Monday, May 30
We got up today intending to work in the garden, only to discover that our vegetable garden had been vandalized. Rabbits would be the usual suspect...and there was a suspicious looking bite in one of the cabbage leaves. However, a number of leaves--uneaten--were broken off the plants and lying in the soil. I suspect that the illegally unleashed dogs that owners seem to think the trail through the woods behind out house was designed to host are responsible. Well, not the dogs themselves but their misguided--and criminally negligent--owners are responsible. This was annoying, but the thought of one of the large dogs that live in our neighborhood potentially attacking Gracie in her own yard is simply not acceptable. I plan to call the city and insist that the leash law be enforced in the park! Numerous dog parks have sprung up around town for those who want to let their dogs run free (well, sort of free). Our park and our back yard are not dog parks. As IHDI has advised, though, Gracie and I will not be visiting one of those. Instead, we'll get our exercise together both in and outside: playing with a ball or her toy that squeaks; going to walks and, eventually, runs; bike riding and so on.
After I finished picking up the leaves, the sky darkened, followed by lightening, heavy rain, and even pea sized hail! What had started out as a good day to garden became a good day to go to a movie. Earlier in the week, my friend Jan suggested seeing the 3-D cartoon Kung-Fu Panda 2. Since I rely on lip-reading, I can't follow the conversation in a movie unless the actors face the audience when they speak and the camera stays on the speaker for the whole speech, all of which rarely happens. Reading the lips of cartoon animals is impossible. However, cartoons are usually pretty easy to follow. The advent of 3-D and the fact that the theater is the only reasonable place at the moment to enjoy 3-D, make going to 3-D movies worth it. Besides, this cartoon is set in China--cartoon China--and Jan and I went to China on the same tour a few years ago.
Gracie and I drove to Jan's, and the three of us walked to the theater. After a quick potty break, Gracie was ready to go in. The concessions guy even gave me a cup, so I could give Gracie a little water. Gracie then sat in my lap for the whole film. Inspired by the Panda's love of noodles and memories of all the wonderful food we had while in China, Jan suggested we go to the Chinese restaurant across from the theater. I hesitated, wondering if this would be too much for Gracie: a movie and a restaurant visit. But then I thought about school and the three hour class we will be having on Fridays starting at the end of August.
We got up today intending to work in the garden, only to discover that our vegetable garden had been vandalized. Rabbits would be the usual suspect...and there was a suspicious looking bite in one of the cabbage leaves. However, a number of leaves--uneaten--were broken off the plants and lying in the soil. I suspect that the illegally unleashed dogs that owners seem to think the trail through the woods behind out house was designed to host are responsible. Well, not the dogs themselves but their misguided--and criminally negligent--owners are responsible. This was annoying, but the thought of one of the large dogs that live in our neighborhood potentially attacking Gracie in her own yard is simply not acceptable. I plan to call the city and insist that the leash law be enforced in the park! Numerous dog parks have sprung up around town for those who want to let their dogs run free (well, sort of free). Our park and our back yard are not dog parks. As IHDI has advised, though, Gracie and I will not be visiting one of those. Instead, we'll get our exercise together both in and outside: playing with a ball or her toy that squeaks; going to walks and, eventually, runs; bike riding and so on.
After I finished picking up the leaves, the sky darkened, followed by lightening, heavy rain, and even pea sized hail! What had started out as a good day to garden became a good day to go to a movie. Earlier in the week, my friend Jan suggested seeing the 3-D cartoon Kung-Fu Panda 2. Since I rely on lip-reading, I can't follow the conversation in a movie unless the actors face the audience when they speak and the camera stays on the speaker for the whole speech, all of which rarely happens. Reading the lips of cartoon animals is impossible. However, cartoons are usually pretty easy to follow. The advent of 3-D and the fact that the theater is the only reasonable place at the moment to enjoy 3-D, make going to 3-D movies worth it. Besides, this cartoon is set in China--cartoon China--and Jan and I went to China on the same tour a few years ago.
Gracie and I drove to Jan's, and the three of us walked to the theater. After a quick potty break, Gracie was ready to go in. The concessions guy even gave me a cup, so I could give Gracie a little water. Gracie then sat in my lap for the whole film. Inspired by the Panda's love of noodles and memories of all the wonderful food we had while in China, Jan suggested we go to the Chinese restaurant across from the theater. I hesitated, wondering if this would be too much for Gracie: a movie and a restaurant visit. But then I thought about school and the three hour class we will be having on Fridays starting at the end of August.
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| Gracie goes to a movie AND to a restaurant with only a potty break and a few well-deserved pats in between. |
The more we do, the better she does! Later, when we got home, Gracie and I sat out front enjoying the 87 degree temperature and the brisk breeze. Good thing we got the flea medicine applied that Martha recommended we get ASAP. Now Gracie can enjoy the thick, cool grass without worrying about fleas!
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| Gracie learning to enjoy the street traffic from the safety of my feet. |
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