More new Ember adventures

 

Ember:  "What is this?  Oh!  Do I get to help dry off the dishes?"

Believe it or not... my co-mum-in-law gave me a little knitted gadget that lets me hang a dishtowel on the stove handle.  I put it in place on Tuesday, while Ember was at day care.  When she came home, she gave it a good sniff, and even a bit of a taste test.  Guess it doesn't smell/taste like meat.

She has left it alone since!

On Wednesday we went to the dogs-allowed-inside store, the one where I purchase her treats and one of her kibble brands.  I knew I wanted about four things in the store, so I started to pull out a shopping cart.  Oops!  Ember has never accompanied me when I was using a cart.  She backed away.

I opted to skip the cart.  This time.  We will try again on another visit.  A cart would have been useful.  I was juggling a small bag of kibble, two packs of 10-inch-long chews (BOGO sale), and a pack of 100 of the size I call her "Itty-bitties".  I made it about halfway to checkout before I was getting tangled up between leash and these.  Fortunately, a friendly clerk offered to help me carry the things up to the counter!

In retrospect, Ember was "pretty good".  She didn't pull or go nuts (other than shying away from the cart).  We made it across the parking lot to the car and she hopped right in.  Continued progress!

Thursday morning, she happily went into her day care.  She even kept her paws on the ground.  Her ears are bothering her, I can tell, and her next dose of the ear medicine was due Friday morning.  

It happened, but it was a whole adventure, involving trapping her in the car so I could control her movements.  Before I got to that solution I tried the bathroom (too many things she could grab and run off with, that turned into a marvelous game of chase, in her opinion).  We had an episode of slipping out of her harness.  Eventually, I pronounced getting the gel into the ears "good enough for my first time." She should not have to worry about mom doing this again for a while.

With that accomplished, I was free when I got word that the Ace needed a little help with her pup being "home alone."  Ace and her hubby were both unavailable, but I still had a house key, so was able to go feed and walk and medicate Benji.  Isn't he the cutest?  17 pounds and "older" but don't tell him he's geriatric.  He is quite capable of a fast walk, and a good tug on the leash!  I think he takes after his "Old One".  

I, in the meantime, while I talked to him, kept getting confused about what to call myself. "Mom" is what I use when referencing myself to Ember.  "Grandma" is what I use when referencing myself to Carl (son's dog).  "Aunt Barb" is what I have used to reference myself to Benji in the past.  I would go through all three, like my mom used to do going through her five kids' names before hitting the right one!

Ember napped during both rescue missions, and while she sniffed me thoroughly after each, she seems confident that she's still the top dog at this house!

Saturday morning, we had rumbles of thunder overhead.  It quit raining by 7, though, and we got in a leash walk in the neighborhood.  Today's challenge was a bunny, doing bunny things, audaciously, within 20 feet of Ember. 

I walked her a little closer.  MISTAKE!  This mimics the stalking phase of the prey sequence, and she surprised me by lunging for the bunny, right after I had choked up on her close leash handle (the one you use when walking in traffic).  OMG, this dog is strong!  Benji may have a strong tug, but Ember can force the issue when she is motivated to do so. The bunny went under an evergreen tree, Ember would have dragged me through it, but I don't fit!  I took a couple of giant steps before I got her back in line.  

Anyway, she scared me, but we survived.  I talked her back to the sidewalk.  Once we got reset, the rest of the walk was fine, but it does remind one of the power at the other end of the leash. Ember looked so proud of herself!

Anyway, that's the Emberville news for now.  Over on Spark I'm getting back in the swing of posting my pep talks as blogs.  I have reconnected over there with some I "lost" over here. Being "back on Spark" reminds me of how important the audience is.  Just as a performer "reads the room" a blogger reads the audience, and it influences what you write.

If anybody hasn't got one and needs an invitation to get onto Spark, let me know.  I still have several left.

Life is good!  Spark on!

Ember's newest lessons

I have a new electric can-opener.  I haven't had an electric one since I lived with my parents (1970's?)  But this little one has a USB rechargeable battery, and it shaves the can top off.

Well!  I tried it once to learn how to use it myself on Tuesday when Ember was off in daycare.  Her first exposure was Friday morning.  She got very excited over the little thing, because after all, it altered the routine of mama cranking the handle of the manual one to open her green beans.  And it makes noise and moves on its own.  

Ember got so excited she swiped the plastic container I had put out on the counter to hold the contents of the newly opened can.  She hadn't done that in months.  She was very polite about giving it back, but unfortunately, her teeth had already done a number on it, and it landed in the trash.

One thing about having this kind of pup in the house: they "help" you down-size.

Remember a week or so ago when I mentioned Ember eating some other dog's poo?  Well, Saturday morning she did it again!  Twice.  On one walk!  I wonder what prompts this?  Must have something to do with either nutritional deficits or wild roots and marking or masking who's been in the territory.  Seems like something to mention on her next vet visit!

At home we now have the game of running up the stairs and practicing "find mommy".  Thank goodness, she's no longer eating the carpet on the stairs.  It's even got me thinking about ordering replacement carpet.  I'm not quite ready to take the door off the crate for good, but we are in a testing phase for if we're ready for more freedom.

