Just a walk in the park

Since I'm not having to endure the floods in the midwest and southeast or the drought, heat, and fires out west I can say this:  I'm rather enjoying this climate change thing.

With early morning temps yesterday in the low 60's and staying in the 70's until early afternoon, K and I decided it would be a perfect day to go and re-visit the new Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas.

K's little Toyota Skateboard Coupe is perfect for maneuvering 'round town.

Lots of people were there with their miniature humans in special push-carts.

The mid-sized ones seemed content in the corner corral.

We had a good selection of food trucks to choose from for lunch.

We had a perfect spot to sit and enjoy the sights.  It was very pleasant until two guys got out their guitars and starting yelling and groaning.  (K and I had a difference of opinion on this.  She thought they were "singing".  She's funny sometimes.)

It was interesting watching this tiny little lady, maybe 110 pounds, hauling around this GIANT dog.  He was a Great Pyrenees / Bull Mastiff mix that weighed 180 pounds.  Very friendly, though, a true gentle giant.

This Miniature Schnauzer, however, had no use for the paparazzi.

A little grocery shopping later and a stop at Paciugo for some gelato, then we retired back home to watch the Louis Vuitton Cup yacht racing on TV, which still fascinates me.  Yep, this climate change thing makes for some fine weekends.  :)

S

Emma Belle....definitely THIS man's best friend

It was one year ago today that my dog, Emma Belle, gave me sole custody of our chair.

Emma Belle entered my life at the same time K did.  That's because she came with K as a sort of two-fer deal.  We never were sure exactly how old Emma was, but I'm guessing she was around 8 when she came to live with me.  I must say I've never bonded as quickly or as completely with a dog as I did with Emma.  K said more than once, "You've stolen my dog!"

Emma was smarter than one of those road skollers, too.  Together we were almost telepathic.  And unless I was away from home, she never left my side.  Not that I enticed her to follow me....she just enjoyed my company.  (Imagine that!)  If I got up from my desk in the study to go to the den or the kitchen, she would sense I was on the move and jump up from a sound sleep and follow.

She was a little too wide to sit beside me in our big leather chair (or maybe it was me who was a little too wide), so we worked out a deal....I would sit in the chair, but the ottoman was hers.  When I was away she would sit in my seat to keep it warm, but relinquish it as soon as I returned.

She had a temper, and a sense of remorse, too.  If I went somewhere and she wasn't ready for me to leave, she would go in the bathroom and turn over the trash can.  I suppose at some point it would dawn on her she had messed in her mess kit because when I returned she would greet me, not jumping up and down wagging her tail, but with her head down, ears back, and her big brown eyes barely making contact with mine.  I'd say her name like I was upset....Emmmmaaaaaaaa!  Come here!....and she would belly-crawl over to me.  I would ask if she was sorry and she would jump up on me and give me a "hug".  Then all was well, no grudges.

You can't imagine how scared I was when I took her to the vet on her last day.  She had pancreatitis, a common ailment for her breed, and I knew something was seriously wrong and we would soon be parting.  I left her as requested for them to do some tests, and was told to come back in a few hours.  I called K and told her to meet me back there, already having made the decision in my mind to put her down rather than make her suffer a few more days just so I could have a bit more time with my best friend.  She spared me from having to make that decision.  That's how considerate Emma Belle Park was.

Emma with her Christmas present.

Her position on "our" chair, never far away.

I always saved the last drop for her.

I loved her so.  Still do.  Always will.

S

How do you walk a terrier?

You don't.

I've always envied those people who can take a brisk walk and have their dog trot along beside them.  Those of us who have terriers are not "those people".  We just amble from clump of grass to pile of rocks, our faithful mutt sniffing diligently, hoping to be able to uncover one of the rare mice terriers were bred to find. 

The fun is when they actually find a mouse.  A few years ago our dog at that time, Emma Belle (a miniature schnauzer), found one that had come in through the dryer vent into the utility room.  It made it's way to the kitchen pantry where it got in to some dry pasta, then tried to make a run for it back  under the washing machine.  Those little bastards can scoot!  Emma...not so fast.  She was running in place, slipping on the hardwood floors, while the mouse pulled away.   For the better part of a day Emma stood guard, keeping it holed up.  It eventually ate some rat poison I put out and that was the end. 

I wonder what Emma thought of all that?  "So THAT'S what I've spent my life sniffing for!"  I suspect she felt pretty darn proud of herself.  I guess that's why I just let Luke (the Yorkie) amble along like he does.  I'm sorta hoping he'll find something.  It would probably scare the crap out of him, but I would find it quite entertaining.  ;)

S

The Dynamic Duo, house cleaning, and found treasure

Yesterday while going through all our earthly possessions in the process of packing K ran across some old photos, one of which was taken at her parent's house on Christmas Day 2006.  It shows both of my dogs together, the dearly departed Tara Belle (the Westie) and Emma Belle (the Mini Schnauzer):

Luke....you've got some large shoes....er....paws to fill, my boy.

She also found my old name patch from my Confederate Air Force days, and a campaign button from my unsuccessful run for General Staff (Board of Directors):

As it turns out I lost by 3 votes, from an organization which at the time had around 8,000 (?) members.  The guy I lost to was a retired USAF Colonel, his last assignment that of being responsible for maintaining the Air Force's Special Air Mission (SAM) fleet of aircraft.  You might be more familiar with it (them) as Air Force One.  Oh well....

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Every time we wash clothes we struggle to find enough clothes hangers for everything as they come out of the dryer.  They can't just disappear into thin air, so where do they go? (Hanging out with those socks that disappear one at a time?)  K and I have both been cleaning out our closets, ridding ourselves of clothes we say we're gonna wear again some day but of course never do.   I took a huge carload of stuff to Goodwill, which means I freed up a few extra hangers:

Now we have 78 to spare.  :)

I've had good luck the past few weeks selling stuff on Craig's List.  I made a bundle selling four framed, signed & numbered aviation art prints, and yesterday K's old stationary bike.  Good riddance!  Now I really need to sell my big 'ol oak desk and file cabinet.  They're way too heavy to move.  I also need to sell the monster pre-lit artificial Christmas tree K just had to have a few years ago.  It's in the storage room downstairs in a box that I do not want to store in our new, more compact place. I'm trying to make room in there for a bicycle.  (K, if you read this, I'm buying a bicycle.)  It looks like we're paring down nicely and should be able to fit in our new 100+ sq ft smaller place with ease.

All in all it was a productive weekend.  How was yours?

S