Separation Anxiety

 I recently saw an alleged professional pet trainer (I say alleged because his own dog wasn't following his commands, so kind of suspicious if you ask me) talk about all the pets that have been adopted since the pandemic broke out and wanted to offer ways to make the transition from you being home 24/7 to you going back to work.  He suggested some things that I personally thought were cruel but that's kind of a sidebar to the point I want to make here.

 

I started watching Oreo just over two years ago and he's lived here full time almost a year and a half now.  Before I started watching him he was crated anywhere from 12-20 hours a day, if not more.  Before he came to live here full time I tried to plan all my activities for when he wasn't here so he rarely was crated here and rarer still for any length of time.  He came to live with me right before the pandemic hit.  I was sick for more than a month before the world shut down so I was home 24/7 then.  Then when the world shut down I couldn't volunteer, even when I recovered so more 24/7 "quality" time with Oreo.

 

I'm immunocompromised and have underlying health issues that put me in a high risk category so I've continued to live in my bubble.  I'm quite comfortable with curbside grocery delivery now.  I don't have to leave home often or for very long which suits me just fine.  I thought it also suited Oreo just fine . . . until recently.

Up until recently Oreo tolerated me cooking or cleaning (although less so cleaning - no healthy snacks when I clean!) but literally had to be touching me when he was resting, napping or full on sleeping.  He likes to burrow under blankets or throws and snuggle.  If I move, he moves. 

 

But recently I have woken up in the morning several times to find he's not next to me.  I'll find him at the foot of the bed (under the covers) on the other side of the bed.  I thought maybe it was that I was tossing and turning in bed but now I don't know.

 

He started napping on the dog bed in the living room.  I recently opened the bedroom door and he's been going in there to rest and nap during the day.  Earlier today he left my side to go nap on the other sofa. When I sat down next to him (so I could work on my laptop), I swear there was an audible sigh and he got up and moved!

 

So, bottom line, there is some serious separation anxiety going on at my house but it seems to be being experienced by ME and NOT Oreo!  

 

Where's the professional trainer for THAT?????

 

 

Recipe Modifications

 For those of you that don't know (and why would you?) I have another blog where I post recipes I've created or in some cases modified an existing recipe to meet my dietary "desires" or based on what I have available in my kitchen and pantry!

 

Anyway, I have this cookbook that has a ton of scrumptious recipes and one of my favorites is one called "Edamame-Avo Pasta".  In this recipe the pasta isn't clearly defined so I've always used spaghetti noodles for it.  The edamame and avocado (along with some other ingredients blended with them) make the "sauce".

 

Well, I had some black beans and a bell pepper I needed to use so I "tweaked" the recipe accordingly.  As for the bell pepper, there's a reason it wasn't included in the original recipe.  It wasn't horrible but I definitely won't be making that adjustment again!

But then there comes the black beans.  The taste of the sauce was still quite good, I didn't really notice much (if any) difference from the edamame sauce.  However, this combination for the sauce resulted in the sauce looking like something you mind find in a baby's diaper.  Yeah, not at all appetizing to look at!  So again, not likely a change I will make in the recipe going forward!  Still good, just not appetizing to look at.

I did also change out the pasta and used elbow macaroni just to mix it up.  I have spaghetti noodles on hand but opted not to use them this time around.  There was no issue there - I might do that again when I make it in the future.

But I guess the moral of the story is, when creating (or modifying) a recipe, it's always good to consider how the finished product might look.  🥘

Leave the World Behind - Book Review

I mentioned this book a few posts ago and finished the book that night.

 

Despite the fact that the "action" ramped up after I made the post, my overall opinion did not change.  In my opinion it was very poorly written.  I didn't find a single character sympathetic.  Things were happening and the characters were theorizing what may be causing those things to happen and none of them ended well and the thing was, I didn't care if they all died.  I just didn't care.

So the story, Amanda, Clay and their two children, Archie and Rose are going on vacation.  They've rented a perfectly lovely home that's basically isolated from society.  They spend their first day enjoying the pool and buying enough groceries for their two week stay.

