Weekend Review {5/23}

From the beginning now...

THURSDAY

We left for MD Thursday morning at 0930.  I had intended on leaving around 0900, but I got distracted and I hadn't planned on picking a dog when we went to bed.  We met a SHUG parent in Florence, SC to pick up Tula and transport her to the SHUG HQ on our way to MD.

After I heard she was an escape ninja, she didn't get to leave her crate.  #notsorry

Since we were already off the interstate, we opted to grab lunch somewhere close.  Yelp to the rescue, we stopped at Which Wich (NOM) then got back on the road.

Makin' Teh Sister jealous with an egg salad sandwich with avocado from Which Wich.

Passing a greyhound bus on the trek to MD is never a guarantee, so this was our hello from Phil.

I made a moderately poor (but ultimately good) life choice to drive all the way to SHUG HQ to drop off Tula rather than having someone meet me in Waldorf.  This served dual purposes.  1- We didn't have to wait on anyone to meet us.  2- I got to hang out with some borzoi and promptly reconsidered my borzoi desire after wearing all of the dogs I had loved on.

I got smooches from the infamous Lucy,
an adorable, yet naughty borzoi who I stalk on social media.

Lucy was caught eating the stairs.. someone else had chewed there before.

After dropping off Tula and letting Meri get almost gang banged by all the dogs at SHUG HQ (#sorrynotsorry, Meri), we continued our adventure through DC and down to SoMD to Teh Running Bestie's house.  Teh Frozen Lover and her fiance were already there hanging out/waiting to meet Teh German.  We had dinner and hung out for a little while.

After they left, Teh German hung the new blind for the guest room while Teh Running Bestie and I got caught up after 30 hours apart (a new record low!), then it was bedtime.

FRIDAY

We kinda slept in on Friday.  We hadn't really slept well, so it was good we got to sleep in.  We finally rolled out of the bed around 10.  Teh Running Bestie came home from work early and we headed to Greyhound Central (GHC) to help set up for the GEGR picnic (which was the excuse for visiting MD to begin with).

Olive's pre-lunch nap.

Meri loves the fact that this chair has a direct view of the yard/tree line so she can hunt/patrol from the couch.

We endured the SC temps (blech) to assist with setting up tables and Teh German got to drive the Gator that he was promised.  Earlier than expected, we left and headed to Teh Soccer Mom's house to get Teh Running Bestie's car checked out.  After a diagnosis and a pit stop at Auto Zone, we headed back home to shower and prepare to head to the Tiki Bar, the start of the weekend Greyhound festivities.

This was an auction item.  Tempting.

Unfortunately, we were rained out, but Teh German did find a shop to purchase some cigars for the weekend.

When we got home, Teh German, smartly, headed to bed, while Teh Running Bestie and I stayed downstairs.  I got sidetracked from my blogging (which took a serious hit last week for reasons explained in my previous post) to configure a new computer for Teh Running Bestie.  After she purchased it, it was bedtime, wayyyy too late.

SATURDAY

Wake up time came wayy too early after the late night on Friday.  It was extra unfortunate because I was super grouchy.  On the way to GHC, we stopped at Starbucks so I could caffeinate since I was unbearable, like to myself, so I'm certain that everyone else was pleased to have to deal with me in such a state.

We were at GHC by 0930 to help finish setting up since we hadn't done everything on Friday since the storm was rolling in and we didn't want everything to get wet.  When the time came, we all headed to our volunteer posts.  I had the registration table, Teh German was driving a Gator to help people unload their cars and drive their stuff to the picnic area, and Teh Running Bestie was manning the foster dog pen.

Holding down the.. tent.

Teh German was in his element driving a Gator.

Olive shared a pen with a few other hounds from 2 different families.
Yes, that means that all but one of those dogs belonged to 2 different houses. 
Yes, only 2.
Greyhound people are crazy.

Teh German was surprised at how many people were excited to match his face to his name, since they knew of him from me discussing him online (probably here (hiiiiiiiii) and on the dog's FB groups).  He was especially pleased at how welcoming and nice everyone was to him as someone who was new to the group and the picnic.  We both received many condolences about Phil's passing.  After eating lunch, I talked Teh German into taking one of the foster dogs for a walk to see how we liked him.

The Cult People had been dropping hints about one of the foster dogs all day to us and I figured it was worth giving him a walk to see what Teh German thought.  He was receptive.  For those of you who remember (bless you) that Teh German originally wanted a Doberman, you're correct.  He did.  Then 2 weeks passed after we put in our application and he got a lot of static about doberman behavior and their high energy levels and their energy, etc etc.  Additionally, it had been 2 weeks and we hadn't even received a call back from the group we applied with.  ANNNDDD, Teh German had called the doberman rescue on Thursday on our way up to MD and left a voicemail asking if it was possible to meet the dog we had applied for on Monday (when we made the trek from MD to SC).  No call back... Teh German doesn't do well with poor communication (I'll just say I rubbed off on him, kthx).  All this added together to an extra receptive Teh German.

