Working Out With Errands

As my t-shirt says, bow ties ARE cool, and so is Tie o’ the Day with its herd of black-and-white neckties. I had to take clothes to the dry cleaners today and I thought I should fancy up a bit, so that’s why I had to don Tie. How much fancier can you get than wearing black-and-white ties? I do not own anything remotely like a tuxedo or I would have worn that too.

You see, I am still doing the recovering-after-surgery thing, so doing anything at all tends to exhaust me. I don’t want to leave my recliner. I walk Skitter, then I have to rest. I do chores around the house, then I crash again. But I make sure I do at least one errand each day. It gets me out of the house and it helps build my stamina. It also gives me a chance to do my clash fashion thing out among the masses. A person really should get out of their pajamas sometimes. And by “a person” I mean me.

As one of my house chores I have been cleaning up The Tie Room a little bit this week, which means I have been re-arranging the closet in there. I have some ties hanging in the closet, but shirts are most of what’s taking up the closet rod space. Over the weekend, I had this brilliant idea to organize my shirts by color. It did not work. Why? Because apparently I have about three shirts that aren’t blue. I am The Queen o’ Blue Shirts, so my closet is organized thus: three non-blue shirts at one end, and blue shirts on the remainder of the closet rod.

I told Suzanne that if I ever buy a shirt again– and I will– it will not be any shade of blue, no matter how groovy it might look. She simply looked at me with that look that says, “Helen, do you have one clue about the reality of how you are?” She’s right. Hello, more blue shirts.

Takin’ Baby Dog Steps

Patriotic Bow Tie o’ the Day is as perplexed as I am about why Veterans Day was yesterday, but it is officially observed today.

It is one of my personal pet peeves that often if a holiday falls on a Sunday, we don’t observe it on that day. If a certain date is designated important enough to make it a holiday, we owe it to that important event– and to the folks who were part of it– to observe it on that specific date. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, honor it in a Sunday kind of way. Simple.

Ok, my rant about Sunday holidays is complete. Or not.  I hope the reason for celebrating a holiday on Monday when it falls on a Sunday isn’t just to get a three-day weekend out of it. Now that would be disrespectful– especially in the case of Veteran’s Day. Ok, now my rant is truly over.

And now, a different subject. Currently, in our house, we are celebrating two of Skitter’s accomplishments, both of which she happened to do on Saturday. These may seem like no big deal to you, but remember that Skitter rescued us after she had been severely abused and then abandoned. After five years with us, she is still quite skittish and wary of the world. But we think she might be coming farther out of her dog shell.

The first of Skitter’s two accomplishments occurred when I took her leash off its hook to take her outside for a walk to the mailbox. For the first time ever, she got excited at the sound of that leash. She bounded off her bed, danced around in a circle, and pounded my thigh while she stood on her hind legs. And then she actually stood still, waiting for me to clip on her leash. I’ve never had to force The Skit to go for a walk, but she’s never acted like she particularly liked it either. This new development is humongous. Skitter conquered this milestone we never thought she would. If she hadn’t done it in the previous five years with us, we figured it was never going to happen. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I broke down and cried about Skitter’s new progress.

Skitter’s second bigly accomplishment happened when we went for our second walk o’ that day. Hold onto your hats! You better sit down! This is huge! As soon as her paws hit the grass at the park,…… wait for it!….. SKITTER PEED WHILE WE WERE ON A WALK! Skitter has never peed anywhere except on our property. Can you believe it took five years of Skitter’s living in a secure, loving home– where she is spoiled to the moon and back– for her to have the courage to pee in the great outdoors of the city? I admit it: I broke down and cried for the second time that day.

I’m such a sappy gal.