Running errands, chasing dogs

Errands can be a real pain. But when you have to ask everyone else to do them for you, you want to run errands yourself because it will make you feel more normal.

Not too long ago, I could hardly walk to the corner. Now I have increased my walking distance; I go a mile around the lake but instead of driving there, I walk, which probably adds another half-mile or so. At the lake, the joggers run past me. I have tried running a couple of steps, but my legs have no spring, so obviously I am not ready.

But yesterday I was ready to do some errands. I leashed up the dog and walked down the street to the fire station, where I put my water bill payment in the slot. Then I went to the mailboxes outside the post office and mailed a couple of bills. Finally, I walked down to the street to the optometrist's, hooked the dog up outside, and went in and got my glasses adjusted.

Woo hoo! These felt like really big accomplishments.

Then I walked the dog around the lake. She had been swimming a lot and smelled awful, so we had her groomed last week. I hate to keep her on the leash, because she needs the exercise, but I didn't want her to go in and get all smelly. So we made a compromise: I let her off in a spot away from the swampy areas, so she got her swim in and a little romp and didn't get stinky.

I had a couple of mishaps, too, but they were kind of funny so I didn't mind.

We have a little wooded area in the back of our house where we sometimes let Maddie run and pee. She usually just runs back in the door for her treat. Yesterday she decided to dash through the trees into our neighbors Eugene and Susan's yard. This involved me pushing my way through the trees to go get her. Eugene and their son David were reading in the yard. Maddie ran over and started licking David's feet, then ran around in circles, at one point grabbing Eugene's sneaker and running with it. I used my sternest DROP IT and she finally did.

They didn't seem to mind, but it was a little embarrassing. In any case we used it as an opportunity to chat for a minute. I couldn't get the dog to come back with me, so Eugene tied a rope around her collar and I got her back.

Later in the day, I opened the cabinet to take out a box of fettucini. By accident I held it upside down and the contents fell out. Pick-up-sticks all over the place. Actually it was near Maddie's bowl, and when I said "leave it" she thankfully did. So I cleaned it up in peace and found a new box of pasta.

Kind of annoying. Kind of normal.