If yours was better than that, care to drop a name for me to go look into?

i ended up getting the sahara shade hoodie from REI because it was on sale. i don't have much to compare it to, but i thought it was really breezy! i even wore it on my ~10 mile bike ride and didn't feel too bad as long as there was a bit of wind.

got some teva sandals for children that i'm digging and a shade hoodie for those really hot days when i don't wanna wear sunscreen.

went to the beach over the weekend, which echo loved! jean (little dog) hates the water, and i didn't want to have to clean all the sand out of loki's coat, hah.

new to us (15-year-old) mazda5 was awesome for hauling all three dog crates and our gear, but the AC stopped working 1/3 of the way back home, so it was a hot ride. 🥵

a little over three weeks until RAGBRAI starts. i'm so sick of training and ready to do the ride already!

howdy! 🤠 🐝

immediately the "drip drip drop" song from bambi rolled into my head!

all about the beeple! 🤠

(kinda) got answers about my knee. it's not a bone problem, and it's not an artery problem, so i've been taking larger doses of ibuprofen and got a better knee brace for cycling. so far, so good!

little dog got her first agility ribbons! border collie is probably getting her trick title soon, and we have our first lesson with a new agility trainer wednesday morning.

went bike camping over the weekend, which was nice. just a short ~13 mile ride there and a single night. i felt strong, knee held up well, and we had excellent weather and a fun group. RAGBRAI is only a couple of months away, which means i gotta get serious about riding my bike longer distances. the good news is i think i've only missed three days of biking so far this month (yay, bike month)!

was supposed to watch a couple of my favorite (dog) clients last friday, but their owner missed his flight, so i just went and took them out for a walk. still got paid the full day rate. 😎

went to go watch a sheepdog trial on saturday morning, which was really cool! talked to several people there, including the lady who owns the farm. saw a couple of people smacking their dogs, though (including the owner), so i don't think i'll be doing any herding lessons there.

saturday evening we had our annual beer party (everybody brings a 6-pack of something to drink, and we throw them all together in a big bucket of ice). the dogs did really well up until about midnight when they started getting cranky, so i turned in early and let my partner watch the party-goers for the rest of the evening.

sunday was whiffle ball with friends followed by challengers, and oh my gosh, what a movie. absolutely loved the whole thing.

hooray for fixed plumbing!

i mostly have dog news (no surprise there).

echo is officially part of the family as of saturday. signed the paperwork and sent it in! i've got her signed up for a trainer evaluation next weekend so she can get into a canine good citizen class.

i took the other two dogs (loki and jean) to a fast CAT trial on saturday as well. loki peed in the ring his first run (immediate disqualification, oops) and didn't seem to know what i wanted him to do. kinda kicking myself for not signing him up for two fun runs instead of paying for two scored runs. i swapped his second run to a fun run so i could walk down the length of the track, and he did way better that time. the lure spooked him at one point, but he recovered, and i think we'll do a couple more fun runs to see if he likes it enough to keep doing it.

jean absolutely crushed it! her fastest run was 9.477 seconds, which boils down to 21.58mph (34.93kmph). the slower run was somewhere between 10-11 seconds, but i forgot to write it down. she ran right to me at the end and leapt into my arms like a champ both times. she was also great around all the other dogs who were barking and yowling and generally being amped up. looking forward to seeing the photos that were taken later this week, which i'll be sure to post over on !animals@beehaw.org. 😊

loki & jean after the trial.

echo spending her day with another rescue volunteer.

jean is heading to another fast CAT trial in a couple of weeks, and loki has a rally obedience trial coming up the weekend after that. this year is really going to the dogs. 😅

*nervous laughter in cyclist*

it was my birthday weekend!

• had a slumber/pajama/movie party
• my partner got me new boots to replace my old ones
• saw petey at a sold-out show; he was great!
• found an excellent deal on a used salsa journeyer bike, and the seller even swapped out the stem for me and gave me a birthday discount ($1 for each year)
• a friend gave me an awesome new hat
• had the most amazing ramen i've ever tasted

and i kept up with my word count for nanowrimo! 🙌

i had my two-month follow up about my brain pills (atomoxetine). they’re working, i think! most of the bad side effects are gone. my provider okayed me for a 90-day supply, and then we’ll check in again. yay for medications that work, and i’m glad i stuck it out for the first few rough weeks.

chuck (foster dog) was supposed to have his stitches out last wednesday, but they weren’t quite ready, so we go back again this wednesday. on thursday he’s coming to the office with me in the morning, then going to his potential adopter’s home for a visit. fingers crossed it goes well! he deserves a good, loving home.

cone of shame tax:

my first foster dog, chuck, is an absolute angel, and i don't say that lightly as somebody who is very realistic about a dog's personality. (my own two dogs are certified jerks, lol.) chuck gets along great with every dog he's met, loves kids, and the folks at the vet clinic said he just stood there while they did his exam, like nothing was even happening. i can attest to that, as i had to give him eye drops this evening. i've only had him about a week, and i doubt i'm going to have him much longer, because he's the dog everybody wants when they think of a great, chill pet.