Mid-week family celebration

 

First attempt at executing the Thrasher guy's suggestion.  After I took the picture, I tried to stamp down the topsoil a bit more.  

Wednesday morning at 4 a.m. the automatic sprinklers went off.  She had not completely dug it out again, yet.

Ember was due for her bordatella vax Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.  I let her nap outside the crate ahead of that.  It also gave me a chance to weigh her: 76 pounds.  She's now 8 months old, and that's a new feeding amount range, for her kibble, in fact reducing it a bit.  

I felt like I was doing a guessing game with the amounts, between kibble, canned food (1/2 can a day), training treats and "just because" treats, including chew sticks and bones.  I asked the vet tech whether I'm feeding appropriately.  Vet tech felt for her ribs, and could not find them easily, so she's a bit "chunky" at this time.  She gave me some tips on what's healthy in a dog... in terms of feeling the rib cage.  

So, we shall work further on reducing things like whipped cream lures to get her into the crate, reducing the IYC treat amounts, etc., and monitor, as they say.  I think I can also work on getting her a bit more exercise.  Since her spay in August, I have not been taking her on as many leash walks.  And I think at 8 months, and with an improving recall, maybe it's time to introduce her to the dog park, not just her back yard.

Barnaby (rough coated collie) and his humans are back from their Summer in the Pacific Northwest, so inviting him over to play off leash is another option.  

Wednesday morning, after leash walk, before vet visit, "outside, looking in".

The day continued, kind of time-skewed, as I was also trying to make the birthday dinner thing work out so Ember would be OK in her crate while I went.

She went in for puppy nap #2/bedtime a little before 4 p.m. giving me time to shower and change and drive across town for the 6 p.m. dinner.

It was held at a rather posh place, with outdoor seating, called The Barred Owl.

DIL's mom picked the place, and invited me to come, and it was perfect!  The weather was perfect for the 6th floor balcony at sunset.  We had plates of hor d'oerves, pretty much, and "special drinks", one apiece.  Mine and Kam's matched, a cherry limeade, while the rest of the crew enjoyed adult libations with creative names, like "The Bobfather" (which, naturally, Bob had to order).

Partway through, I noticed the reflection of the sun on its way to setting on that window you see in this photo... had split the sun into two suns.  It did not photograph that way, but my mouth dropped the words, "We're on Tatooine!  Double Sun!"

This place is on the University's Innovation Campus, which is on the former State Fairgrounds land.  It's flat, and being elevated, the views to the horizon are stunning.  The airport takeoffs and landings can be watched.  The lights in the background are the ones that light up Memorial Stadium for night football games.  The old folks in the crowd were musing on the buildings that used to occupy this space.  The old industrial arts building from the fairgrounds still stands.

Shortly before sunset, I took one of my typically pathetic selfies... proof of presence.

I am respecting the rules about no photos of the foster family, including child... but let me just say, for a six-year-old, this boy does amazingly well in adult settings!  As he got a bit more tired, he started to act more like a normal child, swinging on two chairs, and wandering about the balcony.  His parents split the child-watching duties, to make sure he stayed safe and didn't fall off the edge or anything of that nature, or bother other patrons of the bar.

I drove home about 7:40 p.m., after sunset, and it only confirmed my decision to have the cataract surgery sooner rather than later.  It's the left eye this time, and the glare from headlights is more bothersome than it was when it was the right eye.

When I got home, I quickly changed shoes and shirt, then let Ember out for her "last call".  She once again, as she did last week, sniffed suspiciously at mommy's jeans.  Clearly mom had been someplace having human fun, eating human food, with other humans!

But she did her business and went back to bed in her crate with a little treat encouragement. 

Life is good!  Keep Sparking!