#3036 three things: Harley, a short walk, and Harry Styles

 1. Harley health follow up. I took Harley back to the urgent care vet this morning for a follow up on her appointment last month. Last month she had terrible runny poop, she looked emaciated and uncared for, and her leg was hurting. She had bloodwork, xrays, and got a bunch of medicine out of it (and it was quite expensive.) I'm glad to say that she is feeling much better. She hasn't gained any weight; she's still around 53 lbs and the vet wants her to put on about five more lbs. To do that, I'm going to add puppy food to her regular food because puppy food has more nutrients and fat to help puppies grow. (This is the recommendation from the vet.) Harley had a great time at the vet today. She really loves to go for rides and have new people pet her. She was such a good girl that I got her a pup cup from Starbucks afterward. Now she is sleeping off the doggie downer I have to give her before a vet visit. She is mellow at home but a totally bonkers Lab at the vet.

2. We went for a walk! Since I broke my wrist, I haven't taken the dogs for walks. I did walk Mac a week ago with MT because Mac is a bit easier to walk. She is content to amble along and smell all the smells whereas Harley just likes to walk and pull. Because Harley had some doggie downer on board, I decided to walk them around the block. I held the leashes with my left hand and they were very good girls. I had no problems or worries. My wrist is getting stronger, and I am whittling down the time I have the brace on my arm. I'm still sleeping with it on, but during the day, I have it off for longer periods of time. The wrist doesn't really hurt. It is stiff and doesn't have full mobility, but it's coming along. I can lift and carry stuff that I haven't been able to manage for awhile. I have a follow up with the surgeon on Tuesday, so I'll let you know what he says about my recovery and next steps.

3. All Harry all the time. Maybe you know that Harry Styles released a new album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.  I like the music. On Monday night I watched the album release concert on Netflix, and it was enjoyable. He performed all the songs on the new record top to bottom, then he did a few of his older songs. The first single from the new record, Aperture, is an ear worm. I wake up singing it. If you have five minutes, I highly recommend watching this clip of Harry's performance of Aperture at the BRIT Awards. It looks and sounds amazing, IMO. 

Enjoy the rest of the week!

xo

PS I just noticed there is no mention of Stella in this post. She is absolutely fine and is a happy, noisy terrier. She still loves to catch a frisbee and run around the yard. She is the definition of play hard, rest hard.

#2890 three things: a good day

Have you ever seen journal prompts or self-reflection questionnaires that ask you to picture your ideal day? When I see that question, my mind always jumps to a vacation day, but what about an ideal day in regular life? Well, I think I had such a day on Monday. Let me break it down.

1. Morning. Since I was working from home on Monday, I didn't have to get up at 5:00 am. I let myself sleep in until 5:30. The dogs and I went downstairs, I let them out, then I fed them. When they eat in the morning, I drink a glass of water. When they were done with all their activities, we went back upstairs. I took a nice shower and washed my hair, then went back downstairs to make coffee. I got new beans from bougee Harmon's. I like the ritual of  making a nice pot of coffee on  Monday morning, and if I have beans to grind, even better. While the coffee brewed, I put away the dishes in the drainer and from the dishwasher, so the kitchen was clean and clear. All of that happened before 7:00 am, at which time I logged on for work. I did a few things before work, but it all felt really calm and good.

2. Afternoon. Work was work, it was fine. After work, around 4:30 or so, I took the dogs outside to play. The big dogs play Find the Kibbles. I scatter about half a cup of kibbles in the grass, then Mac and Harley snuffle around and crunch on all the little kibbles. While they are using their snoots, Stella and I play frisbee. My smol gurl loves to play frisbee, and she's very good at running, jumping, and catching the disc. It's adorable. Stella could care less about the kibbles in the grass. Mac and Harley could care less about Stella's frisbee, so it all works out. I do about a hundred squats picking up that frisbee LOL. I have also started jumping rope. I'm not good at it, not at all, but it does elevate my heart rate. My max jumps so far have been 19, but the average is currently around 10. Don't judge. I'm nearly 58 years old and it's been decades since I've jumped rope. It's something different to do.

