Dogs and Dumpsters

Today was another dog weekend - a three dog weekend. It is always alittle like taking care of toddlers at a "play group". There is always one little guy in the group with immature social skills, bratty behavior, and interested only in what feels good to him. In our play group that would be Milo.

He is still quite young - only 6 1/2 months, but we are trying to instill some rules like - don't nip at Meathead jowls or Meathead feet. Don't jump Meathead while he is sleeping. Don't hump Meathead 'cause that is really bad form. Eat all your meals and don't beg at the table. Do not eat sticks and bugs and leaves and bird droppings, or random pieces of bark and tree seed pods. This is only a partial list of stuff we are working on, of course. :-) But when you look into that darling little face, he is hard to resist.

For example: Earlier in the week, Milo was busy chewing on a bone. Suddenly, (very suddenly - so suddenly that he forgot what he was doing,) ... suddenly, he heard something outside. He jumped up ran to the window - bone still in the mouth!

How can you resist a face like that?

Grandma, are you laughing at me? I am protecting "hearth and home"!!

Anyway, he is "a work in progress". Being cute saves his butt more times than I can count.

Actually that is exactly what happened with my 2 children, if I remember correctly.

"Cute" saved their butts!!

I did manage to get some cleaning done and I am in a pitching mood. No matter where I am in the house, I make an effort to look at stuff and decide if I want it. Usually it goes in the trash or the charity donation bag. I suppose I could start in one closet and do a complete clean out, but I can't seem to get focused enough to be that organized. So I am just randomly looking at stuff and pitching as needed. It is amazing just how much stuff you can have right in front of your eyes, that you don't actually see. And when you look ... really look, you can't help but wonder why xyz was kept for so long! Xyz hasn't been touched in years. Xyz has an expiration date that expired two years ago. Xyz hasn't been worn for a long time and probably won't fit. And if xyz did fit, the fashion passed 10 years ago. Xyz is just adding stress to my life by its very existence.

This weekend our neighborhood association had dumpsters delivered to our street. These dumpsters were for large things that cannot go with the regular trash pick up. We got rid of about 6 items. One was a 10 foot board that was part of my son's bed when he was a child. The bed has long since gone. And my son is 37 years old. This board was just one of those things that had been here in front of our eyes, but we just didn't see it. Now we really can't see it because it is in the dumpster!! :-)

It was a productive day. Hope your day was just as productive.