lovely day for the beach

It's Valentine's Day. And although Ted usually works the store open to close on Sundays, he enlisted our regular employee to relieve him at noon today. So, we exchanged Valentine's cards and gifts (tomorrow is Glee viewing day), went out for lunch, ran an errand, and then headed to the beach.

The beach? In New Hampshire in February? Well, it seemed like a good idea. It hasn't snowed (and stuck) in weeks, and the sun was shining. We certainly weren't the only ones who'd thought of it. Hampton Beach was downright crowded. There was a little less traffic at North Hampton Beach, and fewer people still at Jenness, where we stopped. Lots of dogs at every location. That said, once we were walking on the compacted sand, the wind made it quite apparent that we wouldn't be staying too long.

We managed to visit with a few of the dogs as we wandered along, exchanging pleasantries with their tethered or free range owners. And I took a couple of pictures, including this tidbit of sea wall advice. But the chill drove us back to the car, where we continued North up the seacoast, enjoying the ocean, marveling at all the beautiful houses and their spectacular view, and wondering when we'd have the chance to give visitors this tour again.

We arrived home, bundled up on the couch to watch a movie, napped, and had a nice sandwich for dinner with some rice crackers. All in all, a lovely day.

r.i.p. comet

I will miss my sister's dog, Comet. An incredibly sweet and personable Golden Retriever. Gone too soon.

three words

Pup Pee Bowl!

Pup Pee Bowl!

Pup Pee Bowl!



OK, eight words.

... And Kitty Cat Half Time!

there's always time for cute

TBTWN. ML. P.* Some cute to tide you over for now.


* Too busy to write now. More later. Promise.

cars as murder weapons

Usually, I think I'm pretty accepting. At a very basic, golden rule level, if I want people to accept me as I am, then it is an absolute must that I accept people as they are. That said, people can be amazingly stupid.

I can pretty much brush off the jerkwad who nearly crashed into me by changing lanes without looking over his shoulder to see me in his blind spot. I slammed on my brakes and the horn at the same time, and everything in my car went flying forward. Thankfully, it was just my purse (and all its contents, individually), a couple of letters, some paperwork, and a shower curtain liner. Oh, and my not unsubstantial body being herked ahead while simultaneously being restrained by a insta-magically locking seat belt. An unpleasant experience, but no paint exchange.

That pales in comparison to the idiotic woman who left her dog in her car while she went shopping at a non-essential store (the kind of place where you only shop when you have spare money). It was 85 degrees Fahrenheit today with incredibly high humidity. She cracked the windows, but that doesn't make enough difference. The poor dog was panting, barking, and scratching at the door and window to get out.

I called 911.

Yes, I did.

I explained that it was an animal emergency but I didn't have the number for the SPCA. The man on the line was very understanding and patched me through to the local police. I explained to him, and he also did not chastise me for calling about a dog. In fact, he asked for the license plate number and wanted to know if an officer should call me to follow-up.

The woman came out of the store while I was on the phone with the police. She opened the car door, bent down and petted the dog, closed the car door again, and went back into the same store.

Is it just me? Or doesn't every person on the planet know that a hot car -- even one with its windows cracked -- can literally fry/bake/cook the brain of a dog (or any other living creature)? Who are these people who don't have any good sense whatsoever? And why are they allowed to have pets? I think all people should be required to take a test which includes questions about leaving animals in cars on hot days with the windows cracked, and if they get the answer wrong, they are not allowed to have any pets.

Rant over. I have work to do.

Stupid people. ::mumble, mumble::