Just One More Day

I started counting a month ago. We made it to the first of March, the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, Pi Day (we had a triple berry pie) and Saint Patrick's Day (we went out for lunch and had Guinnesses.)

Spring begins tomorrow at 5:01 AM. 

We got a preview this afternoon. I had to drive up to Danbury to pick up our income taxes. I took Jace with me, and we visited Danbury Dog Park. I didn't see any dogs in the large dog area, so I got an okay from people in the small dog area for us to join them. (A sign limited the area to dogs under 20 pounds.)

It was sunny and warm; we were there for over an hour. Jace did a little running so that was good. And he got to smell new smells and meet new dogs. 

One woman there said snow is predicted for Friday. Apparently, there's a chance of snow somewhere in Connecticut, but not near here. I don't think I could bear it. 

A Thankful Thursday Post

I am thankful for the following:

Jeff saw a new acupuncturist who is part of his neurology group. She ordered X-rays for his back (which he had today) and more physical therapy--schedule to be determined. 

Beautiful weather. Jace and I went to three "destination" walks this week (i.e. not around our neighborhood) Taylor Farm, the Norwalk River Valley Trail, and Winslow Park. 

Jeff and I celebrated our 36th anniversary.

Even though I didn't feel well yesterday and worried about a colitis setback, I feel good today.

I'm getting excited about our move out of Connecticut. We still have a lot of work to do before that happens, but I feel that we're on our way. 

The Mets are playing great baseball. Tonight they beat the Phillies 10-6.They had a 2-run lead at the end of the first. Every time the Phillies scored, the Mets responded. The Mets are currently in the second wild-card position. They have the toughest remaining schedule of all the contenders, but as I said, they're playing great baseball. I believe again.

The Heat Is On...

Again: hot, humid, poor air quality. 

After I needed an hour to recover on a midday walk with Jace, I made some changes in our routine. I've been driving him to a park for morning walks: Mathews Park to Oyster Shell Park, or Taylor Farm. I need to get up earlier to make this more efficient and cooler. I've shortened our other walks. Even though Jace is always game to go further, it's not good for him. 

I'm always psyched to see our doggy friends on walks like Dylan, Ruby, Holly, and Poppy. I was happy to see the beagles, Julie and Jerry at Oyster Shell Park yesterday. Today we passed Poppy on Maple Avenue--that made my day.

We've been watching a lot of Olympic events. It's been kind of haphazard, but fun: gymnastics and swimming, track starting today. I even saw some shotput today. I've also been re-reading some Preston & Child books. I finished the latest today. The new book will be published August 13th. I hope I am first on the waiting list. I'll have to go to the library that day. In the meantime, I'll do some re-re-reading. 

Today I met my friend Chris at the Sono Arts Festival. It's so small--a shell of its former self. We lucked out with a break in the weather, and it was nice to hang with Chris. 

Mondays

Mondays get a bad rap. I understand--for most people it's the first day of the work or school week. Now that I'm retired, I look forward to the start of a new week. I tend to be optimistic about each new week. I'll have all the time I need to write, work out, clean, run errands, whatever I need to do. 

It can be disheartening to get off to a slow start to the week as I did today. I only accomplished a few things: I went to the gym, and I took Jace to Rowayton Dog Park. That park is completely fenced in, so it's the only place I feel comfortable letting Jace off leash. Otherwise, I just did some light cleaning and made dinner.

Let's try again tomorrow. 

Monday Miscellanea

I need to plan my Mondays better. Today I had to go food shopping, and I wanted to go to the gym. I did both, but it could have been more. Today I just let the day wander.

Jeff went back to the gym today too. He doesn't have any PT appointments until the end of the month and needs an exercise plan. We discussed going to the gym three times a week. I have an idea for some outside walking as well. 

Walking will have to be early. Temperatures are going up again tomorrow. 

