Rhodesian Ridgeback, a brace of terriers, and a Lab

   This morning's walk was pretty crowded, with all three of the boys along. What remains of the snow is icy in spots, which made for interesting terrain. It was sunny, though, and after awhile I had to take off my jacket. We ran into three dogs at the head of the trail, near the road; the Rhodesian Ridgeback was nice, but the terriers--leashed--were a bit hostile. We made the full circuit, in under an hour, and met a nice black Lab on the way back, with a teenager and a middle-aged woman who was probably his mom.

  At home it was time to work on food. We were committed to contributing rolls and some veggies to Syd and Ralph's Thanksgiving dinner; Mom made rolls while I cut green beans and Philip baked squash. At noon we went over with the food, that being the opening of the house. It was really nice to see the Seamans again. Isaac and Sydney appeared eventually, and the goofing off began right there. My feet are sore. X_X The food was good, though. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (not as good as Mom's), salad, and various pies. Various nice relatives. Mom and Philip had a nice chat with a well-turned-out blonde with nice cheekbones. Helen from southern Colorado may have been Isaac's grandma. I'm none too clear on various relationships. Oh and Dylan was there. The hair is no longer purple, but the front is blonde. He enjoyed New Moon. I'd actually been wondering if he was into Twilight, and there you go. Oh, well. Apparently Bella's with the werewolf in this one. I'd no idea there was anything approaching a love triangle. Interesting.

   The rest of the day was spent with a food-and-exercise hangover. Read some Campion. We watched Men in Black after the football game, which I tried to sleep through. Oh, and there was an ep of Hogan's Heroes on TV before Phil started trying to watch the game. In the end he gave up, and they listened to it on the radio while playing Monopoly. By that time I had a headache, though, and nobody tried to get me to play.

Home again

Watched The Pelican Brief last night. It was really good--I'd like to watch it again. Oh, and another ep of Castle--jewel thefts/poker pride.

Spent the morning packing. I was mostly packed already, from last week's aborted departure, but there were still a number of things, plus the car to load. And I ended up forgetting my mudboots and bomber jacket. Gah.

It was a fairly short trip, subjectively speaking. We listened to The Forever War and various music off the iPhone, alternatively. Didn't finish the book. Owen called a number of times, interrupting whatever we were listening to. I was supposed to call him when we got into Nebraska, but I never got around to it. We'd been in-state for quite awhile, and were sitting waiting for direction at a construction zone, when I rolled down the window, inhaling the warm, humid air, and suddenly felt that I was home. It was a good feeling.

I think all the boys have grown. I know all the sheep have, even the previously underfed ewes; the lambs are enormous. The garden is a jungle and the melon patch overflowing.

Golden Retriever, sheltie

Had to get up and get moving, because Philip had assigned housework before the bridge ladies came. I'd vacuumed upstairs and was starting on the bathroom when Stephanie appeared unexpectedly. By the time I was waiting for Syd to come for the lark, Lee was here too--albeit expected. 

It was a pretty good walk. We ran first of all into Jackson and his lady, followed shortly by the woman I'd met just before the second snake; she was accompanied by a man who might have been her husband. The next meeting was under the trees; a(n older) teenager with his sheltie stopped to engage in wary conversation with Lark. After that it was just us. When we got home I came over to Syd's to get some library books; I'd given them to her to take back, but as Philip was retreating into town while the bridge group was here, I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the library. Syd and I decided I might as well take the books back while I was at it. While I was there Syd had a video for me to watch, and then I showed her and Ralph the wedding video. They were pretty appreciative. Then Phil called and said we were leaving in ten minutes. I came home to find him sitting outside.

The library was pretty busy. Beguilement is still not available at East branch, so I found another Loretta Chase and sat down. It wasn't bad, but my favorite is still Mr. Impossible. I think I need to read more Carsington books, though--so far I've only seen two of the brothers catch it, and I know there are at least two more with their own books. Anyway, we ended up checking out and going home for lunch. (Philip had an Ian Banks.)

Larked after dinner. It was pretty cool out, and we weren't the only ones out. The Serious Discussion couple ran into us at the curve by the pond. Lark seemed unusually uncertain about greeting them, though. She was less uncertain about charging off into the scrub on the far side of the creek; there was one very impressive bound straight into the air at one point, as she tried to get a better look at her quarry. Unlike the doe earlier, this quarry turned around. The next I knew of it, Lark was charging out of the scrub, pursued by a coyote. It saw me and did an impressive about-face; Lark promptly did the same and started to chase it. I used the Voice. She came back, without having gotten very far. Possibly she is beginning to take coyotes seriously, although I somehow doubt it. Sigh. After that we didn't meet anyone until passing the couple on their way back, near the gate.

Watched Silence of the Lambs. I guess it was pretty good, but I don't deal with creeps very well.

Episode 6 of Castle: "Always Buy Retail." Mystery: occult. Personal: ex-wife trouble.

Golden Retriever, pughuahua?

Finished Three Came Home last night. Oops. Hadn't meant to do that. Oh well.....

Spent some time petting the cat, whose people should be returning today. Maybe I should call Brook and ask when.... 

Larked in good time, with the air still nice and cool. Met an elderly lady and her elderly Golden at the gate--Lark growled at him for coming too close to me.....this really is not good. Oh, and we saw a weasel; which is to say, Lark saw it and jumped, and then a couple seconds later I saw it about fifteen feet up a tree. Heh. It was a sort of reddish brown, with a pale grey underside. Yay new wildlife! Anyway, he looked pretty much like the top picture on this page. Although I have to say I don't think I've ever heard that version of "Pop! goes the weasel" before.....