That night an older black couple (Amanda and her family are white) show up at the door claiming to be the owners and asking to stay there because there is a power outage in New York and they live on the fourteenth floor and couldn't do the stairs.  Amanda is suspicious but Clay invites them in.  Despite them having keys to desks and knowing where things are in the house, Amanda continues to be suspicious.

Here's the thing, they decided that the New York blackout had to be something nefarious - it couldn't be anything else because no one ever loses power anywhere (if you couldn't hear it, that was heavy sarcasm with an eyeroll!).

The next day they lose cable and internet, which clearly means terrorists were involved (more sarcasm and eyerolling).  Plus, none of them trust each other.

Oh, and I have to mention the dynamic of the two women Amanda and Ruth (the black woman).  Amanda felt that Ruth and George (her husband) were intruding on their turf (Amanda was already thinking of the home as hers, even though she'd been there less than 24 hours!), while Ruth was put out that they left dishes in the sink and didn't make the beds, being disrespectful of her, since it was her house.  Amanda had paid to stay there and if Ruth had issues with how they'd treat the house, why rent it out?  

Plus, it comes out that George has tens of thousands of dollars in the house - you know, in case of an apocalypse or something (sarcasm / eyeroll).  Why would someone leave that kind of cash in a house they're renting out?  Why would they expect it would still be there when the guests leave?  I had a hard time suspending disbelief with this - and many other things.

 

What I've just told you takes up two-thirds of the book.  Right after that, there is a loud boom that is described as being so loud it can't be described (seriously, that was the description!).  At that point a bunch of odd things start happening to the point that if the terrorist talk started there, I might be buying into it but it started WAY earlier.

 

One of the reviews I pointed to in the previous post said that the author doesn't answer all the questions you may have.  Um, he didn't answer any of them but I didn't care because I didn't care who lived or died from fairly early on because the author did not develop the characters or make them sympathetic or even likeable.

 

And he head hopped constantly. And it wasn't just head hopping - he scene hopped constantly - within a since scene!  Very poorly written - very poorly written!

 

Bottom line, I thought it was a bad book and wouldn't recommend it.  The person whose review said it was the best book they'd read in 2020 - well, all I can say is it must've been the ONLY book they read or else they need to share the drugs they took while they read it.

 

I give it a minus eight stars!!!!

Royal Dreams

 I usually don't remember my dreams so that I'm remembering so many lately isn't typical.  But I had an interesting one last night.

 

I dreamed I was at some event.  It was somewhat casual - not jeans and t-shirt casual but also not designer gown either.  I was walking through areas that looked to be under construction and decided to sit at a dining table.  I didn't sit at the head of the table but I sat next to the head of the table seat.  No one else was at the table yet.

Then I realize, the Queen of England is headed right towards me and sits at the head of the table next to me!  I greet her saying something with the "your royal highness" or something in it.  At first I wasn't going to say anything else because I didn't think we were allowed to speak to her unless spoken to first but I couldn't stand it and I finally leaned in and said I was so sorry to hear about Phillip.  It was loud in the room so she indicated she wanted me to repeat what I'd said.  She leaned in and put her arm around my back.  I brought my arm around her and then remembered how Michelle Obama got ripped apart for doing something similar during a visit so I pulled my hand back.

I repeated what I'd said and she started to ask something that I interpreted as her asking if I'd lost anyone and I started rambling about how I was married for eight years but got a divorce and how it wasn't exactly the same thing.  She was kind and said it was still a loss.

She spent a good while amiably chatting with me - very kind, very present.  When we got up to leave the table, I asked for a hug!  And she hugged me!

I woke up thinking I had violated so many protocols!  But also that she seemed just so kind and giving.  It was a nice type of dream.

There was another part of the dream with a man who reminded me of Chris Noth as Mr. Big in Sex and the City.  He was kind of detached and left me wondering why he was in my life.  That's all I really remember about his role in the dream.  

