Recovery weekend and beyond!

I did not sleep well last Saturday night.  I am not sure why.  But I got up in the 3:00 a.m. hour, then took a nice long nap between 11:00 and 1:30.  We did get through Ember's morning routine, including about a 2-mile walk. 

Since then, I have started experimenting with using music CD's to fall asleep rather than YouTube "Boring X for sleep" videos.  I roll over and close my eyes to those, don't watch them!  Sometimes one works, sometimes the other.  Sometimes neither.  But... working on finding what works!

Our city / county recorded a record high amount of rainfall Wednesday overnight into Thursday.  This photo is from the runoff ditch at the park entrance about a block and a half from my house.

Thankfully, the inside of the house, basement level included, stayed dry.  Some parts of the city were cut off or underwater.  Low-lying areas, of course.  My daughter in law messaged the family group that two of her coworkers had water get into their automobiles where they lived.  Yikes!

The good news is that we are up for several dryer days now.  Friday morning dawned colder than it has been in a while:  47℉ when I got up.  That getting up was early and rushed, because Ember was whining in her crate and escalated to a bark before I even got dressed.

I hurried a bit and went downstairs in bare feet, carrying my socks and shoes, and let her out, thinking she'd head straight for the outside door.  Nope!  She focused on that rolled up pair of socks in my hand and swiped them from me!

Thankfully, this was a pair that was several years old, wearing thin, and I had already been debating with myself whether to pitch them or not.  "Decluttering by dog" quipped my sister in our early morning text exchange (you know the one, the "are we both still breathing" check-in).

In any case, this started off my day differently from what I envisioned, and now I have some catching up to do!  I'm off to feed the cat (belated), take a shower, etc.

Hope you all have a good weekend and week ahead!

Life's good, even when unexpected things happen!  Spark on!

Another week in Emberville

 

Would you believe I bought that turquoise cow for her two years ago in August, when she was spayed and needed new toys?  It's still surviving, it even still squeaks!

I washed it with a few of her other toys last week.  After they dried, I put them in the basement crate.  Ember has this habit of not wanting to play fetch, but if later she finds the ball while going about her business outside, she'll bring it up to the deck or inside.  This extended to the toys in the basement crate... one by one, she's been bringing them upstairs and playing with them, as though they were "new".

Both Monday and Wednesday were rainy days when we had to juggle the walk schedule.  Ember did OK with it, but she has expectations!

Friday is predicted to hit 90℉.  I overslept!  I was kind of hurried getting down to the pets.  Ember and I went walking early, so as to avoid the heat to come.  It's mid-September and we're still going to have one last day of HEAT.  

The amusing part of Friday morning's walk is that Ember walked right by on the sidewalk today, at the house where they added a new half-buried skeleton to the two upright standing ones this year.  Twice since they put it up, she took me to the opposite side of the street.  This morning, we were OK if a little skittish right on the sidewalk next to it.

On the decluttering front, I had a couple of "easy" 15-minute sessions, with the file cabinet drawers, the bedding tubs, and deciding on a storage strategy for the master bedroom bathroom.  At this point, I would say about half of the master bedroom is in "beta test" mode.  The challenge will be if it fits into my normal routine, or if my normal routine works out a way for this tidier look to function and not accumulate piles again.  The next prescription run, the next day when I'm too exhausted to sort the junk mail or statements to be filed, etc. will be the real test.

That's it!  A calm and quiet, and mostly rainy week, in the books.  Here's hoping your lives are giving you some peace, amid whatever is going on in them!

Life is good.  Spark on!

I suppose I ought to put one up on BlogSpot...

 

After all, it is Friday!  But first, check to make sure your socks are on the correct feet.  See, this one sock company that I ordered from online actually labels them L and R... and yesterday... those are my feet, with them in the other left, and the other right foot!  I wasn't paying attention when I put them on, obviously, and didn't notice until I came upstairs to change, and took the shoes off.  No wonder I felt a little "off".

SparkPeople stuff:

I have really been getting into SparkPeople 2.0.  I joined over there when I got hold of an invitation, at the beginning of August, calling myself OKM. I found yesterday that I could edit it, so now I can be found either under the old "OneKidsMom" Spark name, or under the shortened OKM.

They have started up the first "Healthy Weight" class, limiting it to 200 members per class, and that's pretty much taken up my time.  I figured out how to insert a link into my blogs over there.  So guess what?  I am able to take those blogs that I put into my two Spark archive blogs over here and link them into new entries over there.  I did NOT waste that month saving the old, prized blogs after all.

If anybody over here wants to meander down memory lane and NOT get into the whole Spark 2.0 thing, you can find those right here on BlogSpot:  OKM's Spark archives, and Encouraging Words from OneKidsMom.  Warning:  they are works in progress, what I saved in 2021, plus selected ones that I am starting to convert now from PDF files, simply because the conversation in class made some relevant that I had not got to when I abandoned the project after Spark went dark.

Now for the non-Spark stuff, that some of you really read these for:

I left off with Sunday's birthday party.  Monday, Wednesday, and today featured the usual dog walks with Ember.  

On Monday we explored a couple of blocks that we don't usually go down, so new smells to smell.  Also new dogs to us, being walked.  I do enjoy the body language of dog walkers, the respect for the needs of others who are working with their furry friends on the skills of living in the suburbs.

On Wednesday, Ember went into full Retriever mode when she discovered a prize.  Someone had left a chunk of bread, say maybe Texas toast sized, at the foot of a tree.  I'm thinking they might have been feeding the local wildlife.  Ember, however, claimed it as her own, and immediately reversed our walking course, skipping the usual loop around to take me directly home.  Once home, she devoured the bread.  I've been watching for output since, but it does not appear to have harmed her.

Friday morning, we encountered a lady who had been walking our loop in the opposite direction as us.  She is a regular at about the time we go (between 7 and 8, usually).  We pass one another twice, as we walk in a big loop, staying on opposite sides of the street.  This time she asked if Ember could have a treat.  I warned her about the dog liking to jump up, but Ember was sitting prettily at that point, so I told Ember to keep her feet down, and Dee (the woman) gave her the treat.  After which, Ember rewarded her with a jump to her chest and an offered "doggie kiss".  Sorry about that, Dee, we're still working on manners!  The humans introduced themselves, and we parted with a friendly, "see you around".  Ember has filed another human in her collection of soft touches, I'm sure.

Tuesday and Thursday Ember went to her usual day care and I worked on the usual collection of household chores.  We are settling into a routine, and we're in that time of year where at the moment the weather is cool in the morning and hot but not beastly in the afternoon.  Enjoying it while we can!

Life is good.  Keep Sparking!  (On or off the Spark website).

I am not political but...

 

I have always been impressed with candidates for office that knock on doors for themselves.  This young man (if I can call him that, he has three children and is a neurosurgeon) is running for Board of Regents of our University.  I saw him going down the street on Sunday while I was coming to the end of Ember's walk.  Later he knocked at my door, and I clipped Ember's leash on to answer.  

We chatted for a bit about education, and I did something I seldom do... I gave him permission to place a yard sign, and I took his picture with his five-year-old with the sign.

Ember, by the way, took me for over two miles on the leash Sunday.  No bunnies.  No eating of other animals' poo.  And no stray human food, either.  So I have to call that a good outing!

On Monday, Ember got a treat in the afternoon.  The mowers came early, on a non-daycare day!  So she got to go outside onto the deck, and outside onto the front porch, in order to see them do their thing.  She looked so happy!

Overnight Monday, we had another of those sleep-interrupting storms roll through.  Ember got me up with her barking, twice!  My watch declared I got under 4 hours of sleep, because I essentially gave up and got up, laid on the couch and maybe got a few more minutes.

Tuesday morning I did a little catch-up nap after taking Ember to her daycare.  I needed that!

I did a short strength training session Tuesday afternoon.  I haven't been back to the personal trainer since April, so these short sessions are my way of easing back in to something I know is good for me.  

Got good, solid sleep overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday!  Yay!  Wednesday morning dog-walk resulted in 3 encounters with "other animal's poo"... and she left them alone!  Hu-Mom was so happy!

The rest of the week got swallowed by the black hole of SparkPeople!  Seriously, the first class of "Healthy Weight" which promises a maintenance piece, is here.  It's lecture hall sized, he's allowing 200 members per class.  Which is a bit more than most of us have as social limits for close friends, for sure.  But there's an energy of working toward a common goal.

It's Saturday as I wrap up to post.  Ember and I have been out on a 2 mile walk already, with puddles on the ground from the rain that came through in the 4 a.m. hour.  