Ah, and there was some sort of big truck, of the utilities variety, at the Heller Center. We were almost to the trail when he drove out, and I grabbed Lark's collar and got us there while the driver waited. Mm. Met another older lady out on the trail, then didn't see anyone until we got home. And we keep coming home when it's (objectively) still cool out, so no swamp cooler....

Quiet afternoon. Found an Ogden Nash collection and Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers, printed in 1879 but all the young ladies in the illustrations are wearing Regency styles. Also it vindicates my side of the argument about flower languages: Mom says authors just make it all up as they go, with which I disagree. And here's this. Muahaha.

Philip got in as I was getting the mail while hoping the rice would dry out a bit. Last night's was some of the worst fried rice I have ever produced. Sigh. We ate it, though. With watermelon afterwards. I was about to take Lark out afterwards when Syd got home and came over, with a couple of granddaughters in tow--I assume they'd come with their mother to get Syd and Ralph from the airport. Lark, who was already excited about going for a walk, absolutely exploded. It was like when you blow up a balloon and then let it loose to zip around. Lol. Oh, and I got paid.....too much, but I'm not going to complain.

After that we larked. Philip had a movie scheduled close to eight, but we had plenty of time--I think it was about seven when we got home. In the meantime, it began to rain lightly shortly after we got out. We met a couple people--more than on a hot day--a woman with a dog, which looked very much like a cross between a pug and a chihuahua. Lark was a bit aggressive--he yelped, I grabbed her, they departed, I gave her a talking-to. For all the difference it's likely to make. Geh. Later there was a young guy out jogging, too--pretty cute, in a bland kind of way. It rained the entire time we were out.

We got home and Philip told me I ad to be ready to go in fifteen minutes. We were going to see Moon, which was only showing downtown and therefore required time to get there. Philip, please note, got into the shower only after I got home, and could reasonably be expected to use the bathroom. I ended up getting dressed in the studio, as soon as he was firmly in the shower.

Moon is suspense and sci-fi, with some mystery and a bit of psychological, I guess. Not my thing on so many levels, but I suppose it was a good movie. Pretty open-ended, but at the same time it doesn't feel like the answers to those questions would really fit. He goes back to Earth, and that's it? Well, no, but that's a story for another day--maybe. For our imaginations, maybe.

We got home about ten, and Philip promptly hooked the laptop up to the TV for another episode of Castle. I think the plot was a bit better in this one; in the last one, with our mystery writer tagging along with the cop the entire point of the plot was that it be something a mystery writer could predict, and therefore, it follows, a reader too. At least if you've read as many of the greats as I have, the writers who created these plots and cliches. Anyway, episode 2 was a bit less predictable, and our novelist shines slightly less in the revelation of plot points; this one took him by surprise, too. We are, however, discovering more about our lovely cop, although I object rather to having it laid out clearly for more obtuse viewers on Castle's laptop, as it is likewise revealed about the character in his new series, the ostensible reason for his tagging along behind Beckett on her cases. Besides the Mayor's being a fan, anyway--the man has fans everywhere, and uses them to a disgusting but expediting degree.

Incline tomorrow--so not prepared in any way, shape, or form.....

B's birthday present came last night! She asked me what I wanted months ago, the last time I came over before coming out, and I told her I'd like Emmylou Harris CD's. This, of course, sent her off into a tangent about country music and singers, but she didn't forget. Last night, when I checked the mail, there was a parcel in the mailbox. She sent me the Warner|Reprise Years Anthology. I promptly sat down and wrote a thank-you note, stifling the instinct to send it to Mom first for inspection, and am now wondering if maybe she wouldn't appreciate a phone call more. Being B, she probably would. Sigh. Anyway, it was something nice to listen to as I lay awake until three a.m., trying to fall asleep. 

Larked about nine-thirty this morning, after letting Lee in. It wasn't too hot when we started, and there were a lot of people out. Actually there were only two groups and no solitaries (or dogs), but the first was some sort of tour group of at least half a dozen people. I disengaged as soon as possible. This took some jogging, since I had to get far enough that Lark wouldn't be constantly running over to visit. The second group was much smaller, and consisted of a couple and their grandsons, having a small Cheerio-based picnic in the creek bed, between the crossing of the wide trail and the tributary where the smaller trail joins it. Lark was delighted to make their acquaintance. 

About one-forty-five Jackie from JJ Caulking came. She had an appointment, to discuss painting the house with Grandma, but I think she was a little early. Anyway, she brought her granddaughter along: Patricia, very stylish in a cute kind of way, and thirteen, which I would never have guessed. She looked about my age. They were both on the short side, very dark, but Patricia was pretty quiet. We were kinda....."What do I say? What do I say?" There wasn't a whole lot of conversation on the couch. Fortunately Lark always gives me a method of ignoring awkwardness, by petting her, but......it's not ideal. It's still awkward. She just lets me pretend I don't care. Not. Ideal. Sigh.

Phil came in.....actually, I don't know when. Couple hours before dinner, I guess. Which we prepared jointly. Larked about seven; met those boys and their grandpa, with the addition of their dad, launching a raft on the pond back there.  It was a pretty good raft, actually.

Called B to thank her for the CD's. Now to get the letter mailed...

Watched The Devil Wears Prada. It was a lot better than I expected, and then some. Meryl Streep was awesome. Seriously, working under her would be worth it just for the education in verbal style. The character has a fantastically devastating way with words. If the author had as much a part in creating that character as Meryl Streep did, I am reading all her books. I mean, Miranda's the female edition of Havelock Vetinari!

Twenty pushups on easy. Got up to write it down, and Lark promptly lay down in the position best calculated to block situps, which were next. Did twenty-five, after she was moved.

