Dad here; Charlie's off gallivanting with Clyde, and not doing her usual Sunday AM diligence; I went to bed last night with nothing on my mind, but things worked as things usually do, and here we are. The back porch is awash with vicious hummingbirds, the only thing breaking up the onslaught is a tribe of goofy dogs occasionally stampeding across the porch. Some may wonder why the emphasis on the blog with the story…

Up! UP! scoot over! Get off! OFF! Really, Charlie? In the mouth? Down! Max, get your clingy self out of my face! Get back! Backbackbackbackback! Off the bed! Let's go outside, waitwaitwait, are you consciously trying to cave in my kneecaps? Sheesh... Mom:(mumbling)getthosedangdogsouttahereortheresgonnabetroubleitssaturdayforcryingoutloud... So this is how we found ourselves loaded up in Miss Ellie and headed for parts unknown; Charlie's ears popping in the pre-dawn breeze while I commandeered my usual spot on the…

Im not a fan of rap, but I am a fan of strut, and nobody struts their stuff like Kid Rock. As it says in 1 Charlie 1:1, "she that tooteth not her own horn getteth it not tooted"; the next verse reads "blessed are they which go around in circles, as they shall be called the big wheels". But what I really appreciate about the Detroit bad boy is under that preening, posturing exterior…

Things happen pretty quickly around here, and updates sometimes don't get the attention they deserve, or any at all for that matter, so here's a few quickies: Miss Ellie was doing great, and we were taking her to get a car top carrier for future trips when she began bucking and surging on the interstate. Thankfully, we were within a short distance of Zach's apartment, so we limped over there. After a night's rest, dad…

...for a good night's rest, one not marred with jarring thoughts of doom and despair or buzzing, nerve-jangling phone calls in the wee hours of the morning. Thank you for self-entitled dogs that obviously have no concept of fractions and right angles but somehow realize that diagonal and even horizontal are the ways to occupy the most real estate. Thank you for sleeping arrangements obviously engineered to help me overcome any claustrophobia concerns, the equivalent…