Long day....

My day began an hour early. Perhaps not a full hour; when I'm planning on getting up at eight-thirty I tend to wake up a little earlier, and then go back to sleep. But Dad yelled up the stairs at seven-thirty, which is far too early. I think I actually got up nearer eight, though. My alarm clock went off some time after I'd eaten; I believe Peter was milking, and I was sitting on the couch waiting for devotions and realizing that I could've gotten up at my usual time and still have dressed, eaten, etc. by the time everyone else was ready. Sigh.

Then I went on an appliance call with Dad. Peter and Doug were busy, and Owen needed a shower, so I was elected. I have no idea how useful I would've been, but in the event this was not tested. We drove to Panama. We found the place. Dad had me call Owen to get the customers' numbers, in order to ascertain that it was the right house, as there were no visible house numbers. Repeat, until Owen gives the right number. Nobody answers. Dad calls Owen and asks him to get the VOICE News and look up the number for their offices. The owners are not at the office, but the lady who answers the telephone is able to confirm that the beige Mediterranean-style house does indeed belong to the Managing and Advertising editors. So we go and knock, somewhat half-heartedly, and Dad begins trying doors: the front door, the garage door, and the French doors all along the southern side of the house. None have been left unlocked for the scheduled repairman. We left.

At the end of the drive we switched places for a driving lesson. Turning onto the Firth road, I give Dad a heart attack, and most of the drive home is spent practicing left turns. Sigh. So I was late to Jim's.

Jim is expecting his son next week, so there was some extra cleaning to be done. He, meantime, was moving car parts off the living room floor, since the new garage is completed (with the exception of some wiring and the insulation.) This I appreciate, since it's a little hard to vacuum around chunks of engine. There was no such difficulty in vacuuming the guest room, which seems to be where the sci-fi is shelved. The Westerns are mostly in the den.

After that B and Darrel came and got me, so I could try to renew my learner's permit in Beatrice. Unfortunately, as it turned out, I needed to see the tester to accomplish this, and I needed my birth certificate, etc. all over again, so that was a wash-out. I had to sit outside the courthouse and wait for them to get back from picking up a prescription for awhile. It was lovely weather, though, and fortunately none of the employees were on break, so I had the little cement table to myself. We went back to the house to wait for Shane's parents to come get him. Then Darrel took B and me to the Salvation Army. I got lucky: a Terry Pratchett. And we went in the convertible--B splurged on a red Chrysler Sebring. I think that was my first ride in a convertible, but I have a little trouble along the lines of "And they bought this why?" Oh, well, B's spending isn't my problem, thank goodness.

And tomorrow, license unrenewed, Mom and Lark and I are driving to Colorado. (Er, Lark isn't actually going to help with the driving.)

Border collie/pointer, Golden, dachshund, Aussie

We did the Incline first thing. It did not get off to a good start; we parked at an extreme distance, up in the residential area. It was a long walk. On the way we met another woman/dog pair headed that way. The dog was a Border collie/ pointer cross, his body leaning toward pointer and his coat an interesting patchwork of black and white, as if it couldn't decided whether to be solid or speckled, and had compromised. They were the first of many climbers--it was sunny and warm, and a lot of people were doing the climb. We leapfrogged with a young woman from Louisiana who'd been in Colorado for two weeks and was beginning her high-altitude exercise regimen with an attempt at the Incline, having more or less recovered from giving birth a few weeks ago. She made it all the way up. Oh, and a man passed us on his way down with a Golden and this tiny dachshund with really short legs. The Golden was doing fine, and the dachshund was keeping up, in a game hopping scramble. I hope it was carried up, because I have no idea how that dog could have gotten up some of those steps. We made it up in an hour and thirty-one minutes, eleven minutes more than last time, which miffed Phil rather. We sat in the shade at the top for awhile, cooling off, and then headed down the trail. That was when my feet began to hurt, that trail being by no stretch of the imagination flat, level, or even smooth. In most areas your feet are on slopes which run down to the gully in the center of the path. One foot began to drop broad hints about pulled muscles. We kept going. The End Was In Sight--no, not by a long shot; but we were aware of its presence. We passed a number of people, going both up and down. Going up was the older couple with the Aussie. She was big, with easily twenty pounds or more on Lark (although more pounds than she should have, for her inches), and she was a beautiful black tri, with a wide white collar over the back of her neck. She was lovely. She was also shortly to overheat, as her coat was considerably thicker than Lark's--almost winter weight. I hope they didn't go far. We had quite a ways to go yet: down the trail to the parking lot, down from there to the road, along the road to the uphill branch that led to the car. We stopped on the way at the Iron Spring, where, every few seconds, water spurts out of a hose from a structure like a glorified wellhead. Of greater interest to me was the creek; Lark and I scrambled carefully down to the water, and Lark, after cautious consideration, walked into the water. It was, for the most part, only a couple of inches deep, but the current was very fast. She cooled her paws all the same, which was what I'd had in mind. We climbed back up to the pavement and rested. Philip got a Nalgene out of the pack--I think all the good water was gone, excluding the dog water--and got some of the water from the spring.  It was really strong and tasted fairly awful. It wouldn't have been so bad, though, if the minerals hadn't stuck to my tongue. Glech. After that we continued, more or less refreshed, up to the car, and thence to Boonzaijer's. Rosie from church was manning the counter and took our order: and eclair each for me and Grandma, and the last fruit croissandwich for Philip. It was rather like the fruit cups, with the same fruit and cream, but the pastry base was an enormous croissant, the top dusted with powdered sugar. It looked delicious. Philip confirmed this estimate. We ate at the bakery and then went to King Sooper's for a few things--Grandma had called us at Boonzaijer's to say she was out of Vaseline, and I already had a small shopping list. We didn't take long, and then rejoined Lark in the car with a SoBe for me and a Gatorade for Phil. Then we went home. And crashed. I'm pretty sure Phil went to sleep, but I had computing to do and didn't really want to take a nap.