FGC got an invite to "meet the coach" meaning the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team related to his little soccer award.  The lines were long.  The Mythical son escorted him.  Kiddo got tongue-tied when faced with Coach Rhule. Son explained, "This is ____ (kiddo's name).  He's a little shy.  He's seven."  The coach started to say "Hi, ____.  Thank you for com-" then interrupted himself, "He's seven?" 

Foster grandson is almost 8.  He is the tallest of the kids in the 2nd/3rd grade kids trying out for a basketball team.  We have a birthday party coming up in a couple of weeks.  He's head and shoulders taller than most of his sports teammates (teams based on age).  You could almost imagine the coach "aging up" this youthful potential.  OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  

Sunday morning, Ember did not go on a search mission for other dogs' droppings.  Yay!  It was 74℉ and HUMID and I was drenched in sweat when we got home.  

Sunday afternoon we went to see the local minor league baseball team play.  The Winnipeg Goldeyes were the opponents, so we got both the Canadian and the US national anthems at the start.  In the middle of the continent, we're not as good as the folks in Buffalo, NY at knowing the words of "O Canada" but we did our best!

Kiddo spent most of the game on the playground or in the bounce house.  But he wanted to run the bases as is tradition, after the game is over.  All the kiddos in the stands can line up and go run.  FGC put in a good effort, feeling the sense of competition with the other kids.  

The three ladies (me, DIL and her mom) kibbitzed in the stands.  Son and DIL took turns supervising FGC.  Yes, that's beer in a baseball bat shaped container.  DIL and her mom split it between them as it holds about two beers worth!

I got my selfie with the Mascot, Homer!

From 2011 with Homer

This is the one from Sunday afternoon.  Hot dog in hand!

The home team won.  Ember forgave me leaving her home in her crate (she would NOT have enjoyed the heat out there at the ball park).

Monday morning, it was back to normal routine... almost.  Ember and I encountered rain about two blocks in to our neighborhood walk.  She's not a big fan of water falling from the sky, but there was not much in the way of flashes or booms or even rumbles with this gentle cooling rain, and we covered about 3/4 of a mile.

Life is Good!  Keep on Sparking!

Ember sees the vet

Medicalizing is not just for the humans.

I made an appointment for an assessment of Ember's teeth.  Vet says her teeth are in good shape, but yes, start brushing.  Ok.  Can do.  At least NOW I can do.  Two years ago it was out of the question!

I had brought along the entire collection of things I've spent money on related to dental care. I asked his opinion on each of them.  The powder probably wouldn't do much good. It's supposed to be sprinkled on top of her kibble to whiten her teeth and freshen her breath.  Yeah, I succumbed to another one of those ads.  

A little soft rubber-feeling brush that you put on your fingertip like a thimble.  Vet says this one is the best of them.  Toothpaste is not essential, but if the flavor makes it easier for her to allow her teeth to be brushed, fine, go for it.  It comes in peanut butter flavor.  

The yogurt chews that I give her, one a day, are good, keep doing that.  The little finger tooth wipes (that do not have the brush part) he said would be good if she rejects the brush.  The brush with bristles on a handle, he judged not as good as the fingertip brush.  

Oh, and he says avoid tennis balls and bones.  Others had already warned me about the abrasive nature of tennis balls on the enamel, so I've pretty much abandoned them.  The vet kind of laughed about the bones because I said, "but she loves them."  He said they make him a lot of money when they break teeth.  Nuff said.  No more bones, little one.

There you have it, one vet's opinion.  

The vet also checked Ember's ears, did the cytology and pronounced she has an ear infection.  Again.  This is the third, I think.  He cleaned her ears and applied the first dose of medication.  I have to keep her dry (again) and this time I am going to try to apply the second dose myself at home, next Friday.  Notice I'm getting braver?  Also saving money.  

He gave me kudos for being a good dog mom.  Charged me a bunch of money and sent me home. I like to get that reassurance every so often!  It's a plus that Ember likes the whole staff.

Saturday morning

The back is better.  In case I mentioned it before.  Normalcy has returned.  Ember took me around 1.9 miles this morning.  Partway through the dog-walk, I saw a group of runners headed our way, and the gait and silhouette of one of the leaders looked familiar.  "Is that Eddie?"  I asked Ember, as if she'd know.

Eddie is my old running coach, as in "hills for breakfast, Barb!"  He's now a police officer and runs a club called "Marathon Kids" which encourages running in children.  In the time since I was actively running under his coaching, he has married and is now a dad to a sweet little baby girl!  But he has NOT succumbed to "dad bod" as between his coaching, pace setting, and now profession keep him in tiptop shape.  Now, had he become an accountant, for example, we might be looking at a different story!

As the group approached, a familiar voice accosted me with, "It's the legend herself!"  Well, I'm not a legend, but Eddie could make anyone feel like one!

Even Ember wanted to follow him and his runners for a while.  Her nose took her off that task within about half a block.  

Anyway, the weekend is starting well.  Later today, FGC is going to the Huskers' meet the fans event.  Due to his soccer camp award, he has an invite to actually meet the head football coach.  I will await the reports from "the other side of town".  An almost 8-year-old is way too honest about his opinions.  The Mythical Son says FGC would probably be more interested in meeting the players than the coach.  FGC has already stated he would rather meet the head basketball coach.  But it's football season now!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking, on or off the new SparkPeople.  (By the way, yesterday I encountered a Sparker on there who lives in France, I think she said.)