Men in Black, with some spoilers

It's a very fun movie, with Will Smith in the starring role again. It's lighter than I, Robot, without the hints of philosophical contemplations. Basically it's action--comedy--sci-fi--Will Smith, as opposed to action--sci-fi--mystery--psychological--Will Smith. I do have to say, whoever was in charge of the aliens did a very good job. The designs were great. The ending was pretty good too, if somewhat regrettable. But hey, at least nobody died. There are worse things than knowing you'll never see him again because he quit his job and went and married the girl he was in love with thirty-five years ago.

I wonder what Philip thinks of the sequel(s?).

Black lab

Ran over to Sid's to look after Maddie as soon as I was dressed, then came back to walk the Lark. It was pretty hot, but nothing really interesting happened. We met a middle-aged man with a grizzled beard when we were almost to the gate, but otherwise there was nobody out. I wonder if it was the same man who was watching a deer that time? 

Phil and I got out to the grocery store about eleven-thirty. Did the shopping, came home for lunch, and then went out again. We went to REI to try on shoes; I found some hiking boots I liked (Philip paid--mostly) and Phil tried some sandals. I think he decided on that model, but to see if the flagship store in Golden has a better selection. They looked good, anyway.

It was raining when we got out of REI, and continued to rain as we drove down to the surplus store, where I got a boonie hat. It'll do. Next was Safeway, because Grandma said they have the best watermelons. Met a black lab on the sidewalk outside.

Philip's pretty well decided we're not going to the Mann's picnic, which, he says, has probably moved to the church with the rain. Phooey.  We had pork ribs for dinner, with watermelon salad and baked potatoes. It was really good. 

Maddie Madeline was ready to go out when I went over after dinner, but it was sopping outside and I've no confidence in my ability to get her in again. Besides that Lark was waiting for her walk, so I apologized and left. Lark and I went the usual way, by the signs the first people to do so since the rain. The creek was running fast, with an interesting detour into the path at the crossing. I think the detour sort of leaked off the main streambed in bits, and then merged in the scrub there to flow into the path a little above the crossing. It was fun to watch, at any rate. The weather was nice, we met no one but heard their firecrackers, and my new boots were satisfactory. It may be a while before I'm used to the weight of 'em, though.

Philip's planning on Men in Black tonight (it was going to be Independence Day, but I've seen it before) so I'd better save this now. I'll report on the movie in the morning, probably while Philip showers.

Fifteen of each after the movie. Getting easier, not that the bloody cheering section helped.

German Shepherd

Hm. Familiar setting, not sure about events. I just wish the people who graze the sheep would either not use electric fence, or develop a flippin' gate. My poor character has had a long not-just-a-day, and he just wants to lie down somewhere he can watch the sheep, and first he has to negotiate this death trap involving electric wires and panels. Did you know my body remembers those fences well enough to give me an identifiable shock in a dream? It was almost a relief when we went back to yetis in the shed and Gollum skittering away across the barn roof. Gollum was a lot more identifiable as such than the yeti, was, though--someone had to tell me what it was.

Lot to do this morning, so I'll get off now. Lee is here for Grandma; she told us that she can't discuss Grandma's medical care without Grandma's presence. Hippocratic Oath and Federal law. Feh. Have fun, Mom. We called while she was here, to, so Grandma could sit in, but Mom had gone to town. I think it was Peter who picked up; he sounded remarkably dead.

Went over to Sid's for directions on cat-sitting. She sent the milk-jug home with me, to be returned after we go shopping. Nice.

We larked a little before ten. It was over half-way through the walk when I realized it was humid. Hm. We didn't meet anyone, anyway. There were rabbit bits scattered around  under a pine: I looked up, and there were a few more bits of fur on the branch. Good hunting, Owl? 

Karen was here when we got back, doing the INR. I asked what microcoagulation was. Just what it says, apparently: tiny clotting. Oh well. Karen knows enough to explain terms, but not enough to explain how it works.

Discussed with Grandma the possibility of extending my stay through August. She says she likes the company but can do without me. Well, yes, but should she? And can I handle the extension? ......Probably.

Father Paul brought his wife; she's nice. I sat in on the chat (Nancy says I might try vet tech--interesting thought) until Father Paul asked if I wanted to take Communion with them. I explained that I wasn't communicant and retreated. Scary man..... well, sort of. At this rate, though, I predict at least one awkward moment per visit. Drat him.

Finished rereading Beauvallet. Note: ask Phil about Public Enemies, Moon, Walking with Dinosaurs (theatrical show--Denver) and a Colorado sightseeing roadtrip, recommended by the Rector and his wife.

Phil came in about four-thirty, while I was virtuously occupied with Mistress to an Age. I promptly abandoned it.

After dinner I ran across to Sid's, through a brightly dripping world, to give Maddie her teaspoon of cat food. She didn't show much interest in it, but concentrated on me. I didn't give her enough time to get actually friendly, though: I had a date with Phil.