At about five o'clock Philip and I went out to dinner. We started at Trinity Brewery, a lively little place with a Colorado atmosphere and an emphasis on the drinks. The waiting was pretty informal, with a get-your-own-plate principle, but they were impressively green, with (main point) a bin for food scraps, labeled "scraps for the piggies." We asked about it, and the waitress told us that the scraps go to a farm, but tend to end up with the chickens, as pigs don't discriminate and are like to eat a toothpick. We sat at a table with high bar stools, and Philip had a beer ("Drinkable") and I had a root beer. It was mild and not very fizzy, with some resemblance to a cream soda, but I liked it. We had sliders to eat, which are basically mini hamburgers. Those were very good. Philip, who seemed to look on the evening as an exercise in criticism, made me rate the place. Three or four stars.

Shuga's was next, a nice little cafe on Cascade. We ate outside, ordering a cup each of the spicy shrimp soup, and Philip had a cocktail--I don't recall the name, unfortunately. The soup was good, not too spicy, but by the time I'd gotten half way through mine the inside of my mouth had had enough. We talked more than we ate there, but it was a nice place, with a comfortable atmosphere. Three or four stars.

After Shuga's we went to Amanda's Fonda, a Mexican-style family restaurant with a lot of business. We waited perhaps an hour for a table, until Philip went and collared a waitress--we were served immediately. The outside eating area was on a large porch on the far side from the road; it was well-guarded from mosquitoes by torches, a very real necessity, as a creek ran just below. The sound was a pleasant undercurrent to the conversation and music. We ordered the seafood enchiladas, and shared; they weren't bad, but I can think of better uses for seafood. We left once Philip finished his grande margarita, which he'd bought at the bar at the beginning of our wait. I had a few sips, at intervals, and liked it; the initial flavor, of citrus, gradually giving way in your mouth to a mildly alcoholic taste, was a pleasant effect. Three stars.

The plan for the fourth stop was an Irish pub-style restaurant downtown. We found the place, only to discover that, at ten o'clock on a Saturday night, they were carding everyone at the door. We kept walking, and ended up at Josh & Jon's ice cream parlor. There was a chalk board next to the line, where lots of people had left messages--there was one, "Call Cameron for a good time--719-337-0075"--it was pretty fun to look at. We ordered a butter pecan sundae, with hot fudge, whipped cream, and two cherries, to share. It was really good. Sarah Debenedittis says we should have gotten Yellow Cake, though--she says the ice cream tastes exactly like cake. The butter pecan was good, all the same. Afterwards we walked around a bit more, as my legs grew increasingly mutinous, and it was a relief to sit down when we reached the car and went home.

Castle, episode 6. Mystery: jewel theft. Personal: Cinderella comes to the ball. Funfunfun.

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.

Sunny and cool this morning, which meant that the cool didn't last long on our walk. It was nice in the shade, but otherwise we roasted. Met no one.

Grandma and Jinn left for bridge shortly after we got back from the walk. Got some laundry done, did some computing, had lunch. Then called Syd to ask if she wanted to go to the library. She did! Yay! So we went to the library, and for once I had more unread checkouts than rereads. Wow. Found a Caroline Stevermer (necessitating an expedition into the teen section, which was crowded--a little easier that way) and a Peter Dickinson mystery. I had to restrain myself from checking out the Stevermers that I have waiting for me, in omnibus form, at home, but in the end restraint triumphed. Besides, I got plenty else--although not the Bujold I've been trying to get five weeks running. Sigh. I should have taken Syd up on the offer to go to Penrose....oh well. I got plenty, anyway. More or less spent the rest of the afternoon reading.

Dinner was late, and our walk short. It was almost dark, but I could see three boys sitting in the pine just before the Heller gate. Lark wanted to ask them what they were doing, but I talked her out of it. Otherwise there was no one out. We didn't go the full way, only a little along the road, and then I decided to go some distance down the road to Nevada. I've tried this before, only Lark stopped and wouldn't go any further, while looking at me as though I were crazy. Well, we got a little farther this time. Then she stopped. Sigh. So I came back, and we went home. And I have a headache.

Some sort of big mix

Got up more promptly than otherwise, but lost any time gained thus by following the dog over to Sid's and falling into conversation with her. She says we should be able to figure something out for this weekend, which is when I'm supposed to be house-sitting, and also when the church camping trip is. Actually I'm house-sitting Wednesday through Tuesday, but I'm asking for Saturday and Sunday off. Which, Sid says, can be arranged. Probably.

FOUR HOURS A DAY?!?! LIUGF;OIHDG[ODIFS VKJNS'E! 

Kill.

Went to the doctor's office with Grandma and Syd for Grandma's INR test. Six milligrams, come back Friday. Stopped at King Soopers; Lark was low on dog food.

Had a nice long talk on the phone with home after dinner. Lots of stock news, heard everyone's voices. Doug cracked up completely at Syd's remark about reincarnating as my dog. Had to lark as soon as I got off the phone, though; it was nice and cool after the evening's rain, but there were a lots of bugs chewing on me. There was a magnificent red buck watching us from the other side of the valley, once. We only met one person, and jogger and his dog. He grabbed the dog immediately he saw us, and held his collar until he figured he was out of range. I had to leash Lark, though, or his calculation would've been way off.

Started reading Legacy about as soon as I learned my comp time was limited. Grrrrr.

Lab-ish, something that reminded me of the golden/gsd

I finally get enough sleep, and I still want to fall over on the walk. What is wrong with me? Wasn't a very interesting walk, though.....

Did the grocery shopping with Philip. Grandma sent us to Whole Foods this time, which was interesting. Especially the deli area--the atmosphere is.....individual. With that out of the way, he dropped me at the library, while he took the groceries home and ran a few more errands. Typically, the library had Legacy but not Beguilement, continuing the trend of reading them in reverse order. Sigh. It's Beguilement that I particularly want, too. Oh well. Read Komarr until Philip called to say he was waiting.

After lunch Phil pinned me down for some math. I did another section of a practice test, and he walked me through all the geometry problems. Remains to be seen whether I remember any of it, but I guess it was interesting, and for the most part, comprehensible. There has got to be a better way to explain functions, though. "Little box that takes things in and spits things out" is not best calculated to latch onto something else in my head and stick to it.

