Let me tell you a little bit more about our puppy Deuce. Deuce is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, aka “The Corgis with the Tail.” We chose this breed for several reasons with the main ones being that my son and I do not react allergically to corgis, and corgis have temperaments well-suited to indoor living.

Corgis are herding dogs; the instinct is deeply ingrained in these pups. In the house, when everyone is in the same room, the doggie will happily nap nearby. However, if one person gets up and leaves the room, he becomes nervous and goes to follow that one. This habit is particularly obvious when it is a small person who leaves the room.

The behavior makes perfect sense when you think about herds and flocks of animals. When a small one becomes separated from the group, it can be dangerous for that animal. Deuce’s instinct to keep the little ones safe and the herd together is a marvelous gift of nature that has been capitalized on over the ages by breeders. Remember, through history, dogs have been working animals, not mere pampered companions.

Today, I allowed Deuce to ride along in carpool when I took two girls to school. It completely blew his mind when those two kids left the car and trotted off into school. He went BALLISTIC! He was really upset.

Sorry, Deuce. I did not mean to harm your psyche this morning. Have patience with me. You are my first doggie that I’ve ever raised. I’ll make mistakes, you know.

Yesterday morning, my son had a class to attend. Rather than drive home for the hour or so he would be tied up, my daughter and I dropped him off, then headed to the greenway with Deuce.

Oh! The wonderful doggie smells were everywhere. And so were the doggies. We were really having fun, until I realized the trail was not going to loop back around to the parking area. As soon as we realized that we had to backtrack about a mile to the car, it started to pour down raining. I only wish I had the camera when we returned. My puppy was pitiful. He walked along on the leash, trotting in the downpour, glancing sideways up at me wearing a completely disgusted look. “Why, pray tell, are we doing this? This is not fun.”

He’s pretty wiped out after his jog through the monsoon. It was like being in an episode of Lost. One moment, we are trekking along having a conversation, and the next moment, we are drenched.

At least, we ended up back home, dried and comfy.

Went to the dedication at the (future) new high school this morning; not only was it too hot for me, I am also nursing a summer cold. I hate those. I still feel pretty miserable even though I’ve been out of the sun now for about 4 hours.

Only, we get to go back out for my daughter’s soccer game at 4pm this afternoon.

Ever wonder what happens when the worlds of jock-dom and prissy-dom collide? You get a 12 year old tough girl soccer player trying on different hair looks for an hour getting ready for game time.

Yay! The kids went back to school last week!

I love my kids, but this has been a rough summer, and even though my days are filled with chores and general work busy-ness, I have enjoyed the bicker-free moments that are afforded by the enforced separation of the children.

Unfortunately, the kids are little disease carriers. So, one of them seemed to have brought me home a little living present.

Every time I have a fever, the song “Fever” becomes lodged in the earworm recycling facility of my brain. I really do love that song, though, and the Rita Moreno/Muppet Show version is one of my favorites.

I’m taking my stuffy-headed, scratchy-throated, head-achy self back to bed now.

My daughter has been saving her pennies over the past year, and we used it to order a refurbished iPod Touch last week. She’s eagerly awaiting the arrival of a lovely brown box, stalking the door, hoping to ambush the UPS guy.

Yesterday, both the UPS and FEDEX trucks rolled down our street, depositing neat cardboard boxes on the front stoop. She dashed eagerly outside to retrieve them, only to find out that they contained back-ordered school uniforms, and her youth bible for religion class.

Boy. That was NOT a happy face.

Just a quick update, so no one thinks this blogger has disappeared. My sister and I are working hard to help Mom move into a super-duper retirement apartment. The move seems to be going well; we still have a lot of unpacking to get to today.

It’s still hot.

I am positive my sister is sick of being here. She’s essentially given up her entire summer to help.

My son starts school in one week. I have not bought any pencils. Where the hell did all the time go?!?!?!?

Puppies are cute.