Ben was hosting College Night for church. There weren't too many people there, but it was pretty lively. There was Ben, of course, and Tom, Keith, Sarah and Rachel DeBenedittis, Marcy, Josh and Elise Mann, and the Matt who's dating a DeBenedittis. I'm not sure which; there are two more, Abby and Liz. I checked my last bulletin for their spelling, but some lazy person abbreviated it to D. and I threw out my old bulletins a week ago. They help out a lot, with the nursery and stuff. I think he's dating Abby. Anyway, they're all pretty fun. I'm not too sure I want to spend much time with Josh, though: he is dangerous. The man is an expert at instant recognition and effective utilization of an opening. I don't know why Keith lives with the guy, because he, of course, is the main victim--although I have to admit, he doesn't make it very hard. Josh isn't the only person who can spot openings, either. Oh, well. Anyway, those two are going to Geneva College in Pennsylvania, and I think Rachel is too. Elise will be going to college, and Tom may have been there a decade or two ago. I think Ben's in college, I know Sarah isn't, and Marcy's a nurse. A Gainfully Employed Adult, in fact. They're pretty fun all together, anyway. Although any DeBenedittis is fun. They're nice. So, yeah. Period of general conversation accompanied by pop while Ben tries to order pizza on his laptop, period of everybody else eating while I wish I hadn't had dinner (not that it stopped Philip, of course), period of conversation while the eating slows down, period of prayer around the table (give the person on one side of you a prayer request and pray for the person on your other side--I had to ask Rachel for her name when it was my turn), then they got a game out. Apples to Apples is this game where everybody gets seven red cards with nouns and definitions on them. There's a deck of red cards and a deck of green cards, which have adjectives and synonyms on them. Someone draws a green card from that deck, reads it aloud, and everyone chooses a card from their hand that they think is best described by that adjective. The person who drew the green card picks the best card, and the person it belonged to gets the green card. Everybody draws a new red card from the deck to keep their numbers up, and the next person draws a green card. The first person to have, in this case, four cards (it's determined by the number of players) wins. It got pretty silly by the time Elise won. I had two greens, "graceful" and "funky", both won off Philip. Everybody made remarks about siblings--although, in my defense, he didn't know the cards were mine and I didn't lobby for them. I guess we just think alike. Incidentally, I got "graceful" with "violins" and "funky" with "John Philip Sousa." The game ended pretty late, and it was eleven when we got home. Philip, mind you, had said we'd probably be home by nine. No, really. He said that.

Fifteen pushups, fifteen situps, in sets of five, before showering.

The title is from the dog in the house we parked in front of. Good, deep voice--German Shepherd, on the other side of the screen door.

I, Robot

Really good. Cool, sympathetic protagonist, pretty girl, and uh, kinda lovable robot. Lots of character development between great action scenes. The fight on the superhighway was great: all the elements for a classic. The climax, too, if differently represented. I do think movie directors--or somebody, anyway--have a serious thing for dangling screaming little girls over abysses.  Seems to happen a lot. Anyway, full points, I'd say. Possibly with extra for not trying to fit romance in there. Sure, there's potential. But there's no room to deal with it. Could there be a sequel? Sure. But.....save it.

"Mostly poodle, if not all"

Mom and Phil and I watched WALL-E last night. It's a very good film. Where Up is a fun movie for the kids, WALL-E is that and more: a work of art. Philip would also like it noted that it's legitimate science fiction, but I don't think this makes much difference.

Mom left about nine or so. Mu.

Philip and I did the grocery shopping before lunch. We went to the bank first, and then had to find one of Colorado Springs' two B&Ns so I could use my 40% off coupon. I got the latest SB, not covered by the coupon, which (of course) has a cover of Kaname and Yuki; and volume 1 of Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, which was. It was that or volume one of "Maid-sama!", which is what Tokyopop titled Kaichou wa Maid-sama. Unfortunately it seems they got the license for it. Nooooooooooooooooo! And, on that note, Philip got an SAT prep handbook. It's like three  inches thick. Help........

Read my new manga until two, which is when Philip had committed me for walking the dog. It was cloudy, and warm enough for the sweater tied around my waist to be a nuisance. I kept track of Lark, and while she lacked yesterday's care to keep me in sight she did not stay back when I called. We met only one group, an older man out jogging with a miniature poodle (or mix.) They were nice. Otherwise there was no one--possibly because of the weather, which threatened more rain without the benefit of coolness. I was rather worried by my legs, which seemed.....I don't know. Jarred? I could feel the infrastructure, lower shins to ankles, and it was not happy. My left ankle was weak to limping by the time we were off the trail heading for the gate. Worrisome. 

Read Cetaganda until dinner.  Mom called right after dinner to say she'd gotten home about six, our time.

About seven-fifteen Grandma came into the studio to say there was a deer by the birdbath, if anyone was interested. Sure enough, a buck was stripping leaves from the tree there. He ate for a few minutes while I watched him, never quite spooking him as I shifted position. After a couple of minutes he walked down the meadow, grazing there while I took some pictures from the balcony. I was trying to get either him or a nice picture of the bright haziness of the mountains, but I don't know the camera well enough to get either. So I don't think I got any great pics. Sigh.

Finished Cetaganda, started Ethan of Athos. Bailed because I didn't feel like watching Ethan blunder around Kline Station just then. Started The Blue Hawk. We're going to watch a movie now, but I don't know what.

Two Goldendoodles and a retriever; birthday stuff

Mom got me up about half an hour early. =_=;;; She was rather tsking to find I hadn't trained Lark to get the paper yet--I'd completely forgotten about that plan. Lee came about nine to work with Grandma, and I read No Bad Dogs a bit after getting dressed to go. I was printing out a B&N coupon when B called to say happy birthday! It was nice to hear from her.

Once Phil got back with the car, Mom and I went shopping. We started at the Book Rack, where I got a nice horse photo book, Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem, a Peter Dickinson, a Caroline Stevermer, and Berserk vol. 1. Next on the list was Heroes and Dragons, which seems to have shut down. So from there we went to Hooked on Books, which was great. There I found four Heyers, including the mystery I'd never read; two Bujolds, Shards of Honor and Barrayar; and a nice copy of Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs. Philip was nagging us to come home by then, so we went back, picked him up, and went out to lunch.

Lunch was Mobo Sushi. It was absolutely wonderful. The decor was all Japanese in tone, with screens between tables and china geishas dancing on the ledge behind the tables. The staff, from the waitresses to the two chefs behind the counter, all wore red and black tunics, like very short yukata in general design. The food was delicious. Mom had the spicy chicken bento, with tempura veggies and California rolls. Philip had the Sushi Deluxe, which was much like mine but bigger. I had the Nigiri set, which was various fish on rice balls with California rolls. It was really good, with the best pieces being the crab, the eel, and the California rolls. On the side they gave us wasabi and ginger to taste--the colors puzzled Mom, because the ginger was red.  Philip and I both had leftovers, which went home to Grandma.

