Husky puppy, Maltese

Gurgh. I've only been reading this manga for two days, and I'm having dreams about it. Abnormally fast results, those. I woke up at three a.m. from one and lay awake for several minutes convincing myself that those shadows weren't ghosts. Sigh. The subconscious is a terrible thing. I don't know whether they were the ones from Ghost Hunt or not, but at least there were some nice characters in my dreams.

At nine o'clock, after letting Lee in, I went over to Sid's to return her milk and get paid. I ended up staying for an hour, with the result that I went home about the time I should've gotten home from walking the dog. By the time Jinn came to take Grandma to the eye-doctor and we got going, it was pretty hot. We took the usual way through the Heller estate, where, by the way, there was still a big scuffed place in the path. I went ahead and wrote "AKUMETSU" with the edge of my boot. We continued up past the pond. I decided on the spur of the moment that we'd take the residential way home. I hate it when I do this, because it always means I have no water, and spend the entire way wondering if Lark's going to be okay. I also ended up worrying about myself for a bit, which is rare because I don't get as hot as Lark does, but I was fine after a house with a spigot on the front and no ground-level windows. The lawn was so soggy it squished, so I didn't even feel very guilty. That didn't help Lark, though, because there was nothing for her to drink from. I think I'm going to start carrying a plastic bag to line my hat for her. A couple puddles tided her over until we hit the drainage below the dorms. There was a very big puddle in the bottom of the depression there. I sat on the dike plotting our advance while Lark splashed around, attacking the columns she produced and ending by tearing around in circles through the water--which may have been three to six inches at the deepest point. Our course was originally set for the Pole's driveway, at the closest point. This course was rendered inadvisable by the presence of a woman on the balcony, having a deep discussion on the telephone. I did not think she would be happy to meet me, so we went along the outside of the fence until the pines blocked her view. I should perhaps add that I don't think she ever noticed us. Anyway, we ended up going along below the curve of the rise until we were in the next neighbor's yard. Lark led the way, being familiar with the territory, until I decided we could get up to the drive. We followed it home and came in across the lawn. Interestingly, I think it took less than an hour and a half--even with the boots' weight, I'm still covering ground substantially faster than I was. Interesting.

Oh. Yeah. And we met a woman with the most adorable little husky on a leash. I think she's trying to train him not to pull while he's still small--good luck to her. He had really soft fur, though, and blue eyes. His ears were the best, though. It was like a cross between a rabbit and a mule. The effect was adorable. He realized shortly that Lark had possibilities, but when he stood up against the collar, waving his forepaws at her, she backed out of reach and watched him suspiciously. I took ourselves off.

Finished Ghost Hunter. Somebody made a comment about Bara no Tame ni that I didn't remember happening, and I started thinking about it....so now I'm rereading that. Better hope I don't end up rereading Berserk. 

Lark and I went for our walk at about seven-twenty. We met the lady from next door to the Seamans, Donnice (sp?), out walking their Maltese. Telling Grandma about it, she said, "Yes, Donnice is cute."   ........Okay. Anyway, it was nice and cool, but buggy, so I let my hair down. I think I lost two Apparent Maturity levels and gained three Apparent Weirdness levels, but hey, I also gained five Pest Repellant levels, so it was worth it all the way. Besides, I only saw two people on the way home--Ralph Seaman was talking to someone in an SUV. Oh well.

"Brianstorm" by the Arctic Monkeys had me humming a bit from the Weird Al AMV for most of the walk. =_= Dan dan, dudadudadudadudadu dan dan..... never mind.

Fifteen pushups, lower and harder than usual. Broke once or twice, no pattern. Fifteen situps, could probably start doing more if I didn't do 'em right after pushups.

Husky/Sheltie

Bleh. Zombie blobs. I spent most of the dream waiting for everybody to be dead at the end. I think most of us were still alive when I woke up, though. It was all kinda weird, anyway....

