A quiet 4th, hoping same for the 5th

 

Banana nut bread for the 4th of July!

Ember took me on a third walk around 3:15 p.m.  All three walks today were "shorter", even though it wasn't as beastly hot as it was last week.

I'm loving the Ember that has her own back yard again!  We're getting more training sessions in, fun ones, involving games.  We're catching on to the "wait" part of "fetch".  Today I put her leash on in the backyard to train this game better for use with tennis balls.

Did I say quiet?  Not later it wasn't!  Thankfully, all three residents of Emberville were safely tucked into their "safe spaces".  The Prisoner opted to stay in his luxury suite in the laundry room.  Ember herself was safe in her "den".  And Mommy was upstairs in her own bed.  Not tempted to go down and watch the show... I've seen fireworks before.

Friday morning started early in Emberville

I woke before 4 a.m., noting on my phone's weather app that it says our AQI (air quality index) was at 254!  Yikes!  That's high, for those of us new to this measurement.  Yep, there were some explosive celebrations overnight.

I headed down to put the garbage to the curb now.  I usually do that before I retire on Thursdays... but considering the large gathering at the neighbor's across the street and what day it was, I decided to wait until morning.

Ember was quiet in her crate, so I let her be while I tended to the cat and the garbage.  When she began to stir, I let her out in the back to explore and "check the perimeter", as I used to call it for Carl.  It was still dark, so we did a bit of indoor fetch while waiting for Ember's breakfast hunger to set in.

Once it got light enough (and after Ember had eaten at least part of her breakfast) I tried a short walk.  We got about one house further than on Thursday morning before having to entice her away from the fireworks debris.  Most people around here are responsible neighbors and collect what they can find of their "bits and pieces" into their own piles of trash.  But the ones that flew across the street and got lost in the dark?  They don't get to those until it's light out and they are awake for the job.  And it was that sort of hazard we ran into Friday morning.

So... we came home, and played some more fetch, this time in the back yard.  She did her business before we called "game over" due to over-excited puppy, and came in to cook Mommy's breakfast.  Then Ember decided it was a good time to nap.  Mommy put on the Dog TV music for her, and came to type this section while she ate her oatmeal.

Now The Prisoner is asking to come out of his area of the house and I'm dragging my feet, because I don't want to rouse Ember from her needed rest, and I know she'd go nuts over Prisoner coming out into "her" section of the house while she was not confined.

Friday morning moves into Friday afternoon

Second walk at 9:30 a.m. was a more "normal" length, and Ember exhibited better behavior, too.  Puppy nap #2 was enforced starting at 11:22 a.m. due to messing with the cushions of the wingback chair.  This gave mom the chance to work on vacuum and laundry.

We played the "let the kitty get away" game in the afternoon, because Mommy was not in the mood to go for another walk.  

Then Mommy decided to cook.  Quinoa and brown rice to go with some ground beef and broccoli for supper.  This is a supper that Ember can have a sample of when it all comes together.  .

Meanwhile, saw on Facebook that Cousin Carl got to go play water fetch today, after surviving the stress of the holiday.  Ember would be jealous if she knew... shhh!

Carl does not care for any big sky noises, be it storm fronts or fireworks.

I presented the third new toy to Ember today, too.  Foxy is a braided rope toy, but covered in fabric.  Ember approves.

Mom is feeling optimistic, here in Emberville.

Life is good.  Spark on!