Hump day chat

Jewlieee

This week is dragging by really slowly.

For me too. 

 A car that smells like syrup?  That's weird.

I'm dreading today because of a few different work problems that will probably not be as bad as I'm anticipating.  Yesterday was one of those days when you just want to rip off a few heads. 

I dreamt about doggy danglers last night.  lol 

We watched Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise last night.   Pretty much what you'd expect and I can see why it got panned. I did laugh a few times and the fact that I actually watched the entire movie is pretty unusual.  I think I slept through some of it. lol  Tom Cruise is such a real life weirdo that I can hardly stand to watch his movies. 

I'm way more awake than I wish I was. =-)

Just as I was 'ready' to leave this morning, I hear this HUGE "OHHHHHH F$&&!!!!!!!!!!" come roaring out from somewhere near the door to the driveway. "THE DOOR IS OPEN!!!!" (he'd been in & out several times).

Charlie was with me. However ... Luna and Tink were AWOL!! Both of them have good recall **ONLY** when we're in some sort of controlled, off-leash situation. But bolting out of the house just because Luna could push the door open? Nope. We work on it, but we're rarely in a situation where they are off-leash so even practicing it is difficult (try pushing a wheelchair in grass sometime -- extremely frustrating!). I'm such a city girl -- only our own yard is "safe" off-leash 'cos of the fence.

Ms. Tink had decided on a distance run. I was worried -- Luna knows to avoid the traffic (we're literally 3/4 block from a 6 lane major commercial artery) & they had a massive head-start on me. When I finally saw Tink (I was in the car) I whistled & she came FLYING to me (probably 300 feet away), LEPT into the car all excited. THAT recall was great (*rolling eyes*). Luna then decided the game was up & came to me in our own driveway (think 3 year old dragging feet and dawdling the last 10 feet? "On the outside I'm obeying but in my heart I'd rather be running still!!";) --- so all told I was happy they came for *me* eventually.

Husband was so not happy -- he always chides *me* about making sure the door is closed, but it's been on his watch that Luna's escaped twice recently. He just wasn't awake -- or at least not as awake as the dogs were? *smile*

Life is never boring!

 Callie glad you got them both back safe

Julie a car that smelled like syrup with have me nauseous in moments

Jackie I feel the same about Tom Cruise - he always rubbed me the wrong way but once his real life insanity became public I really can't stand him

I think I have a mosquito bite in my ear. It is BEYOND itchy.

Speaking of itchy poor B is really suffering from allergies - I know at some point we went through this before but I can't recall if it was this time of year. Anyway he may be wearing the cone soon if he won't stop itching. I feel bad because if you even touch him in front of his back legs or on his tummy he has the scratch reflex. Going to up the benadryl today because he's home alone and could easily scratch or nibble himself a wound

Meanwhile my brain remains foggy - I am fed up feeling like this

Happily I am getting my hair cut late this afternoon and then I am meeting some friends in town for a ladies celebration of my birthday - really its just an excuse for us to go out LOL

I just bought the seal a new PFD - I hope it fits better than the one we've been using. I think that one is losing buoyancy anyway. Does that happen? 

have a good one 

 Julie, a car that smells like syrup exploded in it...that is strange. I think I'd be wanting some pancakes. Hope the rest of the week goes faster for you.

Jackie, hope your day isn't as bad as you've been dreading.

Callie, glad you got the pups back.

I have a dentist appointment in another hour. It's gotten pretty routine to me as I end up with so many cavities, due to dry mouth from some meds I take.

Have a bit of a brag from the past weekend agility trial. They added a couple of new classes which are part of the tournament classes. Tournament classes are those that you have to qualify in for the Nationals. Well I didn't qualify, as we were over the time, but Corey and I were the only ones who had a clean run in the Masters Challenge Standard class. It was pure stubbornness that got me through it, as I ran out of steam and still had about 6 obstacles left. It was the darn humidity and my asthma.

