Dog Terrorist
Wendy slept in this morning. It's the second-to-last weekend of the official summer--that season between two national holidays that completely surrounds another. Yesterday, we did little but hang around, watching TV, going in the hot tub, and reading Today is only slightly more active--we slept in and went out to breakfast, bought some groceries and a NY Times, and read and napped all day since.
This morning, before we went to breakfast, Wendy took Cinder to the beach where they were interrupted by a notorious local dog, Jake. Jake and Cinder have gotten into fights before, and Wendy said that she didn't like the dog at all until she met its owner, a very nice, friendly woman. But Jake is often outside by himself, and that's when he gets into trouble. Jake first stole Cinder's ball, and he wouldn't give it back. Wendy said he would drop it, but keep his mouth close to the ball. When Wendy would come near, he would snatch it again and run away. Wendy did get the ball back from him, and trying to leave, put the ball in the car. She then took out Cinder's towel to dry her off and, as she said, "before I knew what happened, Jake had taken off with the towel." He brought it down to the sand and shook it violently. She tried everything to get it away from him. She eventually succeeded, but he stole it again and took it far out into the water, where he left it to drown. "That dog was terrorizing us!"
Now, though, it's a little after 5 and we're sitting out on our balcony, enjoying a late afternoon. We got a citronella candle, and the whole thing is recently painted, and it's all just really, really nice. My back has been hurting lately, and it's come as some odd relief. The right side of my lower back has been hurting me, off and on and with varying degrees of mild bluntness, since May. If I weren't so paranoid about kidney disease or--gasp--cancer, I'd probably have had it checked out by now. With my back hurting the way it does now (unmistakeably a backache), I can rationalize a connection between them. "Yeah, that's it, I just need to stretch more..."
I have been in awe of the weather we've had this summer. We've had so many sunny days that I'm ashamed of having at times wished them away. I do worry, though, about how dry things have gotten and about our fire risk. A town in British Columbia had to evacuate 300,000 people yesterday. Previously, I had consoled myself with the fact that serious fires have seemed so far to restrict themselves to those Washington counties that are east of the Cascades.
Look at all that worry--never a better indication that things are really, really good for you than when you're worried about all the things that can bring you down. Do you think crackheads worry about their retirement?
I said it was the second-to-last weekend of the official summer, but it's also the first one we've had without guests for about a month. Our first guest was Aaron. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to take him out on the boat, since it was still at the mechanics for repairs. We did have a good time, including the first time for any of us to go kayaking! It was really nice to have him around. Wendy said it gave her a preview of what it will be like when we have kids of our own. The next pair of visitors was Bill and Jane. They stayed in Seattle on the Saturday following Aaron's visit and stayed with us Sunday night before going off on a mid-week jaunt up to the Olympics.
They stayed with us the next weekend, where we went out on the boat (they didn't like it too much, too fast and bouncy) and had a very relaxed time. They picked berries and Wendy and her mom made jam. Bill and I (mostly Bill) fixed a toilet downstairs. I showed them some movies that they didn't care for, but the best times with them was during dinner, either out on the town or together in our dining room. I think that they're pretty pleased with our lifestyle, though they act cool when they're here. I hope that they do like it, anyway, since Wendy and I are very concious of how we were raised and we want to use the best of both families in our household habbits. Certainly one of our triats that we model after Wendy's family more than my own is a practical style. I tell Wendy that all the time. I love how practical she is, and how it informs her sense of style.
The boat is sort of the same way. They might not like the boat we got, but I think they're glad we're interested in exploring our environment. The closest corallary to what my parents had was a trailer that they took to the seaside town of Carpenteria, but by the time I was growing up, that was just a fond memory. They stopped going to Carpenteria when (or perhaps 'because') Pam and I were born. It was likely, too, that the kids were spinning off like free radicals and my parents, working jobs and changing diapers, where just trying to get by.
This morning, before we went to breakfast, Wendy took Cinder to the beach where they were interrupted by a notorious local dog, Jake. Jake and Cinder have gotten into fights before, and Wendy said that she didn't like the dog at all until she met its owner, a very nice, friendly woman. But Jake is often outside by himself, and that's when he gets into trouble. Jake first stole Cinder's ball, and he wouldn't give it back. Wendy said he would drop it, but keep his mouth close to the ball. When Wendy would come near, he would snatch it again and run away. Wendy did get the ball back from him, and trying to leave, put the ball in the car. She then took out Cinder's towel to dry her off and, as she said, "before I knew what happened, Jake had taken off with the towel." He brought it down to the sand and shook it violently. She tried everything to get it away from him. She eventually succeeded, but he stole it again and took it far out into the water, where he left it to drown. "That dog was terrorizing us!"
Now, though, it's a little after 5 and we're sitting out on our balcony, enjoying a late afternoon. We got a citronella candle, and the whole thing is recently painted, and it's all just really, really nice. My back has been hurting lately, and it's come as some odd relief. The right side of my lower back has been hurting me, off and on and with varying degrees of mild bluntness, since May. If I weren't so paranoid about kidney disease or--gasp--cancer, I'd probably have had it checked out by now. With my back hurting the way it does now (unmistakeably a backache), I can rationalize a connection between them. "Yeah, that's it, I just need to stretch more..."
I have been in awe of the weather we've had this summer. We've had so many sunny days that I'm ashamed of having at times wished them away. I do worry, though, about how dry things have gotten and about our fire risk. A town in British Columbia had to evacuate 300,000 people yesterday. Previously, I had consoled myself with the fact that serious fires have seemed so far to restrict themselves to those Washington counties that are east of the Cascades.
Look at all that worry--never a better indication that things are really, really good for you than when you're worried about all the things that can bring you down. Do you think crackheads worry about their retirement?
I said it was the second-to-last weekend of the official summer, but it's also the first one we've had without guests for about a month. Our first guest was Aaron. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to take him out on the boat, since it was still at the mechanics for repairs. We did have a good time, including the first time for any of us to go kayaking! It was really nice to have him around. Wendy said it gave her a preview of what it will be like when we have kids of our own. The next pair of visitors was Bill and Jane. They stayed in Seattle on the Saturday following Aaron's visit and stayed with us Sunday night before going off on a mid-week jaunt up to the Olympics.
They stayed with us the next weekend, where we went out on the boat (they didn't like it too much, too fast and bouncy) and had a very relaxed time. They picked berries and Wendy and her mom made jam. Bill and I (mostly Bill) fixed a toilet downstairs. I showed them some movies that they didn't care for, but the best times with them was during dinner, either out on the town or together in our dining room. I think that they're pretty pleased with our lifestyle, though they act cool when they're here. I hope that they do like it, anyway, since Wendy and I are very concious of how we were raised and we want to use the best of both families in our household habbits. Certainly one of our triats that we model after Wendy's family more than my own is a practical style. I tell Wendy that all the time. I love how practical she is, and how it informs her sense of style.
The boat is sort of the same way. They might not like the boat we got, but I think they're glad we're interested in exploring our environment. The closest corallary to what my parents had was a trailer that they took to the seaside town of Carpenteria, but by the time I was growing up, that was just a fond memory. They stopped going to Carpenteria when (or perhaps 'because') Pam and I were born. It was likely, too, that the kids were spinning off like free radicals and my parents, working jobs and changing diapers, where just trying to get by.
Labels: Cinder
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