introducing Henry

I have a brand new 6 month old black and white, four footed, tail wagging bundle of happy energy named Henry. The emptiness that was left when Bogart died last spring is gradually being filled by another dog to care for and love. He is a mini-poodle, but a different color and stature than Bogart, Henry has long legs a "gangly teenager" look ... he has a chocolate colored muzzle with little white goatee whiskers, he is funny looking, but then so am I and I'm very lovable too, right? Right. He has already been to the favorite forest and despite the fact that he is a bit overwhelmed by all those very tall birches, pines, and oaks, he is having so much puppy fun sniffing all the fallen acorns and discovering twigs and leaves. Each twig and leaf tastes and smells different, you know!! Some twigs are easier to carry in your mounth than others, too! Every once in a while he stops to look back ... just to make sure I am still on the other end of the leash ... and then continues exploring his new world. It's so good to have a dog to take care of again, not to mention being taken care of by him. It feels so good to laugh, walk, and play with a dog. It's hard for people who don't have pets to understand the importance of the love they give. Everything is so unconditional, no matter what ... they are there and they love, if only the whole world would listen and hear the message of the family pet.

I left it right here

I just hate it when I cannot find my car in the parking lot. I always feel like everyone in the world sees how stupid I look trying to find it. There I was pushing my little cart filled with all the veggies, fruits, meats, dairy, and of course, the extra large package of TP that was on sale for 20% off this week, around the parking lot looking for the car. I tried so hard to look confident, like I knew right where I was going. Whistling a little tune, a defininite bounce to my step, and my head held high, I pushed that cart all over the place trying to remember where I parked the damn car. They all looked alike, I should get one one of those little tennis ball thingies to put on the antennae. But then, wouldn't I see about a gazillion of those, too? Maybe I should memorize my registration number, but wait, I'd have to see the car first. Thinking about it, I wonder how many people know their registration number? Do people memorize it? I wouldn't know mine, don't think I've ever looked at it ... but, I digress. I wouldn't have felt quite so foolish if it had even been a larger parking lot, this one was just a run of the mill supermarket lot for crying out loud, not the Natick Mall. That extra large package of TP wasn't helping either, it was drawing attention to my predicament, it's hard to look confident with all that TP right up in front of the cart. It wouldn't fit on the bottom, believe me I tried ... which just drew more looks my way. Once, I thought I spotted the illusive vehicle but when I turned to go to it, another person was getting into the driver's seat. Now, I had to think about distinguishing things about my car. Aha, the bike rack on the back, the MFA sticker on the side window, the rainbow dog on the rear window .... now I can begin to narrow down the field. OK, I'll look for the bike rack first, then go from there. There ... right over there, near the eye doctor's office. I'm pretty sure that's my car!!! Let's see ... all right, yup ... there's the bike rack, sticker, and rainbow dog. Yes, I even think those are my registration numbers!!! If not, they are close enough. Eureka, I found it, next to the bright yellow Hummer ... right where I left it!

Well, the living and dining rooms look pretty damn good if I say so myself. I figured out after wrenching my back and various other body parts, that I should enlist some help from the male of the species to move things like a piano away from the walls to be painted. All the work was worth it ... now I have a beautiful "new" living room to gaze upon. New curtains, clean windows, and even the framed art work is all windexed and squeaky clean. It's amazing how yucky a room gets to look after 10 or more years of the same paint job ... especially with two smokers in the house ... the white paint had a definite yellow/brown shade. Now, being a year and a half into non-smoking, I fully expect never to have to paint those walls again in my lifetime. Of course, you notice I say it was all worth it now that it is done. I was very tempted to say, "Of, the hell with it all, let's do this in the fall." But I didn't, I perservered and once I got the guy to help out, everything went smoothly and all I have left to paint in the fall ... well, the front and back porches and at least the front of the house. If I plan it right, maybe the guy will paint the house part next Tuesday while I am away for the day. That's too easy, it will rain and he'll get to sit, relax and enjoy the day without me around keeping him busy with a chore or two!

a tigress on the course

It was a lot of fun, swinging the club on the miniature golf course!! Years since I've played mini golf and I won!!! Ah yes, I was a regular tigress on the maze of green turf at Kimballs. All I had to do to was hit the little yellow ball into the cup ... I got 2 holes in one!!! Maybe I have found my athletic niche? A few more practice sessions and I could go on a national tour!!! I will practice on different courses with different themes. Maybe a Pirate course, I'll hit the ball between 2 bony skulls, then through a flappy eyepatch and swiftly down the gangplank into the cup. I will swing my hips through a rain forest and manuever through vine draped leaves and plunk the ball into the hole that's behind the Tarzan prop, or I will even score on a Hollywood backdrop and get the little yellow or green ball into Mel Gibson's big mouth after rolling through a bar set up of brightly colored bottles of booze. Oh, the oppotuninties that await me on the circuit ... my fans will do thoses silent golf applauses and mouth the green course whispers of "You go, girl." The ahs and oohs that will describe my talent!!! It's all there for me ... I just have to pick up my mini putter and grab a bucket of balls!!!! Once I conquer the mini - golf courses up and down Rts. 1 and 9, I will then rise up and meet other athletic challenges ... perhaps ... the Ping Pong National Series?

Raising the hairs on the back of my legs

One of the many things I have noticed as I have begun the journey into my 60's ... I don't have to shave the legs as often as I used to!! Now this is a good thing... I tell you, what woman wants to spend her summer shaving the gams every time she takes a shower, just so she can put on a pair of shorts and not look like cavewoman of the 21st century? It was a pain in the neck ... and other places ... to have to sharpen up the razor when the calendar turned to May! Bad enough during the winter months, but slacks and trouser socks offer a nice alternative for the colder times of the year. Yes, indeedy, it is not a part of my daily toilette that I miss. Despite the ads for different razors and methods for removing bristles from the thighs and calfs of legs, it isn't a fun part of the daily grooming, it is a necessary evil, unlike men we cannot grow a beard for our legs, if we tire of shaving!!!!