When we were driving to Mini of North Scottsdale to see the Halo dogs, the boys were talking non-stop.  I mentioned that I wish there was some silence in the truck.  Chief agreed, “Yes, we need the cone of silence.”  (From “Get Smart”)  I laughed, which made me think of the “cone of shame” from the movie, “UP.”  We always get a kick out of referencing that movie for several reasons, but the oddest is because of an acquaintance’s remark.  I had told this person that we went to see “UP” (when it first came out) and she said to me that they saw, that same weekend, “Transformers,” for the second…

 We’ve been watching Downtown Abbey with great enthusiasm and last night Chief says to me, “I wish my wife would refer to me as “His Lordship” when I wasn’t around.”  We were watching the scene where the housekeeper gives Lady Cora an update on His Lordship’s valet and Lady Cora refers to her husband as “His Lordship.”  I made sure I heard him correctly, we have a hearty laugh and we continue watching.  A minute later I tell him that he’s going to regret ever saying that.  He returns with, “I know I will.”  After we watch the show he was saying something silly and I give him the look and…

It’s a sign!  I was talking to our pest guy, Tony, about Buddy–all the service people are asking because Buddy made it known that he was here & this was his house.  It was reciprocal entertainment, actually.  At one point Tony mentioned Halo rescue shelter.  Halo is one of his clients and when he’s done working there, he goes in & plays with the dogs.  We chatted a bit more and then he said he was going to go home & hug his English Bulldog.  I’m surrounded by sensitive ponytail guys–it was very sweet.  You have to love that!  Coupled with the dogs are Minis–hear me out…while I love my Mini…

http://www.graphicsfairy.com/  The boys were sick, again, on Monday.  However, Stuart rallied pretty quickly and was non-stop into everything.  As an aside, he’s paying for it the past two days because he’s feeling worse than he did on Monday because he didn’t rest when he stayed home…we’ve had this lingering flu-like cold that has come equipped with a death-cough for weeks now.  Max was home with 103.5 temps off and on for a week, two weeks ago, but the rest of us has been gimping along.  It’s not been pretty.  Max felt bad for me when he finally got up, which was around noon–he was so exhausted from coughing all…

I asked Stuart to go get a book so I could read to him before bed.  He returns with “Dogs and Puppies,” which is a child’s guide to procuring and caring for dogs and puppies.  A kind of “things to think about” before you choose a pet book.  It’s a good book.  I actually bought it for Max when he was in 1st grade, so he could think about all that went into dog stewardship.  It didn’t get read a whole lot back then… The funny thing is my yoga buddy (more on that later) asked me if we were going to get another dog.  I took a long pause and…

This is kind of a two-fold story.  Part of it has to do with dogs and part has to do with the mailman.  I preface today’s story this way, because Chief was making fun of me (in a good way) about my relationship with our mail carriers.  It starts like this… A couple of days ago, the mailman left a package for me at the front door.  I went to the porch to pick it up and went around the corner, to holler “thank you!”  Tony, the mailman, comes back and very quietly and tentatively asks, “Is everything o.k. with your dog?  I haven’t heard him in a while.”  I explain…