This felt good, because Friday morning's walk was a mom-frazzling one, while she stopped in the middle of the street to lap at something edible that had been discarded (or dropped by the garbage truck going by) and smashed by being run over by vehicles, but it still smelled good to Ember!  I was directing traffic in the street and apologizing to drivers who were face it, amazingly patient with us.  One guy rolled down his window to joke, "When you need a break, you need a break!"  Even the giant garbage truck waited for me to get her back to the sidewalk.  I do hope it made them smile and nobody was late to where they were going.  I mean, I prefer to "be a good human" and I tell Ember all the time that her job is to help mommy be a good human!

Life is good!  Spark on!

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!

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!

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!

Into July!

 Saturday, June 27, 2026

It's a week 'til The Fourth of July, which down here in the USA means there are crazies willing to set off fireworks.  I've been hearing them for three or four nights already, even though they are not legal in town except on the 3rd and 4th.  This is a problem for some folks with pets.  My grand-dog Carl gets calming meds.  Ember has yet to have a prolonged issue with them, but I did notice last year that if we were walking along and one went off within 50 feet or so of us, she would startle.  Fortunately, she recovers well, especially if I'm on the other end of the leash.

Saturday was the last day of "seasonal" temperatures, with a high of 81℉.  I was surprised to find the new deck wet when I got up.  It was the 60's in the morning.  I delayed taking Ember for a walk, and she went down for a nap a little after 8.  Yay!  In time for me to make it to Tai Chi in the Park class.  My friend Kim came as well.

After I came home, I made my own breakfast, and then Ember and I went out for our "pack migration" (as one YouTuber calls your daily walk with the dogs).  Seems kind of silly to call us a pack when we are only two!  It wasn't yet hot, but it was humid.  I pretty much let her nose and eyes guide our path.  By now, at two and a half, she has developed pretty solid habits to stay on the other side of the street when other dogs are walking.  I feel so lucky that even if other dogs strain and bark, she stays quiet.  Alert, but quiet.

This morning, as we were walking by a house with a couple of U-Hauls in front of it, a little Boston Terrier was off leash and decided she needed to come out to greet.  Ember was a bit startled, but both dogs gave a play bow, and I think they probably would have played nicely, were it not for one being on leash and the other off.  Ember was still tied to me.  

As the other dog's owner hollered at his dog to get back, Ember got scared, but she did not pull me off my feet.  It was a little exciting for a while, but the gent spoke gently to Ember, and apologized to me for his dog, but "no harm no foul" all animals and humans stayed safe.  Ember was a little more nervous for the next couple of blocks and looked to me for reassurance, and we proceeded to home.

Ember napped well after her walk, and that gave me a chance to shower and nap myself.  Ahhh!

Sunday, June 28th

The coolest hour of the morning, 6 to 7 a.m.  There was a nice breeze on the deck.  Ember and I lounged out there until 7, then did our usual poo patrol.  I took advantage of the early morning for a quick grocery stop, windows down, before going through the coffee drive-thru for my London fog and Ember's Milkbone.

She was napping in her crate by 8 a.m., leaving me with the puzzle of whether it will be "less hot" enough for a walk when she gets up.  Also hanging on to the anticipation of truly hot weather in the afternoon.  We may drop back to a plan B to keep the pup cool.

I have introduced a silk cooling mat, but it has tags on it that are just a HUGE temptation to chew on.  I will lay it down, do a little "go to mat" training, then take it away when she starts chewing.  Eventually she'll get the message.  Sunday morning, she looked longingly at the shelf I had placed it on and gave a little whine.  I misinterpreted it as a request for brushing, so brushed her.  But then I realized what she was really asking for.  We did a short training session with the mat, then put it up again.

It got hot in a hurry, topping out about 96℉.  Ember was awake at game time, so I didn't go to FGC's baseball game.  Instead Ember and I went for a DQ baby cone to split.

Monday June 29th

We went for our walk at 6:30 a.m.  It was already 78℉!  We have two more over 90 highs before it drops back to the 80's.  We took it easy.  Ember showed little interest in playing outside.  Very short trips out for "the necessary".

Tuesday, June 30th

Month's end.  Ember was dropped at day care and I chatted with the groom room about her irritation under her front legs, so an allergy bath became part of her spa day.  It's funny this time of year, as the hair on her underside seems to thin out more than on her back and sides, and she looks positively bald in spots.

Dog laundry day, vacuum out the x-pen day, and since it was a hot day, "take it easy" again.

Happy Canada Day!  Wednesday July 1st

We're still in the middle of the hot weather, welcoming in a new month.  I remembered my rabbits and also that our neighbors to the North celebrate their nation's birthday today.

Ember and I got out at 7:20 a.m. and it was warm and humid.  Not as hot as it gets in the afternoon, of course, which is why we walk in the early hours.

We were not alone.  We saw Ember's friends and their humans out making the rounds as well.  At one point a lady was coming out to work on her decorative plantings and we paused to chat.  Ember seems very cool when we do this.  She went into her pretty polite sit, and she laid down, tail awhirl, wanting to greet.  The neighbor stayed back a ways as I warned her of the pup's tendency to want to jump up.  But Ember stayed contained.  I worried she was going to eat the pompoms off the gal's slippers, so I kept a short leash going.

After she went down for her puppy crate nap (rituals are wonderful), I texted my older sister who has our youngest sister staying with for a couple of days. I headed over to have a sister gabfest.

Now we are all three up to date on each other's medical history (welcome to old-er age, folks).  Gee, those ladies look like they just might be related!

Yes, those of you who notice there's a sister missing?  She was at work.  

Life continues to be good.  Spark on!

The Prisoner is getting old

 Tuesday June 23, 2026

The Prisoner spent most of Tuesday ruling the roost, but I'm starting to notice his aging.  He seems a little more elderly to my eyes.  It reminds me of the last few months of Rubia's life.  I'm trying to baby him a lot, but it has me pondering in my heart how much longer he'll be with me.

He has adjusted to the narrower rail atop the fence.  Today I showed him how nice and broad the drink rail is, and he navigated that OK.

I really had to smile that he chose "under the couch" as a hiding place.  Not a good idea, bub.  That's where Ember likes to den.

No hiding from that nose, kitty.  When Ember came home, The Prisoner opted to stay outside.

Wednesday the 24th, a Mommy and Me day

We are still in a "nice weather" pattern.  It is humid even in the cool of the morning.  Mommy opted to declare the "pack migration" at 7:15 a.m.

Ember took us through some different parts of the neighborhood, taking us a total of 2.04 miles.  During this walk she got to touch noses with Bella, the older white lab, and she was a good girl and kept her paws down while greeting Bill, a guy I used to work with.  Bill was out walking, and Ember knows him from several past meetings, dating back to when we measured her age in weeks.

However, she also found a patch or two that her instincts demanded she drop and roll to wear its disguising (and to humans maybe disgusting?) scent.

When we got home, we took Dexter (the car) for a drink of gasoline.  Still expensive.  Nearly 7 gallons, over $25.  We added a coffee drive-thru where Mom got her London Fog and Ember got a Milkbone.

Feeling nicely content, Ember settled for a nap in the crate and Mommy took a refreshing shower and wrote this day's entry.

Thursday the 25th

Ember dropped at day care at the usual time.  As it turned out, her vet office has the remaining bird specialist in town, and one of my DIL's cockatiels had been poorly for a week or so, and she brought him in for the vet to check out at the same time.  I sat with her and "mouse in the corner" watched what kind of questions the vet tech asked about a bird. DIL gave informed answers.  She's been around birds from childhood up; her dad is a birdman, never without some avian companion(s) in the house.

The rest of the day was full of human stuff.  I washed bed linens, put away winter/fall/spring covers, stopped at the library to swap out books, and changed burnt out lightbulbs.  All the minutia of life, huh?  The lumber company truck came by and removed the leftovers from the deck construction from the driveway.

Ember came home to a "normal" evening routine.  

I'm noticing that there are fireworks being set off already, and it's more than a week before the 4th of July.  My son's dog Carl is already on his calming meds.  Ember, thank goodness, is pretty OK with distant booms; the ones that are within 50 feet or so will startle her, but she recovers pretty quickly.

Friday the 26th

Now we have a stretch of four days of just us ahead.  Ember took me out for a 1.7-mile neighborhood walk. She navigated well, greeting one gent who was very cooperative about helping her "be good" and keep her paws down.  We did a pretty polite sit to allow other dogs and people walk by on the other side, and we walked on, giving them their space.  

When we got home, Dexter (the car) took us to pick up some of her Wild Salmon kibble with Ancient Grains (have I mentioned my dog is a pampered Diva?).  This is one where she's allowed in the store on leash, and she behaved well, sitting and waiting for the clerk to hand her a treat when it was our turn to pay.  After sniffing the truck parked next to us, she loaded up, and home we came.

In short, life has returned to normal.  The deck is fresh and new, but its footprint is the same, and both animals have figured out it can be used to maintain safety and interest in the same way the old one was.

Life is good.

Keep on Sparking!