Another thing I did that afternoon was to look at the pots I have out on the deck. I realized that two of the plants are still living, coming out of winter sleep: the Russian sage and a mum. I got my little spade and clippers and did a bit of gardening. I have several pots out on the deck, and I spent a pleasant few minutes thinking about what I might plant in each of them. I really am delighted about the Russian sage. It smells so nice, and the bees love it. I'm pro-pollinator!

5. Evening. On Monday around lunchtime,  I put a couple of chicken breasts in the slow cooker along with a jar of Trader Joe's green salsa and let it hang out for about four hours. The chicken gets tender and takes on the flavor of the salsa. When we are ready, I shred the chicken and sizzle it up a bit in a saucepan, then we have tacos. It is simple and good. MT and I enjoyed a quiet dinner, then I cleaned up the kitchen and came back up to my office room to paint, draw, and write. When I was ready to for bed, I read for ten minutes or so, then dropped off into dreamland.

Here's what I painted:

It's a little birthday card for a friend at work!

It was a simple, stay-at-home day, and I was very content with it. 

#2881 three things: lessons from my dogs

Each of my dogs have different dispositions. All three are sweet girls, each in their own way. I thought it would be fun to summarize their dispositions. MT, T, and I agree that these statements are pretty accurate.

Mac is a husky/black lab mix

Be like Mac:

  Stay watchful and interested

  Show excitement about things you like

  Be loyal

Harley is a yellow lab

Be like Harley:

Ask for the attention you need

Sleep deeply

Be friendly and affectionate

Stella is part terrier, part ? 

Be like Stella:

Enjoy your play time

Find comfort where you can

Be willing to accept love

#2845 three things: music, vacation, and dogs

It looks like I may need to update my avatar's outfit! I'll work on that after writing about three things.

1. Music season is upon us! Yesterday, Red Butte Garden announced the summer concert line-up. I think there are about 30 shows over four months. As a volunteer, I have to work at least six shows to keep my status as a concert volunteer. I'm sure I signed up for double that number, not that I will get assigned to all of those shows. There are also two shows in particular that I want to see as a patron: Gary Clark Jr., and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. I'm a big fan of both of those artists, and when they published their concert schedules earlier in the year, neither of them had Salt Lake City on the list. I was so thrilled to see them both coming back to Red Butte Garden. I'm really excited for Lizzie to come out in July for the Jason Isbell show! 

The Foo Fighters announced yesterday they would be coming to Salt Lake on Aug 8 to the USANA Amphitheater. MT and I are very excited for that show. Tickets go on sale Friday, and I will get a pair!

Another favorite artist, Sting, is touring this summer, too. I have loved him since I was 14 years old, and I have seen him and The Police in concert many times. Sting will be playing at USANA, and I was debating about whether or not to go, then Lizzie texted me that Sting will be at the Hollywood Bowl in October. I've never been to the Hollywood Bowl. Seeing Sting there with Lizzie would be pretty cool. 

I love live music.

2. Trip planning. The countdown is on! Only 24 more days until I'm on my way to Barcelona via Paris. It feels like so long ago that we started talking about this trip, and now it's just three weeks away. Last night, Mom, Lizzie, and I took care of some trip business. We booked tickets on the hop-on hop-off (or HOHO as we call them now) buses in Paris and Barcelona. Lizzie and I also bought tickets for a ghost tour in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. I love that kind of stuff. Spooky history and all that. It's cool that as many times as we have visited Barcelona, there are still things we haven't done at all or haven't done or seen in a long time. I'm looking forward to spending the time with my mama and my sister and enjoying the beautiful capital of Catalunya. I will also be delighted to spend a couple of days in Paris. It's been a place I have wanted to visit for quite awhile. 

3. The doggos. Everything is going well with my little pack. I can't take Stella for a walk in the neighborhood anymore, because she is kind of awful. She barks for at least five house lengths. She tugs on her leash so hard that she practically strangles herself. It's like a cartoon. She will jump up next to me, then lunge to the end of her leash and sort of jerk herself back. She makes Harley extra-nervous with her yipping and barking. Stella really just wants to play fetch. In the mornings when I work from home, I take Stella out for a few minutes of frisbee time while MT walks Mac and Harley. Everyone is a lot happier with that situation. I find it hard to leave Stella behind, even though I can't stand to take her for a walk with the other two. Instead, I take all three to the back yard and we play. Stella chases her frisbee. Mac and Harley hunt for kibbles or run after a ball. Well, Mac runs after the ball when I throw it, and Harley runs after Mac, then they wrestle for a bit, and repeat. I feel bad not taking the big dogs out for a walk, but that's where I am right now. It is an evolving situation.

I hope you are having a good week! 

xo
 

#2843 weekly wrap-up

 

I missed writing here on Wednesday again. We had our appointment with the tax guy, and it went kind of long. I was at home, and I could have written, I guess, but I wasn't in the mood, apparently. Maybe I only write here once a week? We'll see.

The month of March seemed to drag on and on to me, but I saw on Mom's blog that she thought the month flew by. It's interesting how different people perceive things. I think this month, April, will fly by because the trip to Spain is coming up in May and I still have several things I want to do to prepare. Even though I've been doing trip stuff for a couple months, departure day will undoubtedly sneak up on me. Time to make lists!

I had a couple of big things going on this week. The first was on Wednesday, when we met with the tax guy. Marty goes to the office, and I stay home to find missing info or for clarification. I did have to find one 1099 form, so it was pretty easy. We have to pay taxes - not surprising with the rentals - but our tax bill is a lot less than last year, thankfully. 

On Thursday, I ended my volunteer career with the company credit union. I've been on the Board of Directors there for over 18 years, they tell me, and I volunteered on a committee for a few years before I got elected to the Board. During my time on the Board, I have served as secretary, vice-chair, chair, and secretary again. I have a lot of love for the CU, and because of that love, I felt it was time for me to step down and let some new blood flow through the Board. I am ready to release myself from that commitment, and I feel good about my service to the organization. 

Yesterday, MT and I took all three dogs to the dog park for the first time. It was fun. We took Stella's warped frisbee. It was windy, and the frisbee was all bent out of shape anyway, so it didn't fly very nicely. A big husky took the frisbee from Stella, and she was looking at me like, "Do something, human!" The husky's human gave it back to us and kept his girl on a leash. That made me feel bad, but dude! Spend $1.99 at Petsmart and get your girl a frisbee if she is motivated by toys! Speaking of spending $1.99, MT and I stopped at Petsmart later in the day to buy new frisbees for Stella, and we retired the warped one. 

Today, MT and I went to Clearfield to visit my BFF LA. She was in town to watch her baby grandson while her son and his wife were out of town for a little vacation. It's kinda weird to think that LA is a grandma. The baby, who is five months old, is a cutie, and a happy little boy. 

Back at home, I took a nap (as I do), then played with the dogs a little bit in the yard. It was pretty mild, in the mid 40s (mildness is relative!), then I came up here to my desk to do the bookkeeping, order the groceries, and draw. Yeah, order groceries. The past couple of weeks, I have ordered groceries online, then gone to pick them up on Monday after work. It's kinda cool, and it saves money because I'm not wandering down the aisles picking up random stuff that looks good. 

As for art, I listened to a podcast that Jill the Artist does with a guy called Danny Gregory. It's called Art for All Podcast, put on by Sketchbook Skool. This week's topic was about finding your style as an artist, or at least identifying what you like about the art you like. I'm only five months in to my art journey, and I like lots of different things. Currently, I am drawn (pun intended!) to splotches of color and loose, scribbly lines. But then I'm also drawn to very graphic, bold, simple type art, too.  Here are a couple of things, art pieces if you will, I did this week to show you what I mean.

This one is the cover for my April zine. I was trying out markers that I got for Christmas from Mom. I think she got them from the Japanese store. They are pretty fun because I can make a bold line and thin lines with the same pen. 

This piece was in response to the prompt from the art group. The prompt was to identify three elements that you like, then create a garden. I like splotches of color, loose, squiggly lines, and drawing with my eyes closed. I painted the colors, and when they dried, I closed my eyes to draw flowers. I did open my eyes to move the pen to the different colors, then closed again to draw. I opened my eyes to draw in the green splotches. 

