A Very, Very Slow Day

We decided last night that we would take Spike for a walk at Lake Ralphine, a smaller lake above Spring Lake, avoiding the geese and ducks at the dam. We've only walked up and down our street since Spike's surgery and we're all beginning to get cabin fever. We left the house at about 7:30  in the cool of the morning, and were somewhat surprised by the number of cars in the parking lot. Apparently a lot of people had the same idea we did. But they didn't have a long haired dog who almost immediately stuck his head in a bush full of tiny burrs that are diabolically difficult to remove without a fine tooth comb. The poison oak was also looking very vigorous. It wasn't very crowded and there were very few other dogs, which was a blessing. We walked as sedately as possible down the middle of the wide dirt trail. It was very dusty...more like late summer rather than the end of July. It was mercifully cool. The 75 degree thermometer reading was high for the early hour, predicting much higher readings as the day went along, but we were in the shade and there was the whisper of a breeze.

Back in the car, we spent some time pulling out stickers and deciding to take a chance on Sarmentine, the French bakery but weren't surprised to see a queue forming in anticipation of the 8:30 opening. John took his place at the end of the queue and I took Spike to an outdoor table. Proximity to the growing queue just on the other side of the little railing, and the increasing activity in the parking lot on the other side of that, meant meant that Spike was nervous and trying to sit in my lap. Eventually, John arrived with our coffee and croissants and Spike settled down underneath the table, but not before trying to drag the whole thing out into the parking lot.

I don't do well with all these challenges before coffee. But as we sat drinking our coffee and eating our croissants, fewer people were joining the queue and the coffee was taking effect. In future we will avoid the early Sunday morning crowd, even though it did make for some interesting people watching....

Getting outside just now is fraught with challenges...Spike's still slightly delicate condition (try telling him that!) extreme heat, poisonous foliage and sticker plants, hissing geese protecting their young, exuberant dogs and lack of coffee mean we'll probably postpone a repeat attempt for a bit.

Back home I went over Spike with the aforementioned fine tooth comb and removed a lot more stickers. I noticed that the brass tray which serves as a table top next to the couch, in addition to being covered with Spike hair and stickers was looking decidedly dingy. Remembering that the man I bought it from in India told me that he cleaned all his brass with lemon and salt, I tried it. It worked beautifully, cleaning off the grime without removing the nice patina.

And that, aside from watching stage 20 of the Tour de France (we're a day behind)  was all I did today, having used up all my energy before ten am. 

Since I still can't upload extras and can't find any explanation as to why this might be, I have published a picture of the new ottoman as my main photo today