Every dog deserves a spa day! 🐶🛁

 It’s been one busy Saturday, and I am completely worn out!

Duffy had his grooming appointment today. 
He was happy on the car ride, but once we got inside, the woman had to tug and coax him to the back.
Either they were rough with him last time, or he just remembered the indignities.

While Duff was being groomed, and Cowboy was napping in the car, Badger and I were walking all over downtown M.
They had some kind of festival going on, or it may have just been their usual Farmer's Market.
She and I checked that out, then we walked up the hill to where she got her camera fixed. 
We decided we really needed to use the bathroom, so we walked back to the Farmer's Market.
Burger King was across the road from that.
Then we walked back downtown, and you have to remember we were walking uphill and downhill the whole time.
We checked out a few shops downtown, then decided to go back to where the groomer’s was, to check out Walgreens.
That was two roads over.
Badger wanted a Starbucks bottled coffee, but the price was easily double what we pay for those at home.
So we headed up the road a piece to 60 Beans.
Two coffees there, much larger, were equal to the bottled drinks.

By then it was rather on the hot side, and we were getting tired, so we said we’d just sit in the car with Cowboy.
To do that, though, we had to cross the road, and we nearly got run over by a hay wagon.
If I’m going to be squished, I want it to at least be interesting, like maybe a taco truck.

Badger and I don’t really know how to walk in a city.
There are crosswalks, traffic signals, and flashing pedestrian indicators.
When I refer to “roads,” I mean actual city streets with heavy traffic.
We’re country mice, not used to that kind of traffic, and not used to figuring out which signal means it’s safe to cross.

We made it safely to the car, had just sat our tired rumps down, and they said Duff was ready for pickup.
The groomer said he did well, except that he tried to jump out of the tub twice, so they had to double leash him- I think that’s what she said.
We told her that he hates baths. 
What we didn’t tell her is that he hates them so much he only gets groomed every fall, so Badger doesn’t have to wrestle him.
They sell doggie cookies, so we grabbed him and Lady a dog version of a Reese’s cup.

The No Kings protestors were at the high school close to the groomers.
It was perfectly peaceful protesting.
Peacock had said he might join the protest in K, but I don’t know if he did or not.
I was surprised to see so many protestors, given that M usually seems to lean strongly toward Trump.

The last stop of the day was at Rural King, because those birds of Cowboy’s have to eat.
They actually allow dogs in the store, but we didn’t want to risk it, so we sat in the car.
That was a hot wait.

We got home just after 2 pm, grabbed some lunch, and took a short rest.
Cowboy, who’d napped while Badger and I were out walking all over creation, was about as rested as he ever gets.
He went outside to tend his chickens and do a little yard work.
To my surprise, Badger also headed out with Ladybird to get in some practice.

Badger was back inside by 4:30 pm, but Cowboy stayed out until 6:15 pm.
Then he came rushing in, a little panicked, because he’d forgotten to say his work phone needed minutes.
He wolfed down supper, and off we went to town.

Badger still won’t go out in public without a mask, and she insists Cowboy and I wear ours too.
Back at the height of the pandemic, hardly anyone in our county wore masks, almost as if they believed Covid wasn’t real.
Now, five years later, spotting even one other person in a mask is rare, and it makes you stop and wonder why they are wearing one.

We were in Walmart, walking down the aisle, when a woman with a young child trailing behind her looked over at Cowboy.
In a voice just loud enough to carry, but not enough to draw attention, she said, “When I see someone in a mask, it makes me think they’re going to touch my little girl or kidnap her.”

That’s a whole new flavor of stupid right there.
Honestly, how bloody stupid can a person be?

As Badger pointed out, what about people who are immunocompromised?
What about those in the middle of chemo treatments?
My own doctor was very clear with me: I cannot afford to get COVID a third time.

That dumb witch was so worried about masked kidnappers, yet she wasn’t paying the slightest attention to her child.
The little girl looked about six and was trailing behind, not in a cart, not holding her mother’s hand, not even walking beside her.
She was behind, completely out of sight.

My feathers are still ruffled, and I mean ruffled.
Just when you think you’ve heard the dumbest thing possible, somebody comes along and proves you wrong with a brand‑new gem.

As this is flu and COVID season and her child looked old enough to be in school, she may want to rethink her stance on masks.

Okay, let’s take a deep cleansing breath.
I am a hippie, I embrace peace and harmony.
I do not punch idiots in Walmart, no matter how much they deserve it.

For the most part, we had no more incidents at Walmart, even though we were the only ones masked. 
People usually don’t say anything. 
I’ve noticed a few snickers and quick glances, but rarely outright comments.

We made it home by 8 p.m., and it was already dark. 
I hate this time of year. 
At the moment, we don’t even have a porch light, since Badger’s Halloween lights don’t shine with a 60‑watt bulb. 
They don’t give off much light, but they are pretty.

Badger went to her room, Cowboy settled in with his TV, and I’m going to finish this up before heading to bed. 
I can tell I got more exercise today than I have in a while.

Tomorrow, the Marketplace guy is supposed to finally pick up the pool. 
It was a good idea in theory, but not in practice. 
Badger was already too old to enjoy it, and now we’re taking a huge loss on it.

Cowboy will be glad to finally have his yard back, and the dogs will be glad to have full run of the yard again.
I just wish it had worked out.
As I said, we are taking a giant loss.

Monday is coming, and I’m getting very, very anxious.
Normal people have mammograms, and they don’t freak out for days before it.
Me?
I panic for the entire week before the appointment.
The year is not going so well for this family, though.
We lost cousin Edie in January, Aunt Liz in April, and Uncle Nooner in May.
Why wouldn’t I be anxious.

OK, OK, I’m shutting up and heading to bed.