Routines

The dog has a routine. He sleeps--in the study if we forget to close the door--where there is a rug. More often in the living room, where we bought a runner and he can fit himself on it the long way. When I get up, he doesn't usually stir--although he may eventually move to the study if I open the door to sit at the computer. He doesn't really get active until after it's light out and one or both of us humans are moving around. He might suggest politely that he would like to be let out, into the fenced yard to water the Nandina (which is fine, because they are non-native and I don't like them much, although they do remind me of the house on Milledge Heights in Athens). There were three of them there, near the street, maybe to decorate the telephone pole. Then he waits for us. Sometimes he thinks we are getting ready to walk him, or maybe we are eating and there might be something for him, although it is usually oatmeal or yogurt and toast, not much to appeal to him. He will obligingly lick the floor if we spill a drop or two. 

When we are finished with breakfast and start moving around in a way that suggests we might be going out, adding jackets or shoes, he gets very excited and happy. He doesn't object to any length of walk, rarely tiring, even at 14. When we get back, he lies down, but he is not sleeping. He is eagerly watching until one of us (usually Ray) gets out the kibble and makes his breakfast. He eats with animation, sometimes slobbering on the floor (which he doesn't clean up). Then he rests for a minute before he remembers that he really wants to go out and lie on the porch. I think the smells are as interesting to him as, say, television is to us. Sometimes he sleeps, but other times he is alert. Of course, he is guarding us against squirrels and neighbors. We check and of course respond to any warning barks, but he doesn't usually leave the yard. If I notice he is gone and start to worry, I generally find him on the side, poking around before he returns to his spot. I thought he would like being here in Durham for lots of reasons, but I didn't anticipate that he would enjoy the front porch. Years ago, in Athens, we had a big deck and not a lot of traffic and we had a series of dogs that enjoyed lying there, mostly calmly. 

Yesterday I had a big cooking project--I made calzones, a first, I think. It took time, of course, because I had to make the dough and let it rise. It's like pizza dough, which is like bread dough. The hardest part was rinsing and chopping a bunch of fresh spinach. The house smelled great. They were quite satisfactory, although not as pretty as ones you buy. Tasty with pasta sauce. 

Can you imagine what this gadget is? I used it to prepare an ingredient.