I've been switching up Jace's walks. Heat and bad air quality days shortened some. I've been taking longer walks earlier in the morning. We went to Taylor Farm one morning and I thought mosquitos would eat me alive. I'm still scratching. Oyster Shell has been better--fewer mosquitos and better bird life. Yesterday I saw an egret and before that a swan family of five. Is it the same set of parents that I've watched before?

I've also tried to delay Jace's midday walk a few times. Then I can sometimes skip the afternoon/evening walk. 

This afternoon we walked around the block. Jace presented me with a poop in a perfect J shape. I admit I was impressed. 

Here Comes the Sun

and I say it's alright.

We've had six dreary, chilly, damp, sometime rainy days. I don't think I've seen or felt the sun during that time.

Finally, a break--sunny today with temps warming to the 70s. We have one more day of this before going back to normal--a nice interlude. 

Jace and I went on two long walks. He looked so happy as we walked around Oyster Shell Park. Tomorrow we're meeting friends at Taylor Farm dog park. Anyway, while I was enjoying the sun, I got thinking about sun songs.

Here Comes the Sun, I'll Follow the Sun, and Good Day Sunshine--all by the Beatles

Sunny--Bobby Hebb

Sunshine of Your Love--Cream

Good Day Starshine---Oliver (close enough)

Ain't No Sunshine--Bill Withers

Sunrise--Simply Red

Soak Up the Sun--Sheryl Crow

Sunny Side of the Street--Ted Lewis (?)

You are my Sunshine--Paul Rice (?)

House of the Rising Sun--Animals

Sunshine Superman--Donovan

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me--Elton John

Walking on Sunshine--Katrina and the Waves

And the Sun Will Shine--Bee Gees

Sunshine on my Shoulder--John Denver

I had a little help with Google, but only listed songs that I know. 

Our Lola

I was scrolling through the photos on my phone last week and saw this. I had forgotten to post it. This is one of the best photos of Lola. It's almost as if she were posing (for once--she usually shrinks from the camera.)

Lola is standing on a rock cropping near the picnic table where we meet our friends at Taylor Farm on Friday night. She is beautiful.

Almost Here

Spring that is. We've had three days this week with temperatures in the 60's. It felt glorious. I know it won't last, but I don't mind as long as the snow is gone. 

I always look forward to spring; February is usually a tough month. In this pandemic year, I am yearning for it. I am looking forward to more, longer walks with Lola, including neighborhood walks that she has recently spurned. 

Yesterday we met some friends at Taylor Farm dog park. It wasn't a DPF, of course, but it was nice. As Jen said, we hope more people return this season--we only had five regulars last year--although we enjoyed those small get-togethers. 

I also hope spring brings some kind of creative renewal to me. I wrote an essay this week, unrelated to my class. It's silly, but it's writing, and I'm happy I did it. (See my next post.)

A Week in Photos

I was a late adopter of the cell phone. I was afraid I'd get a lot of unwanted calls. Within a week of getting one, I learned how handy it was--I got stuck in a terrible traffic jam and was able to call Jeff and explain where I was.

Similarly, I didn't get why phones had cameras. Now I see it's an agent of social change. On a lighter note, I enjoy spontaneously capturing some images that appeal to me. Here are some from the last week or so.

Oyster Shell Park: these blackbird don't stay still for very long and I wasn't able to get close to them. Here are a few blurred images. Funny, Oyster Shell is the only place I've seen these birds.

On Thursday we saw several ground hogs. Here's a shot from afar.

Here's a view from the nearby Sono boardwalk.

We took a long walk last Saturday and saw these roses on Water Street. I loved the colors.

At Taylor Farm we saw this dog who reminded me of Spike.

A little later we met this beagle Luna. 

Here are some buttercups. We used to hold these under our chins. A yellow glow meant you liked butter. I was surprised that buttercups was a real name.

Yesterday after a walk at Taylor Farm, we headed to Sono 1420 for a drink and met Jagermeister.

We're going for a long walk today: I wonder what will catch my eye. 

