The Last Part

I'm home, actually and truly home. The last train ride lasted about 23 hours, and the train was late pulling into the station in Charlottesville, of course.

Then I didn't have a seat on the train until around Midnight so sat in the observation car doing some email checking and observating, and stuff.

Around 4 am, a person or people came on with a screaming infant. I took my hearing aid out and was very thankfully oblivious. Because if there is one noise which turns me into a quivering ball of hysterical, babbling insanity, it is the sound of babies screaming. This is why I do not have human children. I took out my hearing aid and it was quiet and lovely. Apparently the kid screamed basically non-stop for four hours. I read, and did word searches, and twittered and basically smugly laughed at everyone else who had to suffer. Because I'm mean!

Laveau knew we were going home so she refused to pee, and was very determined to save it all up for a big pee festival in the yard. Which is what she did.

But I should go back and talk about my time in Charlottesville.

I went to my first chicken swap. This was a thing where people pulled up to a tractor store in Culpepper, VA. and tried to buy, or sell, or trade their chickens. Oh and a turkey; I can't forget the turkey. I had never actually touched a live turkey, so the owner let me touch him. He was very large and feathery and I could kind of hear this weird loud noise which was him making that gobble noise. Laveau spent the time in
<"Andrea's">
SUV with Sid her SDIT. Sid actually hopped into the driver's seat and was trying to grow himself opposable thumbs while searching for the keys. Laveau stayed in back with her head out the window, keeping a look out for people who would catch on to their plan. She only confessed the entire thing to me after we left.

The two dogs, and Andrea and myself went into the tractor supply store, because I'd never been in one and being a city girl I wanted to be able to say that I went into one. I also wanted to buy a present for the dogs. Laveau was sniffy and a pain in my ass and we had to have a conversation about sniffage.

I bought Bristol a chicken made of this rubber stuff. He apparently has a very loud squeaker and I can sort of hear it if my hearing aid is in. I think Bristol can hear it. We have named the chicken Fricassee.

We eventually packed up and went back to Andrea's house where Laveau barked at the cats and stared rudely at them. We don't, and never will have, cats so her exposure to them has been limited to outside distractions. So she was very weirded out that cats actually live inside, in people's houses, and that these cats-- namely Braxton the Enforcer and Roo, weren't afraid of her and that in the case of Roo, climbed on me and I let them.
To get even with me about the cats, she rolled in the pool, then in the dirt, thereby covering herself in mud. Andrea very sweetly groomed her for me so she looked like a sort of respectable service dog on the train.

The night before the chicken swap I stayed with
<"Christine">
Who was a fantastic sport about hosting a strange lady and her strange black dog in her house. Christine also has a cat, Cairo, and what's more, Cairo knew that he weirded out Laveau; so his mission was to get her to snuggle with him. Laveau refused and would bark at him, get off of the bed or where ever Cairo was, and stomp away to lay across the room grumbling, and giving him that Doberman eyeball. Cairo went after her. She didn't know what to do with this thing which walked like a dog but which was not a dog. Christine also had German Shepherds and Laveau did know what to do with them-- play. In the pool, in the grass, in the house, and where ever. She played herself stupid with Sid and with other GSDs which explains why she slept like a dead thing on the way home and why she's been fairly lazy today.

It's kind of exasperating that the only people who have the dogs which can tire out Laveau live clear the hell in Virginia!

We got home last night and Mister Pawpower had bathed Mill'E-Max and Bristol so they were all soft and cuddly. Well Mill'E-Max was refusing to cuddle for a while because I went and left her, and she is not so forgiving as all that. But she helped unpack the suitcase and that went a long way to making her feel better.

Today I did not go to work because I didn't get to sleep until like, I don't know the butt-crack of the middle of the night last night.

Today I did laundry, and hung clothes out on the line. Then it rained because the universe likes flipping me off.
We took the pack on a walk because we are on a serious mission to strengthen Bristol's hind end. She seems to be doing great on the every-other day schedule of Previcox so we'll leave it at that for now.

Tomorrow I need to actually work and not lay around. Wednesday I have to actually go back to my grown-up job. Le Sigh!

Tonight, I'm going to try and recreate Skyline Chili which is a very yummy and unique kind of Chili I had when I was in Cinci with Jen. We are even having garlic bread with it because I'm on a bunch of steroids from the shrimp thing and OHMYGODIWANTCARBSNOW!
So... I'm off to do kitchen bitchery stuff with my Kitchen Bitches!