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Saturday, July 20, 2013

It's official: My dog is a river rat.

Here's a random photo of Bae being cute and knowing it, since I didn't take the camera out on this trip.

Thursday my husband Mark and I did something we do all the time in the summer: canoe at Chain O'Lakes State Park.

This time, however, we took the dog with us.

It was a bit of a challenge since the additional shifting weight in the middle caused some balance and steering problems, but luckily for us we're both canoe veterans. We both learned to paddle in those big honkin' all-metal canoes, and I had a good amount of experience paddling with squirming children - including hauling them into the boat.

Bae took it like a champ. He didn't quite understand the whole thing, but once he figured out it was just like a ride in the car except he could drink water while doing it, he was in. He loves smelling new smells, and boy were there ever new things for him to check out down the canals. He even stayed in the boat when we docked at the side of a channel to adjust his rigged life jacket floatie and help a few boatloads of people who bottomed out.

Not to get all sappy, but there are few things better than being in a beautiful, scenic place with your best friend and your dog.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Turns out you CAN teach an old dog new tricks

This is Baeowulf, our German Shepard/? rescue pup, lounging on his couch.

That's right - when you're 90 pounds and full of allergen-filled fluff, you get your own couch in our house. He knows the difference; he does not get on the regular couch or the other furniture.

Since we're going to be visiting some relatives and friends at some point this summer (boy was that ever vague), I wanted to make a little cheat-sheet... and brag on our very good boy a little.

Commands/words Bae knows:

  • Sit
  • Down
  • Stay
  • Up (to jump up, up on to something, or up for a treat)
  • Up-up (to go up and stay up for hugs or a treat)
  • Come
  • Cross the street
  • Outside / Let's go / walk / potty
  • Car / Get in the car / Ride
  • Home / Go Home
  • Mark, Emily, Bitty (a relative's nickname)
  • Snuggle
  • Ducky (his toy duck)
  • Squeaky (his toy that squeaks)
  • Treat / Cookie (also the TARDIS sound our 'cookie' jar makes)
He also knows not to take commands, food, etc. from others unless we give the OK, for safety reasons. He's a pretty good judge of character, and of sensing when we like or don't like somebody. He doesn't really enjoy children, but he tolerates them if we tell him to - as well as protecting them and 'herding' them if he thinks they need it (IE making them stay on the path or out of bushes at the state park).

I really need to get a video of his insane bouncing before our weekly walks, when we tell him, "Let's go for a ride in the car to go to the park for a walk with Mark!"

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Turning the day around

I woke up today with quite a bit of fibromyalgia pain.

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with it as often as many people do.

However, I pushed through and didn't let it get to me today - mostly because Mark and I went kayaking over the weekend, and I felt like I 'got away' with that. For all I know, I'm just having delayed muscle pain and the fibro is sharing it with the rest of the body. I worked on a few projects, made some food that actually required effort, and did a light workout. I'll sleep like a log later and either feel wonderfully refreshed when I get up, or will be justified in ignoring the alarm clock.

Slightly Off the Mark: Bagpipes, helicopter coming to Albion Fire's 125th...

From Mark's blog:


Slightly Off the Mark: Bagpipes, helicopter coming to Albion Fire's 125th...: The Fort Wayne Firefighters Pipes and Drum Corps and Samaritan helicopter plan to help the town of Albion celebrate its fire department...

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Storm Chaser Shorts award nomination

My husband's short story collection has been nominated for an award! The humor anthology he's in, My Funny Valentine, got a nomination as well. If you could send him a vote, that would really make his day:

http://www.efestivalofwords.com/vote-here-for-2013-best-short-story-collection-t397.html

It does require a log-in, but it only takes a few seconds and seems like a pretty active place.

Monday, July 1, 2013

"Smoky Days" for Kindle

I just submitted Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights to Amazon, and it's under review for its Kindle publication. It should be ready tonight or tomorrow, unless I broke something!

Edit:
It's publishing now and will be available in around 12 hours.