I think both of these pieces are fun. I enjoyed doing them, and they both satisfy me. 

What's coming up this week? I've got my monthly Facetime call with Mom and Lizzie on Monday. On Tuesday, MT and I are going to another anthropology lecture. Wednesday I have book club and I'm not even close to being done with the book we are discussing. It's kind of weird and I'm not really into it. I don't have plans for Easter. It's not really a thing for me, plus T will be working the whole weekend. That might be a good time to switch out my winter clothes for my spring/summer clothes. Then again, do I really want to swap out my warm clothes? We are supposed to have another big storm come through tonight and last a couple of days. It is currently drizzling at my house.

Have I mentioned how tired I am of winter?

Here's hoping y'all have a little bit of sunshine this week. Do something nice for yourself!

#2841 weekend wrap-up

On Friday and Saturday, MT went to Idaho to visit his folks and siblings. All four of the brothers and sister were together for the first time in awhile, so I'm glad he got to spend a little time with all of them. I had self-care Saturday yesterday, and it was pretty great. I had it booked and planned for awhile, so I would have been doing things whether MT was here or not. 

On Saturday, I got my hair cut. I probably got an inch of hair chopped off. It was starting to look frizzy and bushy, so I was glad for the change. It feels good. I also had my eyebrows groomed. They were getting bushy, too, and now they look pleasant.  In between appointments, I had a nice breakfast at Beans & Brews with a good coffee and a brekkie sandwich. I read for a little while, and it was damn pleasant.

In the afternoon, I played with the dogs outside. It was sunny though a little chilly. I haven't been taking the dogs for walks because Stella freaks out and barks the whole time. She would rather play frisbee in the yard than go for a walk. I'd like to take Mac and Harley walking, but it's hard to leave Stella behind, even though she doesn't really want to go. I think she gets FOMO (fear of missing out.) Instead of walking, we play in the back yard. Sometimes Mac will play with a ball, but mostly Mac and Harley "hunt" for kibbles. I toss kibbles out in the grass, kinda like chicken feed, and the girls sniff out the kibbles and gobble them up. Meanwhile, Stella runs after the frisbee. She could care less about the kibbles. I threw one to her; it hit her between the eyes and bounced off her face. She didn't even bat an eye, just kept looking at me and her frisbee. It's not an ideal situation, but it is where we are right now. MT still takes the dogs for a walk in the morning. Sometimes he will leave Stella at home because she's a brat. He told me the other day that she slipped right out of her collar. She kept walking along with them, but they turned around and came home early. 

When I got tired of throwing the frisbee, I sat on the deck. We got a different toy for Stella to fetch. Mac and Harley chased each other around and wrestled on the grass. It felt so good to get a little sunshine on my face! Stella liked it, too. 

Most of the day, I read and puttered around the house. I napped, too. All good.

Today, Sunday, is T's 25th birthday. I think he has had a good day. He got some groovy gifts, and we had a dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Carmine's. 

Jordyn and T

birthday dinner!

Here's a couple of art things I did this week. Jill must be in a bird mood, because both prompts involved birds. The first one was to draw an owl. Here's mine; I think he is cute and fluffy-looking.

The prompt we had for today was to draw a bird with the non-dominant hand. I opted for an easy design, which I also painted with my left hand.

The  funny thing about it is that I don't think this bird would look that different if I drew and painted him with my right hand. hahahaha  Naïve art, indeed.

Have a wonderful week!

#2819 three things: routine, ritual, and three dog home

Today I was thinking about rituals and routines. They are kind of the same thing, but subtly different, maybe. I read online that a routine is something that just needs to be done, like taking a shower or making the bed. A ritual is an action that contains a type of reverence; it is a more meaningful practice with a sense of purpose. Here is what I think are examples of my one of my routines and one of my rituals.

1. A routine. Every night, I have a routine when I'm getting ready for bed. I take out my contacts. I floss my teeth (because you can't neglect your gums!), then I brush my teeth for two minutes. I have an electric toothbrush with a timer, so it's easy. Then I rinse brush for a minute. I wash my face and put moisturizer on my skin. I put on my glasses and put lotion on my hands, then I go to bed. I rarely deviate from this routine because it takes care of all the stuff I need. 

