Tag Archives: pets

Weekend Coffee Share 8/20/16

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If we were having coffee… well, we wouldn’t be. Not yet. It’s barely light outside. I’m dog-sitting for my daughter and her sweet Bella seems to think my wake up time should be 3:00 a.m. It’s not.

Nonetheless, I gave up at 5 a.m. and here I sit, eyes half-mast, cold brew coffee not sitting well in my empty stomach, and plotting a very early nap. Like maybe as soon as I get the dogs fed.

I could go out in search of those golden hour photo ops I wrote about yesterday, but the morning sky is hazy today, and the only thing golden I see out the window is my parched lawn. I guess it’s more of a dark straw color, but “golden” makes it sound much more appealing. And almost intentional.

The postal delivery guy accidentally stuck my neighbor’s water bill in my mail box the other day, and when I took the bill over to the neighbor I joked that I guess I could have paid it for him. His response was, “You wouldn’t want to, I’ve been watering my lawn so much this month.”

Hmmm. Did I detect an unspoken “…and so should you,” clause at the end of that remark? Nah. My dead lawn just helps make his look that much greener. I’m actually doing him a favor. Maybe he should be paying my water bill.

It’s getting light outside now. I’d better go feed the dogs. Then I can take my nap. Who cares that it’s only 6:30 in the morning? Not I.

#WeekendCoffeeShare is hosted by Diana at Parttimemonsterblog.com.

Rare Gold: Early Morning Light

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Shortly after obtaining my puppy Chules, we began training. Chules  is an America Eskimo dog, which is a breed known for ease of training, so I was eager to get started. True to his breed, things moved along quickly.

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The first thing Chules trained me in was the absolute necessity of rising early in the morning and heading out for a daily walk before we did anything else. Anything. Like coffee, breakfast, waking up…

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The reward in learning this trick was that I was often out and about during the morning “golden hour,” when lighting is said to be ideal for outdoor photography. Not that I really knew how to capitalize on the opportunity, but I did get some photos during our walks that I was rather pleased with.

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Now that Chules is older, training is less intense, and we sleep in a bit longer. I rarely catch the golden hour anymore, and a part of me misses it. But not the part of me that likes to drink coffee and have an unrushed breakfast in the morning.

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That part of me continues to defy training. As does Chules. I don’t mind, though, because to me, Chules is more precious than gold.

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The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Rare

Weekend Coffee Share 6/25/16

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If we were having coffee, I would tell you to watch your step as we made our way through the house to the back deck. I’ve got a dozen different projects going and it’s an obstacle course in here right now.

One new endeavor – which has the kitchen looking like a disaster area – is that I’m trying out home cooking for my dog Chules. After his illness, he absolutely refused to go back on his regular kibble when I tried to wean him off the special diet the vet had recommended. Since I rarely even cook for myself, this experiment may not last long. We’ll see.

I’ve also been “helping” my daughter with figuring out how to get my two-year-old granddaughter to stop turning nap- and bedtimes into a battle of the wills. The great thing about grandparenting is that I can toss out all sorts of advice/ideas/wisdom without having to face any consequences if my suggestions don’t work.

Last night, my daughter (let’s call her “D” and my granddaughter “G” for privacy’s sake) and I were texting back and forth about the situation. Our conversation went something like this:

D: Did you have problems like this?!

Me: It’s not a problem. It’s a challenge 😀

D (tries to reach through the phone to smack me for my flippancy)

Me: G has a good imagination. Use it to your advantage. Make it fun to take a nap. If you give her imagination something to chew on she’ll forget about thinking up excuses for getting out of bed. Pretend to zip her into an imaginary sleep bubble or something…

******* [Long time passes.] *******

D: Just tried that. She’s been up three times since. I “put her in a bubble” to have dreams of us snuggling her. She gave me the bubble back, wanted to put it in her play teepee, and wanted to pop it.

Okay, so maybe that one wasn’t a great idea. Apparently G has an even greater imagination than I gave her credit for. I suggested my daughter put G in an imaginary pair of cement shoes, but it’s hard telling what G would do with that one.

Anyway, I had a good night’s sleep. I’m kind of afraid to call my daughter to see how the rest of her evening panned out. Maybe I should be serving her the coffee this morning. She might benefit from a “caffeine bubble” today.

I hope your weekend goes well. And don’t let anyone burst your bubble.

Thank you to Diana at  Part-time Monster Blog for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.

Dog’s Best Friend

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“Are you sure, brown dog? Bark if I see ANYTHING at all on the street, and twice as loud if I see NOTHING at all?”

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“Hmmm. Fruity, black currant, vanilla, buttery… I’d say cab-sauvignon aged in oak.”
“I’d say cherry Pop Tart.”

 

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Synchronized Sleeping

The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Partners

 

Weekend Coffee Share 6/4/16

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If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am worried about my dog. He hasn’t been well the past few days; lethargic, eating grass (to ease his tummy, I think), and vomiting his food on a few occasions.

Okay, maybe that’s not suitable conversation over coffee. But it’s what’s on my mind.

I grew up in an environment where cats and dogs were primarily consigned to the outdoors. Cats were mousers and dogs were watchdogs. I didn’t understand people’s close relationships with their pets. Something happens to your dog or cat? Okay, feel bad, but then get over it. It’s not like it’s your child or something.

Now I realize that any relationship we hold is a valuable part of who we are. Of course I care more about my children than I do my pets – and I certainly hope all parents would feel that way – but that doesn’t alter the relationship I have with my pets.

You know that phrase “it’s all relative”… not true, in my opinion. If something happens to your pet, if a baby bird falls out of its nest, if the centuries-old tree down the block is cut down… it can all matter to you, if you are in relationship with it.

So baby birds fall out of nests all the time. It’s part of nature. And it’s not like an endangered silverback gorilla being shot and killed in a zoo (which happened in Cincinnati this week). No, it’s not the same. But it’s also not relative. I can care about both.

I can care a heck of a lot more about the gorilla than the bird. And I can care a heck of a lot more about the safety of the boy who was believed to be in danger in the gorilla enclosure. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about a bird.

Caring about a bird or a pet does not take away from caring about any other living being. I can hug a tree and still care very, very much about world hunger and poverty and child abuse and war.

We obviously have priorities, and appropriately so. It’s all interrelated, but it’s not all relative.

Dang, here I go off on another rant during our coffee date. You’re going to dread coming over. I’ll stop now.

It’s supposed to get up to 100 degrees (F) today, something we’re not accustomed to here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m going to keep an eye on my listless little guy, and try to keep us both cool. I’ve got lots of yard work to do, but I’ll work on indoor projects and stay out of the heat as best I can.

I hope your weekend goes well. Thanks for stopping by.

Thank you Diana at PartTimeMonster.com for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.