Two Golden Retrievers, a spaniel and a pit bull

So, having gotten myself to sleep by about 11:15, I woke up at a quarter to seven this morning to discover that my alarm clock had reset a couple of hours ago. I reset everything, including the alarm, and dozed off until Lark scratched at the front door and we went and got the paper. It was seven when we got back in, and I gave up. I got dressed and made coffee, and as Grandma seems to be still asleep, Lark and I had some cuddle time. ......Grandma woke up about eight. Wow.

Lee and Karen came by this morning. Lee had Grandma practice using her cane, and Karen set up a telemonitoring system that takes Grandma's vitals and sends them to an office somewhere that decides whether or not to worry about them. Karen left about eleven-thirty, and then we had lunch off leftover chicken pasta casserole from Joan night before last. I love that stuff.

We left on our walk about 1:10, with Grandma asleep and one goal in mind. I wanted to see if, from the Heller estate, one could reach the dirt road that we took down the mountain yesterday. So we started on the Heller walk, taking the trail that loops around a tiny pond until it branched, a hundred yards or so past the water. There is a large rock at the branching, with a tree opposite it on he far side of the path. I stopped here to distribute fluids (I had decided that if Lark and I were going to be going on walks this long I would have to carry water) and here another hiker passed us. He had been trying to avoid us ever since we first glimpsed one another out in the open, but unfortunately for him the path he had taken looped around a hill and rejoined the trail shortly after we passed. He gave up and passed us--going by on the far side of the tree--and giving me an opportunity to make sure that it was a man, because he had long, thick hair, of a very light brown or a dark blonde, and was not particularly muscular. If it makes him feel any better I will say that once I got a decent look I was pretty sure he was male. The close-up just confirmed it. I called Lark away from him, he looked so uncomfortable. Possibly he had been hoping for a completely solitary hike. He shouldn't have picked that trail. Anyway, we took the branch leading southeast, my goal being the well-off neighborhoods that lined the valley on the far side of the mountains behind Magpie Hill. I found them, eventually, and we wandered through, now both tired, and with Lark leashed once more. A golden cocker spaniel barked at us from behind the corner of his house. I think he was tied up back there, so that he could just get his head around the corner. We stopped at a park and I offered Lark water again. She took a few swallows and then knocked over the tupperware with her leash. Lovely. We continued uphill, me wondering if I had enough water to get us home if it was still a long way, and Lark wondering how much farther before she could flop on the nearest cool surface. Fortunately, as I was wondering whether to take a downhill road through an apartment complex or investigate a "No Outlet" area that looked rather like the cul-de-sac I had found my road from, a nice youngish lady came out of the apartment complex with an extremely large, somewhat overweight and middle-aged Golden Retriever and a sleek white pit bull with brown patches on his head. I asked if there was an outdoor spigot (not that she had seen) and we exchanged compliments on our dogs. I asked about the road I was looking for, and she told me the cul-de-sac I had been eyeing was the place. I followed her in that direction, Lark hiding behind me whenever the middle-aged gallant made advances. We encountered a lady with a well-grown Golden puppy carrying a stuffed frog (I think. You know how it is with plushies) who made cheerfully swaggering advances toward me. I petted him while Lark investigated something else, enjoying the privileges of those with only one leash to hold. If it comes to that, the pit bull was probably stronger, though, and her Golden was about as easy to restrain as a horse. Anyway, the woman with the two dogs pointed me in the right direction, I thanked her, and the rest of the trip was about the same as yesterday, except for the human variety. There was a well-muscled young man apparently loading an expensive-looking (I draw this conclusion from my glimpse of the interior, which was of the two-seater cockpit variety) silver sports car, with an unfamiliar form of rap thumping from its speakers. The best moment was as we trudged down Stanton, though. A series of cars had whipped by, and Lark was looking increasingly miserable. I offered my arm for her leg up, if interested, and she gave me the look that says, "Oh, I'd love to but I just don't have the energy to get up there!" Right. -_-;; So I crouched and picked her up. As I was straightening another car went by, and I had a very good view of the driver's face. His mouth was open. :o I carried her about twenty yards or so, and set her down at the end of Jackie Adcock's driveway to offer water. She conveyed that water would be all very well in the kitchen at home. Otherwise, no thank you. I poured it back into her Nalgene and we walked on. We got home at a quarter to three.

......And I fell asleep on Grandma's bed. Oops.

Dinner was provided by Carol, I think her name was: a largeish lady undergoing treatment for cancer and consequently eating out most of the time. Tonight's dinner was at the Black-eyed Pea; it was roast beef with mashed potatoes and green beans. Speaking as someone who hasn't had to cook a meal the whole time I've been here, it was great. She provided vegetables, drinks, even dessert. She even brought plastic utensils. Speaking as someone who listened to Ruth Reichl from Cortland to Colorado Springs, it was pretty bad. The roast beef tasted odd, the green beans tasted like they'd been cooked with the beef, and the dessert was blueberry cobbler of unmitigated sweetness and uncomfortably crunchy seeds. The mashed potatoes were the best part, followed by the white rolls. To top it all off, Carol even made me glad we hadn't gone out with them as she had suggested by joking that I would probably have preferred a hamburger and fries by now. I am perfectly capable of enjoying a decent meal, thank you, and, so far, preferably home-cooked. Grrrr.

As Grandma was finishing up with dinner (she barely touched her meat) and after I had read a delightfully short chapter of The View From the Folding Chairs, Madeline-the-cat appeared, once more out of bounds. This is the signal for me to put my sandals on and call Lark, and we charge out to chase Maddy back where she belongs. Lark really enjoys it, and I always get to chat for a bit with the Seamans, as the cat only comes out when they do--in this case, as they had dinner. They were down to drinks when we came, and we had a nice talk about various things. I came back just in time to help Grandma get her pajamas on, and she's just gone to bed, having reiterated her position on the beneficial qualities of going to bed before eleven. Yes, ma'am. I'm workin' on it, ma'am. Kinda. She also asked if I showered on a particular day, which had the effect of reassuring me about waking her up at night while I'm in the bathroom. It was when I mentioned this that she mentioned earlier bedtimes. Mwerf.

Yummy updates and rereads. Shower now. Nighty night.

(Until Death Do Us Part; Kiss ni Hayaku; rereads: Kirai; Kare Kano.)

Should I do a post an update, or stick to a post a day?