wordinista

This morning was not shaping up to be my morning. Sydney was more interested in the garbage men than actually pottying, and Darwin caught the scent of the neighborhood cat in our yard, so he was more interested in THAT than pottying. I was physically incapable of opening a can of tunafish, and when I went to throw it away, I discovered the trash was full and needed to be put out into the bin. I snapped at George and the dogs, and right about the time that the cutting board started to slip out from underneath my (VERY SHARP) knife and hands as I was trying to cut up pieces of mango, George decreed that we would stop for breakfast and that I should put the mango away and step away from the knife.

We stopped at Starbucks at the craziest point in the morning, on a day they were shorthanded, and while one of the baristas was busy setting up a new pot of coffee to brew. I got some raspberry/peach/yogurt/granola parfait thing and something for George and drinks for both of us. I realized belatedly that I couldn't eat the parfait while driving (though George did offer to spoon-feed me and make airplane noises -- I declined). So after I dropped him off, I parked in some shade and ate my breakfast and then headed to the park for walkies.

It was the Best Walk Ever.

This was not necessarily because the pups were being particularly well-behaved (though... they were, actually), but had more to do with a bit of a chance encounter with a group of about four special-needs kids who happened to be on an outing to the park that day. I am by no means an expert when it comes to identifying various conditions, but I could tell one little girl had Downs Syndrome, another little girl seemed to be autistic (judging by what -- admittedly little -- I know of behaviors), one little boy was in a chair (he seemed to be largely unaware of anything going on, but I fully admit I know jack squat about these conditions), and the final little boy seemed to be a bit more functional, and it is my guess that his condition was a bit milder than the rest.

Anyway, the pups seemed curious, and they're both really very good with kids, so I figured no harm could come of asking if the pups could say hello. The teachers with the kids seemed a little hesitant, but said as long as the dogs were well-behaved, they could see no problem with it. (Darwin almost ruined everything when he started to woof at the chair, but he got over it quickly.) So we went over and I sat on the ground, and made both dogs sit. The final little boy I mentioned above was ALL ABOUT THIS, and Darwin took to him instantly, licking at his hands and face, and eventually D stretched out and lay down against this little boy's leg. Sydney was amazingly good, and was very, very gentle, licking the kidlets' hands when the teachers told them to let Syd sniff first. The little girl with DS was petting her (the teachers kept reminding her to be gentle, but Syd just let her do whatever, and eventually rolled onto her back and asdfjk; SO CUTE I NEARLY DIED).

The other little girl seemed kind of afraid of them at first, but was eventually coaxed over long enough to pet Sydney (Darwin was busy being BFFs with the aforementioned little boy), and it was Syd who was recruited to say hello to the little boy in the wheelchair; she sniffed and licked and nuzzled his hand and arm, and then Darwin came over and followed suit.

All in all, it was about 15 minutes of sitting down and sharing some puppy therapy, and it was completely awesome. I'd been giving a little thought about training Syd to be a therapy dog, and seeing her interact with those kids today is making me think more seriously about it.

The rest of our walk was phenomenal. We stopped and talked to some people, and it seemed the more people complimented them on being well-behaved, the better they behaved. XD

Now we're home, and the dogs are sacked out after a long walk and a good meal, and I am left with enough warm fuzzies to last the entire day. ♥

So it's no secret that our car has been a total pain in the neck lately (hello $1500 in repairs that still neither properly diagnosed or fixed the problem), and in the year that we've been a two-dog family, the mechanical issues were compounded by the fact that it's hard to get two dogs in the back seat of a sedan, and it's very easy for said dogs to LEAP THROUGH to the front seat, usually at red lights, and well... it was all sort of becoming irritating beyond measure.

So over the weekend George asked me if I'd check out the Honda dealership and see if they'd be willing to take the Malibu in on a trade-in. I was doubtful, because our car's resale value is shit, to put it bluntly, and we owe more than it's worth, and AGH. But I went! If for no other reason than to expose myself to that new-car smell, which is always nice now and then.

Well. Uh. Despite the negative equity in the car, and with the help of a bit of a down-payment, we... um.

We acquired a 2008 Honda Element yesterday. (Obviously something that helped our situation was the fact that the dealership is really anxious to move the 2008 inventory.)

But really: NUMBER ONE on my list of things I didn't expect to be doing yesterday? BUYING A NEW FUCKING CAR. :Db

Oh my god, it is love.

And it's red.

And the dogs FIT.

Life is good. ♥

Well, rather than let myself get filled with indignation, however rightous, and just complain and be angry over all of these dogs that have been dumped at shelters or simply given up, I've decided to do something, however small, about it.  The other day I submitted a volunteer application for ARPH, an Australian Shepherd Rescue organization.  I spent an hour this morning talking to the area rep, who seems really nice, and lives in the next town over, so I'm really feeling good about it (and also, loose plans for a puppy playdate this week!  Yay!).  We don't have the space to be a foster home for dogs, but I can scan the shelters and notify the rep if an Aussie's at the shelter, and then she'll go about trying to find a foster home for it, and it looks like she's going to need some help getting the organization a bit more established in this area (I was already aware that there wasn't a lot of representation for Aussie rescue in this part of Florida).  So, if nothing else, I think it'll be a great experience.  A lot of folks on the Australian Shepherd forum I frequent do a lot of work with ARPH and STAAR ("Second Time Around Aussie Rescue"), so it's been on my mind for a while now.

