Friday Five: Seasons Change...

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Reverendmother writes:
It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)

It's another tandem play for me and The Typist today!

1. Share a highlight from this summer. (If you please, don't just say "our vacation to the Canadian Rockies." Give us a little detail or image. Help us live vicariously through you!)
Typist: Hmm. I'm not feeling into imagery this morning. Dare I say something as small as having a lovely 11th anniversary dinner with The Alpha? Because that was very nice, indeed. Our real summer hurrah is coming up tomorrow -- we had to put it off until September because of church-nerd obligations.
Cub: I've had a pretty good summer all around. It was nice to go for a swim a few weeks back.

2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?
Typist: Indifferent on this one. I don't think I'll get any less busy, but summer hasn't been as scorchingly hot as it could've been this year. Still, I'll be more inclined to spend time outside when it cools off a bit more.
Cub: I'm pretty much with The Typist. Although I haven't been nearly as busy as she has.

3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.
Typist: Going to northwest corner of Home State. Technically, the trip is for a church-nerd meeting, but there should still be some wonderful time outside at the retreat center.
Cub: My fur really looks even more beautiful in the fall. I'm an autumn dog.

4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)
Typist: A trip to the northwest corner of Home State, particularly to town of The Alpha's alma mater (coincidentally, the same town as retreat center mentioned above). We try to have a weekend up there every autumn, but it doesn't always happen.
Cub: I start to grow in some more fur. I have plenty, but I want to be extra-sure about it.

5. I'll know that fall is really here when...
Typist: ... I step outside and smell freshly-mown grass mixed with falling leaves. Smells like high-school football season. Keep in mind that fall only hangs around here for about a week, though, so I have to be really attentive to catch it. It was easier in Home State.
Cub: ... the backyard grass dries out and The Alpha doesn't have to mow it for a while. And when I roll around in it, some of it will hang onto my fur and The Typist will pick it off when I come inside.

New friend we haven't met yet

Remember Miss Cherrie? She sent us a cute picture of Nick today, from back when he was young:
Nick definitely knew how to have fun. He even liked little thumb-havers, the kind that make me nervous. Such a good boy, that Nick.

Well, Miss Cherrie sent another picture today, too. It's of someone new. Internet, meet Jay:

Jay came to live with Miss Cherrie last weekend, and The Typist got to go meet him, but we can't play with him yet. Not until he's settled in. And that might take a while, because he's a bit of a scaredy-dog from being in a shelter for a very long time, and being in a place where good people had to come take him away from bad people before that. ("Cruelty" is what it said on the form. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I know I don't like it.)

Jay has decided he likes living at Miss Cherrie's house, so The Boy and I will get to meet him eventually.

The Typist says that in the morning, Jay is going to be on her work blog, with a story from Miss Cherrie. (I haven't gotten to be on her work blog, but I have been on John the Methodist's blog and in the paper, which is more than The Boy can say.)

I'm glad Jay and Miss Cherrie found each other. Not every thumb-haver would be so patient with a dog who gets scared when a book falls over on the shelf. But Miss Cherrie understands, and she's helping him not be so scared.

The Return of The Typist

The Typist left yesterday and didn't come back until today. The Alpha didn't let us up on the thumb-havers' bed while she was gone, either. (He's such a "rules" guy.)

Anyway, when she came home she smelled like this. With plenty of this on top. Also, some of this. (She said we will get to see a picture of that last one.)

Cultural Friday Five

As a RevGalDogPal, I play the RevGals' Friday Five as much as a dog can play it. Today it's about Culture, though, and I'm not very big on Culture. So, I'm letting The Typist play on her own this time:

Sally writes: I have spent the week at Summer School studying the Gospel and Western culture, we have looked at art, literature, music, film and popular culture in their myriad expressions. With that in mind I bring you the cultural Friday 5.

Name a

1. Book The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (does this one count? because it's not exactly secular culture. In case it doesn't, my backup would be Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird).

2. Piece of music: Too many to list! But the one that comes to mind right now is "Angry Young Man" by Billy Joel (despite the fact that I have more hope than the speaker in the song).

3. Work of art: Pieces painted by my sister. Her situation in life hasn't been the greatest for a while now (The Alpha rode the MS 150 in her honor earlier this year), but when she feels up to it, she can paint beautifully, and it's a gift from God (and sometimes results in a material gift to us).

4. Film: Big Fish

5. Unusual engagement with popular culture: Being married to a comic-book/sci-fi geek, I know far more about some of genres than I realize until it surfaces (did you know, for example, that The Thing is Jewish? Any time someone brings up the Fantastic Four, I can't help but blurt that out. Also, Superman: Methodist!).

That have helped/challenged you on your spiritual journey.

Bonus: Is engagement essential to your Christian faith, how and why? This is a "well, duh" one for me. I have a much harder time relating to non-churchy people if I don't at least attempt to keep up with what's going on in pop culture. Still, with the sheer volume of variety in this world, it's often hard to maintain a broad awareness!

Dog Hero Profile: Nicky

This picture is of Moose, a Jack Russell terrier who pretended to be Eddie on TV.

But tonight I'm talking about a dog who looks kinda like this: Nicky, a local hero.

Or, should I say, who looked kinda like this. Nick went on today.

We never met him, but Nicky lived near us, with our friend Miss Cherrie. He was very old, but he had lived with her since he was a puppy. She took very good care of him and loved him lots.

