Heat Wave

After a few weeks of really cold temperatures, Saturday's highs in the 20s and Sunday's in the 30s did indeed seem warm. And it was sunny, too. So, dog park both days. Lots of dogs there on Saturday and Sunday I wasn't sure I'd find a place to park. Bravo didn't have a lot of success finding a dog to play with him. A couple of times he did the play bow to another golden, but they weren't really interested. Still, I think he had fun. After all, he was off leash, he got to run around a lot, other people petted him, and there was cheese.

Sunday afternoon I went to the barn to see Lark, and Russ came along for the ride. I brought Lark in from the pasture (but he was right at the gate), took off his blanket, groomed him, picked his feet out, put the blanket back on, and that was it. Except there was lots of petting in there as well. And a couple of peppermints - from the candy cane pies. He seemed happy.

This morning when I walked, it was 34. I took a longer way than usual, and by the time I got to the lake, I had to take my coat off and wrap it around my shoulders instead (I'd long since gotten rid of the hat and never put on the gloves). And it was starting to get light! Sometimes the littlest things can make me happy. Like a warm spell in January and a little more daylight.

It's a coincidence

Coming home from work today, I followed a station wagon for most of the 3 miles - all the way to the cul-de-sac just before mine. An hour and a half later, I went out again. And followed the same car to the highway. How do I know it was the same car? Well, the license plate holder said something like "Proud to be a Navy Mom". And the bumper sticker on the left said much the same thing. And the one on the right said "Proud mother of a Naval Officer". And in the middle there was another "navy mom" bumper sticker, though I no longer remember what it said. There were also numerous static-cling stickers on the back window. I couldn't read them through the tinted glass, but it's entirely possible at least one had to do with the Navy.

There is no particular point to this information. It's pure piffle....

Guess This Spot

Guess This Spot is a multiple choice quiz where you guess the landmark from aerial photos of famous locations.

I got an 80%. Try it out.

(Thanks to Deb for the link.)

Bibliomania and dog years

I spent my lunch hour in Barnes and Noble. Again. This time, I had a gift card to spend. I had so much fun browsing books, knowing I didn't need to write down the titles of all of them so I could reserve them at the library. The sad thing was, so many books now are only available as trade paperbacks, so they cost almost twice as much as a mass-market paperback. Still, I brought home 4 books that I am looking forward to reading. Yea for more books!

That was all I was going to write. However, I just let the dog out seconds before Russ came downstairs. The following conversation ensued:
R: I heard the door close. Do you know where Bravo was going, who he was with, and when he would be home?
J: Actually, I do.
R: Well, he is pretty responsible.
J: Yes, for a dog. Of course, in dog years, he's an adult. In fact, in dog years he's older than our kids.
R: Wow, think of that. We've raised them all.

Piffling

I changed the name of my blog. One of my favorite quotes is Harriet Vane to Lord Peter Wimsey in Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers: "If anyone ever marries you, it will be for the pleasure of hearing you talk piffle." Plus I just like the word Piffle.

The house is very quiet again. It seems unfamiliar, even though Karis was only home for a few weeks.

I really liked Juno. We went last night and were very entertained. The dialog is great, the characters amusing, and the whole thing was just plain fun.

Bravo and I have been taking walks in the woods a lot. I let him off leash, and practice the idea that if he comes when I call, he'll get cheese. He decides to make a game of "take off racing around in the brush, then go back to Julie and see if she'll give you cheese". Yesterday we walked across the small pond on the way back. Today, though, we went to the dog park. We practiced the idea that if we are playing ball, he won't get the cheese unless he brings the ball close enough for me to reach. This was a much harder concept. But Bravo is in favor of anything that involves cheese. Or hot dogs. Or really, anything edible. And he has a pretty broad concept of what is edible.

You may notice I've stopped the Fortune Cookie of the Day. I have gotten a lot of dumb fortune cookies lately, and just decided to take a break for now.

Well, enough piffling. Russ and I are off to Trader Joe's.

Meaning of names

I did a meme tonight:

What Julia Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Some of this is definitely me. But in particular, I can't see that I am a natural leader, confident, authoritative and aggressive - or a classic Type A. Oh yes, I did check, and Julia and Julie came out with the same results.