Clearly the Queen leaves a better impression.  👑

Miscellaneous

 I was looking at my blog and the number of posts I've made recently.  It's been a goal of mine to get back into blogging for a while now.  So, what I noticed is that I've posted more entries this year than I have each year - for the whole year - for the last ten years!  So, blogging more?  Check!  ✅

 

I thought today was national pet day but apparently that was yesterday.  I may have missed the day to recognize or celebrate it but if you knew how things are in my house, you'd know that every day is pet day.  Ha!  🐶

I recently discovered a new show.  It's actually one I watched early on when it first started airing.  At the time I didn't care for it so was surprised when it kept being picked up for new seasons.  But recently they started airing the shows on Nick At Nite and so I would catch episodes unintentionally.  Next thing you know, I'm binge watching the show on HBO Max.  The show?  Young Sheldon!  I'm not sure what I saw to make me think it wouldn't be good but I think it's hysterical!  Gotta love that family!  

And speaking of Sheldon, I dreamed last night that he got elected president.  There's an episode where he runs for class president and (spoiler alert!) he wins.  I guess it's possible that was on in the background while I was sleeping and it seeped into my dream.  I don't recall anything else from the dream other than he ran and won, but it seems like dogs were involved, I just don't remember how.  😕

I'm reading a book that was reviewed here (and includes another review of the same book that can be found here).  The name of the book is Leave the World Behind.  I borrowed an e-copy of the book from my library and am slightly more than fifty percent of the way through, it's due in a couple of days and I'm not sure I'm going to be finished reading it by then.  The problem is, I'm personally not liking it.  I don't think it's well written.  I don't think the conclusions that are being jumped to are realistic.  The writing is bothering me more than anything.  In one chapter I noted that in five paragraphs the author had jumped into four of the character's heads.  The character that got two paragraphs didn't have consecutive paragraphs either.  And not all the characters were in the same room or area of the head hopping incident.  And that occurs a lot in this book!  The author even jumps into heads of unnamed, not part of the storyline, character's heads.  I keep reading because I keep thinking it's got to get better, particularly if it's been reviewed twice on a platform I frequent and reviews are typically positive.  I also want to see how it ends.  I want to see what the author does to finish this story. Although, in fairness, making the reader want to see what happens next is part of the plan, right?  But this author is making that very challenging for me and making me unsure I will finish before the library calls it back!  📖

And lastly, I'm scheduled to get the first shot of the vaccine this weekend.  I've been nervous about getting the vaccine but I'm so ready to have things return to some sort of normalcy and I hope this gives me some confidence that it can. One thing I do know, I will continue to wear a mask, probably for a long time to come!  😷💉

Emotional Walks

 As I've mentioned here, I walk Oreo every day.  Several months ago I took him for two walks a day for two or three days - and then he decided that was our new routine so I was walking him twice a day for a while.  It's hot here so I've been trying to "re-train" him to only be walked once a day.  When I was walking him twice a day he would occasionally ask for a third walk but the ask was half-hearted.  If I didn't immediately respond, he would give up.  But during that time, he would not give up for that second walk - no matter what!

 

So, I've been working on getting him to give up on the second walk ask recently.  It's getting better but he hangs on longer with the ask than he did when he asked for the third walk but less than he was asking for the second walk, when it was part of our routine.

 

But, it's very touchy.  One second walk and suddenly the asks get longer.  Truth told, he usually gives up right before I would've given in if he hadn't given up.  But don't tell him that - it's a secret!  😁

Anyway, I did something yesterday that made me a little anxious and I needed to burn off some nervous energy.  I was pacing the floor in my living room and decided I'd give Oreo that second walk, even though he hadn't asked for it yet.

And the thing with Oreo is, he doesn't look that gift horse in the mouth, he's just like "do I want to go on a walk?  are you kidding me?  Let's do this baby!" and he's good to go.

So I took him on this extended walk.  He enjoyed it, I burned off some anxious energy and we were both happier than we had been before the walk.

But it reminded me of a time before he was living here full time.  Oreo came from my neighbors.  I offered to start watching him two years ago - as soon as I learned of his existence.  I fell in love almost instantly and I think the feeling was mutual.  He's been here full time for almost a year and a half now.  But, before that happened, I would have to be up, dressed and ready to get him at a time they specified (and rarely met themselves), and have him until they got home.  Thing was, if she decided to go out after work, she did and she wouldn't mention anything to me at all.  Then fairly frequently, I'd get texts late at night asking if Oreo could spend the night.  Sometimes I wouldn't hear from her at all, although that was less frequent.  She never considered how that impacted me.  What if I had plans?  What if I wanted to go somewhere?  I really couldn't plan because I never knew when she'd get home and want her dog.  It became an issue and we talked about it on multiple occasions but it still continued to happen.  I was happy to keep Oreo here and make him mine but let me know that's what's going on, don't just leave him here holding me hostage.  It drove me nuts.

