It can be a struggle to get through the second half of the day.
It’s Memorial Day in the US, a federal holiday ostensibly set aside for honoring those who died while serving in the Armed Forces. But it’s really the unofficial start of summer, first backyard bbq’s, pools opening, family vacations and SALES!
But this year there will be no parades, no large gatherings, no public pools, no camping, no veterans handing out poppies. But you can still shop, drink, and grill out. But please, take a moment at 3 pm to remember our fallen military personnel.
Let’s talk about summer kick off traditions and adapting them to the new normal.
Hot time, summer in the city… wait… it’s not even June!
It’s 30C with 36C humidex in the GTA (86 degrees with 97 degree humidex for those in US Amercia.)
Dang, It’s 88 here. What’s the point of living in the North if you’re going to have that kind of weather? Of course your Prime Minister isn’t trying to kill you so there is that.
I’m remembering absent friends this Memorial Day
Karen says PLAY AMERICAN MUSIC!
fine… *plays american music*
Right album, wrong song!
tbh i like the whole album
i just picked one
Perfect response.
Karen Strikes Again
Karen has way too much time on her hands, get a job Karen!
“Happy Memorial Day!”
-your president
This is the same guy who congratulated himself on all the Covid deaths. SMDH
I’ll be working at the grocery store later today.
Looking forward to the hours, tbh, after taking a MH day on Saturday, because I was just so wiped out after wearing my mask the previous two days. (On the one hand, YAY for the fact that my homemade mask is tight to my face & effective!😁 Otoh, boooo for feeling like I’m fighting altitude acclimation!🙃)
What’s got me… bothered? (Frustrated?),is the following essay–feel free to TL/DR😉💖
Today I took Lil out for her morning short walk, and… the middle of the walk DID NOT go well.
As we walked up the street across from our building, we heard a small dog begin barking like crazy. Just a couple seconds later, an ADORABLE big ivory lab (maybe pitty cross?) turned the corner, saw Lil, and began pulllllling on it’s leash, wagging it’s tail, trying to come over & play. Lily began pulling toward the lab, barking and wagging *her* tail, too, but I started across the street with her, because we’ve been through the routine too many times now, where Lil goes from “ZOMG FRIEND!!!!” to “OH HELL NO, you did NOT just step between me and my hooman!” In 1.5 seconds.
I know her, and I KNOW she’s incredibly sweet towards people, but I ALSO know that she will and *does* resource-guard the hell out of me nowadays, so it’s just safer for *the other dog* if I keep Lily away from them. She hasn’t attacked another dog, but she DOES get aggressive toward them, as soon as she thinks they’re getting too close…
The poor woman walking the other lab was like “My dog is friendly!” And I tried to explain that it was LIL who I didn’t trust–that she’s 11 and her vision is going…
And that’s when the young woman up on one of the balconies started screaming at me, for “abusing your dog!”
Because I was literally having to haul Lil across the street, because she was soooo keyed up & excited by all the barking (started by the little dog, who *probably* belonged to the woman who was screaming from the balcony🙃).
I ended up using Lily’s harness “like a briefcase,”** in order to get her all the way across the street–woman above still yelling after me about how I was a terrible person, and my dog deserves a better owner.
Once I hot Lil around the corner, and out of sight of the other dog, she calmed immediately (just a bit of pranciness–like she ALWAYS does🙄🤪), and she went potty.
It’s just frustrating, you know?
To KNOW your dog well, and to know *exactly what you need to do to care for her & calm her in any given situation, and then to have to deal with someone screaming obscenities at you, because *their* little dog is poorly-trained enough, that it barks at EVERYONE on the street below (especially dogs!)🙃
It’s SO frustrating, knowing that if *that chick* would bother to train HER dog properly, MY dog could just go out, go potty, and come back in without incident, and NOT need to be hauled physically across the street,when she sees the second dog, after having been riled by the “invisible to her” first.
Frustrating, too, because I try to be SO careful when I walk Lil. She NEVER goes out, with just a collar, she’s ALWAYS in a harness outside the apartment. I watch carefully, and cross the street whenever possible, if I see another dog within a half-block of us.
I also distract Lil with verbal praise & treats,so that she KNOWS the command “Just Walk/We Walk” means “ignore the other dog & walk with my human now.”
She’s a VERY good girl.
But she’s *also* a senior citizen in dog-years now. She DOESN’T see as well. She doesn’t smell as well. And she sees *me* as her primary resource.
And because she’s old, and she DOES get tongue-hanging-out pant-ish when it’s hot on our walks, I also don’t want to muzzle her, because I SHOULDN’T have to. I *do* pay attention, I *do* watch for others, and I try to keep both Lil and the other dogs we encounter completely safe.
**the term my male roommate uses,for how he’s literally had to pick her up & carry her away from another dog before
Yeah, it’s basically the same thing with shitty parents and their brat kids. The kids/dogs don’t know any better, but the adults damned sure do and because they’ve decided to have kids/dogs with no manners, they insist that the rest of us are somehow monsters for making sure our kids/dogs do have manners. Fuck ’em all.
It shouldn’t have to be so difficult to just walk your dog! It annoys me when people want to stop visit with their dog when I’m walking Fanny. 1 there’s a killer virus out their folks, I’m not interested in chatting with strangers. 2 If I want my dog to play I’ll take her to the park.
All dogs should be as abused as Lil!
We gardened (well Keitel did), I did work for 3 hours so that tomorrow wouldn’t suck, made cocktails, and chilled. Not a bad day. Sent silent appreciation to those who served, including some relatives who served in the revolutionary war. Wouldn’t they be aghast at the current leadership!?
Also did some light gardening, but mostly watched a couple of movies because I so rarely get a chance to just sit and do nothing.
Whenever I start to think about how the “founding fathers” would be so shocked at our current leadership, I am reminded of the presidential campaign between Madison and Jefferson, when Madison was accused of pimping out his wife, Dolly; and then I realize we’re just coming full circle in some ways. Spend some time reading about Andrew Johnson and you’ll swear you were reading about Trump.
Holy cow, I never heard that about Madison. Jefferson was horrible to his friend Adams during his campaign. I’m rethinking my comment to Ellie.
The founding fathers are turning in their graves!
welp…looks like im sticking to me summer start up tradition of being broke… broker than normal actually…usually by now im starting to recover from all the bigly bills that arrive in the first few months of the year but not this year…
this new normal is starting to look kinda like the old normal… but with longer lines everywhere…and much more expensive
also the counties are already saying they’re going to have to increase taxes coz rona dried up the funds….
yeah… im just fucking shocked i’ll be getting the bill for that too
*sigh*
We normally have a cook out on Memorial Day, but obviously not this year. And I miss having a swimming pool like we did at our last house. It’s looking like a long hot st.