I had thought about volunteering at the animal shelter, but given that I burst into tears when I just read stories of dogs that have been given up or abandoned, I'm pretty sure that's not a very good fit. But I have resolved to bring a donation of SOME sort down once a month -- kibble or cat litter or toys or towels (Sam's Club has ginormous bags of kibble and cat litter at really reasonable prices) -- simply because kicking irresponsible owners in the shins... is probably not the most sound plan, leaglly speaking.  And our local county-run shelter is just... it's a depressing place.  They have a lot of land, but the drainage is utterly nonexistent, so with a bit of rain it gets converted into swampland.  It's overcrowded and ... "dreary" is probably the best word for it.  Probably because it is SO overcrowded.  (Seriously -- they have kitty overspill in the lobby. The rooms where the cages are kept are full, so they've set up cages wherever there's room.)

I know ARPH is breed specific, and part of me feels a twinge of guilt, because ... well, who's watching the mixed breeds' backs?  But this is... I think this will be a good way to find out if I CAN help, and if I want to be more active with volunteer work.  I'll see how it goes, and then take it from there.



On a completely unrelated note:  my panettone recipe continues to thwart me.  I think I just made another batch of panettone-biscotti (panetotti?).  Which isn't a bad thing, but I still cannot figure out where I'm going wrong with this recipe, and I am nearly out of the orange confit I made specifically FOR the recipe.  Am considering trying one more time -- later, once I'm not completely tired of fruited bread -- and going off-recipe to see if my hunch is correct.  But for the nonce, I'm out of bread flour and vanilla extract (I'd also like to pick up some Fiore di Sicillia from The Baker's Catalogue for my next attempt), and at least the house has something sweet in it.  Even if it's something botched.

I also finished reading Fangland by John Marks, and I have a lot to say about it -- not all of it good -- but I need to collect my thoughts a bit more.  The first half of the book was really quite good.  The second half tried my patience and pissed me off and made me want to smack the author upside the head with a nice, hefty hardcover edition of Dracula.

Thanks, guys. Just... yeah. Thanks.

The bout of emo passed, and things seem much brighter today. And I learned that one of the best ways to deal with tears is to let your goofball of a dog lick them away and then proceed to crawl all over you like a 50 lb lapdog, with his back end a-wiggle. (I'm not kidding; it looks like he's doing the hula sometimes.)

I seriously need to figure out how to post video of Dawin and Syd. Seriously.

I love my dogs, and someday I will write about that in length, instead of depressing reminiscing.

Loev puppies. So much. ♥

Okay, so I mentioned that I'd gotten back in touch with my BFF from junior high school.  Well, as it happens, tonight I was in my Compensation Management class (which is EASILY the worst, most boring, least organized class I've ever taken), and was text-messaging her during the (veryboring) lecture.

And then it hit me.

Twenty years later, and I'm still sitting in the back of the class, passing notes.

I have grown up, but not matured.

SUCCESS!!!

SO! Saturday we went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. It was, in a word, awesome... despite a less-than-fortuitous beginning.

( The Good, the Bad, and the OMG SCARY )

We left the park around 2 AM, and managed to get home by about 3:30, and in bed by 4 AM. Needless to say, Sunday was full of a lot of nothing. XD

EDIT: OH MY GOD, HOW COULD I FORGET THE CHAINSAW GUYS? THERE WERE GUYS. WITH CHAINSAWS. IN... ONE OF THE SCAREZONES I CANNOT REMEMBER WHICH. THESE MAGNIFICENT BASTARDS WOULD SNEAK UP BEHIND PEOPLE AND THEN REV UP THE CHAINSAW. GLORIOUS.

Aaaaaaaand the car is back at the dealership. Apparently they're now going to be looking for any number of other things that could be causing a misfire (like loose or corroded wires and whatnot).

I also discovered another skein of yarn that's meant to be included in the scarf, so I'm guessing I'm not quite done yet. Soon, though!

Agility class resumed last night -- Vickie taught the entire class, and it was great to have her back. Her hair is slowly growing back, and she was worried that going without a hat would make the rest of us uncomfortable; halfway through the class, she finally understood that none of us were uncomfortable, and she took off the hat (it was too hot to wear a hat anyway).

Randomly, I did discover a new level of social awkwardness: when the cancer survivor just starting to grow her hair back compliments you on your new haircut, and the words "It was just too long!" fly out of your mouth before you can stop them. *facepalm*

Darwin did very well, despite the fact that he hadn't set foot on the course in two months. I need to pick up some supplies to finish off my weave poles so I can work with him a bit more on them. He also pretty much forgot everything he'd ever learned about the teeter-totter, so I'm going to have to take him down to the course a few times this week and work with him on that. (He's a bit freaked out by the noise it makes when one end slams down on the ground. It's a totally natural reaction, but one I'm going to have to work with him to overcome.)