After we got home, afraid to move in case we overflowed, Philip and I watched Mission: Impossible. It was pretty good--especially nice, again, to see the original of all the parodies. I did somewhat object to the way they went for drama--if there was the least possibility for suspense, for danger, for drama, they used it. 

We finished the movie about four, and once Philip headed out for Golden Lark and I took our walk. Not before time; she was bringing me balls all through the movie, poor thing. We met a few people: a woman with a Golden named Tiber, both rather uninterested; a young man on a bike, who hmph'ed as he passed us; and a man with two Goldendoodles, all rather familiar. I don't think he recognized us, though--if he had, he'd have known that I was aware his dog jumps. Remember the nose to the stomach at high velocity? Yeah. This time I got his collar before he got me, though.

I got home to hear that Sid had called. I called her back, and she said she had something for me, and did I want to come over or should she come here? I would be happy to go over. She was making dinner, but on the bar lay an envelope and a box. I opened the envelope first. Sid had made for me, out of pictures she'd taken of me and Isaac, a birthday card. It was great. On the cover she'd put various pictures of me, looking like a wild woman, wrestling Isaac on the couch the other night. Various fighting sound effects accompanied these. On the inside, opposite the birthday message, was a picture of me, standing very firm, looking after Isaac, whose posture was rather less.....sturdy. Written underneath was the caption, "And next time, don't send a boy to do a man's job!" Uuuuuh.....thanks. It cracked everybody up, though--me, then Grandma and Mom. I'm not sure Philip's going to see it, though.

Dinner was an omelet with fruit salad. Rather a perfunctory affair, but just as well, I suppose. I ready for bed now--tired, sore throat, etc. It's not even eight, though. Pity I don't have any activities I can do with my eyes closed. No comp, no book, no read. Dear me.

Golden and a....Yorkie?

Well, Isaac called pretty early to ask if I could come play. I told him I had to go get groceries with Philip, but I'd come over when we got back. Grandma tells me he called again while we were gone, but when I got back he and Sid were on a bike ride. He came over as soon as they got home, and Lark and I headed over.

There wasn't a lot to do. We played checkers; in the end one of my three kings had cornered his last remaining king and he surrendered. I was rather relieved--in the beginning I had had to sacrifice several pieces just to keep the game going. After that we ended up watching cartoons again. Sigh. Then Sid got up from her nap, and Isaac and I went for a hike.

He wanted to take the way we went last time, but this time he was ready to turn back by the time we were at the dike, so we looped back there. We spent several minutes at the culvert there, as Isaac tortured snails and I got a drink. My backpack and Lark's water were laid out on the ground, and I was at the culvert with Isaac, when I heard Lark begins to growl. I looked around, and there was a Golden coming around to bend in the trail. The only reason Lark had to growl was my stuff, laid out with only her protection. She stopped when I came to her, as the Golden's owners followed him with, on a leash, what may have been a Yorkie. Maybe a cross between a Yorkie and a cat. Or a Yorkie with a short haircut, I suppose....

Isaac was consistently obnoxious all the way home, eventually deciding that the best way to get me out of my mature, boring attitude would be to steal my glasses. It worked. KILLCRUSHDESTROY.......ahem. So we went home, and once Mom got in we had dinner. Lark was delighted to see her, dancing in and out of the garage, whirling like an ex-ballerina dervish. The chicken salad was ready and the table was set by then, and we had Boonzaijer's desserts.

I went over to Sid's for the movie at seven-twenty-five. Isaac was just finishing up eating, and we got started pretty quickly. It started out pretty slowly, with Sid pausing to explain backstory as the characters laid it out in dialogue, in the best established manner. But then Jiao Long stole Li Mu Bai's sword, and it got going all right. The fights weren't bad, although I think they could have done a much better job of disguising the ropes for jumps and things. You can't actually see them, credit them with more skill than that, but the quality of the movements betray them. It's a pretty good movie, but I did not like the ending. If there are two couples, than I expect both of them to get a happy ending. Grr. 

Isaac and I enjoyed the movie, but Sid preferred the show afterwards. I grabbed Isaac as he was heading for bed, and it escalated from there. Sid took lots of pictures, consisting largely of me adjusting my hold to immobilize both his arms and his head, so that he can neither lick me nor lick his hands and then touch me. Blech. It was almost ten when he walked me home. The grass was wet with rain, and when Lark came back from walking him home she had to be toweled all over.

The Matrix

The Matrix

Well, it is a fun movie. There are worrying bits, mainly whenever Agents are about, but battle scenes are just plain fun. Er, especially if you're not expecting someone to die. Trinity.....well, I can understand why Philip says he had a crush on her. The woman is very, very cool. My favorite scene would have to be when she and Neo are breaking in to save Morpheus. That scene is pure style. It's not about realism, it's not about physics. It is all about style.

Aaaaand I regret to say I can't get the underline to turn off. Guess I'll just have to be content with text that isn't bright blue.

Sigh. I can't get the image small enough to fit, either. You have to click on it to see the whole thing.

Well, I did end up watching Batman Begins last night. I think my favorite supporting characters would be Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Jim Gordon. Hm. Anyway, Yay main char getting to train with ninjas! :haha:

Mum emailed this morning to say she'll come out tomorrow. It was nice to hear her voice again, even in writing--I'd been thinking about calling her, over the last few days. PM's from Doug were becoming inadequate. It does sound like a mess back home, though. I wonder if Dad'll end up replacing the pump? Oh, and they're having to get water out to the hogs, too....dear me.

