this and that

I walk this trail almost every day. It is an 8 minute drive from my house to the trailhead. I could walk to the trailhead, I guess, but it'd be an unpleasant, highway trafficked trudge, with dogs. So I drive it. I never thought I'd be a person who drove my dogs somewhere to exercise them, but here I am. Running the 3/4 mile trail, up and down, through Cook's Island Pine, bamboo, jungly plants, crossing the stream and scrambling over roots and rocks. If I'm feeling ambitious, I do it twice. Probably I should just get in the habit of doing it twice, but once around takes the edge off the dogs, and gives me a little high.

No knitting to speak of was done today. I worked on the little room off our kitchen, cleaning it, scrubbing and rearranging the ill-fitting furniture in it. I moved Rainbo's cage into that room, and a comfy deck chair from the bedroom, to make it useable. Rainbo doesn't need to be in the koa room; he hurls seed hulls all over the floor and it's a little too hot in there, anyway. This new place puts him more in the center of the house, where the action's at, and is a bit cooler, as well as a reasonable distance from the front door, where we can carry his cage out for some air.

Later, after my Judd trail run, I went out to Hiroshi with Patrice. I've always joked with friends about wanting a bar where the bartender knew my name, and what I drank. I think we've found it at Hiroshi, where the barkeep is spectacular and personable. He expects us coming, and remembers not only what we drink, but what bar food we're partial to, as well. It was nice to hang with Patrice for awhile. We were discussing my bad movie habits, and then we got onto Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer...Patrice is a great devotee of Animal Planet, and also of Cesar. I've just recently started watching him, I'm fascinated by the problemsolving that must be done in dog training, and while I don't always agree with Cesar, he is a blast to watch. While I don't have huge dog problems, my own two are not without their quirks; Cricket is developing quite a bark, at every little thing, and Ella trots out the passive defiance now and then. I'm doing my own whispering, more often than not.