Les Animaux

I live in a small suburb on the eastside of Seattle named Redmond. Despite being a center of technology as home to Microsoft and Nintendo of America, Redmond is a small city and still has a small town feel to it. Our house is a couple miles out of town, out in farmland, so we sometimes see wildlife around us. This morning, as I was walking down our long driveway to the mailbox, I frightened two male deer that were hanging out on our lot. And that is why, despite the rain and the gray, this is such an awesome place to live. I love it and I hate it at the same time. Darn it, why can’t I make up my mind?!?

While I was in France, Jody decided she wanted a dog. We already have one dog, an old shih tzu named Charlie Brown with eye, ear, and skin problems. He’s getting really old these days. Apparently, the oven/stove frightens him. Anyway, Jody decided she wanted a new dog, so she and my mom adopted a Rhodesian Ridgeback (sounds like a dragon from Harry Potter). Since I got home, I’ve been trying to get used to this dog. It feels odd to me that the dog has been adopted into the home, and has routines and habits, and its stuff is all over the house, without me. I realize that sentence is really poorly worded, but can you understand what I’m trying to say? It would be like if you went off to college, and during the school year, your parents adopted an eleven-year-old girl from China, you know? And the girl’s stuff was in your bathroom, her shampoo where your shampoo used to be. It would be weird. Trust me.

We went to a dog park today, and this guy was asking about our dog’s breed, because she’s a ridgeback, but she’s actually a mix. And I guess he could tell. But anyway, Jody was all, “Yeah, she has Norwegian Ridgeback in her.” Hahaha! Norwegian Ridgeback! Haha! (I’m not the only one laughing, am I?)

So I know I should write about my trip, but I find the task daunting. I don’t really know what to say about it. I have about a million photos that I’m trying to sort through. The trip was really cool, but a bit of a whirlwind. The first week or so was fine because we stayed a few days in the same places, but the middle bit was insane because we were spending each night in a different town. Since we were traveling by train, this didn’t leave us much time for sightseeing. If you’re ever planning to travel around France, and you want to see smaller towns, don’t go by train! Rent a car!

Anyhoo, lessons learned and all that. We had fun. And it was nice to spend quality time with my sis, even though there were a couple times where I felt like strangling her. I hope this trip has taught me patience. At any rate, it’s really good to be home.

So, I’ll write more about the trip when it’s a little less daunting. I mean, how do you summarize three weeks of travel? It ain’t easy. I’ll work on it, though. Meanwhile, I also have tons of catching up to do on my favorite blogs. I think I’ll work on that now. Laters!