Immediately after math Phil took me off the the dorm parking lot for a driving lesson. We were out about forty-five minutes, and at the end of it he had me drive home. Please note that this involves navigating the curve on Stanton, which freaks me out even when I'm not driving. I got us home, though. And into the garage, although Philip hit the parking brake at the same time I hit the driving brake. Insulting. Grandma laughed when I told her about it, though. Also when I mentioned that if I ever decide to pass for college-age with the bunch at the University, I have a much bigger chance of someone catching me than before. But anyway, I never even scraped the car.

Wonders will never cease. We were on our walk after dinner, Lark and I, and saw a doe. She was a lovely red, and her expressions reminded me irresistibly of a skittish sheep, her stare and the way she moved her head back. She was above us, some way up the slope, and I had hopes that Lark wouldn't see her. In vain. She saw the doe, and started toward her, not bounding but trotting, uncertain if she could chase. I called her back, telling her no, leave it, come, and, after some indecision ("But that looks chaseable!") she came. She did. She left a deer and came to me, and sat for her leash, and eagerly accepted a treat. She did strain rather at the leash, and went off hunting as soon as I let her off, but she did not, this time, see the doe, who had followed us suspiciously over the shoulder we'd gone around. She ended up deciding on her own to get out of there, and sprang away--in a somewhat deliberate manner, like a bounding jog--without being properly spooked. Lark did not pursue.

That was the main event, as far as I was concerned, but we met a couple--I think the woman was Japanese, and her smile made me think, "Oh, so that's why they draw the eyes as lines for smiles"--it was a very nice smile--and had a distant not-quite-encounter with a woman, two or three kids, and two dogs. I was in a position to make effective evasive maneuvers, so I did. The dogs were both larger than Lark, and while she's becoming more sociable she still doesn't appreciate situations like that. We got home with three songs to go on the CD I'd put in before leaving.

Up to episode 8 in Trigun. Ehehehe.

 

Wolves

Well, got up at six-thirty, after going to bed some time after midnight, in order to go to Denver to take Mom to the airport. I slept in the car the whole way, which helped. After dropping Mom at the airport, Philip and I went to Mimi's, where he had breakfast. This one was a lot nicer than the Springs one. I'd already eaten and was still full, so I had strawberry lemonade. Very strong stuff. Anyway, fortunately I'd brought a Mrs. Pollifax in my purse, so I read while he ate.

After breakfast we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They have an incredible number of animal dioramas, from manatees, kangaroos, wolves and deer to entelodonts and some sort of antelope creature. That was the Nebraska Woodland diorama in the dinosaur exhibit. The entelodont wasn't as colorfully ugly as the Walking With Prehistoric Beasts version--it was more drab, and while still ugly, less menacing. Philip and I discussed it and decided the best place to attack, if you were fighting the thing with a knife, would be the eye. Philip suggested the nose, too, but he was thinking for off scaring it off than killing it. It made me think of the beast Lissar and the dogs killed the night she was searching for the lost child. They had some pretty good casts of dinosaur skeletons, plus a few dioramas. There was one of a couple of Stygimoloch fighting--a type of pachycephalosaur, so they were fighting like bighorn sheep. Oh, and they had a Diplodocus cast. Nice. :D

We got home about one-thirty or so. It promptly started to rain, and we composed a shopping list until it stopped. Then we went to King Soopers. Philip took me to the library, too, where the only one of the three Sharing Knife books there Thursday was Passage. Feh. Well, thanks, big brother. I just wish I'd thought of it about an hour earlier than I did....of course, then someone would be cursing me. Hm. I wonder if I care?

We got home from grocery shopping and crashed. Grandma had to wake us up to make dinner. Lark helped her with me by climbing onto my stomach. I was more or less awake, if not alive, in time to slice onions and pickles for the bisonburgers without cutting off a finger, anyway.

As soon as the dishes were in the dishwasher I started booting up for a lark. We left at maybe ten to eight, and made the entire circuit before dark. It was close, but we made it in at eight-thirty. It was really nice out, too, after that rain: the creek was running, higher up; the air was cool, and filled with the smell of wet earth and vegetation; and, oh, the mosquitoes were out. Oops. I don't think I have any bites, though.

So Lark and I got a good walk in, but I think after the amount of sleep we both got today we'll be awake kinda late. Uh-oh. Well, if we don't watch MiB II I have plenty to read.

Read Dave Barry Does Japan, which while not actually a total waste of the money then made me wonder why the heck I had Dave Barry but not Amy Steinberger's Japan Ai, which is much more in tune to my interests, besides having great drawings and a complete lack of humorous artistic license. Gonna have to work on that, I suppose.

Fifteen pushups with a break in the middle; twenty situps nonstop. Went to bed much too late, but at least I got to sleep quickly, even after the long nap.

Oog.....I am so hung over....Finished Horizon at about two a.m. last night. I think the series is over now, but that doesn't do me a lot of good when my female relations are firmly pulling me out of bed. Got out with Lark about nine. We went most of the way along the first leg and still got home an hour later. Urgh..... And I didn't think to get the other books in the series even though I know I always want to read the earlier books afterwards.....

Was about up to where I would normally be at eight-thirty, consciousness-wise, by about ten-thirty when Lee left. I haven't decided whether to go back to sleep, reread Horizon, start Memory, or just stay on the computer. Mom shoved me onto the comp in the interests of keeping me awake until she and Grandma left for an appointment. I ended up reading Horizon most of the time they were gone.

Peter called after they got home. It was kinda fun talking to him. He wants me to tell Philip they got Crysis, and complained a little bit about Philip buying a Macbook. "Do you know how much he could get with that, in desktop stuff?" First he relayed the news, though, and I didn't even have to understand Doug's indistinct comment to reply: he says he can't get rid of the other laptop because then he'd only have one computer, an intolerable state. Yeah, sure. Oh, and he offered several trades for Lark: I could have Owen, I could have Baron, but send them Lark. Right. Oh, and Doug's apprenticeship to Hank seems a little unlikely at the moment, thanks to more legal troubles about Josh. There's no way I would be able to understand it from talking to Peter about it, but sufficeth it that Josh was arrested, CPS got involved, and now CPS is threatening Josh's family with prison, on undisclosed charges. O-kay.

