Architecture on the small scale

I've mentioned before all the little free libraries dotting our neighborhood. Well, there is one in particular that is an architectural delight. The person who erected this clearly had fun with the idea:

Can you spot the cat on top?

I love the detail of the little window boxes.

And we've all heard the phrase "our home is our castle," but how many have an actual castle?

While this isn't strictly architecture in the building sense, it certainly is architectural in concept. I have no idea how they trained these two trees to form the arch over the driveway, but I'm impressed.

In answer to your unspoken question, it NEVER gets old walking around. Especially with Nellie by my side. She may still be a bit nervous, and very unfocused, but she's a joy and it never gets old hearing how cute she is.

Ten heart attacks later...

Nellie and I were finishing a lovely, and for me, rather brisk walk about town, when suddenly, three dogs on retractable leashes (accidents waiting to happen) went for Nellie. The woman holding the leashes was maybe 5 feet tall and weighed about as much as a puff of wind. Two of her dogs were small, but the third was probably a Rottweiler/Buffalo mix (that dog is massively built). The poor woman got tangled immediately by all the dogs running rings around her and at the time I was more worried about her falling over (she's no spring chicken) than anything else. Turns out that wasn't the worry.

Nellie somehow slipped out of her martingale collar, which is supposed to be slip proof (well NOW we know better), and ran like the hounds of hell were after her. I'll give her props: she did look back twice when I called out to her. Looking back and coming back are two different things though, and she just kept going lickety-split. Once I was able to untangle myself from the woman and her dogs, I went faster than I've gone since 8th grade track team. Ah, track team. The slowest one of the bunch - but I digress. 

There I am, stumping down the street with my cane and a pounding heart after Nellie. I pass a man walking his dog. "Did you see a dog run past you?" A "yes" followed by "Did you notice where she went?" Another "yes" and an arm pointing out her trajectory. He could tell I wasn't in it for the conversation, I just needed to follow the contrail Nellie was leaving behind her supersonic exit.

I'm fumbling for the phone to call long-suffering partner and tell him to get in the car and start scouring the neighborhood. But as I hung up, I had a fleeting thought that she might be headed home. That was the made-for-TV happy ending I had in my mind. Two more blocks to go before home. Partner passes in the car only to yell he hasn't seen her. "Keep looking," I yell back. Last block to home and pass a woman who looks a little spooked. Again I asked if she's seen a loose dog and again a yes. But the answer for the location was a bit frightening. Up near killer road. Heart pounding even harder, I push my legs to work faster...and faster. 

Home. Walking up to the front porch prepared to throw myself in the car to go searching. And who should be standing at the top of the stairs? Happy TV movie ending. Yes. Nellie - wagging her tail for all it was worth and looking quite satisfied that she knew where home was and made it in one piece. And me crying in relief that she not only knew where to go to be safe, but she chose, after only 3 weeks with us, to get there and wait until someone showed up. 

Guess who is going to be in her harness for walkies from now on!

After that heart-pounding morning, let's end on a Zen note of peace and beauty with two flowers. One is shaped like a butterfly and one like a cone. Both fabulous.

Nellie and Nick sitting by my side

Nick is Nellie's smaller counterpart. We see him and his human frequently on walks and Nick was one of the first dogs Nellie met outside the home. Now Nick couldn't have been a better match -- he's the ultimate in chill and savoir faire. And even more importantly, he is the pinnacle of doggie cuteness (after Nellie of course - though some might argue he's even cuter). Judge for yourself:

Now here's how I know they are soul mates: both Nellie and Nick sniff noses for roughly 3.2 seconds, look at the two humans, promptly sit or lie down, and wait patiently for us to stop yakking. Once the goodbyes are said, they both get up, nod to each other as if to say "FINALLY" and flounce off. It totally makes my day!

More Nick to enjoy (and nobody will need cookies after all this sweetness):

C'est tout mes amis.

Words....

Me, when I read or hear words loaded with testosterone yet referring to women too:

I'm afraid I can hold it in no longer. I'm talking about the words we use in everyday conversation and how they shape the way we think. And while I've read studies that claim language has little or no bearing on how we view things as a society, I beg to differ.

I've been reading a good many books by female authors lately, and am struck by their use of masculine terms, even when describing female characters. My pet peeve: manning the desk. One author, after using this phrase, went on to name four women who were at the desk. She did this six times in the book. Why not use staffing the desk instead? At least that allows for any gender. Sadly I know where those phrases come from. In English, we are so accustomed to the masculine being the default position and standard, even women have trouble coming up with ways to include women.

Another author referred to her protagonist as the "odd man out." Her protagonist? A woman.

The other night, while cruising past the TV when the Big Bang Theory was on, Raj was extolling the virtues of Howard's role as an astronaut, when he mentioned the manned Space Station. He then went on to say something about the men and women who made up the Space Station team. While staffing the Station may sound a bit awkward, there must be another term that is more inclusive and descriptive of who is actually in space. 

Speaking of TV, there is a new show called MasterClass, meaning the most advanced class. The pinnacle of education if you will. Mmmmm.

Master bedroom and master bath -- terms unapologetically masculine and meaning the the main, or large rooms. Even though women use those rooms. I understand realtors are starting to ditch those terms when showing houses. About time.