Philip hasn't appeared yet. I've still got two math lessons to do, and I've run out of anything but word problems. Oops. I think I'll save these for when I've got help.....

Lark and I got out about ten-thirty. It was pretty bright out, but as it's supposed to rain this afternoon I figured I might as well get it over with. If it's nice light ran and I feel like it we might go out again later. We took the Heller trail loop, ending up at the dig site, which had sprouted some diggers while we were on the trail. Michaela wasn't there, but I did talk to the young man who she was with the first time I stopped by. This time he petted Beautiful. :D

Most of the afternoon was spent online, in Tolkien, and watching (I confess) for Philip. Drat the man.

At five to four I called Sid to ask if I could bring back the tupperware from last night's cole slaw. She said sure, but wait ten minutes for us to get our guests gone. In the intervening time Philip materialized, so that it was four fifteen when I got myself hence. I then proceeded to spend half an hour chatting with the Seamans. It's always fun talking to them--subjects discussed include Philip, birthdays, robots, Mom coming, expectations, and psalms. When I came home, it was with the tupperware again, this time containing a different salad. Good thing, too, because when Philip isn't playing Iron Chef with expensive fish he just thaws out a pizza.

I'm reading Jodi Meadow's livejournal. I see her around a lot, as she's one of Robin's core from her blog, but I didn't know about much beyond the yarn and the ferrets. Well, it turns out she's a lit agent's assistant, and is meanwhile trying to sell several books of her own. Nor does she have Robin's qualms about making cryptic comments about how the writing's going and what she's doing with the plot. Cryptic--no spoilers--but it's something Robin doesn't feel she can do. Add this to the ferrets, the cat, the husband, and the yarn, and I'm enjoying myself. Maybe I should read Southdowner's lj--she's the one with seven dogs, after all.

We're going to watch The Matrix tonight, but PC is going to cut in before we finish, so I'm going to have to write about that tomorrow. 

Chihuahua

Got about eight hours, with the interesting result that I solved the entire Jumble in a few minutes. Hm. Walked Lark after breakfast; it was still pretty cool in spite of the sun, but she was satisfactorily exhausted when we got home after half an hour. We dropped by to say hello to the students out digging, but we didn't see that nice girl. Oh well.

Had to fight Phil for the monitor cable to get  the last post up. Then spent some time on the comp while Mary Anne was here, until she finished up and we went grocery shopping. When we got back, Grandma had some cleaning for us to do until her friend Mike came at four. Mike and her husband used to look after Winnie while Grandma was gone, so I've met her at least once. She says I'm growing up to look like Mom. 

Grandma having said she'd like some fish other than salmon, Philip went and bought a pound of mako shark. He found a recipe online for mako Marsala, and it came out really well. Much better, in fact, than either the pasta or the bread. Sigh.

Reading The Warrior's Apprentice, and then Philip says we're watching Transformers. I kinda have a headache.

Phil and I took Beautifuls out for a walk about eight. Took the way around the pond. Saw lots of rabbits, which Lark made a point of chasing. The high point, though, was when, on the gravel road where the branch heads off for Nevada, we saw a deer. It was a doe, for once, and it stayed way ahead of Lark, even with that funny bound that rather resembles a scared lamb, if not so tight. Heh. It was a nice walk, the air cooling down after sunset and all the nocturnal mammals coming out. Lark was adequately exhausted, and I made it all the way around with cramping up my right leg. This is pretty new, since this morning, and I really hope it goes away. 

Watched Transformers. It wasn't bad. The giant robots were fun, and the loser kid gained some xp by the end, if not, perhaps, an entire level. Or maybe he did gain a level, it just wasn't in coolness. Oh well. There were some good bits. There were also bits where I wanted to bang someone over the head, possibly for not watching enough movies as a kid. Anyway. Megatron reminded me of Makuta. And it is ridiculous that Spellcheck does not acknowledge Megatron. I'll grant them Makuta, but Megatron? Gimme a break! Anyway. For the record, and if anyone wants to know: my favorite human character is the soldier with the baby daughter. Coolest guy. Right. Of the Autobots......probably Iron Hide. He may not bear much resemblance to Az's babblings but he's funny. Because he's trigger happy. As for Ratchet.....I wanna know why, in Unicron's name, he needs to know anything about biological systems. Let alone pheromones. My point? That remark was totally uncalled for. Not unlike a whole lot of conversations, mainly because they've been held so many times in so many movies it's impossible to make them sound fresh for anyone but a genius, but hey. There has to be some script. Characters can't simply keep their mouths shut for 75% of the movie, however much you'd like them to do so. Although I have to say Sam's parents weren't bad. I just would've liked to see his mom go postal. She never entirely did. Sigh.

Oh, and the dog of the title is Sam's Chihuahua. Mojo. Had a splint on one foreleg for most of the movie.

