Sleep indeed...

I slept all night last night, just like an ordinary person, I swear to God. It was an amazing experience after not having done so for about a week. I went to bed at a decent time and woke up at a decent time after having had a few significant dreams that I was rather pleased with. Dreams that normally have lots of frustration in them, but that now had satisfying endings. They point me emotionally in a whole new direction and remind me of some of my rights and desires and my own power as a human being. It is possible to swim and not drown in life's complications. It may even turn out to be a warm tropical sea in which you will float. I don't mean to speak in mysteries, but they are realities to me.

I woke up with some time to spare before I had to go to my SPN. I drank coffee and answered my emails. Then I got dressed and walked Tyke. We met a woman with two French bulldogs and much sniffing and snorting went on before all the dogs were happy. The bulldogs snorted, of course, with their flattened noses. Tyke likes these encounters very much and is as happy as a toddler in the zoo. He just can't get enough of it and I literally have to pull him away with all my might. He longingly looks back at his departing friends and really wants to follow them home.

My SPN pointed out to me, that my grievances may actually be real and that I should not just dismiss them as being a product of the absence of enough medication in my system, although she did say that this possibly aggravates it. We looked at one situation in particular and found that it had a real basis and that it was not something I imagined to be true. I do have a real grievance, it is based on something and I have every right to be upset about it and to want to correct it. It's just how I go about it that makes the difference. That's the important part. I feel that I have to be very careful about that and not burn any bridges behind me and I think I could easily have done that yesterday, because my tone would have been very accusatory and nasty. I can't have that. I do want to stay rational and calm. It's the best way to achieve what I want.

The Exfactor was supposed to be here and I just called him to find out where he was and he told me he's not going to be here until tomorrow morning. I'm slightly p*ssed off about this, because I would have waited in vain and he would not have called me. Besides, I think it's rude to say you're going to be here and then decide not to show up. I did count on it and have been waiting since 11 am when I rushed home from my appointment. I think he does insist on leeway a little too much.

I've walked Tyke again and he was his same predictable stubborn self who insisted on being ornery in all the same places. I can pinpoint ahead of time where that is going to be and I'm waiting for him to get over it. Sooner or later he must catch on to the fact that I'm not going to give in to him and that we are not going in that direction and that we are going to move on and that we aren't going to walk around those trees. He did finally get his way and ate the bread that the ducks didn't eat and he acted like it was something incredibly special. Like I had starved him for days. He's got a very tough life here.

The day has been mostly sunny, although there are clouds in the sky and it isn't all that warm. We are just pretending it's warm and everybody is out with bare arms and bare legs, even the mailman. Let it not be said that we aren't optimists. It would be nice to sit out on a cafe terrace now and have a cold beer, though a glass of white wine would do nicely too. You do need someone to sit with, though, and the only person I can think of is my friend Yvonne. Everybody else is unavailable. My sister is in Italy and my friend Lucienne is in Spain. Besides, it's too late in the afternoon to make plans. I should have thought of it earlier. Oh no, I thought the Exfactor was coming.

At least I haven't felt the need for a nap and that is a bonus point. It will probably mean that I will sleep well tonight. I will read my thriller this afternoon. I tried to read it in bed last night, but fell asleep with it quickly. I had enough sense to put it under my pillow and turn off the light, although Tyke hasn't been in the least bit destructive anymore. I think those days are behind him, knock on wood. He leaves my books alone and the books on the bookcase are safe too. So are my shoes and my cigarettes and lighter. He's just about done being a "terrible toddler."

I hope you're all having a good day. I hope your weather is nice. It's slowly warming up in the living room now that the sun is shining through the windows. I don't have a tan yet, but I may try to get one.

Ciao,
Nora

I had noticed...

Yes, I know. I keep writing posts that no one reads and I keep changing the design, as it is now called, of my blog. Not only that, I also changed the fonts and the color to my liking. I'm a fickle woman and I'm going to try out everything I like until I can settle on something. When that will be I don't know, it may take me a while. I'm like a gold digger and I keep seeing bigger nuggets. I can't put down my gear until I've got every one of them.

