So I’ve been dogsitting a supremely well-behaved standard poodle named Stormy. I know, I’m usually not a fan of poodles bc of their ridic haircuts, but I mean, I can’t blame her for her parents’ actions. She’s smart and playful and just youthful. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a young-in in the house. She really does draw us out to play and run around. I imagine that’s what child-rearing also does… it really forces you to get out and do things. You just have to find a way to wear them down and use up all that energy. It’s like a constant game of energy management.

So Stormy’s favorite past time appears to be playing with toys. Her parents gave her two toys and then I have this beaver stuffed animal that Martin used to like. Stormy LOVES the beaver. So everyday since June, I’ve been running around the backyard chasing after the dog telling her to “bring me beaver” or “go get beaver” or “where’s beaver.” Now, you know me: I tend to be very sheltered, naive, and gullible, but shit, even I feel a little embarrassed and concerned about being overheard by the neighbors. It sounds potentially sketchy/dirty, right? Or am I confusing it with something else? I dunno. I could be getting all worked up over nothing. Don’t ask me to Google anything. I’m not about to adulterate my brand new laptop with inappropriate images.

Anyway, I haven’t played chase in a hushed voice or anything. I mean, I’m taking the innocent route. Plus, Stormy just loves it.

Yesterday, for the holiday, I went to my friends’ C & C’s house. These people. My god. Their home in SJ is like an entertainment facility. The lot is double our size and they have this massive deck plus arbor and lots of outdoor seating. I mean, I came up on the house and there were signs pointing me to the backyard entrance. Bit surprising considering that C is the ultimate organizer. There were three different drink stations… you can tell these folks host a LOT of parties. They are very active in their church too, so like 50 people over is like a regular occurrence. And he’s an amazing cook. I had so much good food: pulled pork sandwiches, homemade cole slaw, homemade custard dessert, fruit-filled jellos… it was a nice party. Since I was solo and didn’t really know anyone else, C was sweet enough to hang with me a bit. He was also so kind with telling everyone I’m a realtor. I was feeling a little shy about it. I mean, I dunno: this wasn’t one of those parties where people were saying what they do…

I met a friend of his who is a volunteer puppy parent to the Wounded Warrior Project. She hosts puppies who are in training to become service doggies to vets. I met her current doggie Copper. Those dogs go through like a $20k training program, so if any of them come up with health issues of any kind, they get kicked out since the investment is so high and it’s unlikely the vets will be able to pay for expensive medical costs. Anyway, Copper was the sweetest thing. Bubs has been mentioning getting some kind of a retriever again… I can see the appeal: those goldies are just always smiling. Needless to say, I’m back in puppy fever mode, and I’ll be looking at puppy porn very soon.[FAG id=7513]