I’m doing a lazy update this month. Otherwise, we might end up with a repeat of July and NO update at all!
Everything is busy, busy these days.
I’m still studying Spanish using Skill Success and Duolingo. Even though Duolingo has an awesome free version, and you know I usually never subscribe to something unless I have to, I’ve upgraded to the paid version…that’s how good Duolingo is.
I’m also still studying html and CSS through Udemy. I’ve also started working on the full-stack developer course over at codecademy.
I’m taking a (free) microbiology course from MIT.
And my UND class starts at the end of the month (Intro to Programming Languages).
And, I’ve started a special writing project: non-fiction, text-book-adjacent. I’m hoping to have a large chunk of it done before winter, but we will see how it goes.
I’ve also been busy at work, as researchers are gearing up for the academic year plus our program has an accreditation this year. I prefer to be busy at work and like to feel useful. So that’s been great, too.
Of course, June and July were not all roses and butterflies. Honey Booboo’s health continued to decline, and we had to make the devastating decision to relieve her suffering. I really think she would have continued to power on forever, just for me, if I hadn’t made the call.
I was devastated. I really didn’t know how I was going to go on without her. In the days after her passing, I realized things like, in the last nine years, I have never sat on a couch without her immediately jumping up and snuggling in beside me. NEVER! When a dog is that much of a constant presence at your side, their absence feels like drowning.
Right away, hubby started looking for corgi pups.
I, of course, was absolutely against another dog. First, there’s no one who could ever replace Honey Booboo. And second, Bruce’s puppydom was so awful, it really put me off ever going through that again. Actually, Bruce is still a handful. He still physically throws himself at the door, barking shrilly, every time we leave the house. I still have to puppy proof the main floor (put away all the rugs and make sure nothing is on the kitchen island that he can destroy or that can hurt him) every time we leave the house. So I didn’t want to have to start that sort of thing over again.
But then hubby made some good arguments. Although Honey Booboo wasn’t an official emotional support dog, that is the role she took on. That’s why, out of all the dogs, she and I were the most bonded. If I was home, she was never not by my side. When I would wake up in the middle of the night, I would immediately either feel her weight against me or hear her snoring. When I ran errands, she rode with me and kept me company. She was literally a constant companion and a “grounding force.”
The two boys, Bruce and Murphy, are wonderful, and I love them very much. They aren’t just dogs; they are family. But they are not like Booboo and don’t want to be. Murphy prefers to do his own thing rather than follow me around. When I’m in my home office upstairs, he prefers to be on the main floor, on the couch, watching television. Bruce follows me everywhere, but once I settle into a spot (the couch, my home office, etc.), he goes off to find himself a den where he can keep me tabs on me from a distance. In my home office, he’s usually in the closet.
Back in January, when I worked in my home office, I could turn my chair around, and Roscoe and Booboo would be on the futon behind me (if Booboo wasn’t already under my desk). Now when I turn my chair around, my futon is empty.
And so, that’s how Penelope Quinn came into my life. She’s in training to be my new constant companion and grounding force.
Her middle name, Quinn, is supposed to be the feminine version of Robert Shaw’s character in Jaws, Sam Quint. I figured it fits, since Bruce is named after the shark in Jaws.
At first, the boys hated her, but they are already starting to come around. Bruce, in fact, has really started to bond with her. In spite of his dingo-nature, he lets her crawl all over him.
Here they are, re-enacting the battle between Quint and the Shark.
Although it’s still early (she hasn’t been here a week yet), she seems to be quite a bit more calm and less . . . problematic than Bruce was as a puppy. So we will see how it goes!
That’s it for this month. Hopefully, next month I’ll be able to do a full, regular update.
Until next month (fingers crossed), Stay Spooky, my friends!
Brenda Kezar 