I did a bunch of chores and Tyke helped me by going around the apartment with me and watching me closely in whatever I did. I don't know what he thinks when he's watching, but apparently it's all very interesting to him. He helped me make the bed by lying down on top of it. Now I have a bumpy duvet. He helped with the laundry by sticking his head into the machine. That helps when you try to get the stuff out. Nevertheless, I got some things done, just in time before my sister called me to ask if I wanted to go with her to take the dogs for a walk. It was funny, because I was about to call her and ask her the same thing. Telepathy.

The sun was shining and I wore my sunglasses, but I also wore my jacket and I was much too warm. Had I known how hot it was going to be in the sun, I would have left it at home. We walked a long way and part of the way we walked along the flags that were set out for a catholic procession. Sometimes we heard the marching band play in the distance, but we managed to evade them completely. There were people standing on the sidewalks along the way, getting ready to greet whatever holiness was about to come by. I don't know enough about it to tell you. I'm sure somebody will inform me. Maybe they carried a relic. It's a theory. The colors of the flags were yellow and white, if that has any meaning.

We passed a big stone block in the grassy verge and I said to my sister, "Look, there is the grave of a Roman soldier." She said, "Really?" I said, "No, I'm lying." She believes everything I tell her, because I say it so sincerely. I used to tell her terrible stories when we were kids and I didn't know better. Luckily, I improved as I got older. That doesn't mean that my stories got better.

Tyke had the runs right on some one's driveway. The people weren't home, but their neighbor was and my sister asked him for a bucket of water to wash it away. That's how my sister is. She's not the least bit embarrassed to approach someone with a request like that. I hadn't even thought of it. My sister is an extrovert, while I, in my Dutch incarnation, am an introvert. Anyway, the bucket of water worked and we could leave with a clear conscious.

My sister wanted to know how I was doing. I said, "I'm better now, but I was a bit depressed all week." She was surprised and said, "I hadn't noticed. Why didn't you tell me?" I said, "As long as I have some kind of control over it, I don't want you to know. I'll let you know if I really can't handle it." My sister counts on me to be there for her every day and I sure as heck am not going to let her know when I'm mildly depressed, because then she'll feel that she can't lean on me and I don't want that to happen. I am her big sister and I do want to keep functioning in that role. I do feel a sense of responsibility towards her, especially since we don't have parents anymore.

It's alternately sunny and cloudy and noisy little kids are playing in the street. Kids always shriek a lot, I guess it is necessary. That's the drawback of good temperatures. Kids are out and every time one screams, I think something has happened. It's very unsettling. Parents must have nerves of steel, but then I forget that I used to be a parent of little kids too. I survived it, although I think that all mothers have a simmering nervous breakdown that's not recognized.

At least my life is filled with reasonable people and sensible adults. I do count my blessings. And cute animals, let's not forget them.

Ciao,
Nora

And now for something completely different.

I woke up at 4 o'clock and thought I was done sleeping, so I walked into the living room and turned on the computer. However, I quickly, within seconds, realized I was still half asleep, so I walked over to the sofa and continued sleeping there for another 2 hours. Then, when I woke up, I made myself a cup of coffee and, not realizing I was grumpy, started answering my emails. Never answer your emails when you are grumpy, especially not before you have had your medicines. Thunder clouds and lightning bolts smash through your head and make you totally unreasonable and make everything seem much worse than it does by the proper light of day. The early dawn does not hold gold in its mouth, as the saying goes.

I'm not going to be sad and pathetic today. I've decided that's no attitude for me. I'll spit in any one's eye who tells me I ought to be. I refuse to tear myself to pieces. It would only be self induced pain and I'm not going along with that. Nobody is going to rescue me, so I'm going to keep myself from drowning. I do have to live my life without huge interruptions.

