Try Your Best

We've had a lot of construction around my neighborhood this summer.  A bridge was replaced, yards and roads have been ripped up to replace old pipes, and we have three houses at the end of our street that have been torn down and are in various stages of rebuilding.  There have been times I've needed help just getting off my street or I've been blocked and needed to wait.  Yesterday we went for a walk and discovered that Josie's favorite street to do her business is being torn up.  Robert and I jokingly refer to this street as "The Beloved Poop Fields of El Monte," because Josie has such a fondness for pooping there.  I've seen her go poo just minutes before walking El Monte and if we turn on El Monte, she poos again.

So yesterday we needed to go a bit further, I was already late, Josie was giving me crap for missing her street, and we came across this sign.

As we passed Josie's beloved street again, she got as close to it as she could and did her business.  That was the best she could do.  This is likely some kind of divine message from the universe.

July

July was bananas, so I was unable to post.  I wrapped up another semester (only one left).  We did lots of things at work: wrapping up the remodel, starting up social media, country club trophy season etc.  Some extra time went into my mysterious gut disorder (maybe less mysterious soon).  Lots of art, writing, tennis.  The usual.

Here are a few special moments:

A few years ago we had regular barred owl visitors.  Almost every time we looked out the window or walked outside we saw them.  Then they disappeared.  But maybe they are back.  Robert Facetimed me one morning on his way to work and told me to come outside.  

An owl on the ground!

But the owl very quickly flew to a tree when I came out.  My excitement (even the silent kind) is too much.

Margo has been working hard at the shop.  She's recently been learning all about social media and has been a good sport about it.

She now knows a little about trophies too.  You need an award?  She'll help you pick something!

Occasionally Josie visits, and we have an honoree shop dog.

They both work hard at their jobs, so there has been even more flopping than usual at home.

Heck, even a recent visit to a splash pad tuckered them out.

Life is good.

October moments

Some moments from the past few weeks:

Margo has been enjoying this gray bed recently, but it appears she doesn't know how to lay in it.

Another day, another 10+ cups of tea, especially now that there's a hint of cooler weather.  Just a heads up - Give a Tea is too weak and has a clear wrapper.  Yogi Chai Rooibos and Bhakti, on the other hand, are two staples.  Bhakti is a concentrate that unfortunately has added sugar, but it's really the only spicy chai I've found.  Other chais claiming to be spicy aren't even in the same league.   

Izzy is doing good.  She has two bunnies now, but she also has a foster bunny so to speak.  We recently went for a walk with her, and she is happy.  The dogs were very happy to see her and the bunnies too!

We have had a couple cool days and evenings, a few trees producing blinding radiance, and two exceptionally windy days.  Autumn is here.

A few leaves are so big!  Each time one smacks into me on the windy days it feels like I'm being attacked by a large bird.  I tried identifying this leaf on three identification apps and some googling.  No luck.  Every app says it's a maple leaf, but it doesn't even remotely look like a maple leaf.  I think the golden retriever modeling the leaf is perhaps throwing off the apps.  I'm surprised the apps aren't telling me it's a golden retriever tree.  Any guesses?    

Superfloppers

Last summer we splurged and rented someone's pool thanks to Swimply, which is kind of like Airbnb for pools.  There are a few pools on Swimply in the KC metro area that allow dogs, so that's where the splurge comes in.  Robert and I pay very little to swim about once a week at a couple different public pools, but sadly no dogs are allowed.  

Our last goldens, Rose and Ella, thought they needed to rescue us anytime we went swimming with them.  Nothing could convince them otherwise.  Unless we were sitting in a creek with them, it always turned into too much stress for everyone.  Margo and Josie, however, are completely the opposite.  In fact, if they get tired swimming, they come right to us and let us hold them while they take a break.  Yes, there were stairs and a shallow place for them to rest, but that would defeat the purpose of having humans.

After last year's experience, it was at the top of our bucket list this year, and we invited a friend and his kids to come swimming too.  Both dogs and kids were really thrilled to just be hauled around on the giant raft, and Margo and Josie were convinced the kids were going to their best friends ever.  Both kids just started swim lessons, but after about ten minutes in the pool, you would have never guessed it.  They were swimming like pros!  Did Margo and Josie ever realize that the kids were just learning how to swim though?  Nope!  They were completely oblivious.  If you ever need a dog to rescue you for any reason, these two dogs are not it!  

running afowl

Recently Robert and I had a rather eventful walk at one of our nearby parks.  We had the joy of seeing a heron who moved around every so often, and didn't mind when anyone got too close.  It was the closest I've ever been to one!  We also enjoyed the geese, especially when they stretched their beautiful feet out behind them like they were luxuriating in the soggy day.  It was a drizzly, humid day, so the grass was extra squishy.  Josie was close enough for a taste of goose feet, but she mostly resisted.  No doubt she'll taste them in her dreams!

art party

Some very exciting news here!