Little things and check lists

What is the downstream effect of heading back to "the new Spark"?  It seems as though the AI Sparkcoach has given a non-human encouragement layer to the goal setting and achievement scene that always was at the root of SparkPeople.  But the friendships we gained were all part of encouraging one another in the context of weight loss, health, and fitness.  We're all in the same human boat!

I don't want to knock what's going on over on SparkPeople, it's very useful, and it's bringing back a lot of memories of the original structure that worked so well for me, personally.  

But what makes me tick?  This became the real question as I started learning to navigate the new site.

• Helping others
• Encouraging others
• Sharing ones own experiences

Those are the reasons to blog on a platform like SparkPeople.  Cronometer was missing those.  MyFitnessPal was missing those.  Any other pure tracking tool, from the automated step counters to the sleep measuring watches are missing these.  They are wonderful tools, but they are not integrated with the community in the way that works best for me:  the written word, the personal experiences.  That's why, when Spark shut down five years ago, I shopped for a blogging site. I landed here.

Over the intervening five years, most of the original group of bloggers has fallen away.  A handful of us are left, and our blogs have evolved, mostly into daily or weekly updates on "life" and how it's going.  We don't have the access to newbies, or the need to share a bunch of motivational material.  We still share encouragement, and good wishes, and prayers (if we're so inclined), but many are in maintenance or have moved on.  We know what to do, and we go about the business of doing it.  We share what's working and what's not.

What are we missing?  Immigrants!  Seriously, folks new to the process who may need a little hand-holding and personal encouragement!

So, here I am, writing not just a Spark Blog over on the new Spark2, but continuing to blog here, and trying to figure out what's going on in my own head... because that's where all the motivation really happens!

In real life:

I made an appointment at the vet for Friday to have them look at Ember's teeth and help determine whether it's time to start down the path of dental cleanings.  I have never brushed her teeth.  When she was a puppy those razor sharp puppy teeth were giving me too much trouble with bitey behavior.  I only started conditioning her to allow me to brush her coat regularly about six months ago.  

Last week I got one of the doggy toothbrushes out and started the process of conditioning her to let me do things with her now adult teeth.  The vet is running a hundred dollars off an annual cleaning this month, so... tomorrow we'll find out if it is appropriate!

Across town, got notification that my son has signed up to be a head coach for FGC's soccer team!  Wow!  You know, I never would have thought I would raise the kind of kid who would do this.  Blame the army.  I tried doing things of this sort when I was younger (as in 20's) and discovered it way outspends my own social energy budget!  He's good at this stuff, mind you.  I'm not.  I do my best encouragement behind a keyboard!  LOL!

Anyway, life continues to be good.  Keep on Sparkin', on or off the platform so named!

The non-Spark news

Somebody feels totally safe!

Ember was deprived of her leash walk on Wednesday because of her hu-mom feeling her age.  I woke with a screaming lower back, pondering "what on earth did I even do yesterday?"

About mid-day it dawned on me:  stooping and staying stooped, bouncing a bit as I picked up plastic bottles or metal cans to lift from my own bin into the big bins at the recycling center.  It's that bouncing in the stooped position that's dangerous!  That, and stretching in funny directions while weeding.

Anyway, by evening it has calmed down.  I wanted to keep my 10 minutes streak going over on Spark, so I brought a pair of dumbbells upstairs and did some upper body weights and gentle squats and lunges.  Ember got three car rides over the course of the day to make up for me being reluctant to make my sore back worse if she got distracted on leash!  

I wanted to reward her for being so patient with me.  We went to the coffee drive-thru in the morning.  After her first puppy nap, since it was cool enough for her to stay in the car, we went together to the grocery store.  At lunch time she rode with me to the election commissioner's office to drop off my request for an early ballot.

As for Spark, it is a time of transition again.  Five years ago, it was transitioning off Spark and into our various "life rafts".  None of the life rafts were complete, but we have kept along, haven't we?

Now there's the potential of re-transition back to Spark.  But several of us may be leery.  How much can we trust it?  I mean, it went away before... will it go away again?  What if our friends don't come back to Spark?  Remind anyone else of changing school years?  

I'm gearing up for a time of checking multiple places.  Which I was sort of doing already, between blogs here and the maintenance team's Google group and some Facebook groups.

Whether you come over to the new Spark 2 or not, keep on using what you learned from Spark 1... because Life is Good when you do!

Back on Spark!

 

We have really enjoyed the cooler morning walks the past four days.  Ember has taken me round several different loops in the neighborhood.  We have showed off our good manners in giving other dogs and people room, and for the most part avoiding the worst of our enthusiastic greetings, thanks to a mom braced for it and watching the signs.  And holding tight to the leash those few times.

We went nose to nose in greeting with a rescue puppy, 3 months old, saved from Texas by the Beatrice, NE humane society, and adopted by a neighbor.  So cute.  So smart.  We ended the greeting about the time Ember went into a total tail wagging play bow, and I'm sure they would have enjoyed playing, but on the leash is NOT the time for that kind of play.  Gradually, my girl has learned to accept this, but I still have to be watchful.

