Sunday, August 24, 2008

Dog Days of Summer



Morning was a little rough. After yesterday, paul and I wanted a lie-in. but at 9 AM we both got woken by a face-licking from Jojo, our sweet Shih-Tzu. Or so he usually is. Paul was still sleeping, so I thought I would be nice and get up to take Jojo out for a quick whizz. You have to put a harness on him in the morning because he always thinks that he is going on an hour walk with Paul. So I put his harness on but don't attach the top clip as I was half asleep. I didn't dress to be out further than my own yard, in a baseball cap, in sandals. I expected him to do his thing in my yard and be done with it. But Jojo had other ideas. He headed for the fire hydrant at the end of our drive. He tugged on the leash and the harness velcro came undone. The rest of the harness just slipped off him because the little pup is so skinny. Jojo was determined and took off for the top of the street. I kept calling after him in my "you are in trouble" voice. He would stop, look at me, then run on. This game went on all the way to the lake. The only reason I caught him was because he stopped to do some longer business. I was livid and scared and pissed off at him. The whole way home, I kept him on a short leash, but did not yell. My body language told him enough. When I got home, I crawled back into bed with Paul and cried until I had migraine. Then I slept until noon.

The rest of the day was normal for a lazy Sunday. I rp-ed with Elizabeth, ran Paul to Wal-mart for a short shop, ate a lovely dinner Paul made, and did the dishes. I'm not ready to go back to work, but I know I have to. I really need a break - I can't wait for Labor Day!!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A few days - not bad!

Again I neglect the blog. :( I'm not so good at this you will find.

But today have something to blog about. Just got back from the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville. We left at the break of dawn (literally). Paul had taken Jojo for a quick 20 minute walk, and by then I had put a cooler in the car and gotten ready. Jojo was great going into his crate (each time is better) and we were off.

One stop at Meijer later, we were sporting down I-71 to Louisville. We had one stop in the two hour trip for breakfast (Paul at Burger King and I at McD's). We arrived a little late at the fair, only to find out at the gate that they take only cash for admission!!! What a backward state!!! We turned around, found a gas station, and got money out. Then we headed back and were admitted. Parking was a distance from the buildings, but we didn't have much choice. We walked all the way up to the building before Paul remembered he had left his wallet behind (which had all of the money in it). So he walked back to retreive it.

Finally inside, we checked out two competitions during the World Class Champion Horse Show: Throughbred driving division, and juniors throughbred. I loved the juniors - all the riders were between 14-17 years of age. And all excellent riders. Paul had a bit of fun, but I could tell it wasn't really for him.

So we headed off for more exhibits. We saw some girls in a tap competition, went around the flea-market-type South Wing, stopped to eat (Paul had BBQ pulled pork, I had a pretzel), and then headed on to look at the hobby displays. We noted in photography that anything patriotic seemed to win or at least get honorable mention. And we saw in all the art at least 4 Obama's (including one in blue!) .

Then we stopped again near the horse show to watch the horses parade in. It was great to see that world again - when I was young I used to ride. I love nothing better than the smell of a horse barn... most people think it stinks - but not for me. It's like a lovely memory come back to me. We headed off to the West Wing where all the cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were housed. We even got to see the miniture horses lining up for competition. One of them tried to nibble my shirt while Paul took the picture.

We headed outside, for a long walk around Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (attached to the fair grounds) and a few moments on the midway. We didn't ride anything, just checked it out. I noticed my fist felt tight, and realized my fingers were swelling. Panicking, I took off my wedding rings and placed them in my wallet. We sat down after a quick jaunt around the baked goods, dairy, and tobacco products. Paul's reaction to the tobacco display was interesting to say the least...

Finally, we were finished and we headed home. We stopped in Florence to have Steak & Shake dinner. And then we headed home to our VERY VERY good puppy Jojo, who my mum had stayed with for 3 hours until we got home. Apparently he barely whined - a first!!!!

We had a great time!


















Sunday, August 17, 2008

Back in the saddle again...

Well, three years huh? I was never a good blogger, but that's bleedin' impressive. I wish I could be more like Sair - her blogs are always interesting, long and honest.

Oh well, guess I'll just have to be my failure self.

Let's see, updates:
1) Am married not nearly 4 months to my soul mate, Paul Wharton (who is sleeping upstairs)
2) Have an adorable dog (see side bar) named Jojo. He is the baby we have yet to have
3) Bought and moved into a landominium that we all three adore. It is close enough to my parents that I don't feel guilty, but far enough away that I don't see them all the time
4) Was promoted to Media Fulfillment Manager at work
5) Dad has had a knee and shoulder replaced, and is having another shoulder done in September
6) Mum had a bout with uterine cancer and had surgery to remove it
7) Paul's mum passed away last October

There it is - three years in the making.

As for today, sitting in the basement of my home because my laptop crashed last week and now we can't get the wireless working. So I've set up shop here. Actually it is really nice because I love the dark when on the computer. I have to wear glasses at work because I have a refractorary error in one eye that makes it hard for me to read the computer screen under the flourescent lights. At home - no lights equals happy girl!

I'm about to go off to reply to some role-playing threads (I'm an addict) and send a few early birthday cards to Alan in Liverpool... his birthday is Tuesday. I will try to write here regularly if I can. :)