Monkey Weather Puppy!

I believe the blues are slowly subsiding. Last night when I got home I started knitting up a little monkey doll for The 'Phile (he had requested one). It is the UGLIEST thing on the planet, and I love it. I'll take a picture of him, so you can see what he looks like. I am curious though. I call the monkey a 'He', I wonder if The 'Phile will call it a 'She'. I say this because when we were given plants as house warming gifts, I instantly started referring to his plant as a 'He', and The 'Phile then named it 'Molly'. Which is actually more fitting than 'Ferdinand' or 'George' or whatever it was that I called it.

But I will tell you, knitting is probably one of the most serene things for me to do, next to Yoga. I could knit for days if I didn't need to do things like sleep and eat and go pee.

I finally got all my work for the weekend from my other job. 9 months of invoicing, allocating and reconcilling from 4 different organizations. And its due on Tuesday. But my boss is totally cool with me taking my time (just not too much time) - I'll be checking in with her on Sunday and letting her know the diagnosis of the 9 months.

Of Bookkeeping. Not the incubation of 'Rabies'.

And I must say, I am greatful to have all this work because I do not want to be outside this weekend. It's supposed to reach 37 degrees - which is insane for the West Coast. I don't know if it will happen, I keep getting all sorts of different predictions, but I can tell you. It will be hot. So, be careful out there. Sit on a shady patio, drink MaiTai's and make sure you are well hydrated (with Water, not MaiTai's. Although come to think of it, that sounds not too bad either.).

I am planning on starting the research process for a dog. Yeah, I know. It's in a year. But I want to be PREPARED. I don't want to run out and be all like 'WHEEE! I am going to get a dog! Oh shits I don't know what to do! Oh, the dog is DEAD? I was supposed to do what?' Yeah, no.

My dog when I grew up was a Siberian Huskey. She was a beautiful dog. She was also a stray. We found her on our porch one summer day laying on the couch. My dad was all like 'WTF?' and him being the HUGE animal lover that he is, instantly fell in love with her. But also being the type of person he is, he checked for tattoos (she was a purebred) and lo, found the breeder tag or whatever they call it. So he rings them up and chats with the breeder for a bit, trying to track down the owner.

Turned out this dog was owned by a man who really shouldn't be owning any dog. His idea of caring for a dog, and especially a dog who's body is designed for cooler climates (this summer was a particularily hot one, similiar in fact to the one we're having now) was kicking open a bag of dog food, cutting open a jug of water and leaving her outside while he went away to California.

For six weeks. On Business.

He apparently was going to take her with him but he was told that the dog would probably DIE if he left her in the car, especially in California. So, hey. He figured leaving her outside in a yard with no cover for that length of time with all the food she could eat and what, at least some water was an excellent alternative to his original, brilliant idea.

So, being the smart ass dog that she was (and boy she was a smart ass) she dug a hole out from underneath the fence, crawled out and came over to our house. We lived a good distance away, which was why we had such a hard time figuring out where she came from. There weren't many Siberian Huskies around in our neighbourhood, and I don't think they were all that common then either. So, my Dad chatted with the breeder, who in turn eventually got a hold of the owner, who simply said 'Whatever, you can have her, I don't want her anymore anyway.' And so for the next 15 years we had this beautiful dog.

But my point is this: I don't want to turn into that guy. He probably didn't think he would be that guy either. He probably thought 'Hey a dog! What a novel idea!' and really had no idea what he was getting himself into. I want to understand fully the requirements for the breeds of dogs I am interested in having. Shasta was a Siberian Huskey. She needed to be cool, and walked ALOT. She needed a certain amount of tending to; her nails, her coat. She couldn't be let off the leash because she would bolt and never come back. She was a fairly high maintenance dog. And in this household, there can only be ONE high maintenance individual. Ya Dig?