Emerging……

I just had an impromptu Thai dinner with my son after dropping Carli off with the couple that wants to be part of the Carli “care taking community”. I have used the past 2 weeks of getting to know and love Carli as cover for my desire to not interact too much with the world. I have acclimatized reasonably well to the heat/humidity over the past month. – enough that I chose to walk the half mile to dinner rather than drive. SCORE

On the drive to drop Carli off, I learned that I need to get her a car seat. She really wants to see what is going on. When I would not let her into my lap, she resorted to this position. While it looks like she was leaning against me, she was really just slumped across the console. She spent part of the tie with her front legs extended so she could see,

By the time I had driven the hour back home, Carli was happy as a clam next to her second mother.

Over the past week, getting her to eat and walk has taken some of my problem solving skills. It is clear she has been trained but she didn’t come with instruction sheet. She ate her dry food fine the first week, but then started eating only once a day later and later in the day (11 PM). She now likes her dry food softener with water. I put water over it and she checks it periodically until it is to her liking when she will eat it right down. She does not walk well on a leash but walks quite well off leash. So far she has not been tempted to run off leash. We have come across a couple of cats and she has ignored them. Off leash, she will still occasionally sit and refuse to walk but much less often than when she is on the leash. When she does not walk with me or respond to cues, I just walk away and when I get far enough away she will come. We definitely will do some doggie training soon, but for now I think we are in a good place.

The reason I needed to drop Carli off is because I have an impromptu cycling trip this weekend in LaGrange IN with a group from Ohio. One person who registered is not able to ride so all I need to do is show up. It is more than a 6 hour drive for 2 days of riding. While it initially seemed CRAZY, when I saw the temperature there is going to be 10-15 degrees cooler than here and it will be a beautiful ride through farmland which is so grounding for me, I decided it was necessary. I had my car serviced this week so I am all ready to go.

Last Sunday evening I went to a live music venue for the first time. My son was drumming for a singer, Hannah Bethel. It was a nice venue, good music and spectacular drumming. It had been so long since I had dressed for an social event that I found it hysterical when after the show and I looked down and noticed the tags from my top were on the outside. I just had to take a photo as I was looking down at my side.

I braved the heat last night and cycled 14 miles with the Nashville Slow Riders. The “feels like” temperature was 100 degrees at 6 PM when we left. It was a new route which was good but I was glad when it was over. My face was still red several hours later. Next week the temperatures are supposed to be in the high 80’s so it will be more normal riding. I am enjoying this Wednesday night cycling group.

I am really excited about getting in the car for another road trip. Hopefully when I return I will be ready to do more community building beyond cycling. I have some leads on organizations to follow up on.

The adventure continues.