this one's for the dogs. hah!

(i finally shot through that roll of film...though haven't tried to rewind yet...)

(this is how she stands...before falling in...)

(some of my family, out in the pontoon...)

(the big and little dog)

these are a few shots from the last couple weeks at the lake. labor day found me sitting around in a sweatshirt and jeans all day...so, this weekend's 90-degree temps sent me back up with my kid, her friend and my dogs so we could actually get some swimming in. the kids swam for hours while i got to listen to the game and chat with my dad and family.

the only issue...my dogs. my little dog, i think, has passed his 'outdoors peak'...he's only five but he is literally the equivalent of a k-9 garfield. it's ridiculous...he used to love going up there but now, after he sniffs everything for thirty minutes, he just whines because he doesn't have a soft and comfy spot to lay down a nap. he walks around with a high pitch cry, then flops down in the grass, whines some more, gets up, wanders around and does it all over again. i'd feel terrible leaving him home, but it's so irritating. he's just an indoor dog i guess? maybe he'd be happier at home? he's a beagle so he'll smell everything on my the second i get home from not bringing him to the cabin and i'd feel terrible...then again, maybe he'll be thankful i left him? idk. next time, i'm not thinkin' he's gonna come and i'll see how he takes it when i get home...i'll bring him a hotdog or something--that'll appease the little guy.

then there's the big one. she's awesome and fine with anything...from sleeping on pavement to being wet for hours. (the little dog fears the water as much as cats.) but the big one has this issue where she frequently falls out of boats. she wants to see if there's fish in the water but she always leans over too far and accidentally dives in. i don't know if you've ever tried to get an 85 lb dog back into a boat when it's slippery and they're freaking out, but, it's not fun. at all. (this dog has lived at three different homes in her four years of life. her first home abused her and the other two left her in a kennel more than they let her out. she'd never seen water or even knew what the word 'walk' meant, before coming to live here. so far, 'walk' has become a quick part of her dictionary and water has, well, it's becoming a skill set. she can swim, but it isn't pretty...but she has no fear of water either, hence why leaning over too far isn't that scary for her.) regardless, yesterday, she fell off the paddle boat we were on. getting a dog back up on to metal, when it's wet, sucks. we should have just peddled super fast and made her swim in...but the kids were in charge and were already annoyed that it was so much work in the first place. once i finally got her up, she leaned over to see more fish and almost went in again--that time, i grabbed her.

uhm. i just wrote an entire blog about my dogs. that's pretty much like telling baby stories the whole time you're at a party. well...maybe it's not as bad, but, let's face it, it's pretty lame. on a side note...i'm all excited that this week holds my first thursday off from work. (note to self: come up with a catchy name for this.) i'm actually going to go into work for an hour, or so, because i'm setting up a teacher prep day for volunteers and that'll be the first day of it, so, i want to make sure it all starts well. and i have to go to my other bosses house since i'll be representing the company at an art fair this upcoming weekend and need supplies. but, in between that, i'm going shopping. i want to go thrifting and clearance shopping and find tons of treasures...pretty sure most refer to it as retail therapy--i refer to it as treasure hunting. i'd love new work stuff, like some clothes and a few office-y things plus picture frames and old furniture are also on the list. the thursday after that, depending on the colors, i'm planning to head north, a bit, maybe up by my cabin since it's gorgeous and i decently know the area, with coffee and my camera. i'm tempted to bring the big dog for company but i'll see. the thursday after that, i start teaching art in the afternoon so idk what the day will hold...i just have to be back in the general area by two, so i still have most of the day. i'm excited.

okay. this blog needs to end. i've went from dogs to work schedules and i'm sure you have better things to do than sit here reading, waiting for me to say something important and maybe even funnier than my title. (it was funny. to me.) i do apologize if you feel i've wasted your time but, remember, i don't charge admission...