Besides, a 3-month-old puppy is already a handful for my neighbor, she doesn't need my girl regressing and teaching bad habits to the new puppy when her hu-mom is doing so well!

I got into the new SparkPeople.  Wow!  Have to get myself to bed now, but I can feel the old pull.  It's been rearranged a bit, but I've already found Gloria from the FB group (I think she might be Canadian?)

Tuesday morning, I slept until after 5.  Ember was probably frustrated with me as I was paying attention to Spark stuff, trying to learn my way around the new AI-driven platform before she went to day care.  If anybody wants an invite, I have them.  If I have your e-mail I can send it directly.  I know at least a couple of you are already on it, and I've already put up my first blog over there.  I am now using OKM, instead of the longer version, as my display name.

Ember is now off to day care and I have to avoid getting sucked into an online black hole, because household tasks need attention while she's gone!

I survived my first day on the new Spark, have found a few folks that were in various "life raft" communities, and am slowly re-connecting over there.  I have discovered that international users ARE on the new Spark.  Canadian and UK users located so far.  I figured out what passes for a SparkPage (my Spark) and joined a few user groups, including Sparking with Dogs!

I'll keep on blogging here for a while, just to leave the breadcrumbs if I shift over there.  Also, my Archives from SparkPeople 1.0 of selected saved blogs live on this account.

Life is good.  Spark on!

Woo-Hoo! Lynda is back on blog!

 Collection of snippets from the week between blogs

It was about 2:30 a.m. when the rumbles woke me Tuesday morning (July 28th).  Percussive shakes, I could feel in the timbers of the house.  I flipped on the local TV station, and they didn't have the weather coverage up just yet. By 3, they had a meteorologist in tracking and running the graphics of "Severe Thunderstorm Warning" radar.  It rolled on past our community in about half an hour and I fell back to sleep.  By the time I got up and checked a little after 6, only one deck chair had been overturned by the wind, and it was out in the far-back yard.  Ember was not enthusiastic about going outside right at first but warmed up to the thought when she found out it was 8 degrees cooler than the prior morning!

The indoors was a wreck, born of four days of the heat wave.  When the doggo doesn't want to be outside, she still needs to have mental exercise, and it may have seemed like a whole boxload of toys spilled onto the floor in the x-pen, it wasn't anywhere near her entire supply.  After dropping her at daycare Tuesday morning, I picked up and vacuumed, as usual.  

Wednesday morning the forecast said 80% chance of rain, locally, in the 8 a.m. hour.  The kids and my co-inlaws across town got it, my son got it briefly at his workplace, I got nothing here but a few drops of mist hanging in the air.  All in the same city.  I guess this is what you call "scattered showers".

My bug guys showed up and are doing the outside treatment.  Ember's napping in her crate.  I'm not having them treat inside the house.

Working at cleaning up the storage on my phone.  I've had this phone for several years and I have not good about digital "clean up".  I take photos, I take videos, I used some of them to share, I download some from DIL, etc.  And eventually I get a message that I'm over my storage limit at Amazon photos for videos, etc.  So I searched for help and started clearing some out!

Thursday I was having a "low energy" day, but I made myself feel better by vacuuming out my bedroom and shoving some clutter away.  I indulged in a trip to the library where I checked out a couple more of "The Cat That..." mysteries.  And I took a brief nap after that.  I also puttered with a bit of weeding of the rock bed on the South side of the house since it was "cooler" than it had been over that weekend!

Meanwhile, across town at soccer camp, the foster grandson got an award.  " Jacob Bartlett Sportsmanship Award for showing Team First, Work Ethic, Intelligence and Winning Mentality "

It is a professional team Jersey from the sponsoring Kansas City pro soccer team, signed by the players.  "The kids" (meaning my son and his wife) framing it so FGC can hang it on his bedroom wall.  Quite the honor, and it shows his progress in the nearly two years (in September) he's been with my son and DIL.  You can bet the whole family are busting our buttons over this not-quite 8-year-old kiddo's accomplishments.

I stopped the accumulation of snippets here, because I posted about the day at the fair on Saturday, but... after responding to several comments on that blog, I tripped over Lynda's Sunday morning blog!  She's ba-ack!  And working on her issues, but able to post words at least.

Life's REALLY good!  Spark on!

Fair Day!

 Saturday morning, August 1st, dawned amazingly cool.  As in 61℉.  Ember and I took a nice long leash walk, 1.76 miles.  We were both pretty happy.  The only blotch on the walk was a spot where some truck must have hit a bump and a large collection of manure clods fell into the middle of the street.  This was just too much for Ember... so tempting!  I had to direct traffic while trying to convince her to take me back to a sidewalk... I did not care about which side.  Two very kind drivers stopped and waited for this to happen.

After the furry one went down for her morning nap, I changed into shorts as the day was warming up and drove myself to meet the family group who were going to the County Fair.  Oh, my, it was a classic fair outing.  We found FGC's drawing entry.

We played bingo for cash... The Mythical Son won one game.  I split the pot on another.

