We’re still alive here in Mesquite.
Vinnie’s finished his sixth day of training today. He’s doing well, much improved from a few weeks ago. He’s now watching me pretty carefully, unlike his previous procedure of plowing ahead toward some distant goal that only he was aware of. Tomorrow, we shorten the lead, and start correcting when he is more than 5’ in front of or behind me.
The lad is being a good sport, considering the Koehler method of training. One of the requirements is that Vinnie be caged for one hour prior to training. He also cannot eat within 3 hours of the beginning of training nor within one hour of the completion of training. These stipulations seem a bit barbaric to me (and to Vinnie!). He absolutely howls when he is confined to the crate; I’m sure it reminds him of his unhappy puppy year when he had to grow up alone and in the backyard. He has PTSD, I’m sure.
I think that, beginning tomorrow, we are going to skip the encratement prior to training. He’s no criminal, he’s one of our family!
Charlie and I finished binge-watching the “Downton Abbey” series (6 years-worth!). Whew, that was a lot of drama. It was an interesting depiction of “royal” living in England about one hundred years ago, about the time that the aristocracy was beginning to crumble.
Gosh, it must have been frightfully expensive just to operate one of those castles in Europe, with all the butlers, maids, manservants, footmen, cooks, and maintenance people. Not to mention the fact that these aristocratic families seem to be constantly throwing lavish meals and festivities for relatives, acquaintances, and visitors. Where did all the money come from?
It was a strange “society” that those royals enjoyed: looking down their noses at everyone simply because of being born into privilege. The estate workers, the “in service” laborers, were really in menial, dead-end jobs, with little chance of advancing their humble existences. How depressing that must have been. In this series, which shows the world changing, several of the household staff begin to get education and can see a path to a better world in the late 1920’s. The butlers that are depicted in this series are the general managers of the household and carry themselves with an aristocratic air, as if they are royals, too. In fact, they seem to be the guardians of the aristocracy, reminding the royals from time to time about propriety and such.
Very interesting stuff if you are a student of history, like me.
I’ve been following the Masters golf tournament. It is always a wonderful experience, what with the gorgeous surroundings and the high drama. This year marks the return of Tiger Woods, who almost died in a car wreck (his fault!) about 1-1/2 years ago. The doctors almost had to amputate one of his legs. Miraculously, he recovered with the help of a team of physicians, physical therapists, trainers, and other professionals. This physical catastrophe is only the latest in his life: he’s had five back surgeries and a number of knee procedures, as well. He jokingly calls himself “Humpty Dumpty”.
Tiger’s rehabilitation has been a miracle because he deemed himself fit enough to enter the Masters tournament this year. The guy hasn’t played a round of competitive golf in 500 days and he is competing against the best golfers on the planet. Plus, the golf course is very hilly and competitors cannot use golf carts: they have to walk it. Amazingly, Tiger shot a one-under par score on the first day, bettering about 70 percent of his rivals. Simply amazing: he should get a trophy for just showing up.
After his round, Tiger was asked what his plans were for the evening. He said, “Lots of ice.”
Flowers are blooming from many of our cacti. It’s quite beautiful around here.
I’ve been practicing golf lately. No shoulder pain, whatsoever, so I will probably be playing a round in the next week to ten days… to see how bad I have become!
Charlie is one week from finishing tax season. Compared to prior years, this one has been relatively calm, from my vantage point. Of course, my wife no longer has to prepare the taxes for 40 to 50 clients while at the same time carrying on her thriving bookkeeping business. That was a real drudge in the old days, causing migraines, stress heart attacks, temper tantrums, and harsh words to the only other person in the house. Thankfully for our son Jonathan, the bookkeeping grunt work is farmed out to his home in Kentucky and my wonderful wife is allowed some peace and sanity while she casually prepares her clients’ tax filings.
As I’ve said before, Charlie’s tax work basically pays for the special treats that we get to enjoy in our retirement years. We could exist just fine on our basic income but it’s nice to be able to travel and enjoy special surprises courtesy of her office work.
She’s a keeper.
The dogs are in a confused state lately. Baby is wearing “the cone of shame” due to her tumor surgery, so she feels punished and the other dogs are a bit bewildered. Vinnie wears the goofy electric fence collar during the daytime, although it won’t be long before that ordeal is over: he shows zero interest in approaching the fence, let alone trying to escape his yard.
Vinnie is also the only dog that is getting to go for “walks” right now, as he is being leash-trained by yours truly. It is an intense 40-minutes each morning and I’m really not in the mood afterward to leash-up the other two dogs and head out of the house. Accordingly, Baby and BonBon feel neglected or gypped. I feel bad for them, but it will only be another week before we can all go on long walks together.
The weather is in a state of change as it always is in April. We get some days in the high 60’s and several days later it might be in the low 90’s. Most days are mid-70’s to mid-80’s with light to moderate winds. It is pollen season: runny noses and itchy eyes.
C’est la vie.