I decided to google images of cockapoos yesterday and I found many of them and some of them were of black haired ones like Tyke and sure enough, they looked just like him. I could have posted one of those images on my blog and told you it was Tyke and you would have believed me. So now I'm fairly sure that he is a cockapoo. There were some really adorable dogs there and apparently they are very popular as a designer dog and developing into a new breed. It was mentioned that they have good characters and I have to agree with that. Tyke's a little sweetheart, although he does get naughty, but I think it's unintentional. It's not out of spite as a rule.

The domestic help is coming this afternoon, so I have to do a few chores, but not too many. I hope this one is going to wash the windows. I'll make her do it, I'll call on her honor as a cleaning person. I have to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen counter and sink. I also have to fold and put away the dry laundry. I'm thrilled to pieces about this. The Exfactor is also coming over. So I need to get the show on the road now and get dressed and walk Tyke.

I hope you all have a nice day and make the best of it.

Ciao,

Nora

Winding down...

I just got home from spending a nice mellow evening at my sister's and you'd think I had a whole bottle of wine instead of just the one large glass, because I feel totally relaxed and in the mood for one more. Unfortunately that is not possible because I have no wine in the house and if I did I would probably drink the whole bottle and become drunk and wake up with a hangover. So all is for the best and I will just enjoy the slight mellowness that I feel now. Hey, I'm not used to much and I have to enjoy each moment as it comes to me.

My sister had baked a chocolate cake with nuts and apricot jam as a filling and chocolate icing on top and it was very good. I did manage to put away a piece of that, although my stomach protested loudly after that. I burped quite a bit, which is not polite in mixed company as we were. I had 2 espressos as she was out of milk, but we are going grocery shopping tomorrow, which is good because I'm also almost out of milk. My niece and nephew were there and their grandparents and I had brought Tyke who is desperately trying to become friends with my sister's dog, but he's not much interested and lets Tyke know in no uncertain terms.

We watched the British Kurt Wallander with Kenneth Branagh and it was the first time I really watched it, although it is on every week. I had not realized who portrayed him and how sexy he really is and I'm determined now to watch that series more often. I like the fact that it is filmed in Sweden and that it is as authentic as possible. I've read as many of those books as I could and should recognize a lot of the stories, although the one we saw tonight was unfamiliar to me. I like men like Kenneth Branagh, they bring out the beast in me, Ha ha! I don't really know if I still have a beast in me. There is some doubt about that.

My nephew had pepperoni pizza flavored chips. He offered me some and they were really good. What will they think of next? Any flavor is available. I could have eaten a whole bowl by myself, but decided to be polite about it and not ask for one. I do have to think about my diet after all. Although when something tastes really good, I will eat it. I won't turn down a piece of very good cheese for example. Or macaroni or potato salad. That reminds me that I haven't eaten lasagna in a long time and I used to love it so. There's no sense in making a big baking dish full for myself, so I will not get to eat it any time soon, but I sure would love to. I am going to have to buy those small portions of different flavors rice. I will get some of those tomorrow. I must not forget that.

As an encore I'm having some green tea with lemon. That ought to help me go to sleep. I really ought to have some nighttime tea, although I have no idea what's in it and why it is really called that. I wonder if there are really ingredients in it that make you sleepy. I still think the best thing is a mug of warm to hot milk and I may have that next, although I miss the little skin that used to form on top of it when it cooled off. That was the cream that used to be in the milk and that is gone now. Speaking of cream, the thing I like to eat best is fresh crusty white bread with real butter. I could make a whole meal out of that. The last time I really ate well it was that with a salmon steak.

Well, it's time for me to go to bed, unfortunately. Sensible people must do sensible things. Nowadays I am sensible. First I will have my mug of warm milk and make some cigarettes for in the morning. I will try to sleep as long as I possibly can and try not to get up too early. Maybe I can ignore the call of the computer. Yeah, right!

Sleep tight.

Ciao,
Nora

An encore...

I took two 2 hour naps today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I just woke up from the one in the afternoon, so I guess it was really one in the early evening. After the one in the morning, I wasn't sufficiently done sleeping to really start the day right. I had claimed here that I was so clear and levelheaded in the morning when I first got up, but after I walked Tyke, I realized how tired I still was and laid down on the sofa for a nap. I should have just gone back to bed for a proper sleep.I don't know why I thought that was improper for some reason, as if I was not supposed to lie in bed during the day.

