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.  😆

Dreams

 Last night I had a dream that I believe was inspired by a book I'm reading - Black Widows by Cate Quinn.

 

In the book a man named Blake Nelson is part of the Latter Day Saints and believes polygamy is not only allowed, but expected.  In the book, Blake has been killed and the police believe one of his wives killed him.

 

In my dream, Blake is still very much alive.  In fact, he's trying to recruit me to be one of his wives.  He's promised me that I can be the "head wife" if I marry him.  I'm not interested in being one of many wives but the police believe he has done some bad things so they want me to play along to try to get some dirt on him they can use against him.  But they tell me to be very careful because if he realizes what I'm doing, he will kill me.

 

I also get warned that if I string him along and then reject him and people know I've rejected him, he could also kill me for that.  Real incentive type stuff to make me want to go along with their plans, right?  Uh, NO!

 

But along comes another woman who desperately wants to become one of Blake's wives and she's trying to persuade me to use my influence on him to marry her as well.  She's not interested in being the head wife or anything, just one of the many.  I try to explain I don't really have any influence over him but she keeps begging me so I tell her I'll do what I can, just to get rid of her.

Meanwhile, I get word that the other sister wives are upset that Blake has promised me the role of head wife if I agree to marry him.  They're plotting my murder in case I agree to marry him and take that role.

The police have promised to place me in a witness relocation program if I go along with them but I'm worried how safe I will be with so many people plotting my death.

As I'm thinking about all of this, another male from the Latter Day Saints approaches me.  He's intrigued that I might not want to marry Blake, who he has on a pedestal.  To him, that makes me all the more appealing.  He asks if I don't agree to marry Blake, will I consider marrying him?  I would be his first wife so that would make me the head wife, should he decide to take other wives in the future.  I'm not interested but I don't want to say that outright so I just say I'll consider it and walk away.

All this was weighing on me and I woke up.

So, the book is a bit intense and apparently carried over to my dreams, in a very weird way.  But it's interesting too.  I'd say more about it but it likely will be my book pick for our next book review club meeting, which I think is next week! 

Off to read more of the book so I have something to review!  😉

Security Measures

 A week or two ago I went to take Oreo for a walk.  We go out through the garage when we walk, this is our routine.

 

When I opened the door into the garage, the garage door was open.  This was kind of alarming to me because the last time I'd gone through it had been about eighteen hours before, meaning it was likely open overnight.  My last garage door opener would randomly open the garage door.  I'd come home from work and it would be open.  I'd get up in the morning, it would be open.  My dogs would run to the door to greet me when they heard the garage door open.  One night I was sitting in the living room and suddenly the garage door opened and the dogs perked up, looked at me, then each other and decided to run to the door - even though I was home - because apparently we were having an unexpected guest.  After that incident, I would shut off the power to the garage door opener when I was home.  (My new garage door opener has a battery back up so I don't think that would help in this situation.)

 

Then two years ago it wouldn't close and started smoking so I replaced it.  The guy who installed the new one said when the engine goes out, that's what happens - it will open randomly.  So there is a part of me that worries that's what happened recently (a few days later I went to close it and it stopped halfway through and opened up again).  The day this happened though, I can see where I would've been distracted and forgotten to close the garage door and my hope is that's all it was.

 

But here's the deal:

 

The door hinges to the door leading to the garage are on the garage side of the door.  This has actually come in handy before, when I've locked myself out of the house (more than a few times, unfortunately).  So that's always a concern when the garage door is left open.  But, because I have locked myself out so many times, I started keeping a key in my garage.  It was in plain view of the door.  If someone had decided to try to get in, the key was right there. 

But it gets even better.  The door wasn't even locked!  All anyone had to do was walk into my garage and walk right into my house.

What I'm saying here is, it's lucky I guess I'm still alive! It's not the opportunity wasn't there for someone!  Ha!

Garage Sale

The other day I was walking Oreo and saw that someone in my neighborhood was advertising for a garage sale to occur this past Saturday.  I made a mental note that I wanted to stop by and check it out and then promptly forgot about.

 

Then Saturday I was walking Oreo again and we had taken a path that took us right by that house.  As I walked by, aside from a pair of gorgeous high heel shoes, nothing jumped out at me.  I don't wear heels anymore so I didn't even slow down my walk.  

 

But someone called out to me and asked me to stop by, so I did.  They were talking fast and really trying to sell me some stuff.  

 

They got my attention when they said they had a bike.  I've been considering buying a bike to ride around the neighborhood.  I can't remember if I asked or if she just told me what they were asking but it was higher than I thought a garage sale bike should sell for.  (It's worth noting that a look online after I got home proved that I could buy a new bike for only slightly more than they were asking for a used one.)

Then she said she had a stationary bike.  Again, something I've considered buying myself.  They were only asking $10 less than the bike but wanted to be sure I knew, the part of the stationary bike that times you, clocks how far and how fast you're pedaling was broken.  Hard pass on that one!

She showed me some "cabinets" that were basically painted boxes with drawers.  Not what I was looking for.

Next, she offered me a flat screen TV.  It doesn't work but she suggested I could sell it for parts.  Seriously?  Why would I buy something from her just so I could sell it? And for parts, no less.  She pointed out what she said were laptops (by this point I was just trying to get away so I didn't really look to confirm what they were).  She said they all worked - except for the monitors.  Really?

But the thing that took the cake for me was when she offered to sell me a used dog bone for Oreo.  A used dog bone!  Not a toy.  One of those chew bones.

Wow.  Just wow!

I left without being interested in anything but the shoes I wouldn't wear and annoyed that they were doing such a hard sales pitch on items that were broken or would only be good if I could sell them for parts.  Oh, and she actually had shoes out that only had one of the shoes available.  I thought I was only seeing one shoe on a few pairs but I hadn't looked that hard but she told me some were missing the pair - if I were interested, they'd try to find its match!

But after I thought about it, the fact that they were selling things that were literally of no value to anyone on the planet (not even them) and doing so so "enthusiastically", I have to wonder if they are experiencing financial hardships.  Times are tough right now for everyone and sometimes you just have to do things you wouldn't normally otherwise do.  It made me want to go back and make some sort of donation to their cause.  

No, I didn't go back but they said things that suggested they may be holding the sale for an extended period of time so it's possible I could still buy something.  I could always get those gorgeous shoes and keep them with other pairs I have, that I also never wear.  They were that pretty.

Buying a new car

My next door neighbor moved in roughly fifteen years ago.  Over the years she's driven a few different cars.  In the past, when it's come up in conversation I've found that she's swapped cars with a family member - she's rarely in her own car, which my understanding has been what her mother drives.  They each make payments on the vehicle they own but they drive each other's car.  It's weird.  She's also driven her sister's cars at times.

 

Anyway, a month or two ago (who knows what day it is anymore?) I noticed she had been driving a new car again.  Not sure if it was another family member's car or not, I asked if she had gotten a new car.  She said she had.  (It wasn't a Bentley, I just like this picture but if I ever have the single winning lottery ticket paying out a billion or more dollars, I will own one!) 

She tells me that her engine died or something to that effect and says they wanted something like $9,000 to repair the car.  Now mind you, I don't know if her car died or if it was the car she was driving (which was her mother's) that died but she got a new car out of it.  And I have to say, with that costly of repairs looking at me, I probably would do the same thing.

But then she tells me her boyfriend also bought a new car recently.  I knew this because her boyfriend lives right down the street from us and I had noticed him driving a different car.  I didn't ask about him and I didn't ask why he got a new car but she offered the information anyway.  Are you ready for this?

His battery died and he didn't want to replace it!  I'm not even kidding!  Who buys a whole new car when their battery dies?  Seriously, I want names because that's just NUTS!

But after having some time to think about this, I realize that it really has nothing to do with his battery dying.  I think it has to do with his girlfriend getting a new car and him being too macho to drive in a vehicle older than hers.  I seriously believe that because, in my opinion, anyone who would buy a new car just because the battery died is someone who is too stupid to have a driver's license, much less drive a car.

Am I wrong? 

