Ordinary Life

The randomness of ordinary life.

Tommy Topaz was here this week — isn’t he handsome?

He and Starry wore each other out.

Pozy had her meniscus tear repaired on Friday.

She is doing alarmingly well.

Sparkler Jordan, nine years young, enjoying a lovely spring day 💜

Thank you, Dianne!

Starry G ran this track this morning.

Dogs are amazing.

Capella is preparing her complaint. She thinks it is unreasonable that she has to: 1) pull a cart; 2) pull a cart that makes noise; 3) pull a cart that makes noise and has 80 pounds in it; 4) pull a cart that makes noise and has 80 pounds in it on grass; and, 5) pull a cart that makes noise and has 80 pounds in it on grass and straight up what is clearly the highest peak in all of Idaho.

🙄

While she does that, I am busy getting things ready.

Address labels for my winning raffle tickets!

One more week and the fun begins.

Luck is for ...

There are so many excellent quotes about luck — who knew?!

Why was I reading quotes about luck? Because this happened yesterday.

I laid a carefully planned track for Starry based on specific training goals. Two turns, two articles, three yummy treats on the track in strategic locations to reinforce desired behavior.

As I was walking back to the car to get Starry to run the track, a giant truck arrived. It drove across my track, taking out a big branch, and then stopped to unload mulch.

In addition, a park dude drove over to greet the truck driver and they stood gabbing — right by the track where I planned to run my VERY VERY friendly puppy 😂

The branch that the truck took out? They tossed it directly across my track, covering up the first treat, which I had placed intentionally to reinforce Starry for working quickly and confidently down that first leg.

She hopped over the branch (and the treat) and continued on to the corner, which was a left turn across the parking lot to the series of islands.

The parking lot is HUGE but the steaming, stinky mulch was getting loudly dumped right next to her track 😂 What are the chances?!

The whole thing reminded me that luck plays a big role in success — good luck 🍀 and bad luck 💩

The truth is that we cannot control outcomes. All we can do is create and follow a process that maximizes the odds of our desired outcome — and wear Lucky Socks.

New Lucky Socks made by my Perfect Sister ❤️

Louis Pasteur observed that luck favors the prepared — that is why we train and practice. But trucks happen and for that, we have other opportunities. And laughter 😂

P.S. Starry did her track perfectly ⭐️

Have a lucky day 🍀❤️

Ripples

As I have mentioned, Pozy and I are early morning walkers.

Because both of us thrive on routine, we have a regular route. We make a turn onto a path next to a house where a cat watches us each morning through the window from his perch on a cat tree 😻

The people (and cat) moved in a few months back. I have not met them but I feel like the cat is part of our morning walks. So I ordered a catnip banana, and wrote a note thanking the cat for being part of the Feline Neighborhood Watch Program and saying how much I like seeing him doing important cat work every morning. I left this on their porch yesterday, hoping his humans wouldn’t think I was a strange cat stalker 😂

And look at what was there this morning, right over the cat’s perch!!

HOW CHARMING IS THAT?!!!

❤️