June 17th An Invisible Cloak May Help?

Minnie and I have stayed indoors for a few days due to me being both under and over the weather.  Today she obviously wanted out to explore the neighbourhood. Now you would think it would be easy to leave her until I either had time and wasn't bogged down with work or when I had finished for the day..

However! When you have a little pint sized thing imploring you with her eyes and then when that doesn't work, she starts whimpering. For all of her size, it is hard to ignore the sound of whimper, whimper, whimper.  Come on you mght think, what is a quick dash? But for us a quick dash never happens.

First, you round the corner of a dead end street to get to the park and you see the old man who really didn't want to live here, but moved here to be with his sick mother and she has now passed. He is a lovely man but every time I get his whole life story. So when I turn into his street and he is on the path, there is no turning back as it looks so obvious.  But I steel myself for standing there and commiserating

Next up, we head into another street and a certain house has a high fence with Beware Of The Dog Signs everywhere. The dogs always greet us with much yelping and carrying on from behind the safety of their fence, but have been ominously quiet for a while now. Just as we reached their driveway, the owner (never met her before) arrived home and said how she liked my hair colour. So I took the opportunity to ask how her dogs were as they had been quiet for a couple of weeks. Talk about an Irene Foot In Mouth Moment! I get the story how her partner left her, there was a huge financial blow out and for some reason the dogs were both put down. I left that place with her hugging me! We just met?

Down to the next corner, and there is no avoiding Monty and his Mum. A good fifteen minutes for Minnie and Monty to smell each other's bums and for me to catch up with his Mum Needless to say we pass on the bum smelling.

That should be it. I turn the corner into our street, and there is the lawnmower man home for the day enjoying a beer with his work colleague. Lawnmower man has a new addition to the family, a small dog and he is ironically named Rambo.  Who always leaves the premises and rushes to Minnie's side to also frolic in the aroma of her bum! More conversation ensues.

The irony of the above is that the 'regulars' are aware I work from home,and always ask me how is work. So if it is a quiet day, I tell them. But days like today when I am only out because I got the whimpers and sulks from Minnie and I really am busy, I tell them. But it makes absolutely no difference if I say I am busy and really have to get back, because I still get the conversations. Which I guess what is being neighbourly is all about, and this is my neighbourhood. And Minnie's neighbourhood of course with the assortment of bum smelling going on!

Today's photo - I saw this inanimate object and it reminded me of the game when we were kids of Pick Up Sticks. I wonder if it even exists anymore? Imagine if each of these were coloured differently. Wow - now that would be a cool take on the game