Karen sorry about Bugsy's  itching. Enjoy your Birthday luncheon with your lady friends.

Congrats, Maureen for being stubborn and having the only clean run in that class.  :) 

Callie, that's such a scary situation when dogs bolt but especially when a busy road is nearby.  I've done boundary training at the front door but Belle will still bolt if she sees a cat or some other animal in the yard and I'm not right there to stop her.  Now that I mention that I need to spend time every day working on it with Belle.  I did it when I first got her (do that with all dogs) but let myself slack off. I don't think it's possible to ever be 100% sure a dog won't bolt but I know the boundary training has helped all my dogs present and past be less likely to take off if the door is open.

Karen, sorry you're still feeling not good.  Have fun at the birthday lunch. :)

 

JackieG

Callie, that's such a scary situation when dogs bolt but especially when a busy road is nearby.

 

When I was looking around for what type of I dog I wanted, I kept reading that Beagles need to be kept on leash at all times because they will bolt after anything that smells good.  Anyway, when Jamison was around 2 years old, Mr. W went to water the front lawn and had the side gate open (which is not visible from the back door) - not knowing the gate was open I let him out in the back yard.  After about ten minutes, I go an check on him and no Jamison.  I almost ripped Mr. W's head off and immediately jumped in the car to see if I could find him.  Not three minutes into the search, Mr. W calls and says he didn't go anywhere - he's sitting on the front stoop (never once occurred to me to look there).  I guess he just wanted to check out how the other half lives in the front yard.

 

Deb W.

JackieG

I dreamt about doggy danglers last night.  lol 

LOL!

The night before last I dreamt about a baby Bassett Hound that I was trying to resist taking home. The ears were huge and adorable!

I'm not fond of the maple syrup smell, esp. if it is the fake kind.

Good job Maureen!

Callie, glad the dogs returned safely. I don't think there isn't a single dog owner who hasn't had this happen and it certainly shakes the human up.

Got home yesterday, not one lick of work had been done on my house. Called the contractor, he was pulled to another job installing large windows and had hoped to get back to my house in the afternoon, to no avail. I said again that I'd appreciate a phone call letting me know instead of being left hanging.

Today it looks like rain, so I moved all the boxes of siding and the tools into my garage. I could've been a bitch and not let the contractor know, but I did call him. He said he'd have had a heart attack if he got to my house and saw the stuff was gone. I told him that while I would've gotten a good laugh at him panicking, I thought the right thing to do was let him know. A two-minute phone call can alleviate unnecessary stress. I hope he got the hint.

 Holy Crap Callie! Glad they came back. Our cat got out last night, but she was still in the yard. She must have been out a bit I assume, probably sneaked out behind us when we took the dogs out to pull. I think we had to be out maybe 15 minutes.

I went to put my car up on the jack so I could get under it and shim the A/C compressor clutch. I didn't put the jack back last time I tried to do this the other day, and the little thing that fits into the bar on my car (Volvos are weirdos, and it has a little bar on either side, and the jack has a little thing that sort of but not really hooks on the bar) is now bent. The jack is now unusable, and I am hoping I can use another jack, and do not have to replace it with a Volvo jack. Apparently the volvo jack sucks anyway from my quick reading, so I will replace it with something else later today. 

iluvjamison

Not three minutes into the search, Mr. W calls and says he didn't go anywhere - he's sitting on the front stoop (never once occurred to me to look there

 

That's so Jamison!  LOL 

Jewlieee

I hope I don't have the work car that smells like syrup exploded in it.

 

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/2423551

SMELLS LIKE: MAPLE SYRUP
WHEN: After the engine has warmed or possibly even after it's shut off for a few minutes.
THE CULPRIT: Coolant containing sweet-smelling (but toxic) ethylene glycol is leaking from somewhere. It could be coming from a radiator or heater hose, a failed intake manifold gasket or cylinder head. It might be coming from a leaky radiator cap or the radiator itself, especially if you smell it outside the car. A strong odor inside the passenger compartment probably means a bad heater core.

