Just Another Cottage in Blogville

Ahhh The Life

Thank you to Scarlett for the merit badge:



It was a very sweet addition to my special day. I had an enjoyable time eating Dan's face (I selected one of my favorite photos of Daniel Radcliffe for the top of my birthday cake), breakfasting at my workplace and having my colleagues sing to me, and enjoying a dinner of Gaelic steak, locally grown corn on the cob, and Caesar salad with our family's homemade dressing. (For those of you who might not know the slang meaning of 'eating face', well... if you've ever seen two hormone-crazed teenagers not quite experts in the art of kissing, you will understand the analogy.) The money I collected was nice, and I had some lovely presents - including a pair of ice skates to try at local arenas this winter, a ballet shoe cake on a stick, beautifully scented body lotion, a lap desk for my bed in my dorm, lighthouse bookends (I have a thing for lighthouses), and a paperweight type of stone with a kind Bible verse on it from a dear friend. My cards were all very nice and I am scrambling to make sure everyone gets their thank-you - I have currently run out and need to stop at the card store for more!

My brother has moved back in with us, and with him be brought his Schnoodle dog, Eddie, whom he acquired over the three years he lived in Florida. Eddie is the happiest, most lovable little dog you will ever meet. He is lively, friendly, and wants to be pals with everyone. He loves playing and is so easy to get attached to. My brother is his third owner in his four-year life, so the experience of moving and staying with us while my brother goes out and about - even just to stop to buy a coffee - is very traumatizing for the little guy. In the two days he has spent with us, he has grown most attached to me; I was the first person he found the morning my brother returned his U-Haul, and the person who cuddles and plays with him, rubbing his belly any time he follows me.

Yesterday morning I woke up to hear a squeaky bark that was definitely not my 11-year-old Cocker Spaniel's. I heard my brother in the bathroom and talking to Eddie, then it was quiet for a bit. I go up and used the bathroom, and as I was washing my face I heard squeaky barking and whining in the hallway. I figured he was outside my brother's room, but when I opened the door, who was waiting with his long tail wagging but Eddie, who barked once more, plopped on his back and waited for a belly rub. I gave him a quick rub and made a move to leave, for which I received yet another bark and another plop-and-roll-over.

He followed me around the house as I searched for my brother. Eddie kept moving toward the front of the house. Figuring he might need to use his and Buffy's area, I took him outside. He sniffed the air and turned around, moving toward the front of the garage. I unhooked him, brought him in the house, and once more he approached the front door. I opened the door and we both looked on the street and saw that my brother's car was gone. Ah - he was afraid my brother had given him to new owners like the two families before him. I texted my brother, who said he would be home shortly. Eddie was relieved to see him come in the door.

Eddie doesn't eat table scraps, so dinner is no problem for him. He simply sits under the table to be near us. Buffy, on the other hand, has mooched all her life, and cries until she gets her nibble at the end of the meal. Eddie, uncertain why Buffy was crying, barked whenever she cried. My father, who puts on an act like he hates dogs (yet he lies on the ground so they can lick his face), began cursing and put Buffy behind the gate. The cycle continued. Any time someone sits down, Buffy immediately jumps on the couch and settles for a rub beside them, followed quickly by Eddie who either plops at our feet or on the other side. Both are uncertain whose toys are whose, whose 'area' is whose, and whose food, treats and water are whose.

This morning I got up and prepared coffee and the sugar syrup to be chilled for another batch of iced coffee. I then left to help make nutroll at church for a fundraiser. Around eleven-thirty I came home and wrote thank-you notes, finished mixing the coffee for my brother and his two friends, and prepared my banking papers, finished library book The Shack, and thank-you notes wrapped in a rubber band and left to finish all of my errands. I dropped off the library book, stopped by a spa and scheduled a massage, dropped off thank-you notes, did an hour's worth of banking, and stopped by relatives' houses to move around everyone's things from the now-over (thank God) family reunion.

By the time I came home, less than a liter was left of the iced coffee, yet more dishes piled in the sink. I unloaded the clean dishes from the dish washer, reloaded what I could from the newly dirty dishes, and filled the sink with hot water and dish soap, cleaning, rinsing, and laying on the drying rack all that I could.

Now I am finishing my online banking, and am ready to crash until my dad gets home. Then I pick out a safe for my dorm...

Ahh, the life of a college-bound student.