Isaac called at five-fifteen to ask if I wanted to come watch a movie tonight? No, sorry, I was going somewhere with Mom on her last evening--but would he like me to come over and play for awhile? He would. So we ran around and stuff until six. 

After dinner Mom and I went to Goodwill. I got books, she got clothes. I don't think I got any clothes, in the end....=_= But I got lots of books! Dorothy Gilman, and a random volume of Fruits Basket, the last in Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy that I have the middle volume of but haven't read the first and am terrified of the last, a random book that looked interesting, and--wait for it--Dave Barry Does Japan. I am positive it's a bad idea, but I couldn't resist.

I'm not sure what just happened, but the result is Mom telling me that I'm coming home August 10. Uh.....okay?

Golden retriever, beagle, black lab, dachshund, chihuahua pug, two Great Danes

Lark and I took a short walk at nine-fifteen, when it was still nice and cool. The lawnmower guy saw us and waved. On the way back we met a dog who was probably the result of an affair between a golden retriever and a bear. I mean, he moved like a bear, he was really big and really furry. The impression was of a golden bear. He was really nice, though, and friendly, although I regret to say he was also one of those dogs that just straight up shoves his nose up between your legs. I'm not sure the owners can tell I notice, though. Anyway, Lark liked him too; I think she was going to elope with him, but she came back in the end.

As soon as I got home I changed for town. We had to go with Grandma to choose frames and decide how she wanted her lenses. They had some really nice frames, but I'm inclined to think the ones I have suit me best after all. After that we went to the bank, and we're going to the library after Grandma has her nap.

Grandma decided she didn't want to go, so it was just Mom and me. We went to East first, and I got Memory and Cotillion to reread. They didn't have the last Bujold, but Rockrimmon branch did, so we went there. :D Horizon, I think this one is.

I was reading Horizon when Sid called to say that Sidney was over, and did I want to come play? Sure. So I came over and played from four-thirty to five-thirty, and then went home for dinner and to ask if I could go to Isaac's ballgame. I could. So I went back over at six-thirty, and Sid and Sidney and I went to watch the game. The players were pretty good. I was impressed by the adults' catching skills. Lots of people brought dogs, too. There was a beagle, which I would have talked to but it was about to throw up on someone's sandaled feet; an aging lab, who was delighted to have his ribs scratched; a dachshund, who figured out that I would rub her tummy and keep the little boy at the other end from pulling her lead (dragon versus tiger, anyone?); a black pug, whom I never went to pet; and two black Danes being walked past on the footpath. Sigh. They found a chihuahua willing to play, though. It was kinda hilarious. Oh, and someone in the stands had a chihuahua. Pink accessories. I fell into conversation with a little girl petting Ginger the dachshund with me. I think she had something to say about chihuahuas. It may come as no surprise that I have no idea who won. I do know that Isaac got the MVP ball until the next game. He's a pretty good catcher. Sid took me to play in the park in the last inning, having been lobbying for it since before the game started. She had to show off her "big kid" friend to her other friends, you see. Ashley wasn't too interested, but I think she softened up after I was allowed to actually say hi. Anyway, after the game ended she and Isaac had me play Lava Monster with them. It was Isaac's idea, because it involves him taunting me from a strong position while I try to get him. I'm not allowed to come up on the playset to tag them, and it's not hard to stay out of reach. I ended up enlisting Sidney's help, but keeping her on my shoulders was harder than climbing up on the outside, and either way Isaac's faster. We did end up tagging him (mostly ignoring the little girl he got to join in, who I'm not sure actually understood our fast English), but then it got harder, because he wanted me to stay on the ground and help him, while Sidney wanted to stay with me. I was saved by the bell, in the end. Sid and Brooke came to say it was time to go. It was dark and raining when I got home, after a fun couple of hours.

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.

Six greyhounds and an Anatolian Shepherd

So it's eleven-thirty at night, I'm trying to go to sleep, and this ridiculous dog is dropping a tennis ball in my face, having been trying to push it ever since we came in from Last Outing. Sheesh.

Philip and I did the shopping this morning, getting home about eleven. He bought two tickets to the Renaissance Fair at King Soopers.

After lunch we went for a short lark, and then whenever Phil decides to get moving we're going to Larkspur, for the Fair, and then Denver, for Jim's fight. I hope he wins again, but I do wish I knew more fighters so more of the fights would be interesting. ;p I am going to try to get a t-shirt or something this time.

When we got to the fair, the enormous parking lots were packed. They actually had buses running from the parking lot to the front gate, which was set up to look like the battlement of a castle, with people in costume up on the walkway calling hello, and a couple more in costume taking tickets. A note about the costumes: the theme was not Renaissance. The theme was everybody's favorite movie, either historical of fantasy. The result was quite a few hook-on pointy ears, and even more wire-frame fairy wings. It was really fun to watch. There were hoopskirts, and asymmetrical overskirts worn without underskirts, and monks and wizards and little pink and gold princesses and a little evil fairy who skipped past the Pikes Peak Highlanders with very creditable jigging steps.. There was a man who gave short, fast history lectures, tuition optional, dressed in blue velvets. There were four women who sang, very well, dressed in gowns with the quilted sort of bodice and flowing sleeves and skirt--pre-Renaissance, I think. There were two gentlemen in black vest-cloaks and swords, who made me think of King Charles the Second but would probably have been under Cromwell, in that case. I wanted to ask what period they were from, but they were taking a picture with a fairy. There were jesters. and three people in very long pants on stilts with their hands free, the Barely Balanced Acrobatic Display. They were really very well balanced, and one of the men had the perfect manner for it. There was a short play on the Celestial Stage, where Prince Charming and Charles Dashing, speaking entirely in rhyme, told the story of the hero (played by a girl from the audience) who rescues the princess (he was black--I think they chose a guy with a shaved head so the bright blonde wig with pink bows would have full impact) from the villain (played by Charles Dashing, after much persuasive speaking on the treatment of heroines by villains--this was before Charming said the guy was going to be the princess.) They were pretty good. There was a sword fight, too, where Charming subbed for the hero because Dashing couldn't fight a girl. ("I can't fight her, she's a girl. Remember what happened last time?" (aside to the audience) "He ended up in hospital.") 

