Another escape to the beach

Dogs … everywhere you looked, there were dogs.

Big dogs, little dogs … sometimes little dogs with big dogs … and when one dog saw another dog, they had to come together for a confab or a chase.

Lots were on leashes, but lots weren’t. That usually annoys me — large, jumpy dogs make me antsy and therefore don’t like when they’re running around loose — but everyone looked like they were having fun and I was in too good of a mood to complain.

The week gone by — May 9

Dear JetBlue,

I know you’ve been trying to reach me a lot lately, and that’s fine. I don’t mind.

And … yes, I know I should have gotten back to you sooner, but I honestly wasn’t really sure what to say.

Every problem deserves a good solution

Suzi had a problem.

She had a bunch of apples that had just about reached the end of the line.

Her solution? Apple crisp.

The week gone by — May 2 (and a bit of a challenge)

There’s a park near where I live that was just a big empty field until the town built a playground in one corner.

The playground made it hard to play any games in the rest of the park — it used to be popular for cricket — but there was a volleyball tournament going on when Suzi and I walked by yesterday.

It looks like there are going to be events every weekend, but would that have been possible even a month ago?

Maybe I’m not as ready as I thought

I woke up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed … and pretty much stayed there all day.

Our regular Wednesday trail walk did a little for my mood — when I wasn’t rolling up my sleeves and then pushing them down because I was alternately too hot or too cold — but it didn’t last very long.

I was moody, crabby, irritable, cranky … whatever words you like for someone who’s just a pain to be around.

The week gone by — April 25

It somehow slipped through the cracks that Sasha was out of her canned cat food, so I went to the store.

I made sure to get the sliced poultry and beef and not the pate, because she hates the pate.

They didn’t have the extra gravy that she likes, so I grabbed a 24-pack and noticed something interesting as I turned it over.

A matter of respect

A man came jogging toward Suzi and me as we were walking a trail the other day.

Like we always do, we reached for our masks, but as he approached, he told us not to worry about it.

Although his mask was doing a wonderful impression of a chinstrap, his tone didn’t give off an anti-mask vibe, more that he’d be past us by the time we got them on.

Mine was up to my face by that point, so I just held it there.

One shot down, one to go

Her name was Erin.

As Erin pulled the needle out of the box and put on her rubber gloves, I had the same thought as after the attendant pointed down the aisle toward her table, only more intensely.

”Oh wow … this is actually happening.”

Maybe … that’s ‘normal’ in the distance

Looking at the beer list over our head — the one that started with “Get Maxxinated!” — Suzi said she found the one for me, which is interesting, since I don’t drink.

”Passionately Sour.”

After an excellent lunch of chicken schnitzel and mashed potatoes, I had my mask on since we were about to leave, but my mouth didn’t need to be visible for Suzi to see what I thought of her suggestion.

The week gone by — April 18

Every spring, the buds start to appear on the branches of our magnolia tree before sprouting into full, pink-and-white blossoms above the deck, outside our upstairs bedroom window and over part of our lawn.

It’s not a small tree, so there’s a lot of pink and white.

And the other day, snow was hanging off the blossoms.