TGIF, People

Notes on the week behind and the weekend ahead:

• Saturday: I was able to follow the spring opener of the Portland Timbers as it happened, because Dean was on hand to text me updates. Isn't he the cutest?
• Sunday: Painting day. A camera was hung in the tree next to the bear. It's a ting-tangle of a good idea because it forces you to make up a story about how it got there, but all in all, not my best work. When/if I decide it's done, I'll post it.
• Monday: I missed Dancing with the Stars. I hope Apolo did well.
• 24 is getting silly. er.
• I couldn't make it through Heroes. Too silly.
• Tuesday: I follow the teachings of doggy guru Cesar Millan. This means that my dogs walk to the park in a beeline, without stopping to sniff or dawdle. Cesar calls this "migrating mode," and its important for the dogs to learn so everybody gets their exercise without jerking me around. Once we get to the park, and I give them the "all clear," its sniffy-sniffy all you like. I went on a two-park circuit Tuesday morning. Annie didn't get around to pooing in the first park. So we are in "migrating mode," hoofing it to Park Number Two, and about twenty yards away, Annie's back starts to get that telltale hump, her tail goes up, and she's trying to hold it, but she can't, and she's walking all humped over, and finally poops right there. What, you can't make it another 20 yards? You lousy dog. Hilarious, but lousy.
• Drew's idea of a hootenanny of a birthday: a present involving having fun (usually involving two wheels), lasagna and cheesecake. That's it. This year he got two out of three. He got the lasagna and cheesecake, but his present involved me having fun (which often involves two feet). In other words, new hiking boots. But they're doozies. I'm hoping he will enjoy hiking more if his feet don't hurt so much.
• Thursday: before I went into work I stopped by the county building to pick up some 4-part carbonless forms that the county requires to be filled out with every deed recorded in the county. Yes. Four-part carbonless forms in this day and age of copiers and scanners. Bizarre. That wasn't very entertaining, was it? Welcome to my work world.
• Thursday evening I stopped in at the Humane Society to pick up some supplies for Annie's therapy-dog adventures on Saturday. They keep moving the offices around in there, like if they just put the desks in the right locations, the building will magically get bigger and less awful. Poor things. That building's the ugliest piece of crap, and they're so poor compared to the Portland Humane Society. Not fair. I would give them money if I had it.
• Friday: I score a Jonathan Lethem and an Ian Rankin at the library.
• Tomorrow: Annie and I go to the local Home & Garden Show, where the Humane Society of Southwest Washington will have a booth set up. Annie will be available for kids to read to her. It's some program where they allow kids to read to dogs, because dogs won't correct them or make fun of their poor reading skills. But I certainly will.
• See you there. Bring some Dr. Seuss.