Home Alone, Day Two

This morning started off with Joe making french toast. With a little help from me. Thank goodness I got there in time. ;-) We then had devotions and picked up the house a bit before starting where we'd left off last night in our game of Monopoly. We played for about an hour, then had some more work to do to get everything ready for the Open House.

Jason showed up just before 1:00, as we were finishing up the last of our cleaning--and clearing the Monopoly game from the dining table. It's really best that way. The game had taken a turn and Joe was doomed (he can handle it), but Katie would probably be the next to go (she can't handle it) and it would have been long and agonizing to have to put up with her griping and whining while she slowly lost all of her money and property. I'm really just glad it's over with.

We had three hours to stay gone, but I really didn't want to go into Albuquerque on a Saturday. And besides, I was feeling bleagh all day today and just not up to doing much. So Katie was good enough to pack some chips, sandwiches and sodas in the picnic basket and we headed up the mountain to find a picnic spot in the National Forest. I passed the first spot because there were too many cars there, then the second one too. I had forgotten how far it was to the third picnic site, but now I know: it's right at the dog's breaking point. Katie was the lucky recipient of his carsickness this time, but I had little sympathy for her. She had been instructed to keep the dog next to her ON HIS BLANKET at all times--making sure his HEAD was over said blanket, just in case. ~sigh~ I just can't get over how wrong this is!!! Who ever heard of a carsick dog???

Katie got all cleaned up, we grabbed our picnic basket and slipped and slid on the crusted snow and ice down the hill to the picnic table. The snow had melted there and the table pretty much sat in a mud puddle, but what did I care? I already had a pukey dog and more laundry to take care of, besides feeling all bleagh. A little mud seemed fitting. I actually felt much better after sitting in the warm sunshine there while we were eating. But then the wind picked up suddenly and blew everything off the table, including the now empty picnic basket--into the mud, of course. Joe was leaning over picking things up when his cup of soda was tipped over by the wind and trickled down onto his head, around his ear and into his face. Ha! That almost made it worth the hassle and mess we had to clean up. :-)

I hauled everything back to the van and let the kids climb up and down all over the mountain for an hour or more. They would show up every few minutes telling me all about the mountain lion tracks they saw (dog tracks, no doubt) and how Sam thought he saw something moving in the bushes and all that stuff. Then they'd forge back into the woods to investigate further, enjoying every minute of their overactive imagination exercises.

I hadn't thought of it before, but you're supposed to pay a fee to picnic in the National Forest. I think it's CRAZY, but being the honest person that I am I started digging around for the three dollars I owed. Won't they be pleased when they pull the envelope out of the little box and find a dollar bill, six quarters, four dimes, a nickel, and five pennies. :-) I think you're only supposed to use cash or checks, not coins. But I only had that lone dollar bill and I certainly wasn't going to put a $5 in! Anyway, when I went to deposit my envelope in the tube I saw the warning sign posted about cougars being in this area along with the instructions for what you're supposed to do should you encounter one. None of the instructions ever include "Scream like a banshee while you high-tail it outta there" even though you know it's what any rational person would do. It did, however, say to keep children within arm's reach should you decide to explore the woods and if you see a cat you're to pick the children up immediately. So I told the kids that if they saw anything they were to get in the biggest pile they could manage and do their best to look like one big person instead of three little ones. Ha! I love the picture my head produces when I think of that. :-) Joe had a stick and was all set to defend the family. He's a good boy. Of course, we all know that his leadership would have been setting the example of screaming and flailing wildly as he tumbled down the mountain. I'm pretty sure it's the same thing I would do if I was put in that position. But God was good to us and the only cougars encountered today were in the minds of youngsters. :-)

When everybody was ready to go I put the dog in his box. We had taken it with us just because too much dog stuff looks cluttery sitting around the house when you know (or hope) people are going to be looking at it. I wasn't taking any more chances and figured it would be best if the sick-o was completely confined. Amazingly enough, he didn't cry or fuss at all. He usually wails like he's dying as soon as you shut the door, but he was either too sick to care or actually comforted by being in a familiar place.

We still had an hour before we could return to the house and there's not just a whole lot to do up here, so I did something I hardly ever do--though I did it last time James was away, too. I went to the little mountain video rental place. We looked around the kid/family section and came away with an old Dean Jones movie (I love him) called The Ugly Dachshund, as well as Homeward Bound. I'd never seen the first one and the kids had never seen either.

We headed home, but still had 30 or 40 minutes to kill. So I dumped the kids off at the head of the bike/walking trail. It's about two miles long, I think, so I figured that would take up some time and keep them occupied. Sam ran pretty much the whole way. Katie and Joe wore out and hopped in the van, amazed at how Sam just keeps on going. He was always wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ay ahead of them. They met three people and a dog along the way, one lady very concerned and inquiring whether Sam (who was "alone" because he was ahead of the others) was lost. She probably thought he had a terrible mother letting him out there all alone--then there was a van stalking him. Ha!

When we got home there was a young couple here talking with Jason. They left after a few minutes and he gave me the low-down. Three couples came during the three hours and they all loved the house. Blah, blah, blah. Are you tired of the same old story?! I am! The last couple just moved into the state and are currently staying in an apartment in the city, but they hate it. They are country people from Ohio and really want to get out of town. They loved the house, but it's also the very first one they've been in. So who knows. Another couple said they had friends who are looking to move up here and they thought they'd look at the house for them. They loved it and said they'd tell the friends all about it... so they're not even "lookers" themselves. The other ones... I can't remember what he said. I know they liked it too and I know that Jason was going to be calling somebody (the first couple? the last couple?) on Monday and trying to take care of some business for them. It's all a blur now. I really don't get too wound up about anything any more. I think I'll start to get excited about something whenever we actually put pen to paper and sign a contract. Even then it can fall through, but at least it would be new territory for us instead of deja vu. Ha!

We had french fries and fried hot dogs for dinner tonight. It's been ages since we've done that, so it tasted extra good. Especially since I still have just a tiny bit of fry sauce left. :-) Then after all of the kids had their showers we watched The Ugly Dachshund. It was cute and the kids really enjoyed it. I was sure to get them to bed at a decent hour since we have church in the morning.

Oh yeah--and Charlie had to have another bath. Third day in a row he's taken a care ride and third day in a row we've been sorry. I Googled it tonight and was blown away to read that 95% of the time dogs that get carsick do so because of stress, not motion sickness. Really?! Come on!!! I just have a hard time making myself believe a lot of the dog advice that's out there nowadays. Stress??? That is so ridiculous! They say to take your dog for little short rides (5-10 minutes) to happy destinations (the park), soothing them throughout the ride, having a grand time with them when they get there, then doing the same thing when they return home. And to do this 5 times a day. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I've got to draw the line somewhere. I've done a lot of crazy things for the dumb dog, but get real! I'm going with the other counsel I found online that said to give your dog a spoon full of vanilla ice cream before you get in the car because it settles their stomach. That's more my speed. Now I'll HAVE to go buy some Blue Bell... ;-)