Mackinac Island

Somewhere in Time!

This.

Also, if we ever visit the Grand Hotel, I will be greatly disappointed if they do not have a portrait of Jane Seymour on the wall.

I think one of the guys I cared for at the group home back in Arizona died. He used to ask me to bring him to my place so he could pet Harvey. He always said he could see so much love in Harvey's eyes. Such a good guy, he tried to mentor another fellow who had the same serious mental illness he worked hard to manage. The other guy was not receptive; but the fact that he tried just showed what a heart he had.

Sorry about the pup; I always hate it when the big dogs get a bad rap -- Rotties, pits -- because it's all training. They can be awfully sweet dogs usually.

I completely agree. Unfortunately, it was obvious this dog had no training. He jumped on people constantly and didn't even know "sit." He was probably just a guard dog, but I just couldn't risk that he'd been trained to fight - we work in a very rough neighborhood. And I'm still a dog-training novice. So... shelter. At least he won't die by getting hit by a car, or starvation, or bleeding out after a fight.

Sorry. Apparently still feeling a bit sad and guilty that I couldn't take him home.

My sister and I spent an hour on the phone looking at dogs up for adoption, and it's ridiculous how many pitts and rotties there are. And dogs in general. Spay and neuter, people.

Oh, Andi. That's so sad.

smonster, you did the best you could within the parameters of what was sensible. You did good.

Sometimes, doing what you can has to be enough, my dear.

Sesks! Yay on have a decent MD! I am liking my new doctor, too.

It's sunny today; still only in the 30's but that's ok. I think I am going to get my brows done today, go grocery shopping, do a load of laundry and some grading. Then PARTY! I am -- GASP -- going to wear heels, goddammit. I haven't worn cute, impractical shoes in MONTHS.

Sorry. Apparently still feeling a bit sad and guilty that I couldn't take him home.

Nothing to be sorry for. The fact that you care enough about the dog to lift a finger for him is a good thing. The fact that you care so much, and don't just sit around caring in the abstract but actually take action to make this troubled world a better place, is one of the reasons I love you.

I made the mistake of mentioning John Gottman's ability to predict marriage failure based on the presence of contempt in the relationship. The fellow ran with that and now, I'm trying to show him how he can replace his contemptuous language (learned from his parents) with more honest, productive language.

The what now? This reads to me like he heard this and started using more contemptuous language. Is that right?

I was wondering that, too.

The detroit airport has a psychedelic tunnel. I'd forgotten about that.

I love that tunnel madly. Not just for the trippy light show, but for the spacey Tangerine Dream-esque music that accompanies it.

Smonster, I'm so sorry. You did what you could.

That is super hard smonster, but you did the right thing. And it's not the breed's fault that many of them are in fact bred for fighting and aggression, but it's definitely possible that the one you picked up was. So you absolutely made the right decision, difficult as it was.

In other positive strangers doing for animals news, my neighborhood is so tiny we don't have a gas station, or any recognizable brand stores. What we do have is the Silver Creek General Store. And it is. You can buy vinegar in mass quantities, or bait, or tire chains. Pretty much any item you might actually need, they sell. At a premium for the convenience, but so worth it. We support them heartily. Without them, it's a half hour drive for anything.

Anyway, yesterday when I went (to pick up butter and cheese) they were in the midst of trapping and transporting cats. "What's all this?" I asked. "Oh," they said, "We love feral cats, but we don't love feral kitties." So they were trapping the four or five feral cats that live there, and transporting to the vet to be spayed and neutered. They were going to bring them back and release them, but they would no longer be generating more.

I was so pleased to see them acting responsibly beyond their obligations.

Was he trying to make his marriage fail?

The short answer is yes. Mostly because there is a story about marriage being chaotic and awful. The trick is to change the expectation. If he leaves the marriage, I want it to be because he has thought it through and made a rational choice. Blowing it up because he doesn't know how to NOT blow it up, isn't acceptable.