We went for a walk about nine this morning. It was much too hot. We met one person, a man, with a familiar husky-sheltie in tow. Oh, and a man on a bicycle. Otherwise all sightings were at a distance. I think I should've gotten a boonie hat while I was at the army surplus. The hat I'm borrowing from the Seamans is nice, a good, natural color that doesn't jump out, but I'm gonna have to give it back eventually. Also boonie hats are crushable, so when I'm not wearing it it can just go in my pocket like everything else. I'll just carry a red scarf or something in my pocket in case I need to be visible for, say, a medical helicopter. Spellcheck, by the way, acknowledges "boonies" but not "boonie." Pft.

After I got home and recharged, Grandma had me do the kitchen floor. That was okay. Then I had to do the greenhouse. Geh. It is impossible to get the dog hair out of there enough to even half ignore it while scrubbing. I want my vacuum! 

Sid came just as I was starting in the greenhouse to discuss me looking after Maddy while they're gone. I have to go give her a little canned catfood and make sure she's alive Friday night, Saturday morning and evening, and Sunday morning. Well, sure, I can do that. For ten bucks. Seems reasonable. A day.  .........!!!!  Sid said if I felt like it was too much, I could go over there and read or something to keep her company a little. ............I'm getting my revenge by sending her pictures of adorable Craigslist dogs. Or expressing my gratitude, I don't know. I'm sending her ads, anyway.

Incidentally, I have got to remember that the clothing biases are completely different here. B would wince at the brown army t-shirt with the hemmed BDU shorts. Sid and Grandma say I look cute. -_-; Well, thanks, but.....it's very disconcerting. Not least because that's definitely not how it's designed to look. Not that I expect to look intimidating, but.....how about utilitarian?

Started Mistress to an Age before lunch. Finished the first chapter, plus all the prefaces, by the time Grandma said it was lunchtime.

There are six ads for Rottweiler puppies in the newspaper, plus one for a brindle male Rottweiler/mastiff puppy (tail docked) for....wait for it....$500. Plus various puppies and mixes (there were rottie/bloodhounds posted today) on Craigslist. Dad should come out here for a month or so. I'm sure Rick knows somebody he could stay with.

Jinn came by with some shopping commissions from the Sunshine Market and a negative review of the place. "It's overrated," she said, giving us a bag of cherries, cartons of blueberries and blackberries, and some lobster tails. Lark was delighted to see her. On a related note, I need to start letting her out more during the day. Actually, she's tied out right now, but that's due to trouble on the other end: some kibble got caught in her throat, and by the time she coughed it up, her gag reflex was thoroughly engaged an she couldn't stop throwing up. It improved somewhat after I put her out, but she's still retching a little, occasionally. It's raining now, though, so I'd better go let her in.

Grandma's wandering around without her cane. I think I'm going to have a heart attack.

It's four-thirty and raining buckets. With wind. And big fat drops. The windows are all shut and I can still smell the rain.

Dinner was the lobster tails. They were delicious. Grandma boiled them and served them with melted butter, and they were great. Note to self: when interested in a guy, try the Lobster Test: does he mind paying an arm and a leg? (You can skip this one. Split the cost or buy them yourself for dinner at home.) Do either of you mind watching the sort of messy eating lobster entails? How resourceful is he in figuring out how to eat the stupid things? I look forward to such an excuse. Lobster has a purpose! Yay! (Besides the physical and intellectual workout, of course.)

We larked a little after seven. The rain had mostly stopped, confining itself to a sporadic misting drizzle. It was cool out, and I wore a hoodie and my boots--which, naturally, turned out to be useless against tall wet grass. What astonished me was that the creek was running. Not all the way to the crossing, but there were signs--dried foam--and runnels, from earlier. Higher up it was going strong. It was noisy up at the culvert, where crossing the rocks was like walking over a symphony of water, possibly by Stravinsky. It began to rain as we came back up the Heller road, leaving me unsurprised that we met no one until Eagle Rock. A woman from the big house on the Circle was coming down from getting the mail. Lark was suspicious, but she wriggled up once we got closer. We cleared off when she almost pawed the woman's skirt. I went over later, after putting out the trash, to ask her if she wanted her trash hauled out; she was weeding the marigolds, and explained, through a thick accent, that her husband took it out every day--I'm not sure where: the noun was too accented. The people living there are widely said to be the parents of the Pole on the hill; nobody talks to them much, but Maria is thought to do for them. Possibly. It feels like a victory, though: contact made! I've been eyeing her for a while, you see.....

