Winter Solstice

12-21-12

Happy winter solstice!

I think we are supposed to all die today, too, but I will get back to you on that one. Maybe tomorrow?

Compliance training for someone who is not big into surrendering their will so blindly is an impossible task. At least I really liked the instructor, and he seemed impressed with my kids.

When I got home yesterday, the street was all kinds of busy what with giant trucks and tree cutting machinery. It is tree trimming week in our hood. They were making the trees look actually quite nice. I don’t like it when they “trim”. They often do too much. The trees in our neighborhood, though, are very overgrown and often cause problems in big winds. We have had on more than one occasion tree branches crash down on top of cars. This particular crew seemed to understand it was not a makeover, but a nice haircut.

It was warm out, and as I patted Lycos on the side, I knew this would be the perfect time to give both pups a bath. They would be around a bunch of people next week what with our trip to the Compound, and they were filthy. I didn’t want to do this when it was too cold out, and with the nice sunshine and time on our side, it seemed like it would be a win win. Ok, maybe a win for me, but the dogs did not think of this as anything close to that.

Lycos has a hard enough time standing up without any challenge involved. Add slippery and wet and my poor dog becomes one of those crash test dummies. She flops around, and seems to all of the sudden weigh a ton.

There was so much crud and blood on her. Yes, blood. Since I had not washed her since the flea treatments a couple months back, and with another flea invasion in full effect, she was quite gross. It also doesn’t help that she doesn’t have the dexterity anymore to scratch at these fleas or to really make much of a dent in the annoying feeling she gets when she is getting eaten. Poor pup.

Both dogs were quite shiny and I am pretty sure 5 pounds lighter after the scrubbing. I even put some conditioner on Miss Luna so she would sparkle. I then had them hang with us out front as the boys and Ken watched them cut trees. Happy dogs!

I was bored. I had washed two dogs, and I certainly didn’t want to just watch trees get cut, so I threw Luna in the bike basket and she and I took a ride. It wasn’t a long one. Just cruising the neighborhood, checking out the decorations. I do need to put a different padding in the basket for her. Specifically, she needs something on the basket to set her head on since she seemed annoyed at the less than comfortable side. She is surprisingly good in the basket. She isn’t as thrilled as Panda Dog used to be, but Panda was also smaller, so it may be a bit more about comfort. Luna also gets a bit nervous when we fly down a hill at high speeds. This may be since she knows that her mother has a hard time walking at slow speeds without hurting herself and this is just tempting the injury gods. But even though it takes a bit for us to get going, she never wants to get out when we get home. She likes the outings!

I am a complete idiot. Ok, maybe not complete for this, but it is a sign I am getting old. Ken was mad that I headed out to work yesterday in flip flops. I know, it was cold, but I sit at a desk in which it is often too hot, and I enjoy walking around the office barefoot (or as the boys say, walking around with feet on). I thought I would appease him. After my workout in the gym, I decided to leave on my walking shoes. He was pleased. The only problem with this is that I forgot to bring them back this morning. Crud. I guess no workout this morning. The good news is I have a walk around Christmas lights tonight so I think I am in the clear.

When I get home I will need to pack the overnight bag for the children. Dax is already a little upset at us leaving them. He gets over it quickly, but I don’t enjoy the sad it creates. I am hoping the lights and maybe some promise of treats will distract him enough to not get too weepy. I have been crying at the drop of a hat since last Friday, and I honestly don’t know if I will be able to keep it together.