When we were done walking the dog, we brought him back and Teh German kept migrating back to the foster pen throughout the day to hang out with him.  At one point, we walked over to the remembrance area, where a printed photo of Phil was hanging (we had printed it on Friday night) and took a quiet moment to think of Phil and shed a few tears and Teh German said to me, "We're a greyhound family."

The safest place to eat during a dog event is IN a dog-less pen.

When we made it back to the foster pen, I was told there were several applications already in for the dog we were looking at and if we wanted him, we needed to apply right naowww.  I got on my phone and filled out the application right away, just in case.  Teh German hadn't said for sure he wanted to adopt the dog, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

Later on, I asked Teh German if he wanted to adopt the dog we had walked and he couldn't really make a choice.  I explained to him that it was fully his decision, that this was his dog.  We all knew that I would get a greyhound after realizing that borzois were just too hairy for me.  He finally said yes he wanted to adopt this dog.  I confirmed that I had already sent in my application and explained we had other families in front of us.

After talking to the adoption coordinators, we learned that the dog wasn't cat safe, and all the other applicants had cats, which put us in the #1 spot!  Since our vet was already closed, they couldn't do a vet check.  Teh Running Bestie had already planned on taking a foster dog home, so she said she would take "our" dog home to foster until after the vet check could be completed on Monday morning at 0830.  If the vet check passed (duh), then we would take the dog home with us.

Eventually, it was time to pack up and head home to feed the little dogs and then come back to GHC for the evening bonfire.  We were all pretty tired.  On our way home, Teh German and I brainstormed name ideas for the new dog.  We had decided on something like Jax or Dex or Rex for the doberman and we went with that.  When Teh German suggested Pax, we agreed on it.  Pax for Patuxent (Pax) River since that is where we adopted him from.
 

Olive (pink muzzle), Charger (butt), and Pax (green muzzle).

Teh German hanging out with Pax as he was settling.

First family photo!!

I showered and took a cat nap when we got home so I was pleasant enough to function through the evening activities (I functioned, but I wouldn't call it pleasant). Eventually, we headed back to GHC with Pax and Meri in tow.  We stopped for smores ingredients on the way.  We only stayed for about an hour since we were all so tired.

Finally, we called it a night and headed home.

She does this weird thing with pillows.  It's weirdly cute.

SUNDAY

Sunday was a lazy day.  We didn't get motivated until after noon.  Then we headed back to GHC to hand out with the last remaining people who were there.  Meri and Pax got to run, but we left Olive at home with Zoey.  After a few hours of socializing, my head was hurting unbearably and I was ready to go home. 

Pax playing with Lamb Chop

When we got home, I took a nap.  We woke up for dinner with Teh FL Greyhound Wife and Husband at 6.  After dinner, Teh Frozen Lover and her fiance came over for a few rounds of Organ Attack!  Since he is a "real" gamer, he helped explain some of the rules a little better, which was helpful.

Eventually, it was time for them to leave, so they headed home and we started to prep for Monday.

MONDAY

I got up at a reasonable time and hung out with Teh Running Bestie and waited on the adoption coordinator to call me to confirm the vet check came back and we could take Pax home.  I even was a nice person and called into our morning meeting, even thought I had planned to take a full day of PTO.

After my meeting, Teh Running Bestie headed into work and Teh German got up to say bye.  After she left, we proceeded to get ready to leave and head back to SC.  After loading up the car, we loaded up the dogs and headed south.

It rained almost the entire way home, with the exception of when we stopped in Roanoke Rapids for everyone (including the dogs) to go business.

When we got home, we opted to go on a pack walk, then feed the dogs, then unload the car.  Once we finally got settled inside, everything was going well.  Pax started playing with toys, Meri was resting on her slumber ball.  As I was unpacking stuff, Teh German and I were surprised to hear Pax and Meri having a scuffle.  It wasn't good, but no one was hurt.  Now we get to rebuilt Meri's confidence and teach Pax that guarding toys isn't acceptable.  They were doing fine in the car, so I'm hoping this will just be a blimp on the radar.

It took a while for Teh German and I to be tired after the adrenaline rush, so it was after 10:30 when we finally turned off the lights.  Then we heard a bark because Pax was near Meri's bed, so we had to turn the lights back on and sort out that situation.  This wasn't an attack like before, so once Pax was back in his space, everyone was fine. 

Thankfully, everyone slept through the night without issue.


________________________________________
It has been a crazy week!  It actually feels like it's been 2 weeks.

I went to Disney World and Universal Studios.
We went to MD for the GEGR picnic and hung out with Teh Running Bestie.
We adopted a new dog.
We came home.
Then next Thursday (as in June 1st) is my surgery and we'll have to find a new normal until I'm back to full power again.

So now you understand why the blog schedule was jacked up a bit, thankfully that Shit Teh German Said post was already scheduled (whew)!.  I still haven't been able to catch up on blogs in a few weeks, so expect comment spam in the very near future (probably in the beginning of June when I'm teleworking all month).