My SPN called me after I had sent her the email about my grouchiness and the Welbutrin and told me not to make any changes in my medicines for 3 weeks so that I will stabilize and that they will be able to see then which medicine can be reduced or taken away completely. I begrudgingly made that promise, because 3 weeks is a long time to be grouchy, but I'm not it nonstop all day long so I guess I can live with that. You'll probably notice it in my posts when I am, though, and pay me no mind.

I walked to my sister's house in the afternoon with Tyke for some cappuccinos. My sister's dog is getting used to Tyke's enthusiasm, but doesn't quite want Tyke to have his toys yet. So he collects them under the table and guards them. They are doing better all the time and Tyke is learning to give Quinto his space and not to be too pushy. Quinto was used to Jesker and they got along well and now he has to get used to this little curious fellow who wants to be right there the whole time and be wherever he is. They'll work it out.

When I came back, I hung out on the computer for a while, but it was clear that I needed more sleep, so I laid down on the sofa again and was soon sound asleep once more. I'm just going to have to give into these urges to sleep during the day, because I am in a much better mood if I do and it doesn't seem to make that much difference with how much I sleep at night.

My template is back and I hope you can all read the font better on the white background. I have no way to enlarge it. You may all have to get reading glasses. Don't worry, I've got them too. There's no stigma attached to it. This is not the original watercolor template that I started out with, this is a new one in effort to get any template to show up at all. I can't find the unzip file with the watercolor template in it just now, but if I run into it, I will reinstall it, although I quite like this one too. I will go have a look for the other one in a minute. Maybe it is retrievable.

I need a tall glass of milk, so that's what I'm going to get. Have a good evening you all.

Ciao,
Nora

A hot day for springtime...

My sister and I took the dogs for a long walk and the sun was shining and it was warm outside and I regretted my choice of clothes and the fact that I didn't have anything to drink with me. What I wanted more than anything was a cold Coke, but there weren't any around where we were walking and we only passed a hardware store. When we got home, Tyke immediately went to his water bowl and I went to the refrigerator to drink a lot of cold milk straight out of the bottle. I can do that, because I'm the only one who lives here.

I wanted to change my clothes, but I didn't have time, because my sister came to pick me up to go grocery shopping. We drove there with the windows rolled down and it felt good. Luckily, it was cool in the store, so I wasn't too miserable. I was done shopping quickly, because I almost always get the same old things and I know my way around the store by now. I got the French cheeses and Mr Muscle Cleaner. It's got to work as good as anything and it was on sale. I hope my domestic help is happy with it. She's got to scrub with it.

I first put the groceries away when I got home and then took my tights off and changed my top to a tank top and that was quite a relief. Now I have cool legs and cool arms. It's 20C and much warmer than they had predicted. The sun is shining and they said it would be 17C and cloudy. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 11C and rainy. I hope they get that wrong too. I complain about the cold, but 20C is plenty warm enough for me. It really doesn't need to get warmer than that.

I feel surprisingly unexcited without the urge to write many posts and without the feeling that I have much to announce. I don't feel that I need to declare myself on all sorts of subjects anyway. I'm a bit more subdued than I have been. I'm not quite happy with that, because I like to be a little more lively, with a little bit more spirit. I'll blame it on the too much of antipsychotic that I've had and that is slowly leaving my body. I don't think that was a very good move of my psychiatrist and I'm not happy with it. I've written my SPN an email letting her know, but she is out of the office today and won't get it until tomorrow morning. I'm taking my normal dose of antipsychotics tonight.

I'm going to lie down and take a nap.

Ciao,
Nora

In the long run...

