when he was good he was very very good

One sure way to feeling down is to get a haircut, see all the grey hair on the floor, and then go immediately shopping to try on clothes in those awful change rooms with the horrible lights and the ghastly mirrors. I went from feeling okay, even good, to near tears for the rest of the afternoon. It’s not that gaining weight and getting older that is upsetting, it is the departure from youthful good looks that agonizes. Thankfully it is a rare collision of events that had me moping around the house. The good news: even though I felt rotten I didn’t indulge myself with a trip to the bakery.

So that was Monday. But today is better:  it is 11C; the snow is that granular texture that reminds me of sno cones, all it needs is some raspberry syrup and a paper cup - except there are yellow spots around the yard, and I know from the past that small flying bugs emerge from the snow when it is like this; the sun is trying to burn its way through the gauzy clouds; supper is already cooking in the crockpot; the dogs are bathed and as fresh smelling as a dog can be; and we had toasted bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch - it could have been an August afternoon.

I’ve started working with Spike to see if we can get him ready for public access, in case he comes to the upcoming book release party. I started yesterday with some bones on the laneway that he wasn’t to sniff. Oh yeah, right. It took a long time before we could walk around them with no pulling. It was a good distraction and one that we worked on again today. It didn’t take as long for us to walk politely around the meaty distractions, but it didn’t happen right away either. More work required.

I need to line up a couple of volunteers to practice greetings. (maybe eventually even Jo Ellen, but that is far too exciting at this point).

Going back to basics with Spike has reminded me of the amount of work required to get him ready to be my service dog all those years ago (2009/2010). Carm calls him a ‘performance dog’ and for good reason. He is a quick study and loves to learn, but is very reactive. He’s not like the other dogs who don’t bother with other dogs or a myriad of other distractions. No, everything is hard work with him, but when he is ‘running well’, he is fantastic. He has a spark that the others are lacking. I’m not always sure if this is a good thing.

“when he was good he was very, very, good, but  when he was bad he was horrid” ~nursery rhyme

I started a training log to keep track of what we are doing and how things are going. Seeing progress will help on the dark days when it seems like it is an impossible task. Once it is all over I’ll post it here so I have a permanent record.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”  ~Sophia Loren

sun shines hot wind blows cold

My plastic cap crinkles when I move my head and it traps in the heat from my scalp. Hints of pink blush at the edge. One hour to wait then we'll see if it covered up the grey, and then days to see how long it lasts this time. The bottle says 6 weeks, but since it didn't even last 1 the first time I tried, I'm not holding much hope. I didn't give much thought ahead of time though, I could have gotten my snowshoes out for a little jaunt around the field before submitting myself to such ridiculousness.

It is a gorgeous day - the nicest of the year so far and one could even say we are on the cusp of spring - the stronger sun germinates the seeds of hope. We had to get out of the house for a drive and headed to a nearby town to their grocery store. I had checked the sale flyer ahead of time but sadly the store was out of everything that we wanted. boo hiss.

We drove around a bit more, picking up the missing items at a local store (at a greater price I might add), then came home to enjoy the rest of the afternoon poking around outside and doing things to my hair. The dogs have been crazy when we bring them outside - a winter of being cooped up has driven them mad. Even Kabira was leaping and running, which scares the crap out of me because the snow is so variable she could rip an ACL or something horrible like that. But I digress… we were all happy to linger outside this afternoon.

Now the dogs are stretched out on the futon, soaking up the rays in the biggest sunspot of the day. Except Bella, she's in the shade.

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”  ~Charles Dickens

Spike's trip to town

Hi, it's Spike. I'm very tired, but I have to write to tell you about my exciting day. I thought it was going to be a regular day and that Laura and Carm would go out without me, but then Laura said we'd go for a car ride and see my Nona (that's the Italian word for grandmother). I could hardly wait to go and cried to make sure Laura didn't forget me.

After a long car ride - there were so many cars to see - we parked at a building. Carm went inside but I had to stay outside till I didn't pull on the leash so much. I could hardly wait to go inside and kept forgetting that I'm not to run ahead. We finally went inside and I couldn't believe the place. It was so big and there were lots of people sitting on sofas wanting to see me. I pulled and jumped, Laura said I was naughty and got mad at me till I remembered not to jump. I was so happy to see all those people, and they were happy to see me too. Everyone wanted a turn petting me, and they all said how handsome I was and that my hair was nice.

I got to meet Roci, a girl black poodle smaller than me that lives there, but I didn't like her much, at least at first. Maybe she's alright but I don't want to waste my time playing when I could be getting petted.

After we left Nona's place we drove so that Laura and Carm could have some lunch. I'd had lots of treats already so didn't need a snack but I didn't like staying in the car by myself - what if someone came and stole me? After Laura had finished eating she came and got me so we could go to PetSmart! Hurrah. There were so many things to see and sniff that my head was spinning. Laura kept interrupting my sniffing and we'd  have to go back and forth past the good smell until I didn't sniff anymore. I couldn't see the point of that.

One time we turned around the corner and there was a giant black dog with huge teeth that got really mad when it saw me. I was happy that Laura and I ran around the corner to get away from it. I saw some other dogs but only from a long way away.

Laura says I have to have a nap now, that I'm too tired from all the excitement.

Ever yours,
  Spike

p.s. Laura says she didn’t get any pictures because I was a handful. Is that a bad thing?