Therapy Dog

Brighton will be getting her "Therapy Dog" tag any day now. I'm very excited about that.
At this time I take her any place I can. She was quite the charmer at the Ford dealership this morning. First we did a bit of training amongst the cars and then we joined the other waitees.
Later I took her to the elementary school at dismissal time. She sits and lets herself be adored and it gives me an opportunity to instruct the kids about approaching a dog.
She spent the last three hours in the yard with the big girls. And, yes, she's sleeping now.
Next I want to coordinate with a place for her to visit the folks in a care facility.

Hot Summer

I've been keeping a secret. I don't enjoy the summers here as much as I used to. There I said it!

I just don't know what to do about it. Clearly, I can't change the temperature, only how I live with it and my activities during the hot days.

I've cut back on my yard plans, and upkeep. I've cut back on water use as that's expensive now that it's metered. I also have a much better idea of how much I need to use to keep my plants healthy, not just surviving.

Perhaps my poor attitude has to do with the fact that we've been in the 90s and 100s for a bit now.
During the hot days I am inside the house or car which reminds me of winter when it's too cold to be out.

Deja Vue

While Mosker was here we took a drive into the Sierra foothills to visit my friend. Mosker had not been to the house in twenty-three years, and that had been during a cold and wet time. (This time I was able to give Mosker a tour during the pretty time of year.) My friend was getting ready to leave town for a few days. As it turned out her timing was excellent.

On the drive we had noticed several areas where the chaparral had burned - perhaps backfires - so the hillsides are very dry.

Next day a red hawk flew into a power line and sparked a fire that is still burning, growing in fact. Many residents are without power. So, once again, we, here in the valley, are dealing with smoke filled skies. Of course that's nothing compared to what the folks that are in the middle of it are putting up with.

Who knows what the landscape will look like when the fire is out.

Deja vue.

Cheese

I am hooked on cheese!
I really enjoy eating fine cheese. I'm not speaking of Kraft slices for toasted sandwiches, but rather the specialty cheese that are such fun to find.
This is Friday evening, I'm going to Marysville to visit the Farmers Market. There is local produce and fruit, flowers, honey.
Tucked among them with a little table and a large cooler is the cheese lady. Usually she features three or four different cheeses and has samples to taste. Generally she has hardened (aged) cheeses as well as new. I have become very fond of the goat cheeses.
We had some on hand this week for the big adoption party along with the standards. Mosker took half of what was left with her. (I was not thinking clearly, she should have taken it all.)
The market will end next month and I will need to find out where I can get her product after that time. When Ray comes to visit he'll want some also.
Meanwhile let me get a load of money out and head to town. This stuff is not cheap.

House Guest and Fish

My house guest has departed.
While she'd been here I talked much about goals one might have, and follow, to give purpose and direction to life. She can't seem to face facts having spent much time, years in fact, flitting about with no plan for the future and no intent to make a plan, other than relying on friends to help out. She was at times moody, sometimes sitting in the room - not feeling well - just a bit of passive aggression there.
I am being harsh, as she'd been taking care of herself until last year's job loss and a very severe health issue that arose this year. I'm a firm believer in making plans, so the job loss would not have put me in such dire straights.
Now my cat can roam again in every room of the house.
There is some saying about house guests and fish after a few days.....