We moved on to a bungy jumping ride:  100 jumps for 20 bucks.  DIL picked up the tab for FGC to have a go!  Adult audience, watching kiddo on the bungy jumping thingy.

Then we played with the Kawasaki models of offroad vehicles for a while (don't worry, not enabled for actual driving, and the Mythical Son was riding watch on the kiddo).

Next kiddo was ready for food, he thought, but the vendors were not open yet on the midway.  We settled for donuts and lemonade in the building.  Then went and found the animal exhibits.  The avian fans found one cage of bantams labeled with the name "the Three Bobs".  Which of course merited a photo by the Bob in our group!  I visited the sheep and goats; we even checked out the hogs.  Cattle were in the ring being shown.

Out to the midway as soon as it opened, and it was funnel cakes for Bob, Corn Dogs for the rest of us.  Believe it or not, this was my first ever corn dog.  I never thought that corn meal batter was the appropriate sheath for a hot dog, but turns out, it does actually go together OK.  There was another sour cold drink for kiddo.  And I should explain the kiddo's corn dog was covered in Taki crumbs and cheese.  Spicy!

Next up, the rides.  On the way down the midway, I saw someone I thought I recognized!  My niece and her fiancé!  Of course, there's the off chance it's not them, and I had not met the fiancé in person before, but I took my courage in hand and touched my niece on the shoulder.  It was them!  We chatted for a bit then I had to go find son, DIL and FGC, so we parted ways.

DIL got a big giggle out of FGC on the rides.  He would pick the big scary rides.  Then when they got on them, he would say, "I changed my mind", when they got to the top of the ride!  I'm only sharing one of the ride photos, but there were I think four of them that involved spinning and/or up in the air.  I did not go on any of the rides.  DIL went on most of them with him.  The Mythical Son went on one.  And ONE of them he went on solo (it was the kind that had at one point in both my lifetime and in my DIL's lifetime had made us throw up, so we chose to opt out of that one.)

I ducked out early to come home to Ember, who had been left in her crate.  I had lasted three hours, though.  My toes were feeling cramped. I took off my shoes and socks, which led to a game of chase inside the house, and some extra toe licking.  I think she's only seen me barefoot a handful of times.  I gave her an extra chew stick as a treat for being such a good girl (and giving me back my socks).

I got a message from my DIL that they had found my niece, too, after the rides!  Yay for small worlds!

Oh, and those of you who were predicting Kiddo might get sick from all that fried food followed by that kind of rides?  You were right... after they got home, he got sick, threw up, and pronounced he felt a lot better!  Guess some lessons are learned by experience, eh?

I have not yet heard from Lynda (LEANJEAN6) and I'm hoping she's OK.  I have seen a lot of comments on her most recent blog (with no photos, asking for help with the blog), but she has not called me back.  If her daughter was there, or maybe one of her sons can help.  I think I have an email for her somewhere, and I am a Facebook friend, but I have not seen any new Facebook content since the 24th of July, either.  Prayers, folks!

Life is good!  Keep on Sparking!

The heat wave returns.

 

It's hot outside, folks.  Sunday morning the 26th, 79℉ already!

The Prisoner has his fur fluffed up, to cool himself.

A cooling pad is a good idea, here, mom!

Ember kept her outside trips short today and I did not take her on leash in the neighborhood.

About Ember's supper time, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number, and it turned out to be our old friend Lynda (LEANJEAN6)... I promised I'd say hi for her as she's having issues updating her own blog at this point.

Her daughter is visiting and I hope she's able to help with the computer issues as I tried and was unable to resolve it over the phone with my old "help desk" suggestions.

Reminds me of my own recent printer issues where the "help" points to something that you were asking for help with!

Life is good.  We are keeping cool inside.  Keep Sparking!

Happy Birthday

 

This weekend

The birthday boy opens the card and discovers that his in-laws have given him a gift certificate to the restaurant at which we are celebrating his birthday dinner.  Best smile I've seen on him in a while... down to the crinkly eyes!  He quipped, "Oh, for when I steal the check!"  Which of course he did, as he is notorious for doing.

My co-mum-in-law made it clear to the server at another family outing that the bill was to come to her, but my son snuck off and paid it before it got sent out.  It makes him feel good to be a provider!

We got around it this time by giving him money to pay the bill!  Co-in-laws with a gift certificate, me with a check.  Families have to have those inside jokes, don't we?

Ten Years ago

When you have saved stuff online on Facebook, every so often it reminds you of what you were doing "10 years ago".  I'm going to share this one because it shows that once upon a time I did crazy things!

On my son's birthday, 10 years ago, I was pedaling up a hill talking "hands free" to wish him a happy birthday.  This was during a 50 mile bike ride, which is the longest I ever did.

Sunday has been a peaceful "catch up" kind of day.  It's good and hot outside, so Ember and I went for our neighborhood walk in the morning.  It was still 81℉ by the time we got home.  We went on our coffee run.  When she crated herself for a puppy nap, I came upstairs to shower.

I went down and made my breakfast, then stretched out for a nap on the couch.  When Ember and I got up, we went on a ride to get her doggy treats from the store where she's allowed inside.  First time we've been there when another canine was in the store and she did well.  She did shy back when a nice couple wanted to pet her, but they were experienced dog people and politely gave her space to recover from the startle of a stranger approaching.  She happily downed the dog biscuits the clerk offered.  The clerk had remembered Ember's name!  This trip to the "candy store" has become a routine thing, and she knows what is expected.