 

Phew, Callie --- I'm glad you were able to get the dogs back home safely without incident.  What a way to get the heart rate going in the morning! 

That story about Jamison is too funny.  Every Beagle I've ever known has been a master escape artist.  Guess Jamison is smart enough to know he's got it good at home and there's no need to travel far! 

One time Ruby dashed out the front door when I held it open too long to collect a package that UPS left on the step.  We don't live on a busy street, so that's good, but it happened that my neighbor was walking by with her dog (on a leash), pushing her baby in a stroller.  Ruby went barreling over to their dog (who's super friendly with people, but timid around dogs).  A leash tangled circular thing began, with my neighbor stuck in the middle.  Both dogs barking loudly, which made the baby start to howl.  It was horribly embarassing (luckily, we're good friends with this neighbor)!

I can't stand Tom Cruise either.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I watched one of his movies.  He's a weirdo!

Way to go, Maureen!  Enjoy the birthday meal with your friends, Karen -- sounds like my kind of celebration.

Another sunny day -- low 80's they say.  Ruby's lounging in the sunspot by the backdoor.  I hate to make her move now that I have to leave for work!

sharismom

Callie, glad the dogs returned safely. I don't think there isn't a single dog owner who hasn't had this happen and it certainly shakes the human up.

Yeah Tina -- I honestly was shook b/c I had no clue what Tink would actually do and there was NO sign of either dog for about 15 minutes. Honestly I was delighted at how FAST Tink responded and sailed to me when she heard my whistle.

Luna is ... Luna. She's the one who can & has jumped a 4 1/2 foot chain link fence from a stand. *rolling eyes* SHE is the reason we now have 8' privacy (cypress) fencing around the entire back yard LOL. (I mean you might as well laugh - she's poetry in motion to see this short-legged long dog arc gracefully over a fence never even touching it as she sails.)

They apparently didn't go far, but I really wish I knew *where* they went. Luna never even barked! THAT is unusual.

Jen -- I had a Volvo once -- incredibly well-built cars but a royal pain to get serviced because that car company doesn't do *anything* like other companies. You could call a junk yard and see what a used Volvo jack would run you? I can remember the jack on both that car and my old VW Fastback were unusual jacks.

Even though Shane is really cautious and barely leaves my side, I still worry about him running off to chase a squirrel or something and getting hit by a car. I've had dogs that would bolt and run for the hills if given the chance. It's no fun carrying home a 50 lb dog because you forgot to bring a leash :(.

I didn't sleep well last night and have another busy day here. I really want to be getting some moving details taken care of but I just can't juggle both right now. We did get 2 pieces of good news. The guy across the street definitely wants to rent our house and will move in July 1st. I knew that this heat wave and the fact that we have a pool would nudge him along. The other good news is that our mortgage guy managed to lock us in for the refi on the current house before rates started going up. I was stressing hard about that, so it was a wonderful surprise when I got his "oh, did I forget to tell you I locked your rate a week ago?" email last night. I didn't know it but banks charge half a point higher for income property than for owner occupied property. I guess they feel that there's more downside risk. Anyway, 4.25% is still very good, so I'm not complaining.

Callie - glad the pups are back.

Deb - I for sure thought you were going to tell me he fell asleep hear the gate. LOL Silly puppy.

Totally swamped at work and sick and tired of sitting in meetings. My nieces' dance recital is tonight so I get to do the "shhh" "sit still" "don't kick the seat" to Riley for 3 hours. We call them airplane rules but they don't hold up as well in an auditorium.

Take care Karen.

BTW - picked up my new iphone 5 yesterday. Got a great deal by trading in my iphone 4 to Game Stop and resigned up. Net net only spent $50 for the new phone. I will say it is totally worth it!