Dog Wash Day

OK, it is DW Day. Em and T need washed for the Expo tomorrow. T is easy, we can wait until this evening to wash her. We just pop her into the kitchen sink and commence to scrubbing! We dry her in a towel and then put one of the grain filled microwave hot packs next to her and she snuggles down to sleep while she finishes drying.

Em on the other hand, has me scared. S. says Em doesn't like water. I have not been part of any of her other bath episodes, only C. and S. It is a balmy day here and I will use warm water. However, I am prepared for a wrestling match of epic proportion. It makes me tired just thinking about it. We also have to give her some worm medicine. I'm sure that will be a real treat too.

Yesterday I must have been prophetic. When we went to the dog training facility, gas at the station we pass was $3.45/gal and I though that high. On the way back, about an hour and a half later, it was $3.65! Twenty cents a gallon in that short time. Like the gas they have in the tank in the ground cost them any bit more. I am sick and tired of being gouged on all sides by those involved in the petroleum industry.

I saw a cute thing on the net about how to spend our incentive money. I will try to post it here, but am not sure who originally wrote it. My appologies to the author. I would be happy to add the correct attribution when it is available.


"As you may have heard, the Bush Administration said each of us would get a
Rebate check to stimulate the economy.

If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we
spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs, if we purchase a computer it
will go to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to
Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, if we purchase a good car it will go to
Japan, if we purchase useless junk it will go to Taiwan and none of it
will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America. The only way to keep that
money here at home is to spend it at yard sales, since those are the only
businesses still in the US." I would add "or buying other second-hand,
used stuff, where the money stays home!

So, for the rest of my day, I am going to suck it up and wash Em. I am going to bathe me and change clothes and take S. to town to see the agility show going on. We will do our grocery shopping for the week and then meet C. We will transfer into the old truck and go to the local tree trimming service and cut a load of firewood for this winter. Then home to unload the wood, he and I will remove the middle seat of the minivan and put Em's crate in and load as much as we can. If there is still daylight left, I will stack split firewood until it gets dark. Then I will come in and get dinner on the table and gather up things for the Expo tomorrow. Everyone in bed early.

Tomorrow we will get up and on the road by 6:30, travel a couple of hours and then try to figure out what's going on at the Expo. I will run around trying to make sure all of mine (C., S., T., and Em) are safe and having a good time. Then in my free moments I will try to get to the special meetings for 4-H advisors to gather as much information as I can to help the dog project kids in our club. We will travel back home after the event, feed the chickens, and have a quick dinner and plop into bed.

I am hoping that next week will be calm. I have decided to start a program of basic obedience training for the dogs, a refresher of the basics will be good for them. I will also pursue my house cleaning rampage, and my yard raking extravaganza.

I think John Denver was nuts when he sang, "Weeeell, life on the farm is kind of laid back...." What fantasy was he living? Not my life, for sure!

Gotta go and face my doggie challenge,
Lori