We stopped and split a little ice cream cone at the DQ on the way home.  Ember has had a good day.  After she had her supper, she bedded down in her crate for her nap before "last call" and I went to the grocery store before coming upstairs to pay bills.  An accomplished day... still to do, laundry sorting and putting away, which I've been putting off for three days.  Still in their baskets!

Monday July 20th

Forecast to be the hottest day of the year, so far.  Supposed to top the century mark, Fahrenheit.  Ember and I went walking in the morning, when it was already nearly 80 when we started.  She was a very good girl as we were not alone starting early!  We did our coffee run, then during puppy nap #1, I got my shower.  This appears to be the routine for hot days.

Tuesday July 21st

I woke to thunder and rain on the roof.  Ember was very happy to head off to day care.  Since I haven't shoveled out (vacuumed) her x-pen in a full week, I'm happy to have her occupied and no appointments for me, so I can clear it out!

Why does it feel so much better when the room has been cleaned?

Also on Tuesday, went for a haircut.  

Wednesday July 22nd

Mr. Weather man tells me that we will have three relatively cool days in a row, and Wednesday was the first.  Starting with the weekend we'll have another week of "above average" temperatures.  

Taking advantage of the cool, Ember and I went out at about 7:15 Wednesday morning and had a nice mile and a half sniffing adventure.  No big arguments about other people's yards or dead things to roll in, and she was proactive about crossing to the other side of the street and even about giving me a pretty polite sit to wait for cars and people to decide their routes before we chose ours.  

However, two blocks from home, she found a second breakfast, left on the front lawn of somebody else's house.  Looks like maybe another dog didn't digest but regurgitated.  Sigh.  But my little gal decided it was now hers, and there was no convincing her otherwise.

Consequently, I am on watch for any unusual "output" again.  We got home before any predicted showers and went on a coffee run before Ember decided a crate nap was just the ticket, and I came upstairs to update the blog.

Thursday the 23rd

Stapled the underpinnings of the couch fresh.  Ember had started "worrying" at the fraying parts again.  Sigh.  I told her "no" and she stopped, and more and more I'm able to remind her of what's a no-no.  She doesn't go out of her mind like she did as a young pup, but she still uses the no-no activity to get her hu-mom's attention!

I vacuumed out the x-pen, got some recreational reading in, and even took a nap before getting the trash together to put out for Friday morning's collection.  Despite it being one of the cooler days in the forecast, it was humid, and I was sweating for sure.

Friday the 24th

It's raining as I type this!  Ember and I went out at 8 a.m. when it was "on a break".  Did we get rained on?  Lightly.  As in a Summer morning gentle mist, with temperatures in the upper 60's F.  It was lovely!  

Oh, and the output I was watching for since Wednesday morning... yep, we've had soft poos for a couple of days.  "See?" I tell the dog, "This is what happens when you eat stuff you find in other people's yards!"  She just grins up at me, as if to say "Worth it!"

Ember's theme is the same as MOBYCARP's:  Life is Good.

I "borrowed" this from Chris Downie's Facebook page.  He was hinting at a SparkPeople reboot, with AI trainers, no less.  I put myself on the waitlist, but if you look at this image closely, you'll see BROOKLYNBORN, LEANJEAN6, and MOBYCARP, among others.  Gives a body a tidal wave of nostalgia, doesn't it?

Spark on!

Emberville in July

 

Labrador retrievers are known for their odd sleeping positions, but it is rare that I get a photo before she magically flips over and is ready to GO!

Overnight from Friday to Saturday, I was alerted by a bark at about 2 a.m.  Yes, a bark!  My silent dog voiced a concern.  When that happens, I get up and go down to investigate.  Sure enough, she needed to go out.  I found out when I went on poo patrol later in the morning when I discovered the resulting pile, about twice the normal size.  She had demurred on going during last call Friday night... guess there are side effects to shifting meal times?  I had overslept Friday morning, so she got fed late.

I skipped out on Tai Chi Saturday morning the 11th because I've been overpeopling the past couple of weeks.  Ember took me 'round the neighborhood in the cool of the morning, then we went on our coffee run.

Deck time of a Summer evening.  

I have noticed that in the summertime our dog walks are getting longer on average.  We're up to over a mile and a half, sometimes 2 miles.

I "slept in" three mornings over the weekend.  Saturday to Sunday we had a repeat of the 2 a.m. "middle of the night" play time.  Sunday poo patrol showed another similar need that drove the 2 a.m. barking.  Oh, yeah, I had given her a bone on Saturday, that explained that "extra helping".

Sunday night to Monday, Ember did not wake me up.  

Tuesday morning, she was very happy to be back in day care where they have a doggy pool for the hot weather days.  I was feeling lazy and did not vacuum, but I did human laundry and recharged the front doorbell battery (which is a bit of a "process").  

Wednesday morning, Ember decided a bunny was vastly more interesting than keeping Mommy on the sidewalk and dragged me well into "somebody else's yard".  I lectured her the whole way that this was "not our yard" (by then the bunny had completely disappeared).  She was unconvinced and went so close to their house before she found... some other animal's poo.  And yes, sorry to say, she ate it!  Yuck!  At this point, she was willing to be persuaded to take Mommy back to the sidewalk.  She was pretty tuckered out by the conflict, and the rest of the walk was calm.  Sigh.

I survived Thursday.  A breakfast with the financial group.  Followed by my semi-annual dental cleaning.  Ember, thank goodness, was having her usual time with her puppy friends in day care.  I renewed my library book that I haven't been getting to and am about halfway through.  And I took a wee nap!  What got missed?  I did not vacuum and dust.  The x-pen remained cluttered with toys.

Ember came home wet from being out playing in the water in day care's "back yard".  I'm going to have to consider getting the pool out for her at home over the weekend, too, because it's July and the weather is doing what it does this time of year.

Friday morning walk

We got out about 7:30 a.m. as all the commuters are leaving for work.  I was very proud of Ember as we crossed the street in front of oncoming vehicles, not once, but three times, and walked all business straight across, without dawdling in the street.  I was proud of her showing off her pretty, polite sit while waiting for traffic to resolve itself, for people to walk by, or for other dogs and their walkers to decide on their own paths.  She was such a good walker for such a long while.

Then she found something intriguing.  A dead snake on the grass right near the quiet residential street.  Not a big one, but one certainly ripe for rolling in.  She could not resist and rolled to her heart's content to hide her scent from any potential prey.  When she was ready, she led Mom back to the sidewalk, confident and happy.

Oh, well.  It's in the dog prey instinct.  Hard to fight that when the "back brain" takes over.  We walked on, again being the well-behaved girl I know and love.  Until about a block from home when she encountered this:

Can you see it?  Center of the frame, small and pink.  It's a tiny naked baby squirrel that has fallen from its nest.  

What did my young adult female lab do with a baby of another species?  Again, instinct kicks in... she licks it to keep it warm.  She tries to stay right with it.

I'm concerned.  I should not touch the little thing (it's still moving) to avoid having its mother reject it.  I managed to distract Ember into a game of "search for the treat" which I tossed ahead of us on the sidewalk, and we made it safely home.  I'll probably never know what happened to that baby squirrel, but at least my dog did not kill or eat the poor little thing.

Life goes on at the slow heat-driven summer pace.  Life is good.  Keep Sparking!

Line up the July anniversaries in a row

Tuesday the 7th was the 30th anniversary of my mother's passing.  

Wednesday the 8th, the 29th anniversary of a niece's birth.  A year and a day later than Mom's passing.  

Mom used to intone what was probably "urban legend" before that name was invented that a year and a day was how long they left a body in a mausoleum spot in New Orleans before it was considered OK to reuse the slot.  This may just be a twisted childhood ghost of a memory, but it stuck in my brain.  I have a few of those kinds of cobwebs rattling around.

Thursday the 9th, the anniversary of another niece's birth, the first time I became an aunt.  Nowadays I follow that niece's kids on Facebook. 

Friday the 10th, I have surpassed my mother's lifespan by 7 years.  

Monday the 13th will be 7 years since Kevin (MOBYCARP)'s passing.  I still miss him every day.

Life, memory, and dates are an interesting saga.  And cryptic recitations of this sort are what happens when your brain is one of those fixated on numbers! 🤣

Subject change time!

This little critter is an orb weaver spider.  On my deck's drink rail, posing for a photo after I had rudely walked through her web, destroying it.  I am dubbing her "Charlotte" although I have no clue if spiders have sexes and if they do how one can distinguish, but let's honor the children's literature for a bit.

I took this photo on Monday morning.

By Tuesday morning, she was hard at work weaving yet another work of art.  This time she chose the other side of the deck, not the one where I would walk through the web on my way to the backyard.  One day she had it low enough that EMBER walked through it!

Mid-week

Another seasonal day on Wednesday!  Ember and I got out early.  There is this one yard, at the far end of that walk route, that tempts her every time.  The woman who lives there and is sometimes outside when we walk by is very afraid of dogs, but she grows such tempting plants in that yard!

Ember dragged me up to the retaining wall (the lady was not out).  I pleaded with Ember that this is "not our yard", but it took some time to convince her to take me back to the sidewalk.  Yes, a treat tossed to "search" in the grass closer to the sidewalk was involved.

On Thursday morning, completed the "in touch with siblings over the summer" sequence by having coffee with Alicia.  Lots of information dumps beyond blogs, catching up on one another's extended families, as far as we know (we're not an "up in your face" kind of family, so often it's a "no news is good news" kind of assumption).

On Thursday afternoon, Ember was wet coming home from daycare, and we ended the day on the couch with her head on my lap.  Nothing as peaceful as having an animal that trusts you!  You can feel your heart rate and blood pressure settle.

Friday - another week in the books

Large and in charge, we have The Prisoner, still doing OK, even though thinner and feeling a little bonier to his hu-mom.

Ember checks in with the senior pet.  I think these photos are from Thursday morning.  Overnight Wednesday to Thursday one of the deck chairs got picked up by the wind and knocked over into the sliding door.  Ember was a champ, given that her crate is within six feet of that door.  She was fine when I went down in the morning to start our day.  She sniffed I swear every board on that deck to ensure herself that all was well.

