ALREADY, I MAY NEVER BE

         

          Today, Thursday, I took my car in to have it detailed as I do every fall. It’s too big and I’m too wise (old) to vacuum, clean the inside and wash and wax it myself. My friend Claudia picked me up and we went out to breakfast at a restaurant neither of has been to since we retired from the zoo.

          Tummies full, we decided to go to Swanson’s Nursery…indoor plants were 30% off plus it was wise people’s day so we got another 10% for 40%. Since we were in Wallingford, Claudia drove over to and through Ballard to the last road that heads north. It's definitely not the Ballard we remember from just a decade or so ago. Then, she took all back roads and almost all of them had water views. Some of the homes were astounding and I cannot begin to imagine the property taxes. One we passed was for sale for $1,850,000 and it didn't have much of a view. We also drove past the first house John and I lived in as a married couple. It’s been updated and added to and must be worth a bundle these days…too bad we didn’t take advantage of our landlord’s offer to sell it to us back in 1969.

          At Swanson’s, we began to wander around one of the indoor plant sections. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something glittery. When I looked, it was almost an entire wall full of Christmas ornaments…YES, Christmas ornaments!!! It had been all Halloween on our way inside.

          We did walk over and peruse all the offerings, but I didn’t see anything that would be applicable as this year’s grandkid ornaments. Still, seeing all that Christmassy stuff, kind of made me not very happy. You see, I have to make a decision about whether or not I’m going to decorate for Christmas this year. At the moment, I’m tending toward doing absolutely nothing.

          Part of the problem is that the Christmas tree I had last year was pretty much at the end of its life, so I got rid of it. That means I need to replace the tree and I seriously do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a tree that will require effort to decorate for a measly thirty days of the year. I do know I can spend way less, but then the tree does look very fake. Then, too, there’s the boxes of Christmas stuff in the attic. I’d need to have someone come over and haul them out of the attic. And, it’s not that my kids or grandkid wouldn’t be willing to do so, it’s just that once it’s down, it takes a lot of effort to utilize.

          For those of you who haven’t been to my house, I have a lot of glass stuff sitting around all over the place. I love all of it and almost every single thing tells me a story. During the other eleven months of the year, this paraphernalia requires dusting, which I also hate and which doesn’t get done on a weekly (or maybe even monthly) basis. In order to decorate for Christmas, I have to pack it all up and put it somewhere else so I can replace it with Christmassy stuff. Lots of time and effort is required.

          When the thirty days of Christmas are over, it’s then time to dust and clean the Christmas gear and pack it away for another eleven months and ask someone to come back over and put the boxes in the attic. Once that’s accomplished, it’s time to bring out the ordinary stuff and dust and clean it prior to replacing it around the house.

          So, this leads to my quandary…should I decorate for Christmas or not. Yes, I love hauling out the decorations and taking trip after trip down memory lane with practically each and every ornament and display piece, but do I really want to take those trips this year? And, yes, when I’m returning the everyday things to their places, I also enjoy the trips they provide to times and events gone by.

          Finally, I no longer have Christmas events or many visitors to my home during the holiday season. Claudia’s advice is to do it if it’s something I really want to do for myself, that decorating isn’t for others. Maybe as the holidays get closer, I’ll have a change of heart/mind, but right now, I’m leaning heavily toward not decorating…I’ll let you know if I come to my senses (unless I’m already there).

THE BEST HOUSEMATE EVER

10/6/22

          As of October 6^th, Kuma has been my housemate for an entire year, and I cannot begin to express the love, joy, and fun, as well as the annoyances he’s brought into my life. I wouldn’t trade him for anything and am hoping that my life ends with him curled up against my back.

          I’ve written previous blogs about this wondrous puppy…I know he’s a dog, but he’ll always be puppy to me…but in the off chance I left something out, I’m going to sing his praises once again because that makes me happy.

          First, Kuma is a terrible nag and he does it without saying a word or even barking. I’ve been amazed at how he has adjusted to a schedule and how much having it change seems to annoy him…and me.  For instance, in the morning, he’s up and down off the bed at 6:30 am until I indicate I’m awake and getting up. Then he has to lick as much of me as he can reach and encourage me to pet him by taking my hand in his mouth. Then, once I’ve had my coffee and 7:30 am is nigh, he comes to the side of the couch and stares intently into my eyes until I get up and get moving, i.e., do my exercises. That’s his signal to get into his chair where he remains until I change rooms. Then he moves to the hallway outside the bedroom door. He waits there until I reach my last exercise and then he jumps onto the bed because he knows when I finish that one, I’ll lay on him and give him a full body hug, scratch, pet all while telling him what a wonderful Cutsie Putsie Puppy he is.