We went around the fair twice. The first round there was an enormous dog, almost white, near the elephants. I went to ask what he was, and he was an Anatolian Shepherd (working, so I couldn't pet him just then. I did ask.) We also found the Colorado Greyhound Rescue, where half a dozen beautiful dogs wearing cloth collars in Celtic designs lounged around while their humans, looking almost as medieval but much less elegant, answered questions. I made the acquaintance of a very tall laddie shedding fawn fur named Legolas. The short version of this, Leggy, was an accurate description.

We sheltered from the worst of the rain in a weaver's shop, full of absolutely lovely cotton and wool clothing: shirts and skirts (the skirts today were all especially hard on me: the best ones are the priciest), shawls and ruanas (rather like ponchos), scrunchies and pouches. I had a lovely conversation with the lady in charge of the shop, the apprenticed partner in Green Tree Weaving, ably assisted by her two sons, probably about seven and ten. She told me about their sheep, which are California variegated mutants. I looked them up, and apparently the breed is derived from the Romeldale, a hybrid breed developed through crosses of Romneys and Ramboulliets. Multicolored lambs cropped up in Romeldale herds, and from these the breed was developed. Sabine also asked whether I knitted or whatever, the underlying question being why was I interested in all these details, and I said yes, I did knit a bit, but my main interest was because I had a few sheep. Did I use my own wool? It was a goal, but I hadn't learn to spin yet, not having anyone to teach me. She advised me, very strongly, to ask about among the elders of my community and find someone. Sigh. Anyway, after much heartburnings over the lovely garments, I bought a scrunchie. I could've bought a pouch, but I wove myself one years ago. Not as nice, of course.....Anyway, not for next time: have either much more or much less money. Ninety bucks means enough to spend but not enough to spare.

That was on the second circuit, which was when I started buying things. I bought a pewter dragon pendant from one shop, while a girl in a very well-put-together costume asked about protection pendants. That startled me a bit. Anyway, so far so small, but in a clothing shop near the end I buckled down and bought an outfit. It's kind of the simplest design, full skirt with a wraparound waist and ruffled bottom and a tube blouse with elastic around the top and bottom (bottom more than top, interestingly) and little sleeved attached only below the arm. I think of it as the Barmaid Blouse, and am beginning to get my blood up thinking about how to make the thing both wearable and good-looking. The whole outfit, actually, although the skirt won't be so bad. Need to find a color that goes well with light brown--this might be easier if I'd gotten the dark brown one. Oh, well, it should be a fun challenge, anyway.

We left the fair shortly after that, although we stopped to listen to a very good group in green kilts: one piper, three or four drummers, and a guitarist with the brown curls and beard look. I think it may be true what they say about live music: it's stronger, more exciting: live. Of course. 

After Larkspur was Denver. Philip fed me at Qdoba, and then we went on to Crowne Plaza. There weren't nearly as many people there this time, which was smart of them, because they had the audio up much too loud. Add to purse: bandaids, earplugs. Anyway, Jim was sixth of ten, and the fight was a complete opposite of his first, except for the main point, of course. His first time, he won thirty seconds into the first round, forcing a submission with an arm bar. This time they went three rounds, at the end of which the judges declared Jim the winner. It was a very good fight--it's much more interesting when one has someone to cheer for--in this case, in common with a very vocal section of the crowd. There were a couple other fights where I managed to pick someone, such as Rutherford the Nebraskan, besides one of the pro fights where I rooted for the fighter eleven years older than his opponent. They both won.

We got home about midnight, and I lay down next to Grandma to tell her about it. I had dog hair all over my clothes in minutes, of course. In the end, I think it was about one-thirty when I went to sleep. A long day.

Wildflowers

Followed Lark to Sid's this morning, and ended up talking for quite a while. One result was a late walk. Too hot! The main point of interest was, again, at the gate: a nice young man was driving a tractor in. Strange. Lark didn't want to pull over, drat her.

Finished Girl Fight. I look forward to more of this.

Seven pushups just before lunch. Almost immediately after lunch Grandma went down for her nap, and I went over to Sid's for our shopping trip. So, for starters, we went to the military surplus store down by Old Colorado City to look at clothes. I ended up not getting any pants, but there were some t-shirts I got. There was a Goodwill near there, so we went there next, and I found several shirts, a skirt, and a very nice dress there. Sid got a charming little music box, a delightful confection in pink and white with three horses. It's in perfect condition, and plays the first couple of bars of "The Sound of Music" over and over.

It was raining when we got home. I showed off my purchases to Grandma, and then I went to sleep. Philip woke me up.

Grandma and I had bisonburgers for dinner while Philip napped, and after dinner I brushed the dog. We larked out at about seven-thirty, and somewhat curtailed the loop in order to get back before dark, coming back along the first leg, which is either shorter or just easier. We met a lady jogger, but no one else. The late wildflowers are blooming: the yellow clover; an odd plant called the prickly poppy, with a stalk like a thistle and a bloom like a white poppy; a purple flower that resembles a vetch blossom on steroids, but with radial compound leaves; the ground cacti, the bane of Lark's poor paws, with adorable yellow cups with dark red or aloe-green centers. Some have buds of dark pink, which will be opening in the next couple of days.

Finished Out of Africa.

"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.

Rock Ledge Ranch

Well, we had Linda, Carole's supervisor, here to talk to Mom and Grandma about things. Lark and I sat in on it. I can't really say they really arrived at much of a decision, but it was informative. After Linda left Diane came for therapy, and I pulled weeds out of the rock path in the shade until they finished. Philip called me on the cell during this to say that if Jenna (Steve Boonzaijer's wife), who was coming to buy an iPod from him, didn't bring some baked goods along the deal was off. She appeared a little after noon with three bags of goodies, now a little depleted. She was so determined to get a new iPod, which she needs to keep her feet going when she jogs, that she had the check all written out when she got here. I do like her. 

