Curmudgeonly Me

I didn’t like my flu shot very much this year.  Some years they hurt worse than others, and I haven’t yet figured out whether that depends on which nurse gives me the shot, or which strain I am being vaccinated against.  This year was a bad one—within 24 hours my arm was so sore that… Continue reading Curmudgeonly Me

The Case of The Missing Chicken

It happened two or three weeks ago, and it’s still bothering me so I might as well write about it.  Harvest Ranch Market, in Encinitas where I work, makes a pretty good rotisserie chicken.  I don’t have much time to cook during the week, so many Sundays I’ll head over there and pick up two… Continue reading The Case of The Missing Chicken

Happiness is a Warm Puppy

I had promised my friend Rachel two months ago that when it came time to let her current litter of Scottish deerhound puppies go to their new homes, I would come to Arizona for the big send off. I bought my ticket to Tucson cheap but life has been hectic lately, between the pressures of… Continue reading Happiness is a Warm Puppy

The Thundershirt

“Thunder and lightning, very very frightening–me”  Queen When I woke up this morning, they were already at it, and I walked into the kitchen and immediately slipped in a large pool of saliva that had apparently been dripping from the mouth of big Magic, my 125 pound scaredy cat Scottish deerhound.  When I say “they”,… Continue reading The Thundershirt

It’s Always Something

When you are owned by a Scottish deerhound, or two or three, you get the pleasure of their company on your couch, the soulful gaze of their soft brown eyes as they gently interfere with your reading and typing, and occasionally the crunching sound of the prime rib that was marinating on the countertop before… Continue reading It’s Always Something

Love, Loss and All That Remains

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything—if you do you start missing everybody.”  Holden Caulfield From The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger I don’t know whether it’s fitting, or selfish that on this anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks I was remembering my friend Catherine Doyle, who died last December 18.  I had gone into… Continue reading Love, Loss and All That Remains

A Brief News Update From the Animal House

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I have quite a little menagerie here.  In my animal loving prime, when I had a lot more energy than I do now, we had 5 Scottish deerhounds, one Brussels Griffon, two cats, two guinea pigs and eight horses, at least one of… Continue reading A Brief News Update From the Animal House

We’re Going to a Dog Party!

When my kids were small, one of their favorite books was by P.D. Eastman.  Written in 1961 and entitled, “Go Dogs Go”, it was the story of a great migration of dogs, some in cars, some in buses, some on foot, some wearing pretty hats, and some not.  Where were all those dogs going?  You… Continue reading We’re Going to a Dog Party!