On the Road on the Darkest Day of the Year

Today is the winter solstice, the first day of winter, and the darkest day of the year. Jeff, Lola and I drove from Norwalk to Winchester, Virginia. Our destination is Cornelius, North Carolina to spend Christmas with Jeff's family.

It's been ten years since Jeff and I have made a long road trip, and it's Lola's first. Cornelius is much closer to Connecticut than Hilton Head, South Carolina; Saint Simons Island, Georgia; or Stuart, Florida: our earlier road trip destinations. I guess I'm out of the long drive practice, the six hours in the car today was tough. I drove the first half and Jeff the second--our usual split.

After we checked into our hotel, we took Lola to the local dog park. We tried to find a winery tasting room, but I guess our information was outdated. The tasting room wasn't where we expected. We did find Old Town Winchester. Old Town is a pedestrian-only brick walk consisting of a few blocks with stores and restaurants. It was charming; if it were only about ten degrees warmer--we could have eaten outside.

We have another five-to-six hour drive tomorrow. It will be getting warmer, so maybe we'll have a chance for outdoor dining.

Scheduling Calculus

I thought about calling this post Scheduling Gymnastics or Scheduling Negotiations. I went with my first idea.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning. I had a lunch date with my friend Elaine at noon, and I had already decided what to make for dinner.  I wanted to go to the gym, take Lola to a park, go food shopping, do the laundry, write a blog post, and write something else.

Did I realistically think I would get all that done? Sigh.

I fell into my slow morning trap. Around 8:30 or so, I washed up and dressed to take Lola to Taylor Farm. I figured I'd take Lola there from 9 to 10, go to the gym from 10 to 11, then get ready to meet Elaine at 12.

First, I didn't get to the park by 9 because I got stuck in traffic by the new mall (The Sono Collection.)  I realized that my "plan" didn't include travel times back home and to the gym. I would have to shorten my time with Lola at the park. Then I felt guilty about that. It was supposed to rain later in the day, and be cold the next. This morning was the best time to get a good walk in with Lola.

I gave Lola a full hour at the park and blew off the gym. I figured I could wash my hair today instead of tomorrow, finish sorting the laundry, maybe write--at least start--a blog post before I left for lunch.

Well, that didn't work out so well either. I did wash and dry my hair, but didn't have enough time to even finish sorting the laundry.

When I called Elaine to tell her I was on my way, she said she forgot we had lunch plans.

Sigh. At least she was ready when I arrived.

After lunch, I got the food shopping done, finished sorting the laundry, and did a half hour of exercise.

That will have to be enough.

I'll have to do better tomorrow.

The Eternal DPF Optimist

That's how I described myself to Jeff last night.

Jeff wondered yesterday if it were too late in the season for DPF, but I was game. It's been a bleak few days, but yesterday wasn't bad, around 60 degrees. Plus I promised Lola that we were going to DPF when we visited the vet. I didn't expect many people, but I expected to see John, Jen, and Chris (with Katie and Indy.) I hoped to see Nick and Lauren (with Ellis.) We only saw Chris and Indy. Indy first appeared by herself; she likes to roam a bit.

Jeff and I brought wine, but we didn't bother to open it. If it had been a screwtop, I would have. We could have had a toast. Chris and Jeff were sure it was the last DPF of the season. It was dark by 6:30; next week it will be dark even earlier.

I'm holding on to this: a DPF in November. I guess that was just a one-time thing.

I mentioned last night that our first DPF this season was April 19 with just Jeff, Chris, and me with Lola and Indy. This post has a photo. I guess it's full circle that it was the five of us at the last DPF. Jeff took this photo last night.

Good bye DPF until next spring.

LGM and a Special DPF

Mets win their eighth straight, the fifteenth of their last 16 games. The Mets are now only a half game behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East and the Wild Card. 

I wasn't happy with Mickey Callaway's decision to start Wilson Ramos instead of Tomas Nido with Noah Syndergaard pitching, but it worked. Everyone is contributing; a different look each night.

