Busy Beaver and the Boys

Well, I broke my streak, doggone it! Sixty-nine straight days of posting is my new record on this blog, but I just could not get it together yesterday to make it seventy. Remember back in January when I left the house only three times? This week there's only one day that I don't have something to do away from home: two classes, two birthday celebrations, shopping for the two birthdays, grocery shopping, pharmacy, bank, car wash, and the least favorite thing on my list--checked off this morning--the dentist. At least I got by with a cleaning, for once, and don't have to go back for six months.

It's been a full month since I've done a "What I've Been Reading" post. You wanna know why? In a whole month I've read slightly more than half a book. It's a thick book, but still...I'm not getting to bed until nearly midnight, and by the time I've read two or three chapters, I'm falling asleep with the light on and the book in my hand. Writing my own stories certainly cuts into the time I'd normally spend reading stories written by others. I miss 'em.

A lot of my time at home has been spent on homework for the two classes and on grooming the dogs. Yep, still doing that. Gimpy is finished, finally, and I've worked on Levi two evenings in a row. All I've managed to do so far is rough-cut the thick fleece off of his back, sides, and neck and clip a little bit of hair out of his eyes so he can see. His hair is so thick that I can't get a close cut the first time around. I have to cut it down to about an inch long, then wait a couple of days while all those kinky hairs slowly unwind themselves and stand up tall and frizzy, then I can clip him closer to the skin. I haven't even touched his legs, chest, belly, or the rest of his face yet. It isn't easy to get a dog to be still for a haircut when another dog keeps poking a tennis ball at him. I have faith, though. We'll get it done sooner or later.

Here's how they looked this afternoon, squinting their eyes against the sun as they waited for me to return from taking the garbage can to the curb:

Gimpy (left) and Levi

I love these boys!