Library intake cut down to a book a week, Mom having thrashed the issue out with Dad. Geh. Dad and the younger boys just spent the afternoon fixing the sump pump; Christy looks pregnant again, going to offer to help whenever; trying to sell the kittens on Craigslist. Lots of replies, no takers yet. Got caught up to One Piece, reading Fairy Tail, in a shounen mood. Doug started a Manga-U account at last, too keep track of his manga. He hasn't started sorting into "Ongoing" and "Completed" yet, though. Says he'll do that once everything's up. So, for instance, Tokyo Crazy Paradise and Trigun are both on the "reading" list. Wonder if he'll do the wish list too....

Well, I finally got around to going over and chatting with Christy, for the first time since she had the baby. I never really got up the nerve, before. Anyway, his name's Dylan, and he just had his first birthday. He's not walking yet, and can just crawl. Chubby little blond. It was driving me nuts, not knowing his name. Mike came home while I was talking to Christy. I'm always going to wonder just what he thinks of us, but I suppose we're lucky he tolerates us. Some people would complain to the village the first time a goat crossed the street.

I didn't summon sufficient gall to ask whether they're married. Never will. One of the boys said I certainly would've when I was five; maybe it's a pity that was ten years ago....

I kept ice on the sting, and it didn't swell much. Now there's just a little red mark on my neck. I went for a walk again, blowing off steam after math, and the insect showed up again. I didn't give it a chance to land. Oh, yeah, and I saw Mr. Buhr when I went past, and he says I sound like Mom. I don't know what he based this on. For one thing, before he said that, all I'd said was "Hi." Maybe I sound more like Mom than I sound like he remembers me sounding.
I'm reading short story anthologies by Mercedes Lackey. Werehunter had some good ones, including the title story. Right now I'm on Fiddler Fair. Still haven't gotten to the title story.
Mom's got Doug and me reading Plutarch's Lives for school and summarizing what we read. Today we finished Lycurgus, and tomorrow is Numa Pompilius.

This morning we took 200 flyers to Firth and stuck them in people's doors. I'm sore. Firth is really hilly, and I already had sore calves from yesterday, because I took the dog for a walk and was chasing him. I knew better. I know better. And I'll probably do it again someday. And I was already a little short on sleep, because at about seven this morning, when it was still kinda misty and golden outside, I woke up hearing the sheep yelling unhappily. Turned out one of the lambs had a bucket on its head. Minor, but it was still just as well that I woke up, 'cause Honey had just decided that it was a threat and started butting the lamb, which had realized that moving around made things worse and wasn't about to run away. But I still don't like waking up that early.

B came by today. She was hoping that Owen could help her with Eastin again, and was very tragic when she heard that we're doing school today. It is true that Dad has decided that Owen's spent enough time at B's for the present, and that Owen's probably being spoiled (which he isn't, not when he's babysitting) but B still gets on my nerves. So did her reaction when she heard that the neighbor, Mike, is now a dad. They live in a somewhat run-down trailer, and B does not approve. This news is the cause of some gloating on my part, though, because I thought she looked pregnant and Mom disagreed. Enter B again. She says when she was my age she "could always tell." I can't "always tell." Anyway. It's a boy, according to the sign that I think the hospitals always issue, as advertisement for the quality of their OB/GYN staff or something.

Since the Suburban is Dad's work vehicle, and it's what we took to Firth this morning, a bucket of stain in the back got spilled when we were getting the seats back together. Dad was very carefully not hitting the roof about anything during cleanup, which is currently paused. It's strange and worrying seeing him in that mood and not mad at any of us. Actually I think it may have been my fault, but he hasn't asked or anything. Is strange. We're running out of baking soda. At least the bucket that I was offering to livestock is safe.

And we have a nest of wasps in the window cavity next to the front door. Mom got stung on her forehead, and Peter and Owen are running around calling for the insecticide, which we're currently out of.

Busy day, huh? And it's only one o'clock.