Autumn is coming

 

The drive-through got my coffee order wrong on Saturday morning and they gave me both the mistake and my corrected order.  The lovely gal at the window quipped, "You won't sleep tonight".  It was something like 8 a.m. when this transaction took place.

"Won't sleep tonight?" I mused, "But I have all day for it to wear off."  However, she was right, I woke a little before midnight and was wakeful until nearly 2 a.m. Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ember got a new toy.  I could not resist.  She wore out her old corn cob toy some time ago.  That one was a treat-holder.  This one is a big huggable plushie, and she loves it.

It's as big as her "comfort carrot".  We are enjoying the resumption of Summer here, but you can hear, feel, and smell that Autumn is just a week away.  The temperatures are quite warm in the afternoon, but tops of 90F are an improvement over some of the triple digits we got during the peak Summertime.

The Prisoner having purr time with the hu-mom on Thursday the 11th, while Ember was off in day care.  We talked about the topics we can't voice to other humans for fear of "other side-ism" reactions!

Seriously, whatever happened to the mediator in us all?  The one that recognizes we are all flawed, fall short of the mark, and that the consequences of this fall on those we love, not even necessarily on ourselves?

I have gone way too far down the social media (both sides) attempts to understand what happened last week in Utah.  I feel for the mourners, but I also feel for those close to the young man who has been taken into custody.  Problem with being young and passionate, it's easy to slide down the proverbial slippery slope.  But actions have been taken that cannot be undone.

I took this next photo for a laugh... I had seen a meme on FB that had "close" numbers, claiming to drive those with OCD or ADHD nuts.  When the pump clicked off at this point, I could not resist snapping the photo.

Speaking of things that drive me, personally, nuts, it would be my hair when it gets a certain length.  Wednesday the 17th, I went and got it cut!  

Thursday morning the 18th, on the way into day care, Ember came nose to nose with a chihuahua sized brindle cutie.  That dog's mommy was saying how her dog thinks she's bigger than she is.  I laughed, "My dog thinks she's smaller than she is".  In fact, on the ends of their respective leashes, they were very polite to one another.  Then Ember got extra pets from the other dog-mom, so she was in a very good mood getting handed over to the day care person.  She even briefly sat on the scale without prompting, and it happened to be on and zeroed, so I got a glimpse of her 87-pound reading.

It was grooming day for Ember.  I clued the groomers in that she's on Zyrtec for allergies and they volunteered adding on an allergy bath.  I think I approved it.  I also gave them the heads up about the flea that the vet found on The Prisoner.  Such a helicopter dog-mom, me.

Cleaning the tile floors, assembling the backup crate, vacuuming out the x-pen room, all part of Ember being at her "spa day."  I laundered her crate pad and towels so that when she came home, her environment was also fresh and clean.

I took the corrugated cardboard from several recent purchases to the recycling center while she was there, too.  I picked her up just a shade later than usual.  She pranced out to the car, like the diva who knows she's all pampered and pretty!

As is normal, you can't tell at a glance that she's freshly groomed, but she's a bit fluffier and softer and smells nicer.

We visited the secondary x-pen room with the new dog bed in it and practiced "hop it up" and "lay down" on the bed.  We did a couple of "four paws in" with the old plastic-sided crate that's in that room, too.

When we went downstairs, we explored the new backup crate.  I have it currently sitting there with both doors open, just to allow her to get used to its existence.

Life is good here in Emberville.  Spark on!