Late yesterday afternoon, Tyke and I went for a longer walk, because many of you agreed that he needed more exercise than he was getting on his little short walks with Jesker and I couldn't agree more. We left at about 4 o'clock and as it gets dark at 6, I figured we had enough time to wander around the neighborhood and pick the best route to follow. He thought it was great and couldn't move quickly enough from one interesting spot to the next, That meant moving from hedge to hedge and from tree to tree and from one blade of grass to the next. He set the pace and it was fast. He was just not quite pulling my arm out of my socket.

Unfortunately, I had misjudged the weather and wore my warm sweater under my winter coat and after a while I was very hot. It was much warmer outside than I had anticipated. I was also wearing the wrong boots and had sore feet about halfway through the walk. So I lasted 50 minutes and had to call it quits. Tyke easily could have walked another hour or two. Also, my condition isn't what it used to be. I have gotten used to the relatively short and easy rambles with Jesker and they are nothing compared to a long walk with Tyke.

Today I'm going again, but I'm not going to wear my warm sweater and I'm going to wear my hiking boots in the hope that I will last a little bit longer. I'm going to try and make two longer walks, but it depends on how much sleep I need and how much time that leaves me. I'm up in the middle of the night now after sleeping a few hours. No doubt I will go back to sleep later, but I may be up on time for a morning walk with him that's a bit longer.

Jesker gets exhausted moving from room to room, so I'm not going to bother taking him for walks anymore, as they seem to wear him out too much anyway. I will let him do his business out back and just take Tyke for walks and make them longer ones, because there is no sense in making these tiny little walks with the three of us. They don't do any of us any good, least of all Jesker.

I'm worried about Jesker and I don't think he is going to hang on much longer. I guess what I'm really saying is, that soon I will be faced with the difficult decision that I have to make and that is so hard. But I hear his breathing as he is lying here beside me and it is short and shallow, as if it requires effort. I want him to hang in there a while longer, but really I want to postpone the decision until there is no other choice. Until it is the only obvious thing to do, but I don't want him to needlessly suffer either. It is tough. I've had to had cats put to sleep and I felt bad enough about that. This, however, is my companion and my friend. He's more than just a dog.

I've turned the thermostat down one degree so the heater won't keep going on and it does make a difference, but I imagine that I'm much colder now, while one degree should not matter all that much. A cup of hot coffee sure tastes good then. I think I'm going to get my end of year bill in June, because that's when I became a customer of this energy company and I will find out how much extra I will have to pay on top of the monthly payments that I have been making. They've calculated me for a one person household, but the winter has been cold, so I may have used more gas than was predicted. I've also used the computer a lot, so I may have used more electricity, in spite of my energy saving light bulbs and the fact that I hardly watch TV. So it's all going to be a big surprise.

I just got two blue envelopes in the mail from the tax office and I thought that maybe they wanted more money from me because of the end of the year calculations, but luckily zero Euros were due. It's such a relief when the tax people let you know that you don't owe them anything else. It would be like plucking a naked chicken. There's no more to go around and they ought to know best. You never know when you get a blue envelope in the mail. It can be good news or bad news. This time it was semi-good news. It would have been better if they had owed me money. That would have been my lucky day.

It's only going to be 3C today and cloudy. We've had such nice weather these past couple of days, that you could almost imagine spring had arrived. Alas, it was of short duration. Next week we're going to have wintertime again with freezing temperatures and more snow, believe it or not. Such rotten luck! I do hate that and I sincerely hope that's the last of it, but that's what I hoped the other week too. Drats! In the north of the country they haven't been without snow for at least 7 weeks, so that's much worse. Thank goodness we're spared that.

Both the dogs are amicably sleeping at my feet as if they've never done anything else. There's room for both of them. Sometimes Tyke snores. It's very funny to hear such a little dog snore. Every time I get up to go to the kitchen, he follows me in the hope that something exciting will happen and I have to disappoint him every time. It's not nearly time for him to eat, but he does gobble down his food when he gets it. He acts like a starving person who hasn't had anything to eat for days or weeks. It's gone in no time. Jesker is not the least bit interested in eating.

Well, I'll go and read blogs. I'm behind in that and now is a good time to catch up.

I hope you all have a wonderful day when you get up.

Ciao...

Jesker's condition...