The Mets now have guaranteed a series win against a contender. This weekend they're not just beating up on the bad teams.

Let's Go Mets!

***

The weather was beautiful for last night's Dog Park Friday.  We had a relatively small group of seven people and five dogs. Last night was the debut of a five-month puppy Ellis and her human Nick. 

Ellis sparked things with her puppy energy. We let Lola semi-loose on a bright orange long leash. Ellis was intrigued and kept trying to nibble the leash. Poor Lola would suddenly be yanked around despite Nick's efforts. Later Indy was intrigued by a toy that Ellis had. Chris had never seen her play so much before. 

Ellis and Katie had the most fun, chasing each other around. Lola even joined in. That made us happy. Lola loves to sniff on walks, nibble some stuffed animals, and may take a sock or two from us, but she's never been interested in chasing a ball. We've only seen her run with other dogs two or three times. Jeff thinks she gets intimidated by bigger dogs: Katie and Ellis are about her size. It was fun to watch the three of them. I hope that the inspiration of Ellis will continue. 

On My Mind

This post has been over a week in the making. That is I wanted to write a general post for about a week. Just didn't get to it for whatever reason. The longer I waited to post, the more things I thought about. Here goes.

Dog Park Friday 

After a slow start when it seemed to rain every Friday, we've enjoyed four consecutive DPF's with great weather.  Our first DPF of the season started small: three people, two dogs, one bottle of wine. Doesn't Lola look lonely?

The last few weeks were much better with about a dozen people and six or seven dogs (and more wine.)

Beer

Last Saturday, Jeff and I went to the Craft Beer Festival at Oyster Shell Park. It was a perfect day, unlike last year when it was so hot. We liked walking there and back so we could take advantage of trying all the beers. We also had some liquor from local distilleries and non-alcoholic beers to sample.

Jeff's dad's birthday was Friday; he would have been 93. His nickname is Zot. Several years ago, Jeff and I came across this beer:

We gave it to Jeff's dad for birthday, father's day or something. Obviously, he never drank it and Jeff inherited it after his death. We toasted Zot Friday night.

Walking

Nice weather with a light schedule the last month has made it easy to take longer walks with Lola. I'd say we average an hour walk each day. We spend a lot of time on the NRVT and at Taylor Farm. There's also Winslow Park, Schenck's Island, Bradley Park, and Cranbury Park.

I read somewhere that just 20 minutes outside can have a beneficial effect. It's vague because I'm too lazy to research this now. I'm enjoying being with Lola (until she rolls in poop) and having a (mostly) peaceful time and place to think. Just wish the pollen count would plunge.

Reading and Writing

I'm saving this for another post.

What's for Dinner?

We had a nice DPF on Friday night: a good turnout of about 13 people and several dogs as well as beautiful weather.

I had planned to have salmon for dinner on Friday, but didn't feel like cooking. Instead we got a pizza from Davinci's on our way home. Next time we get a free pizza.

Now on to the salmon. Usually Pagano's carries an organic salmon and King Salmon. On Friday morning, I saw Copper River Salmon for $48 a pound. I asked why the price was so much higher than the other salmons. I got a mixed answer; it was marketing, but the salmon was worth it. So I splurged.

I read up a bit on Copper River Salmon; I guess we got a deal--it's usually around $60 a pound. I read some recipes and kept it simple: salt, pepper, olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, and fresh garlic. I cooked a vegetable medley of broccoli, peppers, garlic, and spinach. Earlier we had bruschetta as an appetizer.

The salmon was really good; I'm glad we tried it. Maybe $40/pound is okay every once in a while, but $60 is too much.

In the opposite of a splurge is Monday's $8.00 steak and side dinner at Sedona Taphouse.

Good eating all around.

Walking with Lola

Several years ago I wrote an essay, "Walking the Dog" about walking with Spike. I included it in this book my memoir workshop produced. (That's Jeff's and my wedding picture in the middle of the cover; I also included my piece "The Limo from Hell" in the collection.)

