I woke up really early a few times this morning and saw the dogs were still outside, but the girls were fast asleep. I had hoped they would eventually wake up and take the dogs to the Liberty dog wash like they promised after not taking them last night, but it just never happened. The last time I woke up and was ready to stay awake, the girls still hadn’t budged and the dogs were gone. I made a quick circle around the block, and even ran back by the garage sale, but didn’t see them. I came back home because it started sprinkling and just fumed over half-finished tasks.
Summer wanted to come home from work on Friday and work in the yard, but the fence wasn’t repaired. The girls wanted to bathe the dogs outside and left the hose and a bunch of flea and tick shampoo sitting out on the ground in the sun. More soap and some rubber gloves were up on the deck, but the gloves had been torn up, along with the foam handle on the hose sprayer. If I hadn’t made Eaddie take care of it before she went to bed, she would have still had suitcases in her floor from her band trip. I was sick of it.
I sat on the porch until Summer finally came out, and I lit her up for it all. She took the Pathfinder around the block and ended up finding the dogs just as I took the Onewheel back out again between raindrops. She got them home but wanted to take them straight to the wash with Eaddie, so I loaded up and drove separately to meet them. She really wanted to get a leash so we could obey the rules of the wash, so I stopped by my parents’ house and got an old choke collar and some rope from Dad.
The wash would only start with a $10 payment for 10 minutes, but you could add five more minutes for $4. Since we only got one dog out of the car at a time, we just started three different sessions. Muad’dib was the first to go, and the most upset by the whole process. He also hated the leash, but would behave fine without it, so we eventually got him finished and back into the car. When we took Chani, someone had peed on the tarp, so we threw a towel in to soak it up before it got onto the upholstery. By the time we finally got Stilgar, someone had pooped as well, and it wasn’t at all solid.
We had occupied the only working bath out of the two in the room for just over thirty minutes while it rained outside. Another guy came in and talked to us while we worked, and then wanted to show off his giant dog as we left. Once we got the dogs back inside the fence, we cleaned up the car and the tarp, and made sure they had plenty of food. Nobody was permanently emotionally scarred by the bathing, and I pulled a few more ticks before we went inside to clean up ourselves.
We left for Little Rock about three hours later than I wanted, so we’d be late for lunch. Eaddie was feeling sick from lack of food, so we stopped at the Morrilton Drive Inn, which had new owners and was now called Nooner’s Diner. We had some fried pickles and mushrooms, which didn’t seem like a good idea for an upset stomach, but it got us on the road again. It wasn’t anywhere near a typical meal time by the time we got to Red Lobster, so I wasn’t completely confident we would actually get to go back for a second meal, but I still ordered something other than what I really wanted. I figured the crab pasta would be filling enough to get us through some shopping. I hated it. At least the girls liked their food.
I expressed some pretty strong feelings when Eaddie said Autumn had texted her asking to trade vehicles so she could have the Pathfinder, so Summer held a grudge against me for most of the rest of the day. I just can’t abide terrible people, and that whole family is rotten in spite of any good deeds in the past. There’s no one-time-saves-all in my Book.
After we ate, the girls wanted to stop at Ross, but then didn’t want to actually shop for anything, so we left and went to Shoe Carnival. They didn’t have a whole lot that interested me, and what they did have was too expensive. I finally found a pair on clearance that I thought would suit my needs, and after coupons I only paid $10.
Next up was Old Navy, where Eaddie actually got excited to try on some clothes. I was feeling so parched that I couldn’t wait to find a fountain, so I bought a $3.50 Dasani, but I would have let myself die of thirst if I had known the price before I cracked the top.
I took us to Kohl’s after that, and it seemed like about half the store was a clearance section for the ladies, so Eaddie looked everywhere and tried on a bunch of things again. At least they had a bottle filler, and I drank several more full bottles while I waited.
Finally, I took us to Baskin-Robbins for some ice cream. I was pretty disappointed in the portions for the price, but it was tasty. I couldn’t convince the girls to go to Red Lobster again, so we headed home where the puppies were all still waiting for us. Eaddie and I played with them for a bit, and all of their fur felt way better after their bath in the morning. Hopefully the ticks fall away and everyone will be happy. The girls went to bed pretty quickly, but of course I still had chores.
Maybe we just need a morning walk.