The Beginning of the Rainy Days

I think Fall is officially kicking in. It was a cold rainy Sunday here in PDX. Slept in too late with a black dog sandwiched between Vin and I, while the one was snoring away in her dog bed. I love mornings like that. It was so cozy and warm under the covers and we've not really turned the heat on yet so it was nice and comfortable. Got up, fed dogs and went and grabbed some brekkie at this place up in St Johns. The waitress forgot to place our order, but I didn't care because I drank about 5 cups of coffee while Vin and I pondered life. I ordered the blackberry walnut pancake and Vin got an omelettte; The pancake was about the size of a frisbee- who in the hell can eat a whole pancake that size?? We couldn't. The leftovers are sitting in the fridge as we speak. It was good enough to bring home- and for those of you that know me well- i HATE leftovers. So scootch on up to the John Street Café next time you have a hankering for a good breakfast. We did the usual lazy drive back- meaning perusing the streets and checking out houses that are for sale and then finally made it back to Boston Ave. Vin took off for work and I took the dogs out to Delta Park. Good dog park day. Only 2 other people showed up and they weren't dog dorks so Sirius was happy as a clam and Suki caught balls until my arm got sore from throwing the ChuckIt. I decided on the way home that since the weather was crappy , I could officially waste an afternoon away at the bookstore. I've been holding out spending too much time at Powells. Powell's Books is the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. (thank you google) and it's the size of a city block. It has en endless maze of rooms that are all color coded, and then book sujects are all coded under one of those colors.

When I was growing up, I was very lucky to be in a family that like and encouraged reading. I'm not talking reading books that you HAVE to read in school. I'm talking about down and out reading. I always got books for Christmas or birthdays and have always loved to read- still do. I went through four books while I was in Fiji- 2 non fiction and 2 fiction. Always have to balance out the fluff with susbstantial, make-you-think-about-shit books.

Here are some of my favorites:

"Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed " by Jared Diamond
I haven't finished reading this yet but it's great. If you are interested in anthropology and why there are people living in grass huts in the 21st century, you'll like it too.

"An Anthropologist on Mars" by Oliver Sacks
This is probably one of my favorite books I've ever read. Good enough that I'll include part of a review on it because I won't explain it good enough:

"Neurological patients, Oliver Sacks has written, are travellers to unimaginable lands. An Anthropologist on Mars offers portraits of seven such travellers-- including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's Syndrome except when he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a car accident, but finds a new sensibility and creative power in black and white; and an autistic professor who has great difficulty deciphering the simplest social exchange between humans, but has built a career out of her intuitive understanding of animal behavior.

These are paradoxical tales, for neurological disease can conduct one to other modes of being that--however abnormal they may be to our way of thinking--may develop virtues and beauties of their own. The exploration of these individual lives is not one that can be made in a consulting room or office, and Dr. Sacks has taken off his white coat and deserted the hospital, by and large, to join his subjects in their own environments. He feels, he says, in part like a neuroanthropologist, but most of all like a physician, called here and there to make house calls, house calls at the far borders of experience.

Along the way, he gives us a new perspective on the way our brains construct our individual worlds."

My favorite parts- the surgeon with Tourettes and the artist who becomes color blind after an accident and the blind guy who regains his sight after surgery.

Buy it. Read it.


Some favorite dog books:

"Marley and Me" by John Grogan
I read this twice while in Fiji. I laughed all the way up to the last chapter. Then I cried. If you love dogs you will love this book.

"Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan
It works. Well. It works on one of our dogs. The other one.. well. We're working on in it still.


Today I've picked up a few more- landscaping and gardening books in the Pacific Northwest and the Journals of Lewis & Clark. I was feeling very pacific northwest-ey apparently. Book report to follow.

Dog Park Observations

So I've been to the same dog park both days this weekend and I've made some interesting observations about dogs, but most importantly... the dog owners.

If you've ever been to a dog park, then you know what I'm talking about. I started taking Suki to the Starr Farm Dog Park when she was about 12 weeks old. (This gives me a good rason to post up on of Suki's baby pics... this was before her ears started sticking up fruit bat style)

Anyhoo- I started taking her there when she was little for the sole purpose of making sure I wasn't one of "those" dog owners whose dog was socially inept with its own kind. We had a good start- a few run ins with bigger dogs who were slightly bullyish.. but I sucked it up and looked the other way. After all, I wasn't keen on the idea of having a wussy dog either. We spent alot of time at Starr Farm and met alot of interesting people. As a newbie dog owner (and no it doesn't count when your family had a dog. Let's face it people- more than likely your mother is the one who raised the family dog. You just played with it.) I became familiar with carrying little plastic bags for poop retrieval and treats, for "training". I use quotes for a reason.. more discussion on that to follow.

The park was great for both of us- gave me a chance to get free dog advice and training and let Suki run and play until she was pooped. This is where I learned valuable bits of advice such as using a squirt bottle to stop unwanted beahvior (ours is lovingly termed "The Enforcer" and taught Suki how to play catch, which to this day is STILL her favorite thing to do. But I digress.

The best part of going to the dog park is people watching. Today we went to our local favorite park. It's located close to some busy roads and can be a little noisy, but we like it mostly because it's got more low maintenance dog owners. We have tried going to Chimney Rock Park several times since we've been here, but it tends to have too many freaky dog owners. Here are some "grave generalizations" (Vin's favorite term lately)

1. Men typically are the ones who get the most upset when their dogs get humped by other dogs. Of course when their dog is the one doing the humping, they are oblivlous. But once someone else's dog gets going on their dog-- hold the phone. The best is when it's a male dog humping another male dog.

2. People who bring their 3 year old to a dog park which is filled with dogs you don't know really shouldn't complain when their kid, who isn't supposed to be there in the first place, gets knocked over or just scared because they get barked at.

3. Also on the 'kids at the dog park' topic. Watch your kid while you are there- it's pretty gross to let your little kid run around barefoot- or better yet- roll around - on the ground at a park where it's a concentrated dumping ground. Pun intended.

4. Little old ladies who can't manage to stand or run after their dog probably shouldn't own an 80 lb dog.

5. There are a lot of weird old ladies with little dogs in Portland.

6. Why bring your dog to the dog park when you are going to keep it on a leash?


This is just a starter list. I'll be adding on to it as time progresses... In the meantime, I'm in a bubs sandwhich and my battery is about to die. More on this topic later.