          When we went to the ocean last month, my son advised me to make sure Kuma was wearing his tags and remained on a leash…how much fun is that??? Yes, he wore his collar, but I let him off leash so he could run as fast as the wind up and down the beach. No matter where he ended up, I would always see him looking to check where I was and he always returned.

Lots more room

          Just recently, for what I thought was Kuma’s benefit, I made some furniture location changes and he has yet to totally adjust. Since the dining room chair with arms was really too small, I made my dining room table as small as possible with only four chairs. I moved the chairs with arms into a bedroom. Then, I moved the papasan chair from the back corner of the living room to the dining room in front of the fireplace. I also moved Kuma’s crate into the garage since I no longer confine him there when I leave the house. About the only time he’d go into the crate was when people came to visit. Since that doesn’t happen often, I can put him in the laundry room for that purpose.

          The first day this was implemented, Kuma walked throughout the house looking for “his” chair, or that’s what I assumed he was doing. When he received his breakfast treat, he turned from me and went to jump into his papasan chair which was no longer in its usual location. He looked a bit sad and confused and lay upon the rug to eat his treat. Over a week later, he’s finally becoming accustomed to the changes.

          I put a nice very soft turquoise blanket over the papasan chair. It is like the ones I used to put in his crate. For some reason, the fabric these blankets are made of encourages Kuma to chew, chew, chew. Every blanket he’s had has been chewed into tatters and it appears the turquoise one is going that way as well. I don’t know if it feels good in his mouth or if he can’t stand it against his fur.    He doesn’t eat it, so I end up picking up pieces.

Chewing Away

          Somehow, I began a very bad habit without thinking about it. I bought Kuma those yak bones because he loves to chew. Since they are kind of long, I initially held it while Kuma chewed. It didn’t take him long to figure out my holding the boney-bone was greatly preferable to holding it with his own paws. He even wants me to hold them when they become small and there might be a tendency for him to bite me. My son suggested I get a glove that would allow me to hold the boney-bone without getting bit…not sure I’m going to spoil Kuma quite that much.

          When I’m at work in the garden, Kuma has always done his best to get in my way. I finally found something that will keep him occupied for at least an hour or so. I was with a friend when she bought frozen beef bones for her dog. I bought a package as well and Kuma loves them. I give him a frozen one and it takes a bit of time before the marrow is gone and any fleshy remnants have been chewed off. Of course, he then wants me to throw it or hold it while he continues to chew, so I have to get my gardening done quickly.

          As I reported some time ago, a loving anonymous reader sent me a product called Pet Corrector. When you press the button compressed air comes out and makes a noise. Kuma doesn’t like it. Now I don’t usually have to even  pickup the container. A simple, stern “NO BARK” has him getting off the couch and taking refuge in the chair across the room. There, he continues to make soft barks/growls as if to let me know, “Fine, I won’t lean into the window and bark loudly, but you can’t make me stop this way over here.” I’m afraid to try it in the car for fear he’ll make some kind of movement that will cause me to have an accident. So, he still barks at dogs he sees from the car.

          On the trip to the ocean, Kuma was unbelievably good. Maybe it was because he was with his friend Chicken, but he didn’t bark at another dog while on or off his leash. Maybe I need to find a person with a dog with whom we could walk so he doesn’t go nuts when he sees another dog. I don’t know if that would work, but I hate being unable to take him places on a leash when he goes nuts at other dogs. Off leash, he’s fine, doesn’t bark and does his best to get the other dog(s) to interact with him.

          Finally, I’m probably a horrible pet owner, mainly because I share my food with Kuma. I know I’m not supposed to give him human food, but Kuma always gets at least a bite of whatever I’m eating. Amazingly, he loves most vegetables and waits patiently when I’m making salad for bites of carrot, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. He really likes them though once I’ve put feta cheese, avacados and dressing on the entire salad. I had to laugh the first time I gave him cucumbers with dressing on them. I thought he ate them, but like some small child, he licked off the dressing and the cucumber chips somehow ended up between the cushions of the couch…clever boy, huh. Anyway, I enjoy sharing with Kuma even though it’s probably bad for him.

          I began this blog post last Friday on the anniversary of Kuma’s coming home and have worked on it off and on since then. So, I think it’s way past time to put the finished product out there. Hope you’ve enjoyed.