There was a time when Miss Cherrie couldn't hear well. Nick understood she needed help, and so he used his ears for her until she got her own ears fixed (and even some after that).

He liked pickles.

He liked watching Wishbone on TV.

And he loved Miss Cherrie.

Rest well, Nick.

Friday Five: Word Association, Redux

ReverendMother over at RevGalBlogPals writes...
This one is patterned off an old Friday Five written by Songbird, our Friday Five Creator Emerita:

Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.

1. vineyard
Typist: A winery in Home State.
Cub: What's a vineyard? Is it like a backyard? Because I like my backyard.

2. root
Typist: Big, gnarled tree roots.
Cub: Rooting for milk spouts when I first came to live here. Turns out The Typist doesn't have a bunch of milk spouts on her belly like mama dogs do.

3. rescue
Typist: Both Cub and Angus were rescues -- one turned in as a stray in a nearby apartment complex, the other dognapped from Home State, where someone wasn't taking good care of him.
Cub: I'd like to be a dog that wears an important-looking vest and help with rescues. But it might interfere with naptime and be a little rough on my hip.

4. perseverance
Typist: Hebrews 12:1-2.
Cub: The people at the vet persevere at sticking needles in me!

5. divided
Typist: United Methodists (ironic, no?).
Cub: Our morning "good dogs go out" treat, which The Boy and I have to share.

(Each of these appears in one of the readings from this Sunday's lectionary.)

Last night's DogPal meetup!

First off, The Typist says she is very glad that the cable internet guy is supposed to come Monday, because nobody has been able to blog or check email around here all dang day. It started working again not long ago, thank goodness, because the thumb-havers were getting testy.

Next, and more importantly... WOW, did we have a great time last night! We got to take a ride over to Bandy's house! I went swimming -- Bandy never uses her pool, so her mom was happy to see me paddling around. The Boy even got in and stood on the first step. That's a huge breakthrough for him.




The Typist put the camera away after this part, because I was starting to shake water off. I had fun shaking water all over the thumb-havers every time I got out of the pool -- and sometimes before I got out!

Bandy and I had a couple of scuffles, as dogs sometimes do when we first meet, but it was nothing personal. We actually like each other pretty well. The Typist was upset when Bandy lost a tooth in one of the scuffles, though. Bandy's mom says Bandy is feeling fine now, but will be going to the vet soon! Oh, and we found out we have the same vet. I hope they give Bandy lots of treats like they do for me.

Besides standing on the top step of the pool, The Boy also drank lots of pool water. He let it go on the way home. He tried to tell The Typist to pull over, but she didn't understand. So he managed to aim a lot of it toward her bag full of wet dog towels instead of directly on the back seat. (He can be very considerate.) The Typist wasn't upset; she says she is thankful she got the ScotchGard option, whatever that means.

Thanks, Bandy and Bandy's mom, for a nice evening!

Friday Five: Stress busting edition

Sally over at RevGalBlogPals writes: I am off to spend a few days at the beach chilling out after a hectic few weeks and before I head off for Summer School...

So with that in mind this week's questions are looking at how you deal with the stress monster!!!???

The Typist and I haven't had time to play Friday Five in a while, so we're glad to be back with another team effort!

1. First, and before we start busting stress, what causes you the most stress, is it big things or the small stuff?
The Typist: The big things cause the most stress, but the small things are what usually trigger the meltdown over the big things!
Cub: What's stress? I'm a dog! But seriously... The main thing that gets me worried is small-sized thumb-havers -- the kind who might grab my tail or try to pet me where I had hip surgery. Also, "pet" and "slap" are much the same thing with little thumb-havers.

2. Exercise or chocolate for stress busting ( or maybe something else) ?
The Typist: Chocolate! (And this is Texas, so the something else, by default, is a margarita.)
Cub: Exercise! (Chocolate is Not For Poppies.) I love a good walk, or a good round of chasing The Boy.

3.What is your favourite music to chill out to?
The Typist: Ooh, the British spelling of favourite! Does this mean I need to answer with a British artist? Eh, not feeling it at the moment... Lately I've had Billy Joel back in my car's CD player after a too-long break. The Eagles are also great chillin' music. And so is John Lee Hooker, but I can't listen to him without developing a serious craving for ribs. Blues and bbq, you know...
Cub: Anything soft and mellow soothes this savage beast.

4. Where do you go to chill?
The Typist: This is a harder question than it should be. I guess my place differs depending on the situation. A restaurant, a massage clinic, a comfy spot at home, New Mexico, Alaska...
Cub: If I'm outside it's the tile walkway in the backyard; if I'm inside, the tile by the front door. Tile is more chilly than carpet or a couch.

5. Extrovert or introvert, do you relax at a party, or do you prefer a solitary walk?
The Typist: A small, casual party of good friends.
Cub: A walk! I like walks!

Bonus- share your favourite stress busting tip!
The Typist: Always have at least one friend who can listen without trying to solve your problems. Venting serves a purpose.
Cub: There's nothing like a good post-breakfast waller on the carpet to get your day off to a nice start!

Another well-duh quiz

On the Muppet Personality Quiz, I -- a dog -- am Animal.

Who's surprised?

You Are Animal

A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts. You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary. But you sure can beat a good drum. "Kill! Kill!"

The Muppet Personality Test

New DogBlog friend

I made a new friend this week! Go over to BabyDog Bandy's blog and say hello!