I had my first artist talk at the Natasha Ria Gallery, where some of my artwork is currently displayed.  Some very special people came, and it was a lot of fun!  I will definitely be on the lookout for more artist talks, because I always have a millions questions like how do they do that?  What's their process?  And on and on.

Here I am with the amazing Natasha, who has been so incredibly helpful with my art journey.  She is one of the warmest and easiest people to talk to.  And she's both an artist and poet too!

I was completely blown away when I looked up and saw one of my favorite people walk in.  Ann has been one of my writing friends for over ten years.  She is the poet I talk about who finds a haiku moment in every day.  She is also 94 years old and one of those people who scoops up all the best stories and shares them in beautiful ways.  We met through a poetry workshop I facilitated at the library over ten years ago, and along with a handful of special people, we have been sharing poetry ever since.  If that isn't one of those library stories about community building that tugs at your heart, then I don't know what will.  Ann is also an artist!  She painted many watercolors and has an eye for beauty.  Just look at her blouse, which is like a watercolor painting come to life!

In the picture below, Ann's daughter, Carol is to the left.  She's a passionate art and library supporter.  And on the right is Octavia, one of my favorite people I work with.  My world truly revolves around the library, and I've been so fortunate to meet some of my favorite people through the library.  With so much up in the air now with where I'll be working in the next six months, I recognize how good the library has been for me for the last fourteen years.  Even as I'm beginning to explore this new world of displaying art, the library is present in everything and everyone in my life.

Robert has been so jazzed about all my art endeavors.  He sometimes has even more enthusiasm than me!  He has been asking the best questions, helping me with both practical and artistic questions, and providing so much support.  I am excited he's on this journey with me.  His face here says everything I just said and then some.  

Lastly, I just wanted to let you all know I was selected as one of the emerging artists for the Lawrence Art in the Park in September!  It will be my first time participating in an artist fair, and I am so incredibly excited and nervous!  I hope to see lots of familiar faces and soak up all the inspiration and beauty.  I was so delighted to discover Lawrence Art in the Park's emerging artist program, because it will be a good way to dip my toes into the art fair community, learn how to set up a booth, and get those coveted booth photos I need to apply for future fairs if I decide to do so.  I also have the joy of sharing my booth with another emerging artist, which will also be a relief.  I'm a huge fan of the buddy system, especially when I'm new to something.  I hope this person is looking forward to an enthusiastic art buddy for two days!  

fountain flopping fixes most things

There's a lot in flux with my life right now.  In some ways 2024 has been a tough year.  I'm hoping there are some answers to things by the end of June.

But for now there is always family and fountain flopping and the possibility of clear skies ahead.

meandering

Robert and I had a rare weekend off together this past weekend.  We explored Weston, MO where we did some coffee shop flopping (I sewed and Robert click-clacked on his laptop), wandered around their tiny and adorable Main Street (they had a Polish Pottery Festival happening, which included a polka band), and ended the day with some bug-free, zero humidity hiking (probably the last perfect weather for a few months).  On Sunday we did a short walk with my niece, Izzy, and her bunny (Margo and Josie know these creatures as bun buns).  Margo and Josie did not eat the bunny and were only vaguely aware it existed.  Izzy is doing well - same job and relationship for quite some time.  She is content with both.  And well, she has a happy bun bun, so that says something too.

And always there's tennis, which is really just an opportunity for Margo to read the newspaper of whatever park we're at (though I have yet to see, hear, or smell these newspapers due to my human limitations).

dog joy

We have about a half dozen fountains in and around our neighborhood that the dogs love to flop and sometimes cavort in.  Each spring we excitedly await the fountains coming to life again.  Last weekend it happened!  The dog joy was off the charts.

Wogs & Wuddles

Depending on the day, the dogs and I go for either a "wuddle" or a "wog."  Wuddles are like walks but with constant cuddles.  Margo was the one who created this type of walk.  She does this thing where she throws her body against my legs.  Eventually I figured out that she gets so happy and excited on walks that she can't help but try to share all that excitement with me.  Thankfully she never throws herself hard enough to knock me over.  I'll give her some love, and then she'll continue on her way.  Cuddle, walk, cuddle, walk.  We must look like we're stuck together with Velcro.  

When Margo wants a different direction than where we are going she smacks my hand with her mouth and tries to herd me in the direction she wants.  This is NOT a wuddle, and I usually give her just as much sass as she gives me.  Josie will sometimes ask for cuddles on walks, but she's slightly lower to the ground, and just out of reach.  I have to lean over to give her any kind of love, and it gets a little wonky.  

Wogs are when we go for a combination of a jog and walk.  The girls have done an exceptional job learning that jogging is not a time for pooping or other stops.  They make small movements or slow a little to let me know if they need to do their business.  This is where the walk comes into play.  I usually walk the length of five houses.  This is about the perfect amount of time for the dogs to go potty.  After they go potty, we continue walking until we find a trash can, and then we start the process over again.  