Husky, Shiba

Diane came about nine this morning, while I was still pretty zombified. She brought, as promised, her Wii, which apparently has a lot of balance-related exercises. Grandma did better than I did on the skiing game. Sid called to ask if I wanted to come over and borrow this one movie that she and Isaac had been watching. Do you catch the relevant bit here? So I went over a bit later, once I'd gotten dressed and all, to see Isaac. He seized gladly on a new person to bug. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't really in the mood to put up with nonsense. Besides, oppressing innocent youth is fun. After he showed me the mini skateboard park Ralph had made, the glue still drying, we went for a hike. It was the the long way, through the Heller estate up along Rockhurst. Unfortunately there was a cold wind blowing, but it was pretty nice all the same. We saw some people walking a red husky along a different trail, too far off for Lark to go all the way over unless I were actually following. The other dog--also off lead--only stood and watched. Isaac talked nonstop. I would swear in court that his mouth was never shut for sixty consecutive seconds. It was pretty educational. That reminds me--I need to go see the Neopets that have been added in our absence.......Odd. None whatsoever. I have no idea what he was offering to trade for my Kiko. Anyway, that's a sample of his conversation. At one point, we went from Bible stories to bugs to Lord of the Rings, interspersed with Lord of the Beans. I am considering a raid on Veggie Tales headquarters at this time. Oh, yeah, and he thought Deagol has resurrected as Grima Wormtongue. Uh.....no. We were discussing this trudging up Rockhurst, the wind now blowing so hard I had to hold my hat in my hand, as it would not stay on my head. Wolfie was outside, and barked as we passed. Isaac was very impressed by my way down the mountain, calling the path through the scrub oaks a secret passage. I confess, I hadn't thought of it quite like that before. We swapped jackets at the bottom of the slope; he only had a windbreaker, and I had my bomber jacket. I warmed up again as soon as we got going, but I'm sure he was warmer in my jacket than he had been in his. Thermal mass, and all that, I suppose. Anyway, we made it back to Sid's alive, where Ralph told me Grandma had called to say I needed to come home as soon as I got back. So I came home and made lunch.

Did I mention Sid lent me a movie? I think I did. Mom.....do you remember once, you said something about this medieval movie you watched once, with knights and jousting and stuff, to rock music? Electric guitars, anyway. And it felt weird but it sort of worked. Well.........I think that was Ladyhawke. And remind me to investigate the actor Rutger Hauer, because Navarre was my favorite character, visually speaking. Er.....and probably in any other ways you can think of.....he just isn't funny. Which is fine. Wheeeeeee! He did seem high once, though. Besides the end, I mean. Oh, yeah, and there wasn't any jousting. Not proper jousting, at least. Just sword fighting from horseback in the cathedral. And you know, it occurred to me......movie fighting isn't proper swordfighting, either. Maybe it was once, but it's dirty fighting now. Your hero can kick and punch and grab bricks all he wants--and audiences like this, because the deftness is much more evident in a smooth kick to the chest after the swords are forced away than in a clever pass with a foil. Although, speaking of weapons, now seems the time to say, "Wheeeee! Double-stringed crossbow!" And furthermore it's a weapon Philippe la Souris can use, if not well--unlike Navarre's fancy longsword. Now, mind, this movie isn't perfect. The soundtrack is a little incongruous, I wasn't always certain about Philippe's acting, although Matthew Broderick seems pretty.....whoa. Godzilla? The main character? Ditto The Lion King? Inspector Gadget? He got to play Richard Feynman? Okay.....maybe it was just me.

You know.....I never entirely realized how much subtitles distract me until I watched this for the second time without the subs in French. I paid so much attention, sometimes, to trying to figure out the French, that I almost ignored what they were saying in English. Example: I completely forgot that the bad guy was a bishop because I kept looking at the French word for him. Note only to do that on rewatches in future......

After dinner, which was foraged because Grandma wanted cold cereal with banana, I took the beautiful out for a half-hour walk in the dusk. We met a jogger, and that was about it--although it seems there's a very large dog in that one house with the balcony overlooking the head of the trail. Nota bene.

Now-- Sylvester, Warrior's Apprentice, Please Save My Earth, or The Princess Bride on Youtube? More Ladyhawke on Youtube, for that matter. Hm.

A Doberman, a Shiba, and a Dane

Philip asked if I was ready to go to the store right after I'd had breakfast, still sitting at the table, head on arms, in my bathrobe. "I'll go get dressed," I mumbled. He took the time, while I did so, to eat breakfast himself. I was still ready before he was. We went to Walmart, got my watch pin replaced, some gel pads for my boots, more socks, and the latest Shojo Beat. While we were at the jewelry counter for my watch, Philip said casually, "While we're here we could get an engagement ring." "That would be a good idea," the lady at the counter said, promptly. "And did you have a particular girl in mind?" I enquired. "Oh, I just thought I'd get the ring first and then get a girl to go with it." I suggested the girl might like to help choose it. "Ah, I'll just find a girl who matches it." The clerk said, "My husband picked out my ring and hm, three of our houses by himself." I asked what she'd thought about this. "Eh, it was fine. He knew what he was doing." So much for support.

We went to the library, too, where they were having a sale. The only thing I found was Terry Pratchett's Strata, proof that libraries are insane. Every Discworld fan needs to know how he got started with this! Sheesh. They appear to have sold a lot of other crucial books too. There were hardly any Lois Bujolds, the only copy of Cordelia's Honor being down in Fountain. All the new Sharing Knife books are either checked out or reserved, too. I ended up with Warrior's Apprentice, The Curse of Chalion, and a couple of Heyers I've been craving lately. I looked for Hartnagle's All About Aussies, but its absence was no tragedy, as Grandma has decided I need to buy it online, using her credit card and paying her back. *wide grin* Abebooks has a copy at a reasonable price.

After lunch and Beat (with Pocky), I took Lark and Phil up the way we went yesterday to see that nice Dane. The humans were all inside, but when I rang the doorbell the man let Gabby out. He was in the middle of something, though, and after a bit Phil puts the dogs back in and we headed home. It was nice and cool, with clouds, so I was in slightly better shape for commandoing across the hillside to the road behind our house. The new gel pads are a definite improvement, although still with a tendency to shift which I'll have to work on--it may be solvable without use of glue.