Started doing pushups and sit-ups yesterday. I'm at a pathetically small number of reps, but my abs hurt. *moans* Starting out with five at a time.....ooooooww......This is ridiculous.....

Once everyone was cleared out, and the chores were out of the way, Mom and I headed out. We were going to Rock Ledge Ranch. They used to be called White House Ranch, but then they found out there's lovely stone under the white stucco on the namesake, so they stripped the stucco, restored the stone, and changed the name--"on account there're no white houses anymore." Well, this explains why I couldn't find their website a couple of months ago--I was googling the wrong name. Anyway, we got in free this time, on a lucky chance. You see, they're--someone's--in the process of putting up this really big, fancy white tent over in the meadow by the blacksmith's shop. It's not historically accurate--downright anachronistic, one might say--so they aren't charging people to get in while it's up. One really does wonder who came up with that. Well, we were happy, anyway.

We started out with the livestock. They have five horses, two of which are new. They're a matched pair of big black Shires, half-siblings, named Victoria and Winston. Victoria wasn't terribly interested, but Winston was happy to talk to me, if a little mischievous. The others--Percherons?--ignored me. I rather think Victoria's the only mare on the place--we saw three other horses, the two big drafts and a light roan, and they were all geldings. Interesting. The sheep were all conked in the shade, looking rather depressed. They were shorn June 6, as the opening event for the season, and some of them came out the worse from a comparison to Doug's shearing. They also have a peacock there, a lonely fellow who utters the most obnoxious shriek from time to time.

From the barnyard we went into the ranch house, for a tour of the place. A young man who seemed to be a fellow cold-sufferer gave us the tour of the downstairs, and for upstairs we had a self-possessed little girl of perhaps twelve to explain to us about bone toothbrushes and rope-spring beds. She was pretty good. 

We wandered from the ranch house to the Orchard House, built by General Palmer for his sister-in-law. The housemaid took us over the house, pointing out status symbols such as wall-to-wall carpeting as enhanced by built-in sideboards and the like. I think she was just a bit nervous to be doing the job of the housekeeper or the cook, but she did a good job. I liked her, anyway. She did have trouble remembering what the back porch was called--the likely word occurred to Mom as we were leaving. "Do you think it was terrace?" Maybe. We went from there to the blacksmith's shop, where a young man was just finishing up a demonstration as we arrived. He started on a hook next, first hammering the end into a point and curling it, then twisting the length. Finally he hammered the other end into a spike and bent it at a right angle, to drive into a wall. He handed the finished product to the group with us, then, finding upon inquiry that Mom and I weren't with the others, he gave me one he'd made earlier. Thank you!

After the blacksmith we walked back along the road past the Orchard House to stop at the Coach-house, where a lady was working on beading a deerskin shirt in the Indian style. She herself was dark, with a very aquiline nose. We looked at the various exhibits, mainly to do with gold mining and the general settlement of the area, until she asked us if we lived in the area. I explained that I was staying with my grandmother, who lived in Colorado Springs, and added that I was with my mum. We chatted a little, and then I asked about employment versus volunteering. She told me that they have both volunteers and employees, and you can volunteer until you're sixteen, at which point you can get a job there. As we were leaving, she added, "We need more people." Well, sure, but I need to be able drive first. Again.

From there, trying to find the path to the parking lots, we followed the path to the Galloway Homestead. It's a little log cabin, chinked with adobe clay, but the feature that immediately captured our attention was the lovely little Jersey cow. She was adorable--and surprisingly soft! More like a kid than a goat, really. She wasn't very big, either. I wonder if they plan to breed her; she wasn't in milk, but I don't think it was because she was too young. Maybe someone's cull was the perfect display cow. I don't know. I talked to her for a few minutes, and then we moved on, past a little girl washing wool, to the cabin. There were various textile-crafts in stasis there, from someone's crocheting to a rag rug on a loom. The lady there pointed out the finished one on the floor, which presented a very irregular appearance, due, she told us, to the children's always taking the warp off the nails on the frame that keep in straight. Well, good luck with this one.

We managed to find the right path from there to the parking lots. We encountered a pair of girls with bikes in sight of our goal. One looked familiar, and as we drew even I realized who it was. "Elle Reese?" It was, rather unsure of who I was, so I promptly identified myself as Philip's sister from church. We chatted for a bit, discussing the ranch--she said the tent might be for the Art Festival--and then we went off in opposite directions.

Mom had some errands to run, and we dropped into Claussen Books while she was trying to get to the jeweler's. They had Charity Girl, which a) I already own a perfectly good copy of and b) don't like much, on the outside racks. I was a bit mad. Sigh. Mom was happy, though, because she found a bunch of Landmark books, which she's collecting, she says, for her grandchildren. Okay. The jeweler's, next to Safeway, took six links, as requested, out of Grandma's medical assistance bracelet, and after doing some shopping for dinner at Safeway we went home.

I called Sid to see if she could go shopping with me while Mom takes Grandma to the doctor. Granddaughters coming over cancelled that plan, but she had a story to tell me: This morning, she let the cat out pretty early, left the door open for her, and went back to bed. She woke up again about seven to the feeling of a warm mass on her bed: furry, tentative, little tail wagging. At this point, telling Doug about it, he said, "Oh bleep." Actually, what I told him was that there was a dog in her bed, so maybe it wasn't that hard to guess. I was getting a slight sinking feeling myself at that part, though. It was the "little tail" bit, I think. Maddy has a pretty long tail for her size, after all. Sid thought it was pretty funny. 

Well, after making it all the way through the ranch without sneezing once, I am back to groping for Kleenex with watering eyes half-shut. One advantage to a small house: Kleenex boxes at all the strategic points still does not necessarily add up to that many Kleenex boxes.