It was great working with him off-leash -- I got some wonderful compliments from my teacher and other people in the class about how great his recall is ("recall" is how well a dog listens and obeys when you give the "come" command), and how closely he follows my nonverbal cues. He actually follows my nonverbal cues a little TOO closely, since if my direction is off by just a little, Darwin will... do exactly what I'm "telling" him to do, which isn't exactly what I'm trying to tell him to do. So I have to be hyper-aware of my posture, and which way my body (especially my shoulders, apparently -- Darwin follows my shoulders) is facing. The consensus was that I could probably run a course with Darwin and not use any verbal commands at all -- he follows me that closely.

I almost skipped the class last night, because I had such a rotten day, but I've got to say -- going made me remember why I signed up to do this in the first place. It's the coolest thing ever to be working as a team WITH my dog. I was filthy, sweaty, and exhausted when I got home -- to say nothing of the many mosquito bites I had -- but I was also very content and happy. It's such an awesome class, with a great teacher (WHO'S BACK, YAY), and fantastic people with wonderful dogs, with great temperaments. It was just what I needed yesterday.

And how could I not love something that makes my dog look just this happy?

OMG OMG OMG. GUYS GUYS GUYS.

WILLIAMS-SONOMA EXPLODED ALL UNDER MY CHRISTMAS TREE.

I CAN HAS A MIXER.  A RED KITCHEN-AID MIXER.  OMG. OMG. OMG.  AND KITCHEN TOYS THAT ARE COOL AND AND AND STUFF.

A-AND A LAPTOP.  HOW DID I GET A LAPTOP OMG OMG OMG WHAT.  JUST.  WHAT.  IT'S NOT HERE YET BUT IT'S GOING TO BE HERE SOON AND OH MY GOD A LAPTOP WTF.

AND DID I MENTION THE MIXER?  AND IT'S RED. 

AND MY LAPTOP IS RED TOO.

 OH MY GOD. WHAT.  I.  WHAT.

AND A SHIGURE PLUSHIE AND A RECIPE JOURNAL AND BOOOOOKS I GOT BOOKS AND TEA AND OMG OMG OMG A MIXER AND A LAPTOP AND PRETTY SPARKLY EARRINGS AND MY MOTHER AND GEORGE SPOILED THE CRAP OUT OF ME HOLY MACKERAL I HAVE A MIXER AND A LAPTOP.  AND THEY'RE RED.  AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!11!!  ASJKDF;

EDIT:  ALSO, I GOT TWO STORIES THIS YEAR IN yuletide AND THEY ARE MADE OF WIN AND AWESOME.  SECRET SANTA AND SECRET TREATER, I LOVE YOU. 

MY VET IS AWESOME.

I called to tell them about all the trouble I've had finding Bronte's meds, and they called around and FOUND A PHARMACY THAT DOESN'T SUCK.  It's not exactly close to home (it's a smallish pharmacy near the hospital), but they have the meds, and the prescription can be picked up in half an hour.

SCREW YOU, CHAIN-STORE PHARMACIES.

Also, homework is done before class for once.  \o\

PS:  I'd wanted to do the holiday card thang last year, but came down with the plague (which effectively halted all plans for holiday baking as well).  So, I have a huge box of awesome cards -- of which I used exactly none last year -- so expect a screened post asking for addresses and such.

Last night was one of those rare Perfect Nights.

Went to see The Transformers with Rick and Charity-- got to the theater early, got that one row that has all the leg room, had no one kick our seats, no annoying people talking through the movie, and then sat through two and a half hours of pure awesome.  Then Tora and I went back home, picked up Darwin, and went back to their house, pretty much racing against what looked like an eeeevil thunderstorm. When we got to their house, we realized they'd backed one of their vehicles out of the garage so we could pull in and get into the house without getting soaked.  Then we ordered Chinese food and played Guitar Hero II until one in the morning.  We played in co-op mode, guys against girls -- Char and I apparently are an UNBEATABLE TEAM. <3

They also dug out a Transformers book and we hovered around and relived our childhoods.  It was awesome.  Mostly because we were geeking out and walking out of the theater discussing with completely straight faces whether the Decepticons had had a police car in their ranks, because we'd all remembered the Autobots having a police car.  And then we discovered we'd been right -- the Autobots HAD had a police car, but it was named Prowl. So.  Yes, behold our geekery. We're children of the 80s, shut up.

Tora's also taking off early from work on Friday so we can see the Harry Potter movie.  :D  Sadly, we'll be seeing it without Rick and Char, because Rick is a dork will be in the Bahamas Weds through Friday, and Charity is being good and waiting for him to come back (he's going with his dad and brothers), so they'll go over the weekend.  I'm being told by Tora that if I were a GOOD FRIEND, I'd wait so we could all see it together. But Char was like, "DO NOT MAKE HER WAIT TO SEE HARRY POTTER."  So, yeah.  We'll be seeing it Friday.  Unless we DO decide to wait until Rick comes back. 

And now I think I'm going to go bake some bread. Either rye or cinnamon. Haven't decided yet.