2. A ritual. Maybe this is going to sound strange, but making coffee is a ritual for me. I fill up the water tank with cool, filtered water. I grind the beans, then measure out the fresh grounds into the filter, adding a dash of salt. The filter container with the beans goes into the machine; the pot is ready and waiting for the coffee to brew. I turn on the machine, waiting for the whir of the motor, then I press the desired number of cups. While the coffee is brewing, I put the rest of the supplies back in the cupboard and clean and put away the grinder. By the time all that is done, there's enough freshly brewed coffee in the pot for my first cup. It is a routine, certainly, but it's also kind of a meditation. I like the flow of it. I also don't do it every day. I only make a pot of coffee two or three times a week. The other days, I will usually just pop in a K-cup or stop at Starbucks.  Maybe that is another difference between a ritual and a routine - the ritual might not be something that happens every day?  I don't know.

3. My three dog home. There is certainly an adjustment period when adding a new member to the family. Stella the Aussie dog is settling in and finding her voice (literally) with the other two puppers. Stella loves, loves, loves to play fetch and will happily chase a thrown object and bring it right back to you for another toss. I tire of the game much more quickly than she does. It's hard to deny her a toss, though, because her eyes get so bright and she gets a happy dog smile on her face. Harley sometimes loses her dog mind when Stella starts happy-growling and shaking her head around with the toy in her mouth. Harley will start barking, which causes Stella to bark. Mac was joining in the chorus, but she has stopped doing that, thankfully. 

Going for walks has been interesting. The first few days, not one of the dogs could seem to walk in a straight line, so their leashes kept getting tangled up. Stella was so happy to go walking that she would yip and criss-cross the sidewalk, sometimes walking under Harley or hopping over Mac's leash. It was funny and annoying. I spent more time stopping to untangle leashes than walking. The three of them are getting a lot better at it now. I was telling Lizzie and MT on Tuesday that I didn't know if this three dog thing was going to work, but they both reminded me it had only been a few days. I also said the same thing when we got Harley a couple of years ago, and now I can't imagine being without my Harley Bear. It's only been a week since Stella got here. Stay tuned for further updates.

#2693 three things: a follow up, dog news, and a family visit

1. Follow up. I wrote previously about the fall I took on Sunday, and here's a quick update. The bruise on my arm is still tender, although it is already starting to fade. It's about the size of my fist. I can feel the bump on my eyebrow bone, and I'm glad to say there is no bruise there. My right knee is the most painful spot. I don't see bruising there, and it doesn't hurt to walk or bend. When I run my hand over it, though, it is sensitive. I was just getting to where I could be on my knees for a brief time, but when I tried just now to be on my knees, the pain was too great in the right knee to be there for longer than about a second. The knee is metal, so I'm sure it is okay. It just needs to recover from the blunt force trauma I inflicted on it.

2. Doggy daycare. On Tuesday I took Mac and Harley to a doggy daycare in SLC. There were two reasons for the visit. One, I need to board them while I'm on vacation, and this place is a boarding facility. Two, I believe that time at a doggy daycare every couple of weeks will release some of that extraordinary energy they have. They were only at the daycare for about two and a half hours on Tuesday, and that was enough that Harley slept the whole way home and Mac sat as quiet as a statue in the front seat. There was no begging for a walk that night. They ate their food, had a treat, and went to sleep. Why have I waited so long to find a doggy daycare?!? I think I'll drop them off again for a few hours next Tuesday.  Oh yeah, and I booked the boarding reservation, too!

3. A visit! Lizzie is coming to visit next week! We talked about her coming over this month, and now it's going to happen! I'm only going to be able to take one day off while she is here, but I work from home Monday and Wednesday, so even though I'll be working, we will be in the same place. I'm not sure what we'll do while she is here. I hope she is up for going to see The Lost City  because I've been looking forward to seeing it since I first saw the preview a couple of months ago. I don't know if she'll be down to watch the fun Victorian smut of Bridgerton, though,  LOL Whatever we do, it will be good. I love hanging out with my sister! 