Hadrosaurs

Well, everybody slept in, which is to say Grandma slept in so I did too. Who knows what Philip does. Philip having called the paper yesterday to say we keep getting two papers and it's rather a nuisance, please stop, there was no paper this morning. Typical, and not unexpected.

It was a long afternoon. Sid was here when Philip and I left for Denver. We made it to the Botanical Gardens at perhaps two, the iPhone having been used to good purpose in that area. We parked in one of those areas where all the houses are really huge and really nice, in an antique sort of style. Lots of lovely dogs, although not to speak to. Anyway, we got into the Gardens and started taking pictures. The first gardens was, I believe, the water-conservation one, showcasing plants that do well on little water. We took some nice photos there, and quite a lot in the Japanese Garden of the Winds, the Shoku-En. There was a tea house where you could take part in a tea ceremony, but it was closed today. There were water gardens, and an Asian garden, and a knot garden of herbs, and a rose garden, and romantic and fragrant gardens (they were doing weddings in the Romantic and South African gardens--I think we went through just after them both) and an indoor jungle garden which was wonderfully humid. One thing that was really cool was that there were dinosaurs throughout the gardens, so there was an Edmontosaurus in one, and a Kritosaurus in another (yay duckbills!) and the most prominent was the Daspletosaur, a relation of T. Rex. We both got pictures in front of that. Anyway, from the map, we missed a few, but we saw the Bambiraptors, the Daspletosaur, the Edmontosaurus, the Kritosaurus, the Oviraptor which was right out front, the Placerias which I remember from the first chapter of Walking with Dinosaurs, the Dimetrodon, the Quetzalcoatls, and the Syntarsus in the jungle. Please note that the only name here acknowledged by Spellcheck is T. Rex. Although they put up with Velociraptor too. I was getting pretty hungry by the time we finished, so then we went to Red Robin for either late lunch or early dinner, at about four or so. I remember they played "Viva la Vida" while we were in there. We both had hamburgers, and I had a Barq's in hopes that the caffeine would be adequate. I suppose it was, but I was still pretty tired when we got home.

This was not for a long time. After Red Robin, we went to Elitch Gardens. It was like an alien planet. The buildings, when you walk in, have a vaguely Wild Western Main Street look, and when this effect is combined with crowds of unfamiliar big-city people and the unfamiliar music, the result is something like the beginning of the movie, when the main point is to emphasize where this is set and that it's somewhere you've never been. The life-forms help--there was a group of three guys with long dark hair that, when gelled, produced spikes ranging from three inches to a foot tall. I tried to take a picture, but we were in line for the Sea Dragon and the guys were behind a tree. You can see them if you look, but it's not a great picture of anything but a tree. 

The Sea Dragon was the first ride we went on. I think we were in line maybe half an hour, although since this is Philip's average and I think one of the others was longer than that it may have been less. That one Gorillaz song, 19-2000, was playing when we got in line. The sound quality was fairly awful, but it was nice to hear something familiar in such a strange place. That ride was just plain fun, as Philip said we were starting out tame. It was, I suppose, but it was fun, like a really big swing. There was something of a bonus in the location, too, as it was right next to this ride where a boat went down a water slide, and we had a great view of the splash.

The second ride was the roller coaster. It was the oldest, tamest one they had, with no loops or anything, the Twister 2, successor to the first Elitch's roller coaster. The frame was wood, white paint peeling. It was fairly scary. I clenched my teeth, braced myself, and rode it out. Philip filmed the whole thing--it turns out it was only about two minutes, but two minutes is pretty long when you're on a roller coaster. After the Twister we went and got in line for the Boomerang. For the Boomerang, what more or less happens is you go up the incline, it drops you, you go around the loops and up the other incline, and then that drops you and you do it all again backwards as well as upside down. Lesson: don't bother opening your eyes when you're upside down. You can't see anything anyway if they were shut that hard. Also I think my ears popped multiple times, but that may have been from clenching my jaw. Anyway. They sold us a picture--I think it's from right when you start down the first drop. Philip was grinning like an idiot the whole time, except when he was laughing. There was a third coaster, the Mind Eraser, which involved hanging in a seat from the rail. That had a pretty loopy course, but fortunately the parking meter had expired and we had to go. I fell asleep in the cars making notes and, eventually,  narrating a Miles story in my head, until the radio took over with a story about cell phone viruses and how they won't become a problem until there are enough people with smart phones that all use the same OS. I tried to get back to Miles, but no luck. We got home at nine or so to an overwhelming welcome from Lark. She was so wound up she came back inside to check on me without even being called. Philip showed Grandma our pictures and video, I sat down to write this, and one of the cactus spines I picked out of Lark's nose this morning somehow managed to get me in the back and the foot when I sat down. Gack.

The end of all this is that Lark didn't get walked today. Uh-oh.

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.

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.

Loldogs

Everybody slept in. I believe Lark enjoyed it, but as I was not under the covers, having fallen asleep waiting for Grandma to get out of the bathroom, I was not warm. I ended up taking a shower after breakfast, and washing my hair.

Grandma started making a do-list at breakfast. T_T Philip vacuumed all the carpets, and I mopped the kitchen and greenhouse floors. Next we're running errands: taking the dishes back to their owners, for one. Meanwhile, clouds have moved in after this morning's sun, and all in all it looks like rain. I wonder if we'll get soaked again...?

Well, we took the dishes back. Norma didn't seem to be home, so we left hers on her (covered) porch; Joan was too far across town, so we gave hers to Jinn; and Philip found Jinn's condos relying on Google Maps and instinct alone. Jinn was happy to see us, and invited us in. She has a very nice kitchen, as far as decorating-induced mood goes. I asked her about bridge, and she says they're happy to come over as soon as Grandma's ready. Need to talk to Grandma about that. There's also a luncheon in, I think, early June they want her for. Noted. Jinn showed me over her house, saying that while she preferred the country it wasn't bad once you got used to it. Discussing the sort of place she'd like to have (a small acreage, with chickens, ducks, and geese), I asked, "No goats?" She conceded a couple of goats, and told me a story about her dad. Apparently he was in the habit of buying things from auctions a reselling them. One purchase, brought home in the stock rack, was a small herd of goats. He brought them home and released them in the backyard, where Jinn's mother had hung out her wash. Oops. "Did she kill him?" I asked. "I thought for a minute she was going to," Jinn admitted.

