next week is a four-day weekend for me.

It's just that I enjoy weekends so much...but then, who doesn't?

Happy Monday!

Plenty of Sunshine (and Puppies Too)

I know I say this almost every Sunday but I can't believe that's it, that the weekend has gone by already.

It probably doesn't help that it was the first real spring-like weekend we've had since winter came. Friday came and went with temperatures in the low '70's. The sun was shining, the air was balmy and warm and it was the perfect evening to play outside with two very excited puppies.

I spent much of the weekend playing outside with two very excited puppies. They love it outside. They like to sniff everything. They like to play with leaves. The especially like to play with leaves when it's in the possession of the other puppies.

They also adore sticks. I've never had a dog that actually plays with sticks. You see that on the television a lot- the adoring pet is easily amused by a stick. Well, granted, my puppies don't bring it back but they certainly are easily entertained when you toss a stick their way.

It's fun to watch them. I'm actually to the point where I can let them outside without having to watch their every move. It gets a little hairy when the Dog Whisperer's pets come out but we're managing. In his and his wife's defense, they are trying. I know they try to make sure the puppies aren't out before they let the dogs out. We've spent a fair amount of time trying to get their dogs and my puppies to the point where they can acknowledge each other without barking.

There's been no luck. I'm proud to say that while Sookie is the one with the bravado, yapping back, Rory is the one to approach the fence to say, "hi, noisy dogs." Then she runs away. Shortly afterwards, she and Sookie will run away, completely ignoring the barking from the other dogs as they happily continue their quest to sniff every part of the garden.

I like that they're ignoring the next-door neighbour's dogs. I'm proud of them, actually. I still think that privacy fence might be necessary but I like that they're getting used to the yapping and are able to ignore it.

I wish I could say the same.

Still, we spent a very nice weekend, playing in the yard. I managed to get some work done too. I've found that when they're sleepy, all I have to do is put one of their dog beds in my office and they'll curl up. It seems to be that they're ok, just being able to see that I'm nearby.

The worst part is that tomorrow, I'm back to work and, tomorrow, they're back to being alone a lot. I know they won't like it. It's days like today where I'm able to work AND have puppy time that I wish I could work from home.

It's days like today where I wish I could make a living as a writer so I could have the luxury of my puppies by my feet all day, able to cuddle them when I want and play in the garden when the weather's nice. However, the way it's going at the moment, that's not likely to happen. Still, I can hope and dream.

And, to me, dreaming is s what makes life fun, anyway.

Happy Monday!