Robert Redford

 The other day my cable box was having an issue so I was forced to have a cable man out to my house to fix the problem.

 

He decided that my cable box needed to be replaced (turned out he was wrong) and he apparently reset my cloud recordings.  I lost over 100 shows (mostly movies) and the remaining shows and movies now have a very short shelf life, so I have been watching movies before they disappear forever (didn't start soon enough and lost some more anyway 😒).

 

Among the movies I've watched were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Candidate, both star Robert Redford.  And both were made when he was in his early to mid-thirties - young.  Thing is, he didn't look as young as he was.  

 

This is a photo from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (where they're on the cliff about to jump to get away from the posse that's after them).  He was 32 or 33 when this came out.  To me he looks much older than that.  Paul Newman was ten years older than Redford but Redford looked older than Newman.  I kept scrutinizing his face to see if I could imagine he was in his early 30s and I couldn't.  I believe it was this film he took his shirt off though and his physique fit a man in his early 30s but his face didn't.  

 

In fact, I felt like he looked like someone then that I could date now without drawing any attention to the huge age differences even though he's old enough to be my father!  And I don't feel like he's aged well either.  I feel like Paul Newman looked younger than he was up until he got sick with cancer.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like Robert Redford and think he's a talented actor.  It's just . . . I wonder, did he ever look young?

Minding My Own Business

So, I'm sitting in my living room minding my own business, reading a book a few nights ago.  The doggy door flap makes a sound and I look over.  Oreo is standing just inside the doggy door and something doesn't look right to me but I can't quite put my finger on what it is that is off.  Then, it dawns on me.  Oreo is curled up next to me with his body up against my leg, it's not him that I'm looking at at the doggy door.  I touch him next to me, just to be sure.  When I feel Oreo I have an intake of breath that startles the animal in my house, causing them to dart back out of the doggy door, while it awakens Oreo, alerting him to the fact that something is off.  The animal was a cat, a kitten even.

Oreo darted to the doggy door and I guess the cat was just outside because he wouldn't go out it but he was barking like he was in attack mode.  I went to go make sure the cat left my property and there's something about that that emboldens Oreo.  He darted out the back door past me but thankfully the cat was gone.

Here's the deal, I've lived in this house for 20 years this week.  I only lived here a few months when I got my first doggy door.  And, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time any animal that wasn't mine used the doggy door.  Well, except for Harley - that's how I met him.  But he was in the house when I got home from work one day, not entering when I'm relaxing at the end of the day.  Not to mention that he ended up being mine.  (That won't be the case with the cat.  Not because I don't like cats but because I don't think Oreo would do well with a cat in the house. Also, this cat looked healthy and well fed so I believe it has to belong to someone - possibly someone who also has a doggy door.)

The event scared the crap out of me.  But, I guess it's a good way to get your heart rate up, if that's what you want to do.  As a side note, I blocked off the doggy door for the night but Oreo still watched it like a hawk for hours after the event.  😸

Dressing up the Dog

 We've been having colder than usual weather lately (but nothing compared to what we're expecting in the next few days! Yikes!).  I had emailed some friends and told them the story of how I got all bundled up one morning to take Oreo for a walk.  He thrives in the cold.  The colder, the better.  Or at least that's how it seems.  So that particular day, he was so excited for the walk.  Couldn't wait for the walk.  Was impatient while I got ready.  

 

I make him wear a halti, which he doesn't like and fights me when I put it on.  I also have been timing our walks to log in on an app I use to count calories and my weight loss experience.  I started the timer and then went to put on his halti.  I mention this because I usually do the opposite - halti first because it takes so long.

 

Well, I got it on him and headed out for the walk.  We hadn't gotten far when he was barely keeping up and looking up at me.  He doesn't typically do this.  I asked what he wanted to do and he just looked at me.  So I continued the walk.  The second time I ask him if he wanted to go home and he literally jumped up, turned in mid-air and retreated back to the house.  

 

I take his halti off at the garage door and did so this day.  I came in and checked the timer - we had walked (including putting his halti on and taking it off) for all of three minutes and seventeen seconds!  It took me longer to get ready than the walk took!

