Happy 4th of July!!

Yes, we are those kind of dog owners.

Random encounter in Plymouth

Malin and I went for a walk earlier this afternoon. A block in front of us was a woman in all-black athletic wear (tank top and pants) and a man with light hair and a white top, black pants. Since we had just started our walk, Malin was very eager to catch up to play with these friends.

Per my normal process, I slowed to pass them and held Malin tight. As we went by, the woman asked, "Excuse me? Do you know where to find the nearest Starbucks?" They were headed away from the Starbucks, which is probably a two plus miles away, and toward a Caribou (~3 blocks away and within sight). I told them so and was about to continue on my way when I thought I recognized the woman.

And here was our conversation:
Me: Excuse me, but are you Mary Lou Retton?
Her: MariLu Henner.
Me: Oh. Sorry. Umm... what are you doing here?
Her: I'm in town for a family wedding at the Marriott.
Me: Oh. Well, Caribou serves coffee. Otherwise the Starbucks is a long ways away in the opposite direction.
Wow. I can certainly say you are one person I hadn't expected to run into today.

... silence...

Me: Well, best of luck with your caffeine fix...
Her: Oh, I don't drink coffee. We are going for tea.
Me: Oh. In that case, Caribou has a wonderful Jasmine tea.
[exit stage left]

Okay, I didn't really exit, but I did take off and leave her on her merry way. I happened to stop at the Caribou a few hours later (on a separate mission) and asked if Marilu Henner had been there. The Barista's had no clue who she was (even after I provided an outfit description), but did mention a woman from LA had stopped in and was in town with her husband for a wedding. [And in case you are wondering, she ordered a Chai w/ Soy Milk]

R-A-N-D-O-M!

Easter in WI

We had a terrific Easter weekend with Rich's family. They live ~2 hours away, so we pack up the dog and make a vacation of our visits. We left the house around 10a and made it there by 11:58a. AMAZING timing!! The wind must have been behind us.

Once we arrived we settled in, played with Malin for a while and then headed inside for Barbecue (aka Sloppy Joes) sandwiches my mother-in-law had prepared for us. They were super yummy! I have her recipe and will make and post-it sometime...

After lunch my father-in-law suggested Rich and I take a ride on the 4-wheelers. I rode with Rich and we took in some scenery. It was a LOT of fun. After we got back I wanted a turn driving. So Rich got behind me and we went for a quick slow spin in the field. (I'm not a very fast driver on that thing... )

{Me and Rich: Happy in WI}

Sunday we went for a tasty brunch with the whole family. All of Rich's siblings and spouses were there along with a majority of the nieces and nephews. After brunch we went back to the farm and headed to the river. We all sat along the bank enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, chatted and caught some sun. After a while we were hungry so we headed back to the farm for dinner and people starting having to take off.

{Rich's siblings & dad}

Malin loves being at the farm! There is so much open area for him -- though for the most part he stays pretty close to us. Throughout the weekend we played with his "Chuck-it" and new Frisbee. He's certainly showing improvement at giving the toys back so we can throw them for him.

Before we packed up I asked to take one more spin on the 4-wheeler. (What can I say?! It was pretty fun!) The bonus this time was we decided to tucker Malin out, so while I drove he chased me. [Uh - our dog is really fast] I drove as fast as I dared and he was right behind me. I had a blast - and from the looks of it - Malin did too.

{Malin chasing me on the 4-wheeler}

Do you want fries with that shake?

Nope, not another post about fast food or shamrock shakes.

I taught Malin to shake on command!! For whatever reason, I think "shake" is one of the funnest tricks a dog can know. Since poor little Malin is a doggie-school dropout, he's never learned how to shake. (It's my fault - it was spring, the weather was nice and I got tired of going to classes. So we quit and have never been back.)

Since Rich was out of town, I took photos to document his learning process.

Update 3/26/09: Rich is home and Malin is still able to perform his new trick! Yea!!

Weather>32ºF+WFH= Malin gets a walk

I have been blessed to work from home (WFH) one day a week for the last month. So this morning when I woke up and it was a balmy 34ºF and I didn't need to drive to the office, I decided to treat our dog with a walk. (My plan included a treat for me too, a stop at Caribou to pick up a latte.)

This was a first for me and Malin. I have never walked to a coffee shop and left the dog outside while I ordered. When my dog was younger, I thought he would be too crazy and try to jump on every passerby, but now he's 3; he should be able to do this. I have witnessed numerous other people do this with their dogs and I wanted to try it with mine. So off we went. When we got to the coffee shop I tried to figure out how I was going to hook him up and got nervous. My mind started racing with what could go wrong. Malin could easily weasel out of his collar, run off and be lost to us forever or he could jump on an innocent bystander, or get hit by a car parking in the lot, or get tangled in his leash.

I looked around for a place to secure him. There is a sign with three hooks, meant to hook up a dog, but I wasn't sure how to hook him. There was a cement post, but it was too close to the parking spots. There was a railing, but that was too far away from the door. As I was brainstorming how to hook him up, this sweet lady walked out of Caribou and commented on how pretty our dog is. Apparently her son lives in Manhattan and has a boxer and she had boxers growing up. She suggested I try the cement pole, but I hadn't given Malin enough slack on his leash to sit comfortably.

Just before giving up hope, I asked this incredibly kind woman if she would be willing to hold on to Malin while I ordered. She said yes. She was a bit nervous Malin would be too strong and pull or knock her down, but he was good. She told me to have him sit and stay, which I did (and he did). I went in, quickly placed my order and paid. Then I told the Caribou employees about my predicament, and they said they would bring me the latte once it was ready. Oh my gosh! These people were so helpful!!

So it worked and I was stressed and the dog was good. I got my latte, the dog got a walk and we finished it all before the workday started. Phew!!

I will have to try this a few more times, but next time I think Rich will have to come with me. Or I'll have to develop a solid plan before going on the walk. My dog is big and intimidating, even though he is a sweetheart, a licker and a tail-wagger. But now, he's just plain tuckered out.