Then we went to a liquor store, Philip having a yen for a beer he had, hitherto, only found at the Yard House. Here, having seen a sign at the door forbidding "children between the ages of 12 and 20", and a sign over the beer cooler saying that because of rising shoplifting in the economic downturn (no, really) purses longer than six inches had to stay in the car. Well, you know my purse. A foot if it's an inch. So, having found his beer, Philip handed me his keys and told me to head out to the car. Passing three employees and nearly bumping into two others (one at the inner door, one at the outer), I made it into the parking lot, where rain was falling heavily. I tried to unlock the car. None of the keys on the ring worked. I tried every single one, including the obvious house keys. I was still standing in the rain, trying keys, when Philip came out. He, of course, unlocked the door, no problem. "I think it would have ben more efficient if I'd just  checked out with you," I said.

We also went to K-mart, the vacuum cleaner needing a new filter. I had been thinking about hats lately, so this sounded good. I didn't find one for rain shedding, but I did find a nice one for just, you know, nice, which had been my other goal. It's tan, with neutral beads on a thong around the brim. I liked the blue one better, since it would have gone nicely with one of my skirts, but unfortunately its beads were anything but neutral and too likely to clash. So I got the safe one. *sigh*

Philip and I made salmon (him) and lemon rice (me) for dinner. Grandma's stove is....difficult. The settings are degrees of temperature, like an oven. Fortunately Grandma was nearby and awake, so I could just ask her. It all came out pretty well. Philip emphasized the salmon's Norwegian origin, which seemed to matter to Grandma too. This conveys nothing whatsoever to me.

Lark didn't get her walk until after dinner. Philip and I were both full, and his basketball game (Nuggets vs. Lakers) was on, but we managed a good long walk, making it home before full dark. We met no one, despite various interesting post-rain tracks in the sand of the trail. Drat.

Philip is watching the game now, at 9:25. I've been on icanhasahotdog.com, hence the goggies. I admit, there's a lot more variety there than one encounters on Heller walks. Now considering when to get into the shower, tomorrow morning being church. :s

Rottweiler

I'm having to write this Sunday, as the Mac was down all Saturday afternoon. >.> (Doug's translation)

Philip got in about twelve-thirty and crashed on the couch, which was vacant while Mom slept in Grandma's room. I didn't even realize he was here until I let Lark out about six and saw the Vic.

We brought Grandma home in the morning, after rather more time than I expected spent packing up and doing paperwork for the nurse. I didn't see Rocker again, but I wouldn't have been able to give him much attention so oh well.  I spent a lot of time riding the elevator, as Grandma was on the third floor and I made a lot of trips between her room and the car, carrying clothes, potted flowers, and books. We made it out about nine-thirty, having spent about an hour waiting, on Mom's part, for the nurse to bring the papers. We got home just as Norma, one of Grandma's neighbors, showed up with a pan of lemon bars, part of the conspiracy to fatten Grandma up. I'm afraid they're going to succeed better with me. She stayed and chatted awhile; Lark was very well-behaved, refraining from jumping and licking.

While Grandma napped Mom and I went shopping for groceries. We went to King Soopers because Philip said they had the best chance of carrying Starbucks ice cream. They didn't, but there was a coupon for it on our receipt, so we'll have to try again.

After lunch, kindly supplied by Jinn (leading member of the aforementioned conspiracy), we watched the Preakness Stakes on Grandma's TV. It was much better quality than the Derby we watched a few years ago, and there was lots of footage of the beautiful horses. I was hoping for Mine That Bird, the winner of the Derby; unfortunately, he made his bid too late, and came in second to Rachel Alexandra, the first filly to win the Preakness since Nellie Morse, eighty-five years ago. Good for her, but no Triple Crown again this year. :/

It was late afternoon by the time Lark got her walk. We went down on the Heller Center trail, taking a side-trail off the main road. It turned out to lead past a very small pond, the probable home of the heron Mom and I saw when we first drove in. We passed a group of boys on that trail; the youngest was primarily interested in Lark, remarking the first time we passed, "That's the same dog as ours!" The second time we were on the same trail passing each other, and he got a much better look as he brought up the rear of his group: "I don't think that's a Bernese." "No," I said softly, "She's an Aussie." I feel better about that exchange than those toward the front of the cavalcade. The first boy apologized when Lark bumped his nose on his leg, which was nice of him, and I really wish I had been able to say something along the lines of "It's okay." And I really wish I had thought to tell the boy who shrieked and drew back when we came past not to be a wimp. He annoyed me, and I only thought of anything but ignoring him when they had been gone a full minute. Oh well. Such are the trials of human interaction. 

The trials of canine interaction were, in this case, a lack thereof, and came as we were heading back along the main trail. I heard voices when I had almost reached the turn where the trail goes uphill, and I turned around to see a gloriously enormous Rottweiler come bounding out of that side-trail. His master called him back, and the second time I saw him he was coming out with two people. They went along the under-construction actual road, and were well along it when the dog spotted Lark and began to sheer in our direction. I hoped he would come talk to us, but his master called him back without seeing what he was going toward, and I didn't get to meet him. As the two people with him were college-age boys carrying their shirts, my disappointment is mixed with a little relief.

The evening ended with me rereading Heyer, in particular Powder and Patch. It's one of her earlier novels, a Georgian, and while it's not quite up to her later standard I had forgotten just how entertaining it is. It also left me with the strong desire to read The Masqueraders, ever my favorite of her heroine-in-disguise stories. When Philip and Mom finally finished War of the Worlds on Phil's laptop via the TV, I got the monitor cable back and managed to check the manga.  There were several good updates. :3

Went to eat at Chipotle tonight. The boys got Star Wars: Best of PC at Target, and we went to Barnes and Noble to drool, since it was close. So many vols of Hana Kimi......so little money......

Reading Crimson Hero. I like a girl who punches when she needs to. Though I don't think it left a mark....