News from "Around Here"

The weather's winding down from about three days of (mostly non-thunderstormy) off-and-on rain. It has been fairly dreary, but I've liked being able to trick myself into believing that it's autumn. It's looked so much like a rainy autumn day that it's been easy to believe that it's not actually still uncomfortably warm and sticky outside. Well, the real autumn will be here before long. Just have to make it through August and most of September. . .

%% %% %% %% %%

Some sort of mild sickness (more of an annoyance that anything else) has been bothering me since yesterday morning. It's mostly a sore throat and slight case of the "blahs", but I think I might have a low fever, too. (Our digital thermometer isn't completely trustworthy. I'm going to get us a good old-fashioned thermometer the next time I go shopping!)

%% %% %% %% %%

Trixie's had a slightly upset tummy for the past day or two. It's nothing severe or worrying, though, and other than that, she seems fine.

She's turning into quite a little handful, though she's nowhere near the destructive force she could be-- so I shouldn't complain too much. Still, I think I see why some people prefer to get adult dogs instead of puppies. You miss out on a lot of puppy cuteness, but you also get a pass on some of the "puppy surprise" cleaning and basic training.

I'm not even sure how old she needs to be before she'll be ready for house-training and a few simple commands. Some sources I've read say that puppies don't have complete control of their bladders until they're six months old! (It's going to be a long four months. . . ) I seem to have forgotten nearly everything I ever thought I knew about "raising" puppies!

%% %% %% %% %%

After talking with my mother about the Street View feature at Google Maps, I decided to give it a look. I guess I'm not an early adopter. (g) Besides, I hadn't realized that some local places had already been. . . photomapped (?). Anyway, I finally checked it out, and-- guess what? ;o)-- it's pretty neat. Kind of amazing, even.

First, I found Donald's workplace. . .

(For those of you who might not be familiar with Street View, you can "travel" down the street and turn the camera to see several angles of the same spot. This is just one of the angles available for this location.)

After that, I visited a few places we've been on vacations, including Captiva Island in Florida:

Then I made a brief stop in Tokyo. But I won't bore you with that. ;o)

Of course, much of the country-- not to mention the world-- isn't available in Street View, but it's probably only a matter of time. . .

%% %% %% %% %%