 

Well, my friends gave me a bad time and I bought Oreo a jacket. I had to measure him to find one that would fit.  I started with "small" dogs "clothes".  His chest size was too big for the largest offering but his neck fit the extra small offering!

I finally settled on the one pictured.  I tried it on him and I think it's too big for him. He didn't want to move in it.  I kind of forced him to the other day and he came around somewhat in that we took a walk.  It was a much shorter walk, taken at a much slower pace, but we took a walk.

Once he got into it though, he decided to urinate on poles, as male dogs do.  But he couldn't figure it out so he didn't.  It was actually kind of funny to watch.

The front part wouldn't stay zipped though.  I'm not sure why.  I haven't tried it since.

But I imagine if I take him for a walk over the next few days, we'll give it another shot.  😉

It's worth noting that the day we took the three minute walk, as I took off the halti, I said to him "I get credit for this walk!"  And he must have agreed because he didn't ask for another one that day. 

Book Review Club - February 2021

 

This month I will be reviewing You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

 

 You Should Have Known is a story centered around Grace, a psychiatrist who specializes in couples counseling.  She has written a book about it, also called "You Should Have Known" targeted for women in bad relationships and pointing out all the ways they missed the clues as to why they find themselves in bad and abusive relationships.  Her book is about to be released and her publicist is booking her on shows like the Today show and The View and she's very excited about it.

Grace is married to a pediatric oncologist, Jonathan, who works at Sloan Kettering in New York.  They have a son, Henry, who goes to a prestigious private school.  Their life seems perfect.

That is until a mother of another student at the private school, who also served on a planning committee for a fundraiser, gets murdered after the fundraiser.  Jonathan left after the fundraiser to go to a conference in Cleveland or Chicago - Grace can't remember exactly where and left his phone behind so Grace is unable to reach him to talk about what is going on.

But as details about the murder come out, Grace starts learning things about Jonathan that she never suspected.  Turns out he was having an affair with the murdered mother and is a prime suspect.  Suddenly she starts wondering about the book coming out and if she's really qualified to have written it if she's so in the dark about her own husband.

There's a lot of suspense and in depth detail about the relationship, how they met and things that Grace comes to realize as things are exposed about her husband.  The ending is one that kind of leaves the "what happens next" up to the reader's imagination, in a satisfying way though.

Now, having said all that, You Should Have Known was the basis of the HBO series THE UNDOING.  I watched the series, read the book and then watched the series again.  So, here's the thing about the two "stories".  The series doesn't mention anything about Grace's book.  Also, the hospital Jonathan works at isn't Sloan Kettering.  But the biggest change is that, aside from a couple of scenes, the entire book is covered in the first two episodes of the series.  Episodes 3-6 come from the imagination of David E Kelley, who is great with this type of story.  The series also ends on a note where the viewer gets to determine what happens next, also in a satisfying way, as well.

Both are good stories and worth the time and energy to watch and read - and I would recommend both.  As a side note, Hugh Grant plays Jonathan in the HBO show and, in my opinion, it is - by far - his best work!  Very compelling.  Very unexpected.  Excellent acting.  If you have the opportunity, I recommend watching it, just to see what an amazing job he does in this role.  Anyway . . .

 

For more book reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

February 2021 Book Club Review

 Last night I finished a book and thought I'd review it now, since we have some time before our next meeting.  😀

 

As a surprising number of my book reviews have been lately, this is also a GMA book club recommendation.  I confess, I order these books without any idea of what they're about because I've enjoyed so many of their recommendations.  In fact, I was on my library's website this morning waiting for them to announce February's book so I could request the library order it, in hopes I'd be one of the first to have the opportunity to read it.

That all said, the book I'm reviewing here is The Push by Ashley Audrain.  I was under the impression, for some unknown reason, that it was a book about two women.  One who wanted to be a mother but wasn't and one who was a mother but didn't want to be.  That's not the case though.