I just came back from this afternoon's walk with both the dogs and I could see that it was a real effort for Jesker. We walked very slowly and at the end of it I was worried about him making it home. He is confused again and got stuck in a corner in the entryway by the front door and I had to guide him into the apartment. He doesn't want to eat and I have to force his antibiotic pill, wrapped in a slice of salami, down his throat. His breathing is a bit labored as he is lying here beside me and I bet he's got a fever again.

Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for him, but pet him and try to make him as comfortable as I can and not leave him alone. He wants to be as close to me as he can and luckily Tyke is getting over the worst of his sex drive. He's not nearly as bad as he was yesterday and leaves Jesker alone now for the most part. The attempts that he does make are halfhearted and I can easily stop him.When I do, he's very apologetic and wants to make up for it as quickly as he can. That's good, because Jesker just wants to lie beside me and be petted every so often.

For a change, I slept all night long. I think I went to bed at 11 pm and didn't wake up until 6 am. That's a record for me, although I think I one time slept for 8 hours. I can't remember when that was exactly. It was last year some time maybe. Tyke didn't get into any sort of trouble, but he did leave two surprises by the back door. At least his intentions were good, he was almost in the right place. I'll put a newspaper down there tonight, so it will be easier to clean up. It's amazing how easily you get used to handling a dog's surprises without gagging.

I'm not falling apart today. It must be because of those extra hours of sleep I grabbed this morning after I had already been up for a while. Sleep is my best friend, I need more than enough of it and more than 7 hours in a night. 7 Hours is not enough for me. I can't function on it.

This is taking me forever to write, because I have to pet Jesker and play with Tyke. It's like having two children who both need enough attention. Then Gandhi threw some books off the bookcase and Tyke started barking about that, because he thought that was scary and not at all the way the way it was supposed to be.

I just took some time out to clear the patio and the flowerbeds of evidence of dog. The more I looked, the more I saw. It's amazing what comes out of a small animal and what difference the sort of food makes. I have made up my mind about what I'm going to feed him now and what sort of snacks he's going to get. It's all a question of trying things out.

Well, I'm going to sit on the sofa in the company of my dogs. I'm sure we'll have a fruitful time. Poor Jesker needs lots of attention. He's lying between my feet now and I'm sitting here like a farmer milking cows.

Have a good rest of the day.

Ciao...

His name is Tyke!

I am, as of 3:30 this afternoon, the proud owner of an 11 month old American cocker spaniel named Tyke. He is black all over except for under his tail, where he is white, which looks very cute.

I was very unsure about getting another dog when I found out about Jesker's tumor. At first I thought I wouldn't get another dog at all, but then I thought I would be awfully lonely without one and that I would very much miss the company and the routine and the loving care. Then I thought I would wait until Jesker was gone and that seemed like a sensible idea, but out of curiosity I started to visit the websites of all the local dog kennels and, of course, there were all the usual dogs there that nobody wanted. German shepherds, pit bulls, Jack Russel's, the usual assortment. I was not interested in getting any of those dogs.

This morning I went to the website of a kennel in Heerlen, which is a town twenty minutes away from here and saw, between all those dogs I didn't want, this wonderful American cocker spaniel. I couldn't believe it. It was a new dog and up for immediate adoption. I tried to put it out of my mind for a few hours, but couldn't and I kept thinking about that dog that was sitting there waiting for me. The problem was that I didn't have a ride, but then I remembered that I could call my friend Yvonne, who is a big dog lover herself, and ask her if she would take me there to pick up the dog.

I called her up and explained the situation to her and she was more than willing to take me there. She had planned to do the same thing when her dog before the one she has now died, but he died so suddenly, that she did not get a chance to pick out another dog until afterwards. She wanted to have another dog while he was still alive to ease the pain, so she understood what I was doing. Well, what really motivated me was the chance to get a good dog and they don't come along often. Just once in a while you see a dog like that at the dog kennels.

