I don't know what kind of etiquette exists for bloggers.  How often should you post an entry?  Is once daily too often? What about the length of posts. How long is too long?  Is there such a thing as too short?  (ha, as if)  So many questions!  Hopefully, I will learn the answers as time goes by.  I don't see any Blogging Handbook on the site.  I suppose that means it isn't really very important?

John and I are getting ready to take a short trip next weekend.  A little get-away of sorts. We are going to Indianapolis for the Drum Corps International Finals. I don't actually get to go to the finals, but John does.  We are going to stay with John's brother Scott, and he has a pool!  So even though I don't have a ticket to the Drum and Bugle Corps finals, I will have a very lovely few days lounging around the pool and playing with my puppies. 

We could leave all the dogs home.  My daughter Elizabeth would take care of the entire pack if I asked her to.  Ethan, my son, is still home from college, and he would help.  But we have some....management issues in the pack.  And anyway, I don't wanna leave them all.  I wanna play with them!  To me, time not at work, is  time to play with my puppies!

Buddy and Crystal are easy.  They can stay home where they are comfortable. They are easy to take care of.

Buddy - staying
Crystal - staying

Stevie is a no brainer - going.

This hangs on our back door so everyone knows not to let him out.

Pilot can only go outside supervised. He is a jumper. No, not a jumper....a JUMPER! Over the years we have made modifications to Pi-ize the fence, but he has one-upped us each time.  It WAS a four foot woven wire fence along the sides and the back, with a 4 foot picket fence along the front edge of the back yard.  Pi learned he could jump the picket fence on the east side of the house.  So John made that fence higher with pieces of hog panel on top, making it 6 foot just on that one side. Doesn't exactly look the best, but we all do things to keep our dogs safe, and it did work.  Pi then discovered the picket fence on the west side of the house.  More hog panel.  Finally of course, he discovered he could jump the woven wire and we had to figure out how to raise the that fence, which is not  simple because it just wouldn't support hog panels!  But my husband is resourceful and figured out how to add more woven wire on top of the woven wire.  All in all, the fence is an aesthetic work of art.  NOT.  But it kept Pi safe...for a while.  Finally we had to add a couple of strands of hot wire about 18 inches inside the fence. Pi could safely hang out, which he dearly loves.

Until a month or so ago.

All that was missing was the right motivation. Once Pi heard me playing in the front yard with Stevie all bets were off and over the picket/hog panel fence he came.  Now he just jumps the stupid fence to scare me.  Sigh.   He used to spend hours surveying his kingdom.  He looks like Mufasa of the Lion King sitting on Pride Rock.  Now he has to be supervised (until we can one-up him again) It is a game.  We, the humanoids will win.  Muah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Pi - going, but not with us. 

Pi is going to spend the time with my older daughter Emilie.  She has a border collie, Kate, and a cat, Steve (don't say it.  I know) but Emilie is a runner and looking forward to having him visit and run with her.  At least she tells me that, maybe so I don't feel like I am putting a burden on her.  It worked.  :D  Kate can't run with her.  She just turned 12 and has some bad arthritis from chronic Lyme disease.  Kate is the perfect grand-dog so Pi better be nice to her.

I have to decide, among the other two "little girls" who should stay, who should go.   It is my inclination to take all three, Stevie, Allie and Indy.  Wonder if I can fit 3 crates in the dogmobile? It did occur to me that this is a good time for Indy and Allie to be separated.  Since Alice has an issue with coming inside (I have to go get her.  It can be an infuriating game which is unfair to ask my kids to play) I will take her for sure.  That leaves Indy.  As of this typing, I am going to leave her here with Crystal and Buddy.  Maybe. I wanna play with her too!!!

Alice - going. 
Indy - staying...or going. 

Time to figure out how to fit 3 crates in the dogmobile.