Random Thoughts, Dog Edition

The vision I had, of a little dog sitting in the school room with Rebecca, has become a reality.

See that yellow bag to the left? That's the dog food we special-ordered. Y'all, we special-ordered dog food. What in the world...

Dakota came to us with his name. And he’s had it for seven years, so changing it is a bad idea. Since we're not going to change it, Sean has let everyone know that we did not pick it. Because no respectable Duffy would select the name of a Dodge for our pet.

Michael keeps calling the dog, Dave. I have no idea why.

The advantage to having an older dog: he's already house- and crate- trained. So far there's only been one accident in the house and that was our fault for not moving fast enough in the morning. We have not made that mistake again.

Dakota's only real downside is his aversion to animals on TV. I'm sure no one will be surprised that Nature is Rebecca's favorite show. We settled in to watch one this weekend and as soon as Dakota heard the birds he went absolutely nuts:

I took this picture while he barked at the PetSmart ad.

So far he doesn't bark at Law & Order, so I'm good.

If my reaction to the dog is any indication, my future grandchild(ren) will be horribly spoiled. Horribly. For instance, Rebecca is training him to not bark at certain things. Like people coming in the house. Or animals on the television. But he has such a cute little bark that I find myself laughing at it. This does not please Rebecca.

She is also training Dakota to stay off the furniture. Sean and I appreciate her being respectful of our stuff, but I find myself saying, “He’s so small. He can’t do that much damage…”

Sean and Rebecca do not agree. They’re both good with the no-dog-on-the-furniture plan. I'm sort-of on board with it. Sort-of:

I don't even know who I am any more.

Weather and Shark Week Random Thoughts

June was not my favorite month this year. And considering there was no snow, that’s saying something.

There wasn’t snow but the temps were and continue to be very low. I am NOT complaining! This Southern girl does not like hot summers and the mild summer temperatures here in the Mitten make up for the lousy winter weather.

Also, just because people are born and raised in the South does not mean the heat doesn’t bother them. It bothers me greatly. Greatly.

I got that disposition from my father, who walks around with a kitchen towel on his shoulder all summer long. To wipe up the sweat. No lie.

We also have this nifty facial feature in the heat – we turn bright red. Picture Rudolph, but instead of just our noses being red our whole face glows crimson. It’s special.

I spoke to a friend from here who’s going to Florida in August. She said the heat doesn’t bother her family. I could not comprehend that statement. I also could not fathom going to Florida in August. I’d be a big pool of sweat.

So to sum up, I don’t like heat and I don’t like snow. I’m more of a 68 – 75 degrees kind of girl. This summer has been perfect for me so far.

I’m sure you’re all glad to know that.

On another summer-related note, it’s Shark Week. Otherwise known as The Week Christy Does Not Turn on the Television.

Seriously, why would people watch those shows? Aside from the frighteningly scary animals, there’s all that creepy music.

If nature people really want folks to like sharks, they should film those shows with kids’ music in the background. It’s pretty hard to be scared while singing, “The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

The music wouldn’t help me, though. It’s too late for me. I am completely paranoid about those swimming man-eaters. I’m honest about this horribly irrational fear, made obvious this week when a friend posted this on my Facebook wall:

I had a strong reaction: "There is no way in a million bazillion years I would ever do that. Ever. Ever. Ever. My skin is crawling just thinking about this!!"

Two other friends commented that there are no sharks in ponds. REALLY?? Are you sure? There are fresh-water sharks you know! I am not taking that chance.

I’ll stick to pools, thank you very much. But just to be safe, I’ll stay away from the drains…