July 14, 2009 - Dog Hair & Dinner

A certain Golden Girl woke me up at 8am to show me the wonderful felted ball she was holding in her mouth. When she does this, she's not asking to play; you're simply supposed to admire whatever she's holding and tell her how brilliant she is. If you try to take it to play fetch, she turns her head, or her entire body, as if she's playing "keep-away."

So I was awake. I tried to go back to sleep for about half an hour but gave up. I went downstairs to check for any messages on the computer. I felt like my right arm was missing because of leaving my cell phone at home.

The funny thing is, though, that I knew I was going to forget it. Sue called me on my way home from dialysis and I walked into the house with the phone and bluetooth. I left my purse in the truck because I wasn't going to be home all that long. I said to myself that if I didn't take my purse in, I would forget the phone. That's exactly what happened, too! I really need to start listening to myself more, or stop jinxing myself. One or the other!

I went over to pick Sue up at 9:30 this morning, as we agreed, and the trip up to Wilmington went smoothly. There were no backups on I-95 so we arrived a little early at the train station. On the way up, Sue asked if I'd like to see the show she was working on. I asked which one it was, because she's been on several national tours with musicals. She was with Les Miserables for 7 1/2 years and did Phantom of the Opera, too. This time, though, she's working on Grease. I thought Mom would jump at the chance to see it, especially since Taylor Hicks (American Idol winner, season 5) was playing Teen Angel (singing Beauty School Dropout).

I called Mom using Sue's cell and we decided to go tomorrow night. Otherwise, I'd have to go home and drive back up because the show only runs until Sunday. We arranged for Sue to ride up and back with us Wednesday and she even promised to give us a back-stage tour! How cool is that?!

After Sue went to get her train, Kasey and I headed back towards Mom's. I remembered her asking about us coming by her work for lunch but I had told her I'd be too late for that. Since it was about 11am, I set the GPS for Mom's work to find the quickest way to get there. It wasn't quite time for lunch when I arrived at the office so Mom sent me to the pharmacy for some calming medicine for Ricco. She had been told it was an OTC med, but you had to ask for it at the pharmacy counter. The pharmacist gave me a funny look and informed me that it was a prescription-only med. I'm not sure if the states have different distribution rules, but the pharmacy was in Delaware and the person who told Mom about the medicine lives in Maryland.

While I was out, I drove farther down Rt 40 to the Chick-Fil-A for a chargrilled chicken wrap. I discovered these last year and just love them! I got back to Mom's office right at noon and we sat in the conference room to eat. Kasey slept on the floor beside me to make sure I didn't get away from her.

After lunch, I dropped Kasey off and Mom's and went over to Joe and Susan's to walk Shandi and Nemo. I also decided to clip Shandi down while I was there. This is my Gruesome Twosome. They are quite the pair! Shandi is the gold one sitting down. Nemo is the silver grizzle standing up.

For those who haven't been reading Crossed Purposes that long, Shandi was mine until she was 5 1/2 years old. She became too much for me to handle as my health deteriorated and when Mom moved to Elkton in 2006, she called to tell me the people behind her had a silver Saluki. That silver Saluki was Shandi's puppyhood "boyfriend," Nemo! Shandi's breeder imported Nemo from Australia when he was about 6 months old and I house sat for her almost every weekend until her death in early 2003, when Shandi was 18 months old.

After that, the breeder's husband was very close-lipped about where Nemo went and most of us who knew them thought that Nemo had been euthanized. The breeder's friends were elated when I called to tell them I found Nemo and that he was fat and happy. When Joe found out that I needed to find a new home for Shandi he said, "Well, you found one!" He told me Susan would never forgive him if he didn't because she'd been wanting another Saluki from the same lines. She had two of them years before and was missing the breed. The fact that Nemo and Shandi were buddies from puppyhood just made it all that much better. As you can see, Shandi is fat and happy, too. I couldn't have asked for better! Joe and Susan love her dearly, despite the fact that she's a terror.

Anyway, I digress (I know-what else is new?!).

I took Shandi out to the deck and had her stand on the bench so I wouldn't have to break my back while clipping off all her fuzzies. It took a while to get her done because I had to let the clippers cool off, but she finally went from looking like a (H)Afghan back to looking like a Saluki!

Unfortunately, all the clippings seemed to somehow migrate to my clothes! I was covered in Shandi's fuzzies. Everywhere I sat, I left a bit behind.

Here she is, resting after her "ordeal." At least, that's how she's going to play it up to Joe and Susan when they get home tonight! Her mother's name was Diva and I should have named her Drama Queen, because she is!

I never saw a dog throw a temper tantrum until I got Shandi Renee! If she is told "no" about going outside, she stomps in a circle chasing her tail. If she's outside and wants to come in, she shreds whatever she can find if you don't let her in right away. She poisoned herself on an azaela bush in my yard twice before I found out azaelas are poisonous to dogs. She also shredded three screens on the porch. I love her, but my house is soooo much more peaceful without her!

I tried getting a nice head study of Nemo, but as soon as he saw the camera he put his chin on the floor and did his "I am superior and you do not exist" routine.

After going back to Mom's to shower and change, and calling Sue to tell her she had two Salukis, instead of a Half-ghan & a Saluki, I met my high school girlfriend, Petrena, for dinner. We had a wonderful time together! We talked and talked. So much so that we went to the park in Elkton and walked all the way around it, probably about a mile. When we were done that, we were still talking so we went to the swings and chatted more.

We hadn't seen each other in fifteen years, but all that time seemed to fall away and we were right back where we left off. After both our posteriors fell asleep from being squeezed by the swings, we went back into town to her house and chatted for a couple more hours. It was 10:30 before I headed back home!

When I got there, I felt awful because I'd left Kasey with Ben and Mom and she was very upset. She was not happy and had worked herself into a fine fettle by the time I walked through the door. Ben said he couldn't get her to stop running around looking for me and barking. Because I was going to a strange restaurant and Kasey refuses to get under a table, I chose not to take her. I thought she'd feel comfortable in Mom's house with people and other dogs she knew but I am her security blanket; nothing and no one else matters.

We went to bed right around midnight because I was so worn out from my long day. As usual, Kasey slept on the tile floor in the upstairs bathroom. It has a direct view into my bedroom and at the top of the stairs, so she knows I can't escape her sight. Silly girl!