Baxter had a traumatic week. First on Wednesday I took him for his annual check up which is never a lot of fun for either of us. I made a 10AM appointment which did me little good as I had to wait until 10:50 to be called back. Squirming all the while during the blood drawing, another tech had to hold him still to get his shots. Eventually the vet arrived giving him two vaccines. He pronounced him stubborn, nothing we didn't already know. One good thing, Mr. Baxter now weighs in at under 12 pounds and not because of exercise. I've tried my best to get him to like taking a walk but it is a no-go. Occasionally he'll do it but lots of the time he plants himself and only with strong tugging can you get him to get moving. The vet said just let him run around the yard. Good thing. You may recall that during his neutering things went terribly wrong and ever since visiting the vet is not among his favorite things to do.
Secondly he's getting weird about getting his grooming. When Alissa did it two weeks ago she had a trainee with her. I'm never in favor of having someone else cut his hair but I understand the need for hands on training. Anyway for whatever reason she did not cut his hair short enough on the face. This afternoon she came to rectify that. When she came in the door he shot down the hallway, hiding under our bed. She got on one side, me on the other and when he was trying to get away from her, he scooted just close enough for me to grab his harness. Once in her arms he was fine and now will be able to see great for at least a month.
I'd been in the pool until the storms arrived and was just finishing showering when Allisa arrived. While she was doing her thing, I got dressed in one of my favorite green shirts and shorts. I began to make some corn chowder and while the vegetables were cooking in the bacon drippings I somehow let the large spoon topple out of the pot with both veggies and oil onto the floor. And here is where having a dog comes in handy--swooping in immediately, he realized it was way too hot, however, the minute it cooled down a bit, he was lapping up the mess. It's just a shame he can't do a thing for my clothes which got a good dose of the spatters. I'm not sure it was worth the $200 vet bill but it was good nonetheless.
Here is the sole survivor from my gardening attempts. Note basil in foreground.
Speaking of spatters, Bruce had a dreadful occurrence last Sunday. Yikes, what a mess it must have been. I was doing my market thing, albeit it slow as molasses, when Bruce decided that he would touch up some paint in the sunroom. He got down the can, stirred and stirred, and went from the garage, through the dining area and into the sunroom before he noticed that the bottom of the can was leaking like a sieve. He estimates that at least a half gallon of paint left a trail on the carpet and Mexican pavers. Fortunately it was white. Can you imagine how discouraging that was? He spent hours trying to get it cleaned up. The carpet is a bit stiff but so far so good.
Often when I'm driving I see things beside the road which amuse me--here's an example of one such sighting outside a second hand store:
All I have to say is that the Magic game was painful to behold; I know they are a much better team than that.
Currently I'm reading a novel, Hold Love Strong, set in the projects. Although Queens is the geographical location,I imagine it probably could be any large city with basketball playing a major role in the young hero's life. The writing is very strong with the opening chapter about a 13 year old giving birth in her family's apartment. How's that for a beginning? Things don't improve much as time marches on.
According to the paper today the storm I mentioned yesterday dropped 3 1/2 of rain in about two hours, not to mention winds of 38mph. This morning I filled a garbage can full of tree debris. Our beautiful trees provide wonderful shade from the searing Florida sun, but as you now know, plenty of work for me what with the pool and the corner lot. That's life for you--you've got to take the good with the bad.
Bruce just called and I'm hoping he'll be arriving home much earlier than usual so we can take a nice little bike ride. Following the afternoon thunderstorms, the sun is once again shining.
I think I'll pack my car for tomorrow now all the while knowing I could get rained out both days. Oh well, hope springs eternal in this breast.
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Listening to: The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand
via FoxyTunes
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