Until six months ago, walking with Lola had been much different. From the beginning, we saw that Lola was more comfortable outside than inside. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that Lola was afraid to walk on the streets.

She was so scared that at first we had to carry her outside just to pee. After about two weeks, we started to take her to parks to get her some exercise.

I felt bad for Lola. Spike usually had three, sometimes four walks a day, including some dog park visits. Lola usually got one park visit (if she were lucky--two.) Otherwise, she didn't walk, except to the back lawn.

There were a few times when Lola walked about a block's length along the sidewalk. But these were isolated incidents, and she didn't seem to progress.

Suddenly there was a breakthrough. It may sound like melodramatic hyperbole to say this changed my life, but it did...in a way.

For one thing, Lola can get a good walk without going to a park (though we usually do take Lola to a park or trail.) I enjoy walking around the neighborhood, checking out the changes, but mostly meeting the other dogs such as Dylan and Bishop. I'm especially fond of a beagle mix named Ruby. Ruby loves Lola and pulls on her leash when she sees Lola. They look adorable as they walk down the street together.

Lola still gets spooked by loud noises: unfortunately she tries to run into the street--not a good response. Lola doesn't like to walk in the dark. But overall, I'm happy with her progress and love our neighborhood walks.

Afternoon at Taylor Park

It's been about a month since I last visited Taylor Farm; I decided to take Lola there today.

It was a cold, windy afternoon--didn't fell like fall at all. This morning I wrote in my journal, "Autumn is just a memory." It seems as if we went directly from summer to winter. I feel cheated out of autumn.

I walked around the back field and looked at the area where Lola was lost for an hour this summer: tangled, thorny-looking bush. Without its summer greenery, it looked small. If Lola had gotten in there this time of year, I would have been able to see her and wouldn't have been so worried. But of course, that's not what happened.

Today at least the sky was pretty. Bonus in the first pic: Lola butt.

Black Cloud

Three years ago, I wrote about a black cloud. I felt that not only was it hovering over me, but it was also stalking me. It was a dark time. Nine days later, we put Spike to sleep. Unfortunately, I feel that black cloud is hovering again.

Here's a list of what I'm dealing with: my mother's broken hip and subsequent care, power of attorney for my mother, my car or lack thereof (I sold it and cancelled registration--now I need a replacement) aftermath of Lola being lost for an hour at Taylor Farm--she's grounded--tethered--for life.

What else? Well, I've certainly let the condo go: papers and books piled everywhere and dust. I've got both a major and a minor work project. The information I need to complete the small project isn't available yet. I can't even get control over one little thing.

As I sit here writing, I'm thinking about all the things I should be doing instead. I was up early to take Jeff to the railroad station. Then Lola and I spent an hour at Taylor Farm. She didn't seem to mind being on the leash. There were some good scents apparently. I wasn't as happy since I was a mosquito buffet.

Now I've got to get some work done.

The Majestic Lola

Here's my girl at Taylor Farm, overlooking our picnic table setting for DPF.

Anatomy of a Good Day

The first thing I noticed when I woke up yesterday was that my hair smelled good. That reminded me that it was cut, colored and washed the night before. So I knew I'd look better than I had the day before. I let myself have a slow morning--writing in my journal, catching up on Jeopardy, working on a blog post (still unfinished)--without feeling guilty.

I took Lola for a neighborhood walk, had a good workout at the gym, and got all my errands done except for getting the car washed. Back home for lunch (leftover Indian from Thursday night.) I took Lola for a second walk, and got Jeff's father's day gifts together (buying a few gifts was part of my errands.)

We got to the dogpark around 5:45: a nice night with wine and snacks with friends. Lola is relishing her time off-leash, but ends up spending most of her time with us at the picnic table.

For dinner I made salad and Jeff cooked scallops.That was a relief--Jeff cooks scallops much better than I do.

A good day.