#2559 today’s best: moments

 

This is the current image on the lock screen of my beloved iPhone. It’s from the Motivation app that I downloaded last year. I change the wallpaper on the lock screen every few days, with a saying that suits my mood at that time. When I looked at my phone today, I really saw this saying, and it made me think of the best moments of today. 

• Taking the dogs to the dog park. I was nervous about taking the girls to the dog park by myself because they get so excited when we get there and basically pull MT and I to the gate. Luckily, I got a parking space close to the gate, and even though getting out of the car was strenuous and exciting, I’m glad we went. They ran around for about 45 minutes and have been mellow and great for the rest of the day. More than a moment, but a great part of the day.
• Talking to Lana. Lana is my WW coach and friend. I haven’t seen her for a couple of weeks and it was nice to catch up and see a friendly face.
• Coffee. (Who knew?!) I had an iced blonde vanilla latte. Yum.
• Singing in my car at the top of my lungs. I was driving to Red Butte Garden and just sang my face off. It felt good.
• Walking around in the beauty of Red Butte Garden. Another week or two and I think the Garden will be at peak spring perfection with all the lilacs, viburnum, wisteria, and peonies in bloom. It is already gorgeous there and it smells like heaven. I spotted this late-blooming magnolia tree while walking around today. Gorgeous. I love the delicate pink flowers among all the green. The cute deer statues added to the scene.

• Listening to baseball on the radio. After recording blooms and taking a walk around the Garden, I listened to the Angels/Red Sox game on the radio via the MLB app. I enjoy watching baseball in person or on TV, but I love to listen to baseball on the radio. It’s soothing, somehow. I like the banter of the announcers between pitches and the inside stories they sometimes tell. I like how their voices rise in excitement over a good play or a nice hit and the way they sound dejected when the other team has a good play or a nice hit. I was listening to the Angels broadcast, so there was a lot of dejection. (Angels lost big time.)
• A clean house. I spent an hour vacuuming, sweeping, swiffering, and dusting.  I have two dogs that shed. There is always hair to be swept and dust to be wiped. At least for today, the house is clean.
• Fresh sheets. Enough said.
• A cool, relaxing shower before bed.

It’s the little moments that make up the best days. Did you have any special moments today? I feel like I had way more than my fair share.

#2492 48 hour update

I’ll be honest...on Monday morning while I was driving to work, I had a bit of a panic/anxiety attack. I imagined the dogs ripping up the furniture as they rough-housed and wrestled all day. Even though T was home, I knew he was sleeping, so he wouldn’t even know what was happening. I was freaking out a little in my car. In the office, I told my friend that I didn’t think keeping Harley would work out and that I’d have to call the guy I got her from and ask him to take her back and give me a refund. My friend looked at me like I had lost my mind.

Her: Sandy, when did you get the dog?

Me: Yesterday around 5:30.

Her: So it hasn’t even been 24 hours?

Me: (sheepishly hanging my head and avoiding eye contact) No.

Her: I forbid you from calling the guy. You give that dog and yourself at least a week to get used to each other. Yes, it will be an adjustment, and you will do fine.

I agreed to give it a bit of time. 

When I got home that night, the house was intact. Harley and Mac were still wrestling, but not as hard, and in the evening, everyone settled down and was mellow. It was actually pretty great. At bedtime, Harley went right into her crate and went to sleep.

Today I worked from home. The dogs spent most of the morning outside with chewie bones. They ran around the yard and wrestled, then came in for water and went back out. After a couple of hours, they came in and fell asleep. Harley was snoring on the couch. Mac was curled up at my feet, just like normal. 

I took them for a couple of short walks in the neighborhood today. I would have never guessed that Mac would be the better walker. I don’t think Harley went on many walks with her people. She pulls SO HARD. She chokes herself. I’ll be getting a harness for her this weekend. I think with enough practice, she will mellow out and it will be fun. She walks at a faster pace than Mac. Mac wants to stop and smell all the smells. Harley just wants to go go go.

Here are my girls:

It’s hard to tell in this photo, but Mac’s eyes are closed and she can barely keep her head up. She’s a tuckered out a lil pupper.

This is right before Harley gave up, stretched out, and went to sleep.

They look happy, though, don’t they?

Dogs bruh.