Let's not forget the classic when referring to humans on the planet: mankind. Really? Without women, mankind wouldn't be around long, now would it....

OK. I'm done. Until I go off on how we refer to other living creatures on the planet and how our sense of ownership has shaped our lousy behavior. But that's a rant for another day.

 

 

Whoa Nellie (pt.2). Get out the champagne.

Nellie has done more than smitten long-suffering partner and me. She has now successfully charmed our big bear Kuma. And by charmed, I mean she has told him firmly, but not overly forcefully, that she demands respect. And it was all her idea. Thank goodness the trainer was here to help out!

Since we knew Kuma can be overly enthusiastic (which is code for a jackass), we kept Nellie in my office with the door closed until she could chill out a bit. The first night I had to sleep in the office chair to stay with her (not comfortably I might add). The next night at least I was able to actually go to bed, but being an overly concerned new mom, of course I kept an ear out for any distress sounds. By Wednesday I found a sturdy grid to fit across the door. It would keep the fur-babies separated but they could get acquainted nose to nose. That's also the day we realized that when the Shelter said they groomed her, what they meant was they got rid of the excess hair and mats, but water and soap were not introduced in the process. Trying to give her more time to acclimate, the bath waited for Thursday. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but fortunately she was willing to tolerate the madness for the sake of her new digs. 

Friday morning the trainer arrived to assess our situation and guide us through the safe and sane steps for doggie introductions as well as giving a lesson on setting physical boundaries so there was no chance she'd bolt out a door or a gate. Kuma was in the backyard with us and Nellie was safely behind the grid in the office. Or so we thought. Just as we were coming up with the game plan for an introduction, who came bounding out the back door into the yard? Somehow Nellie, who had exhibited zero jumping capabilities in 4 days, had managed to scale the barrier and decided to join us. Thank goodness the trainer took a very Zen approach and there was no drama. Not that there wasn't a tense moment or two, but within minutes, they realized they were going to be together and they may as well make the best of it. Big sigh of relief. 

And today, a mere 6 days at her new home, she is settling in, allowing perfect strangers to pet her, dealing calmly with other dogs, and figuring out how to best boss us around for the duration of her very long stay.

Thoughtful neighbors, more blossoms, books and little Nellie

Our neighborhood seems to have little libraries on every block. And little libraries are a great way to share books and the love of reading. But how many little libraries have a reading area set aside for passersby? Just one that I know of. Some fantastic people decided to create a rest stop for walkers on their street.

Speaking of little libraries, most are house shaped and not particularly remarkable. Except for this one. It has glitter all over it. And it's purple. Now that's fun.

Speaking of fun, two more examples of Ms. A's wonderful mosaic work:

Some more beautiful blossoms:

Haven't a clue what they are, and after cosseting one extremely anxious dog for the last 3 days, I'm too tired to look things up. But Nellie is doing her best to settle in and after her bath today, she looks shiny and fluffy, and more importantly, smells good. She is such a dear and tries so hard. We'll all be happy families soon enough.

More evidence Spring has sprung

More to appreciate around this time of year. Though we have had little to no rain, blossoms don't seem to know that. Which is just as well since we need all the colorful cheer we can get right now. And as if that weren't enough, I found some really wonderful, albeit over-the-top, Easter decorations in front of a house and couldn't resist. Enjoy!

Another cuteness fix

Yes, of course the cuteness is all about Nellie. She finally settled down her first night and got much more sleep than I did.

That's right, as she was snoozing away, I was sitting in a chair trying to get comfortable enough to doze off for a little while. Didn't work of course, but that's the price we pay for love.

 

Whoa Nellie!

Well ... I've been thinking about adopting another doggo for awhile now and today was the fateful meetup. I'd been perusing (OK - stalking) the Humane Society's website for months looking for just the right dog. COVID has made things very difficult because you can no longer walk through the kennels in person. It's MUCH harder to pick out a soul-mate with just a picture.

I was totally enamored of one little terrier mix who had the biggest smile ever, but when I finally got the phone appointment, it turned out he was mysteriously no longer available. I had noticed another dog's photo at the same time, and was curious what she might look like under all the hair. I suspected she would be very cute. And was I ever right.

Long suffering partner and I went to our appointment for a meet and greet and the second she walked in we were smitten. We also knew it was going to take an eternity of patience because she was EXTREMELY stressed and shy. We could tell she was sweet, but clearly freaked out about being in doggie jail.

She's a Polish Lowland Sheepdog - which I didn't even know existed, but there you are. She could stand to lose a little weight (like me) and she's around 8 years old. She was picked up as a stray, and is head shy, but we've already managed to get her over that a bit. Kuma is being a jackass, so we are keeping them separated until I can get the trainer in. I hope to goodness he calls us tomorrow! But good news, I just got her to settle on the dog bed in the office and she even rolled over a bit to let me rub her belly - so that means she's a little teensy bit more trusting.

We've decided to call her Nellie - as in Nervous Nellie - because she is a bundle of nervous energy. Poor thing can't stop panting and whining a bit.

And here she is in her brand new harness and bandana (better pictures later):