On one such occasion I was livid when she contacted me.  I needed to burn some energy so I decided I'd take Oreo on a walk.  And Oreo was game, as always.  The difference was, I was walking angry and for probably the only time ever, I was basically dragging him behind me.  I wasn't interested in a leisurely walk where he stopped and sniffed every tree, branch, pole or whatever else might have a scent he wanted to check out - I needed to get this energy OUT!  

 

Thinking about that yesterday made me laugh.  Poor little guy was happy to be being walk but also I'm sure he was confused.

So I guess emotional walking should be done with care, if you're walking with your four legged friend.  🦮

Book Review Club - April 2021

This month I will be reviewing Black Widows by Cate Quinn.  I have a confession to make, I have NO idea where I heard about this book.  I thought it might be another GMA book club recommendation but a quick look at their page for that and I don't see it there.  I looked to see if it another reviewer had recommended the book but I don't see it there either, so I really have no idea.  I just know that I apparently requested it from my library and checked it out when it became available.  So, wherever the recommendation came from, I'm glad it came.

 

With that said, Black Widows is a story about Blake Nelson and the sister wives he has as part of his belief that polygamy is acceptable, according to the Latter Day Saints religion.  

The book is written from the perspective of Blake's three wives, Rachel, Emily and Tina.  Blake has been found murdered and his body mutilated and the police suspect one of his wives of committing the crime.  There's always been a bit of jealousy and distrust among the wives, and Blake has seemed to encourage that - he seemed to like them fighting over him - and that is perceived as motive.

When the police focus in on the women, they pull together - to an extent - but still don't trust each other.  They're each wondering if they're trusting / protecting a killer or if maybe they've blocked the event from their memory because maybe they're actually the killer.

I loved the way the author told the story and revealed the characters, kind of like peeling away the layers of an onion, as they say.  The story itself was a bit intense and I have to say, I took the story with me to bed and had a weird dream about it while I was still reading the book but I still enjoyed the book.  I didn't want to put it down.  I did reach a point where I had a suspicion of who the killer was and it turned out I was right.  That very rarely happens and I will say, even after I reached that point, there were points where I was thinking it had to be someone else.

Something else I found interesting is that at the end of the book, there was a link to find out just how much of the book was based on fact.  As it turns out, a lot was based on Warren Jeffs and the Yearning for Zion Ranch raid from 2008.  The author apparently toned a few things down from that because she didn't think it would be believable or authentic in her story.  Kind of fascinating.  

Anyway, to whoever made this book show up in my library requests - thank you! - I enjoyed it and recommend it!

Now, for more reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

More Dreams

 I had another odd dream last night.  My mother was alive in this dream and I had a relationship with at least one of my sisters.

 

I have a step brother whose first wife remained friends with our family up until my mother's death.  It's not like we wrote her off then, we just lost touch.  But, she had been in my wedding - which occurred only a few weeks after her ex-husband married his second wife - my step brother didn't attend my wedding.  That's a little background on the players of the dream.

In the dream, my mother, sister and I were all at my mother's house.  Nancy (the first wife of the step brother) would (in the dream - not real life, as far as I know) do estate sale type of organization, mostly with clothes, for a percentage of the take of items sold.  She was good at it.

Well Vanessa Marcil decided to clean her closets (which weirdly were in my mother's house) and my mother asked Nancy to help out.  She said she couldn't help but still wanted a cut of the sales.  I thought that was nuts.  I tried to work it out with my sister and suggested that we do the work and tell Nancy that there wasn't anything to sell but my mother wouldn't allow us to "cheat" Nancy.

Nancy showed up - before we'd done any work - and I told her I didn't think it was fair that we do the work and she expected a cut.  She was sitting in an armchair with her legs hanging over the arm and eating ice cream or something like that and after some thought responded, "tough!"  I was just stunned by her position and behavior on the matter and I think that's when I woke up.  It was weird.

I think I had another dream that involved dogs but I just told you everything I remember from it.  😆