We drove over there and needless to say it was love at first sight. Here he was sitting in his cage with his sad looking eyes, but eager to make contact and very alert. The woman that worked there put him on a leash so I could get to know him better and he was all over me and all over Yvonne. He was so happy to be with people. I asked all the usual questions and was soon satisfied. Of course, we had to do all the paperwork and he had to get a chip in his neck with my information in it, but all in all it was a fairly painless operation.

Nobody needs to worry about Jesker not being a dominant dog, because he his. He made it clear from the start that he is in charge and that Tyke comes in second place. Anything Tyke can do, he can do better. He even steels his food and his toys, things he normally pays no attention to whatsoever. Dried dog food that he doesn't like. Rawhide bones that he never chews on. Tyke did manage to demolish one tennis ball on his own on the sofa. That took him about half an hour, so I need to get better balls. Well, everybody needs those. The cats let him know they weren't scared of him, so that was settled very quickly.

So, we have a new addition to the family and it will take some getting used to, but he is as cute as anything and listens well. We'll grow on each other in no time and do some real bonding, which he is very good at. He is very enthused when it comes to showing his love.

Oh, I don't like my template and I think some of you don't like it either, so I'm going to change it. The only one that comes close to the toad template has an animal on it that is very slow and sluggish, which may be appropriate for me, and it carries it's house on its back, which I think I do in the sense that I carry all my troubles with me. Also, I do like to go into hiding, just like this animal. I just hope it doesn't turn you off. I think it is just the least bit endearing and don't think of escargot.

Have a good evening, at least what's left of it. I've got to change my template and cuddle with both my dogs.

Ciao.

A Good Nap and Some Help.

The day has gone by quickly in spite of the fact that it didn't feel like it was going to be a good day. I was on a low burner and couldn't quite get my act together until my sister called me to ask if I wanted to go for a walk with the dogs. That was enough motivation for me to get dressed, although not made up, but who cares, and I met her at her house. We walked a ways into the neighborhood until we came to an outside path were there was lots of greenery and places for the dogs to mark each other's spots by turns.

I kept the Überhund on the leash, because he is kind of confused nowadays and I don't trust him not to go walking off and not to come back because he is with his head in the clouds. As far as the length of the roll out leash permitted, he was very busy, though, and ran from one side of the path to the other, being very occupied with the various smells of other dogs that had been there.

The trees and the shrubbery are getting green buds and some of them are quite far along in the process, so we got a good look at that. Walking back into the neighborhood, we saw greenery on some of the hedges and a giant weeping willow tree covered in new green leaves. It was a beauty.

When we got to the field, I let the Überhund off the leash and he sauntered ahead very merrily, while he kept looking around to see if I was coming along.We walked past the school and he is supposed to wait at the corner, but he kept right on going. I called him, but he turned a deaf ear. I quickly ran after him, but he started running too and I finally caught up with him at the next corner before he had to cross the street. So he was definitely being naughty. When we got home, he was worn out and could not even eat his Bonzo bone, but laid down with it for half an hour before he could eat it.

I looked at the state of my apartment and could not for the life of me figure out how I was going to make it look good again. It was the vacuuming that I had to do that was causing me the most amount of grief and it was a job that I just could not handle. So, I called in the relief troops.

Actually, I called the Exfactor and asked him if he would vacuum for me, because then everything else would be so much easier. He said, of course, and that he would be here later in the afternoon. Which was a good thing, because just then the electricity went off and I remembered a letter I had gotten that had told me that the electricity would be off until 3:30 PM.

Not being able to do anything, I decided to take a nap and I slept until 3:30 shortly after which the electricity came on again and the Exfactor arrived. He tore through the apartment with the vacuum cleaner and had the whole thing looking great in the shortest amount of time. I was ever so grateful. It was a load of my mind. To top it all off, he had brought me a container of my favorite dessert and told me to call him whenever I needed any help. I will take him up on that.

I am not quite awake yet, but in 10 minutes I need to take my medicines and walk the dog. Now that I know what an escape artist he is, I will never let him off the leash again.

Here are some photographs that the Exfactor took this afternoon when he was on a bike ride.



Ciao...