Sat. after my post me and Mer went to "exercise" the Jacksons' puppy since they were gone for the day. He kind of... well, relaxes his muscles when he gets excited, so you get dribbled on when he first is let out to play. Cute little fellow though, hyperactive. Naive and thinks that your fake barking noises are from a real dog that he just can't see (he gets confused and perks up his ears and looks right past you trying to find a canine culprit).

Jesse and his friends left yesterday so we've had the run of the place. But yesterday we had to leave fairly early to feed the alpacas at the Whitmans' place and sweep out (or, as I like to call it, muck out) the stable areas. At first I wore a dust mask thing AND goggles so I wouldn't react to the hay. But I looked ridiculous (think exotic insect), and it was too warm and my hair kept getting in the way so I removed the get-up. Then went to return the key to the Fosters and see how their vacation went. Mom took us to the Twin Tunnels "restoration project" (used to be the old scenic highway, now you can get to Mosier on it (as if you'd want to)). It was pretty much all slight inclines so we were either having a lot of fun or just trying to keep moving. Great views of the gorge from up there, of course. Everyone and their dog bicycles in Hood River, and has the "necessary" accessories, too. Like lots and lots of black spandex, and black wrist guards and knee and elbow pads and all sorts of stuff. You know, think water bottles and attachable bike bags and all the things people can be lured into buying. After buying all that crap, everyone thinks he's a pro and goes bicycling up Hwy 35 like a maniac.

I digress. Main point, we were the only ones just riding along without helmets or any related paraphernalia. It was fun, I think. My muscles were tight. We had sandwiches at NY Subs, and then ice cream.

Today I woke up early and then went back to sleep to dream about the first day of school and all sorts of sugary confections mysteriously left out for me to take (followed that up by going to Safeway and buying candy). Mer started mowing all the lawns at the Lorenzens' house while I sat swinging in the hammock. We decided to go to town at some point. Visited Artifacts, I finally got a copy of The Dubliners, and then to the library. I checked out six travel guides for Spain, England, Scotland, and Europe in general, and some books on getting money for grad school and taking the GRE's. So when I finish The Crying... I'll have something more to tackle.

That's about it for now. Mer and I have been playing Trivial Pursuit without following the rules and Scrabble, while watching the Degrassi marathon on Nog (Korisha... you'd love it). Mom's fixing dinner and I'm being lazy and typing this up. Off we go, --