Camp starts tomorrow

Her name was Lola. She was not a showgirl. (Have you ever read the life story of Barry Manilow, the author of those lyrics?) She was a seven year old dog, looking very much like a black and white boxer. Lola has passed by our house during porch breakfast.

Today she and her owner paused. Lola likes small dogs but is scared of pretty much everything else. Millie is vocal in ways that you can't always tell if she is scared or eager to play. Lola came up the stairs to Steffi's House and I opened the gate so that the two dogs could meet and greet. 

And they did. And Millie was delirious with joy. Lola is the first dog in this whole neighborhood that Millie got to know up close and personal.

There are a lot of yappy barky growly big dogs around here and their owners try to keep them away from other canine encounters. Rightly so, I suppose. But this has frustrated Millie no end and it has encouraged her to bark in protest and wag every time a dog walks by. At doggie daycare, she plays with everyone (but especially her two BFFs). At home, she is allowed to play with no one. It's been a struggle for her.

And the neighborhood dog owners? Nice people, albeit closed off in their own lives. If I wanted social contacts, I'd go to any number of the neighborhood activities. Morning coffee every I dont know how often. Evening drinks, posted on Facebook. A monthly book club. There's even an annual picnic, coming up, on the "village green." But I've resisted most of these. No time and my head is elsewhere right now. I've now memorized the names of three neighbors in houses across the street. I'd call that progress!

This morning, a family with a dog and a kid in a stroller passed by. They're frequent walkers in these blocks, so much so that Millie doesn't bark her head off when she sees them coming. Only an occasional wistful woof. Today, the stroller child reached out and snipped off a rose as they passed Steffi's Garden. The mom gently told him "that's not for picking only for looking." Personally, I think that if I'm going to plant flowers so close to the sidewalk, I can expect some animal/child damage. I do want to engage people with my garden. You could say that this morning, I engaged!

Roses for today? The very bold and bright ones. I tended to prefer these when I first started including roses in my garden, back in late May or early June. Now, I'm much more interested in the very light pastels. Yellow, peach, pink, with cream overtones. Still, I'm glad I started with these vibrant ones. Nothing says "rose" more than a splash of bright burgundy-red in your garden.

 

 
 

 

 

 

Ed stops by to check up on stuff...

And then I am off to drop off Millie at Julie's while I drive to Chicago to pick up Primrose for Grandma Camp.

I have an afternoon and evening with the young family and it is just so good to be with them!

 

(my daughter is baking a clafoutis for dessert)

 

 

 (dad with a workbook and Juniper)

 

 

I ask Primrose to put together a playlist for the car ride back to Wisconsin. She takes my phone, moves her thumbs around quickly. and only toward the end does she ask her mom for some titles they like to listen to that she may have forgotten.

 

  

 

Take-out Thai for dinner, followed by the clafoutis.

 

 

 

After dinner, we watch an episode of Juniper's favorite show these days, Is It Cake? Humor is contagious. 

 

 

Funny how a mood can be helped by a few hours of this -- just being here, with the girls, their parents, the clafoutis...

I Uber down to my hotel for the night. Same one, in I swear, the same room, with the same city view.

 

 

with so much love...