226 - Drizzly Bear

Gloomy outside. It's four(ish) days to Christmas and almost 70 degrees out, but rainy. Supposed to have thunderstorms tonight. The rest of the week is going to be colder so it was nice to go outside and take Bo for a couple of walks between drizzly spells.

Honestly, because he goes to the bathroom so often that I don't much look forward to taking him out, but he does make me smile on walks and I try to remember to make time for it... it's not that I don't have the time, it's just not quite a habit for me yet. I do like walks with Bo if it's not too cold. Not the pulling, the pulling annoys me... but when he swoops down and grabs a stick or a pine cone and trots down the road, tail wagging, proud as can be with his prize. And if he's not caught up in sniffing out the goings on of other animals on the side of the road, he'll sometimes pause and tear into the pinecone. I don't know how he does it, they're prickly, but he curls his paws around it and nips at it, pulling it apart like there are no pointy pieces stabbing him in the mouth as he does so. Sometimes he tries to sneak one into the house and doesn't quite understand why I take his prize and toss it unceremoniously back into the yard. Been there, done that, cleaned up the mess.

His curiosity about the cows is cute too. He watches them and sometimes climbs the embankment to bounce through the grass like he's one of the herd. Scares the calves, poor things. I just make sure he doesn't get too close to the electrical wire and let the entertainment happen. Once they run away he sticks his nose as deep into the grass as it will go and snuffle-snorts his way along until he bounds back down to the pavement.

Lately on the return trip he's been grabbing the leash with his mouth to lead me home. Sometimes he'll be playful, running around and bowing at me, but more often than not he just grabs it and prances back home, walking me right to the door.

If it weren't for Bo I might go crazy out here. Kind of a paradox huh? Since he also drives me crazy sometimes.

Baked potato for dinner.

I made beef stroganoff last night, but it seemed like a potato night so I'll have leftover stroganoff for dinner tomorrow (and another meal or two), and probably a salad for lunch. I don't know why but I will choose potatoes over almost anything else. I'm like the Bubba Gump of potatoes... I like them boiled, fried, baked, shredded, mashed, au gratin, roasted... as long as it's a potato I'm happy. Tonight's version is hassle-backed with parmesan and butter in alternating slices, then I chopped some chicken I cooked the other day and topped it with cheese. It's tasty. Bo is currently pawing at me to share... not happening. He has started a new phase of grabbing with his paws and claws by curling them under and drawing whatever he's grabbing at toward him. But he's a good puppy, he backs off when he's told. Maybe not for long, but at least he does for a while.

Got a card from the vet's office today... made me cry for the first time in a couple of days. I've been better but still have moments where I think of her and get sad. It wasn't so much the card, but what Dr. D wrote. And that the cat on the front bears a slight resemblance to Gracie. (the ball of light is from the flash, not part of the picture on the card)

On tonight's agenda, prepping Bo's beef stew (beef and carrots simmered for a while with the broth I had leftover from something else, and water), added a slurry of flour and water to thicken it a smidge, then bulgur wheat and a little cheese... mixed with some of his kibble. I need to get more veggies when I go to the store. Until I get the supplements to make sure he's getting all the vitamins he needs and/or until I run out of this bag of kibble, he'll be eating a mixture of both. He won't miss the kibble. As it is I'm picking up little pieces that he nibbles and spits onto the rug. Spoiled. And I'll tell you - the chicken jerky and sweet potato jerky are a HIT. He tries to hunt those down to feed himself when I'm not looking. He doesn't chew the chicken very much, twice, maybe three times. The sweet potato gets a little more mastication. It's a wonder he doesn't have more gas than he does - which actually seems less lately.

He seems to like it:  http://youtu.be/bozZ-BBzEaM

After that... Pinterest and movies... yipee. Red hot Saturday night. ;)