Also, there was talk about the "jaw dropping" four last words of the book.  I think "shocking" and "chilling" may have also been used to describe those four final words.  And without giving anything away, I will say the adjectives used to describe the last words of the book do indeed apply.  However, if you go immediately to the end of the book and read those words first, you'll be wondering what the heck all the fuss was about.  You have to read everything up to that to put it into context and for it to have that impact on you.  It's not like it's a murder mystery and the last four words are "the butler did it".  Just saying.

But back to the "meat" of the book.  It's a book about Blythe Conner and her journey.  I think the best way to describe it is that it's a narration by Blythe about what she went through.  She's written it all down for her ex-husband telling "her side" of the story.  So it's (mostly) told in first person point of view as if she's talking to her ex ("you came home from work" "you stepped out of the shower" that sort of thing).

There's a lot of early reference to her mother, Cecilia, in a "we don't talk about her" kind of way, and that Blythe is not like her mother.  You learn, through periodic non-Blythe narrated chapters, that Cecilia wasn't a good mother.  You also learn that Etta, Cecilia's mother, was also not a good mother.  So you kind of understand why Blythe might be concerned that maybe there was something wrong with her when it comes to the mothering gene.

 

But it's not like she didn't see good examples of good mothering.  Mrs. Ellington, her next door neighbor was a good mother and helped take care of Blythe when she was growing up.  Also, her mother-in-law, Helen, was caring and nurturing towards her too.  But Blythe couldn't get past feeling maybe she was lacking in some way.

And when things start happening, of course everyone thinks it's Blythe.  They all exchange "knowing" looks. Poor Blythe, bad childhood, etc. etc.  Until they reach the breaking point and Blythe feels like she's in this all on her own.

I don't want to go into too much more detail because I think it would give too much away.  But I will say this, I came away with some thoughts on messaging from the book.  They're probably unintended takeaways but they are takeaways all the same.  

They include (but not necessarily limited to): relationships are fragile, hiding your fears and concerns from your loved ones rarely works out well, you can find family outside of people who share your DNA and, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.  Ha!

It was an odd little book but I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

For more book reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html or click on the icon below. 

Happy reading!

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@Barrie Summy

Kitchen Crash

The other day I posted about the show Supermarket Stakeout.  That's a cooking show on Food Network.  At times, not just during a pandemic, I get sucked into watching networks, not even particular shows, just the network.  And I think that's played a bit of a part in this post (and my new obsession) about another Food Network show, Kitchen Crash.

 

It's in season one.  The host is chef Jeff Mauro.  Jeff takes three chefs into a neighborhood and gives them ten minutes to "shop" at people's houses.  If they can convince the occupants of the home to give them all their food and groceries, they have a chance at splitting $10,000 with the chef. They want spices, drinks, meats - especially meats, fruits, vegetables, leftover - just anything they have that can be used in whatever challenges may be thrown at them.  

Meanwhile a mini-kitchen is set up for each of the contestant chefs.

Like other chef competitions on the Food Network, there are three rounds.  But since there are only three chefs competing, no one goes home in round one.  BUT, one chef will win the round and they get an advantage over the other two chefs in round two.  An example of an advantage given is the winner had the choice of taking away either the other two contestants' butter, oil or salt in one competition (she took away their salt).  Someone goes home after round two. And a winner is crowned after round three and the chef and the family who sacrificed their groceries split $10,000.

Now, it's worth noting something I wondered about and that they showed in one of their episodes - all the participating families are reimbursed for their groceries, which is good because who would want to have to replace them all when your chef didn't win?

It's all in good fun and everyone seems to enjoy it and now I'm hooked and have another show to watch.  I binged the entire show (three whole episodes at the time - four now, which I've also watched) so now I have to wait for episodes to air.

But there was one particular episode that had a funny start to it, if you will.  When they told the chefs they had ten minutes to get a family to give them their groceries, one took off running with a chef's knife in hand.  At the time I wasn't looking at the screen but thought of the saying "don't run with scissors" or whatever it is and didn't give it another thought. 

That is until the family that worked with him did a confessional type interview saying they were a bit freaked out when someone came to the door holding a knife and "demanding" their groceries.  Can you imagine?  Imagine something like this. 

  Plus, I think he's wearing his mask wrong.  😂

What are you watching?