The Business of Being Busy

I must start with Sunday. Even though it wasn’t a work day, I feel the need to honor my grandparents who celebrated 60 years of marriage. That’s worth celebrating, don’t you think? So celebrate we did and when I say “we” I mean all of us — Ann, Gretchen, me, and Monty.

We started out our Sunday early, driving to their home and visiting for awhile. Monty likes to visit Grandma and Grandpaw’s house because there are lots of interesting places to see, things to smell, and most of all, wonderful treats hidden in Grandpaw’s pocket and Grandma’s refrigerator.

Like MEAT! For our lunch, we got are usual plus the leftover meat from the fridge! Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!  When Gretchen was preparing it, we were rapt with attention, especially Monty, who as I’ve said, loves visiting my grandparents.

But there were other delights as well. First, my Uncle Paul and Aunt Patti sent flowers for the celebration and the big, beautiful bouquet sat by the fireplace, which is exactly where Grandpaw likes to sit.  Monty thought they were exquisite flowers both in appearance and in scent as well as a very fitting gift for such a momentous occasion.

When we first get to Grandma and Grandpaw’s house, we check out their backyard. It smells like raccoons and squirrels and the woods. I showed Monty one of my favorite spots which is up the stairs and in the underbrush of the big trees in their backyard.

As you can tell, my Grandparents have a really nice backyard and they are both quite the gardeners…and cooks!

That’s why we got leftovers because they cook all the time — especially Grandma — and they always have a little something leftover for when I come to visit. On Sunday, they had a little more because they knew I’d be bringing my best friend along with me.

Everything is wonderful at their house, not just the food and the outdoors. My Grandparents are very loving and they shared that love with Monty. They think he’s pretty special…and I do, too, so I don’t mind sharing my Grandparents with him.

So, Happy 60th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpaw!  I’m glad you allowed me to share the special day with you!

Enough of celebrations…today we got back to business…and it was kind of a full day!

We started with an early morning walk — just Gretchen, Monty, and me.  Gretchen headed off to work for a few hours and then returned to take Monty and me out with Oshi and Perrito. Monty was really excited to go because he thinks those little dogs are awfully cute.

Yeah, he’s right. They are very cute.

As you can see, the tennis courts were free today so we got to play some fetch, though it was kind of warm so in between the racing back and forth to get the ball, we also rested in the shade.

Oshi liked the shade most of all and really stretched out to take full advantage of the cool surface. Perrito, on the other hand, rested in the shade while chewing on his tennis ball.

Don’t get me wrong, they played. In fact, Oshi played, too, which is rare since he generally just wants to walk back home. Not today. Today he ran around a bit and then chased Perrito…

Of course, then there was Monty. He played fetch, but he also climbed up on the bench again and again, rolling his ball off the side and then chasing after it. Go figure!

Monty’s kind of a silly guy.  We haven’t been to the tennis courts in awhile, but every time we go, he gets fixated on the bench. It’s like when we go to the lake and there are waves. Monty gets wildly lost in chasing the waves. In fact, the other night we walked by the lake and the waves were really crazy. Gretchen had to hold him back from diving off the bulkhead after those waves.  He was mesmerized!

But today it was the bench. Unfortunately, we had to leave the tennis courts because tennis players showed up. That was okay. We needed to walk and cool off a bit, so homeward bound we went with Oshi in the lead.

After we dropped the boys off, Gretchen dropped us off at the house while she fetched Bella. Monty really likes Bella, but he needed to rest because he had to eat lunch (it’s a long story that some day I might explain).  So Gretchen took Bella for a nice long walk and ended up at the tractor for the obligatory garden photo. It took a lot to get this photo, let me tell you!

Then they made their way back to the house where Bella was greeted by a very enthusiastic Monty. Gretchen didn’t get any photos of them together because Monty plays like a very big dog and Bella’s not so sure she’s ready for that. Instead, she pesters me…

Can you see me hiding in that second to the last shot?  I was pretty tired and Bella just kept coming after me. At one point, I had to ask Gretchen for help!

Gretchen heard my plea and played with Bella while I rested on the porch. Whew!

Bella went home, though Gretchen reported back to me later that she did really well on her obedience because she was pretty tired from all the fun at our house!  I was tired, too, but there was more work to be done. Gretchen went back to her classroom for awhile and Monty and I got a breather before she returned. This time she had Wilson in tow.

Monty met Wilson awhile back, but I think Wilson was a lot smaller. So when Wilson entered the house, Monty was a bit worried. It took him awhile to warm up to the big kid (Wilson, that is!). By the time we were ready for our walk, we were all getting along just fine!

Luckily, Ann arrived home just in time to join us as we headed over to the little field for a rousing game of fetch!

Monty and I had had a big day so we didn’t play as much fetch as Wilson did though Gretchen tells me Wilson went on a really long hike yesterday and even she was surprised how much he wanted to play! Not us…we needed a little time out from all the fun!

Wilson kept going and not to be outdone, Monty joined in every now and then!

In the business of being busy, the end result is that you’re a tired pup at the end of the, but it’s a happy, tired pup, which isn’t all that bad.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin