The last few days I’ve been revisiting my past; and finding it less than what I thought it was. A friend of Drew’s posted a link with predictions Robert Heinlein had made in 1952 for the year 2000 a few weeks ago. So when I was browsing in the library’s science fiction section early this week, a book of his caught my eye: Farnham’s Freehold. I remembered Heinlein being one of my favorite authors in my early teens and this being one of my favorite books of his. I checked it out.
The book was published in 1964 and the dialogue definitely shows signs of the times. Although, I’ve got to say dialogue is not Heinlein’s strong point. The book is extremely racist, sexist, and reflects the fears of the Communists (the whole plot centers around the “Russki’s” dropping a bomb on the household.) Another central point to the story is how the 50-ish father and college friend of the daughter fall madly in love…in a matter of a few hours. Granted, the bombs were falling, they all thought they were going to die, but still, I would hope that any man my age would show a little more respect for a young woman half his age (at least if he’s the protagonist!) The romantic 14 year old me probably didn’t catch the sexual references (not something so boldly written back then) and still believed in love at first sight and against all odds. Ah, innocence.
I should have known I’d’ve been better off with my memories when I saw a prominent recommendation on the cover from Stephen King: “…the greatest writer of such fiction in the world.” (Heinlein, not King.) (As a side note, why do so many sci-fi books have recommendations from King on them? He didn’t write sci-fi!) Also, under the title: “Science fiction’s most controversial novel”. I really doubt that. Actually, pretty heavy handed and predictable. -sigh- I think it will be awhile before I test out my memory on any other favorite books…from any era.
The things we do for our dogs! It’s a long haul out to the designated potty spot: out the door, down the hall, wait for the elevator, ride the elevator, through the door into the garage, walk the full length of the garage, out the door, down the drive, across the street, and, finally!, a place acceptable to do his business. Teddy’s been a good sport and been making the trek but with winter (and, according to Tempe, lots of snow in the forecast), I’ve been thinking about alternatives.
A number of articles I’ve read talked about people in high rise apartments training their dogs to use an artificial “potty patch” on their balcony. I bought one but the fake grass isn’t very realistic and Teddy is used to a lot more room to maneuver. So I created a mini-backyard on my patio:
It was a struggle of wills yesterday afternoon and evening before Teddy relented and peed in the grass. A quick reward of a tasty treat and he realized that it was an acceptable potty spot. (Why he was so resistant to this but found the carpet in my sewing room okay in a pinch, I have no idea.)
According to the guy at the nursery where I bought the sod (total expenditure: $19.43), other people have come up with this solution as well. He said my grass should be fine through the spring as long as I water it occasionally. I put a layer of plastic underneath but Teddy only pees a tablespoon or two so I’m not concerned about leaks. And, my downstairs neighbor just left for Florida and won’t be back until March. So no complaints from that quarter.
My plan is to very, very slowly reduce the amount of sod until I’ve got just one slab of it. If Teddy goes for it, I think it might be quite feasible to just buy one piece of sod every month or so to keep a potty spot right out the balcony door.
The attendees of the 18th Annual Wood Family Camping Reunion!
Yesterday was the first day I had to go into work and leave Teddy alone for the day. I decided on the “begin as you would go” philosophy, crated him, and didn’t come home mid-day for a walk. I thought it might be just as cruel to get his hopes up halfway through the day by coming home and taking him for a short walk then putting him back in the crate and leaving. When I got home late afternoon he was just fine! I didn’t go right to his crate and make a big deal about homecoming and he didn’t make a big deal about the crate door not being opened for a few minutes. We walked, he had a pretty energetic hour or so, then by 7:15, he settled in for a nap in his doggie bed as I picked up my knitting and turned on the TV. I’m glad I don’t have to confine him five days a week but for the two days I have to go in to work, it’ll work out just fine.
It’s Tax-Free Weekend in Missouri! No sales tax on clothing, school supplies, computer software, and computers. I’ve taken advantage of this a couple of times in the past to buy a new laptop. For large purchases especially, it’s worth fighting the crowds.