We got home and Phil promptly hijacked the monitor cable. We ended up watching Blast from the Past, on his laptop via the terebi. It's......pretty good. The plot....heh/geh/keh. It starts in the sixties. This fairly wealthy genius has built the mother of all fallout shelters in his backyard. He and his very pregnant wife hunker down after a television address from President Kennedy. An airplane crashes in the back yard, convincing Mr. Webber that the bomb has hit--to do him justice, there were flames coming down the hatches. Closing the door was justified. Setting the time-lock for thirty-five years.....well, as far as he knew it was justified. His wife didn't entirely agree. Fast forward thirty-five years. Their son, Adam, is well-educated, well-mannered, well.....built. A very nice boy, in fact, albeit thirty-five. His father, having reconnoitred topside, has come to the conclusion that all the survivors are messed up one way or another, and there's no reason whatever to come out for another ten years. There is, however, the little matter of supplies. For one thing, Adam's mother is nearly out of alcohol--currently a staple, given her underground existence and her husband's well-worn tapes of "The Honeymooners." So Adam is sent topside  to bring back supplies--and, hopefully, a nice girl, from Pasadena if possible. Buying supplies was easy, once he'd sold one or two of his father's old baseball cards and found a nice girl to help drive U-Hauls and rent lockers. Getting it all back to the shelter was harder, especially considering he'd promptly gotten lost, in the first place, and in the second place, the nice girl, being not entirely nice, refused to believe she'd fallen for a guy who, while looking exactly her type, reminded her like a lost puppy. It all.........works out. Of course. Mostly. I do wonder if Adam's mother ever took the butcher knife to her husband, when for example she learned there'd never been any nuclear attack--something her bunker-building husband never came to believe.

After dinner Phil and I went to see the new Pixar movie, UP. It was pretty good. Not great, but good. Hmmmm......a good family movie. I think my favorite bits were the dogs, and after that Carl's wife.....a character with live appearances only in the prologue. This story takes place largely after her death, you see. Anyway. Come to think of it, the only other major female character is the bird--Kevin. Yeah. But it's a fun movie, and I was happy to take the chance to dress up; Sid gave me a really nice black top that I've been wanting to wear with the red skirt. It was perfect. It doesn't even have many white dog hairs on it, now that Lark's finally assimilated the fact that I have once more returned to her life. Which reminds me--the dogs really impressed me. Not just the characterization, which was terrific, but the animation. The expressions, conveyed perfectly through caricatured canine bodies. The textures, so that I knew exactly what it would feel like to touch one of those lolling pink tongues. Heck, even the voices, through the special collars that communicated the dogs' thoughts, simultaneously permitting them to communicate both verbally and physically, without the disruption of moving mouths. Alpha, the scary Doberman, sounded like, when the collar was working properly, Toy Story's Zurg. So.....it was fun. It was good. It wasn't great.

Bichon Frise

Well, I managed to get up a few minutes after seven (read "under five"), stagger into Grandma's room, and crash on her bed to say good morning. Lark got her morning pettins there, since it took awhile for Grandma to get up too. Which was nice. People who get up too quickly are unkind to Larks. Anyway, by the time Grandma was finished in the bathroom, and I had the coffee going, Lark was ready to go out. As I passed the sitting-room I noticed Philip on the couch, which is something of an improvement over last week, when I noticed his car first.

After a morning of nurses, followed by lunch, Philip and I went grocery shopping. (Pocky = great. King Soopers has it.) We came home to find Carole in possession of the phone, directing Laurie here. She made it, eventually, and gave Grandma her haircut.

Philip and I went out on The Walk as Carole was about to give Grandma her shower. It was about three-thirty, and the clouds were heavy. It started to rain shortly after we got into the Heller estate, and intensified as we neared the crossroads by the rock. We met someone as we passed the pond: two older girls, a round redhead and a tall dark blonde, walking a Bichon. We exchanged compliments and passed on. It was raining pretty heavily as we reached the tree and rock, and we spent awhile sheltering under the tree. I was fairly dry, having worn my bomber jacket and camos, but Philip was soaked long before we got home. Philip decided to keep along the trail, but as the rain fell faster we stopped and sat under another tree. It was not dry, but we stayed for several minutes before going on, in the direction of home. As we passed the water on the other side, the girls with the dog came back along the far side, one calling out that it was a nice day for a walk. I agreed, and we kept on for home. When we got there Philip's shirt was dripping, my jacket was heavy with water, and Lark still had enough energy for towel wrestling.

Dinner was bisonburgers, produced by Philip, and really very good. After dinner we're going to go see Star Trek.

Well, it's just after midnight, and we're back from seeing a very fun movie. First off: all the young crew are pretty cute. Kirk is hot. Spock, not quite so much--I enjoyed Nimoy in his cameo more. But Scotty was hilarious and Chekhov just plain cute. Not attractive: more the sort you'd want to, um, foster, than date, precisely. He gave the overpowering impression of immaturity. Enterprise was shiny new in the middlish-beginning, but by the end I already felt sorry for the poor ship. What do they put it through, for all those years of episodes? Speaking of the show, I asked Philip if Shatner's Kirk got beaten up quite so much. It would be difficult for this to be the case: from his first appearance as a young man, right through the climax, people are punching him, throttling him, and throwing him against hard surfaces. Not that he's weak: he just....ends up in these....situations. I mean, he got Spock to throttle him on purpose, he very effectively provoked those cadets in the bar, and....okay, the Romulan throttling him wasn't really his fault. Or the other Romulans on the planet drill. Or the wildlife on the snowy star Scotty was stationed on. I kept waiting for bigger fish in that bit. Only two, I'm afraid. Philip elbowed me fairly consistently, even though I was mostly whispering, and I made the gentleman next to me laugh at least twice. I did swallow quite a few remarks, especially the ones that couldn't be expressed concisely. I still got a fair number of elbows in the side.

I need to embark on the process of getting to bed--beginning with telling Trina I went to see it.