I have succeeded at a lot of things in life - my most recent accomplishment was learning how to use an electric toothbrush in such a way that I don't have to change several times for work.

But for all of my accomplishments, I have never been able to jog with poop.  My peaceful, mindless jog is suddenly spiked with frantic thoughts of bursting bags of poo as the poo swings and thumps, swings and thumps.  Maybe the solution for this is a doggy saddle bag that looks like a dumpster.  As much as I dislike the swinging bag of poo, the dogs are absolutely appalled by it.  They will eat poopy popsicles of all varieties, but if it's their poop swinging against them as we jog, they try to outrun it while throwing me looks of horror and disgust.  You terrible human!  How dare you smack me around with my own poop!

So, as you can see, the dogs and I like to go for walks and jogs for different reasons.  The dogs like to poop and pee as many times as possible, and I like to turn off the internal noise and exert myself as much as possible (this helps turn down future internal noise).  Obviously we have different goals.  So we've settled on the wog for most days and wuddles for days when we are exhausted from outrunning flying poop.

Hikes are usually their own thing.  When we go for hikes, we don't do much wogging or wuddling.  But the other day, while out on a hike, Margo decided to do extended wuddles with me along the trails.  I felt very loved.  It was also challenging sometimes as we wuddled our way over rocks and roots, around mud puddles (me) or through them (Margo).  I don't know if this was just a one-time wuddle hike, or if this is what it looks like as the girls ease their way into middle-age, but we soaked it all up.  

 

a relaxing day with the exception of the copperhead

We are wrapping up a two-day weekend, which doesn't happen very often for us.  We spent Saturday hiking, working on personal projects, and ending the day with a much-anticipated board game I bought for Robert's birthday back in June (USPS: The Great American Mail Race).  It took over a month to get here!

We started our day at Dutch Bros and became instant fans because look at these pupachinos!

Our hike was beautiful, humid, muddy, a little scary, hilarious, and peaceful.  I walked away with blisters from swinging sticks to keep spiderwebs and their spiders out of our faces.  

Though it took a few tries to call the girls away from this charming copperhead, he calmly tolerated their dancing steps.  The dogs had no idea what was beneath their feet!  We got so lucky!  I barely had the word, "snake" out of my mouth before Robert disappeared, scrambling through the woods back to the car.  Without me and my spider stick to protect him!

These two rocks together gave me another chuckle.

I picked out my next embroidery project.  I am currently working on four and have two coming out of timeout for another look.  But there's always room for another project!

The game was worth the wait!  Robert had a good time winning, and I had a good time drinking tea and enjoying his return to grace after the hike.

A sprinkling of spoiled dogs and Walk and Read happiness

I am comfortably settled smack dab in the middle of a nice break from both school and library programming.  I've been taking long walks with Robert and the girls, pounding the tennis backboard, and making things in my office.  Currently, there are so many projects going on in my office, I have to walk through piles of paper to get anywhere.  It's glorious.

I can't stop buying hand soap and Robert can't stop buying...dog beds.  When I work in my office both girls follow me up the stairs and usually wrestle on my exercise floor until they exhaust themselves out (you can see they've pretty much shredded it in places).  When they get tired they have many dog beds to choose from.  Whenever the house is cleaned, I stack up their beds.  Lately, they haven't been letting me unstack them.  So our dogs now require two beds for their ridiculously spoiled bottoms.  

Though there is a break from programming, May is the month for Walk and Read!  If you like reading and walking at the same time and love picture books, this is for you.  We are doing about 10-15 Walk and Reads this year all across Johnson County.  We have two going at any time during May and September and a few here and there in June-August.  They're popular, exciting, and have become a beloved program since we started doing them in 2020.  Prior to 2020 they were a one-time event.  Each year, since 2020, my car switches ownership from dogs to real estate signs.  And sometimes both!  Occasionally the girls will hop in the back seat to help me set up a Walk and Read.  I've been using Carolyne's old car for both dog and sign transport, and it's been a lifesaver.  I'm thankful I can keep my new car pretty and clean for just a while longer.

Walk and Read involves disassembling the signs each week, putting them back together with new stories, and installing the signs at different parks.  Last week the signs came back covered in bird doody, which was hilariously appropriate and gave me the giggles as I scrubbed all the boards down (we reuse stories!).

Tennis is pretty much what I do whenever I have any spare time.  And the dogs always come with me.  So the car is theirs when it's not loaded up with signs.  A coworker of mine showed me a picture of these stairs after she heard I was constantly loading and unloading goldens into my car.  These stairs have been a lifesaver!  They fold up when not in use and aren't too heavy.

During one of our spring hikes this year we stumbled upon one of my favorite flowers, the May Apple.  We saw so many too!  Usually there's just a sprinkling of them and they hardly ever have blooms.  Such a wonderful surprise!