Friday morning dawned overcast and humid.  Ember cut our morning walk short, for some reason.  We filled Dexter's gas tank ($21 for six gallons).  Came home with the London Fog and doggy bone, and our weekend has begun.

Life is good.  Keep on Sparking!

Independence Day and Mother Nature

 

Happy 4th of July

It may be Independence Day here, but it's July 4th all over!  I can wish the whole world a happy 4th of July!

Ember and I went walking early on the 3rd, and the neighborhood fireworks fanatics were already starting up.  She did not seem to be bothered by them, most of them were "in the distance".  The booms and pops continued throughout the day.  A few of them were loud enough or close enough to merit a head whip, but the recovery time was short.  My scared puppy has become a confident adult.

We had a big storm blow through Friday evening the 3rd.  This was when the big community fireworks display was scheduled, with the "Uncle Sam Jam" festivities located in our minor league baseball venue.  They ended up cancelling it because of the lightning danger, but intended to go ahead and set off the fireworks at 10 p.m.  I'm assuming they did, as I heard big booms and woke briefly between ten and midnight, but I had already gone to bed, since it was pouring rain and rumbling thunder at 8 p.m. when I would normally be taking Ember outside for "last call."  

In any case, I woke to the rain on the roof and found a wet deck with a kitty sitting on the rail.  He had done a vanish on me, outside, while the booms were going off early in the evening.  I was glad to have the kitty ready to come inside as it was time for his every couple of months flea and tick medication.  

The forecast did not predict rain until noon, but it was actively raining in the 7 a.m. hour, so we went to the coffee drive-thru, instead of on a walk.

It finally quit dripping about 11 a.m., and Ember and I set out to review the neighborhood.  There were pops and bangs going off, but they did not seem to bother her much.  We got home around noon and had a quiet afternoon.  I left her outside the crate while I went upstairs to take a shower, and she handled it well.  When I came downstairs all freshened up, she was laying on the cool tile at the foot of the stairs.

I put the fruit for the party together, and after Ember's supper at 4 p.m., I headed over to "the kids".  The birdie that I wrote about before, that had gone to the vet last week, unfortunately passed away on Thursday.  Blessedly, in his final hour, he was being held by my daughter in law.  This sweet bird (Scout, named after the character in To Kill a Mockingbird) had been in her care for 21 years, half her lifetime!  FGC was quite heart-broken and the whole family had to adjust to this loss.

They decided they to have a funeral pyre for the little guy.  In a cardboard box on which we all wrote messages and prayers and wishes, his body was burnt in the chiminea.  We all shared memories.  FGC couldn't watch it all and went to help set up fireworks watching chairs on the front side of the house.  

His ashes will be spread on the garden, but a small amount added to the bird cremains urn the family has collected over the years.  

The party moved to the front of the house, where a few daylight fireworks were set off before the grill was fired up.  The fruit I brought, burgers, hot dogs, chips and buns comprised the holiday meal.  Dessert came in the form of cake pops, baked by DIL's mom.  She is such a great baker, desserts being her specialty.  These were moist and flavorful.  Banana flavored as requested by FGC, and vanilla for those who were not banana flavor fans.

Then it was back to the fireworks.  Carl, their dog, was on his calming meds.  The remaining cockatiel, Kiwi, was not only grieving the loss of his roommate, but also bothered by the booms and pops and smoky air.  DIL took him to his room and covered his cage to help him calm down.  

There were smoke ones.  Seemed like some inventive marketer rebranded a gender reveal firework pack for July 4th.  In the two pack, one was pink, the other blue.

The Millenium Falcon put in an appearance, shooting sparks.

Then dissolving into sparking pops!

About the time several "screech owl" style fireworks went off; I decided I'd best get home to Ember.

It wasn't yet full dark when I navigated through the five parties on the streets that intersect where my house sits.  Ember was quite happy to be let out of her crate, but not happy with what was going on outside.

Ember decided she would remain "on alert". She did not want to return to the crate for the night, so we just chilled on the couch, watching out the window.  

Ember stood guard while I went upstairs and got ready for bedtime.  About 10 p.m. I gave up and sacked out on the couch while she stayed on alert.

She woke me with a cold nose on the back of my knee about midnight.  The bangs and pops were dying down, and she was ready to take a crate entry bribe.  

Sunday, July 5th

I awoke feeling every day of my over seventy years.  Fed the cat, greeting Ember, and took her out in the backyard.  Doesn't seem like any of the debris from the night's activities made their way into my yard.  Ember took care of business, and a little while (and a mug of coffee) later we went out on leash to survey the neighborhood.

What a difference two years makes in the lifetime of a puppy!  I well remember the first time I took her for a walk after a fireworks night, when she was about 5 months old.  She wanted to eat everything (or at least mouth it, discover it).  This year?  Most of the time, a quick sniff meant "move on".  Toward the end of the walk, where the debris field hadn't been stacked up yet, she was more curious.  We made it through our rounds and through the coffee drive-thru for our mommy-and-me day ritual.

In short, Life is Good.  Spark on!