What's it going to be then, eh?

Fun fact: I write most of my blog posts in my kitchen.

It's true. I'm standing there right now, with my computer on the counter, directly above my dishwasher, and in front of the cactus cookie jar that holds treats not for me, but for Fuzzybottom.

Sometimes, when I don't want to stand, I sit on the stool that I keep in the kitchen with my laptop in my, well, lap. I have a stool here at all times because there's only so many cupboards one can reach from a stunning height of five feet tall.

Tonight, however, my legs feel a bit like they might either fall off or simply cease to hold my weight, so I'm moving this party to my bed, where we can get a little more comfortable.

Scandalous, I know. But please, people, let's keep things proper. My mother reads this blog.

(I'm absolutely certain there's going to be a shocked "Carolyn Jo!" issued for that comment. Or at least an eye roll.)

My legs hurt because I biked to church this morning. And, as I am prone to do, I underestimated the distance between the hall and my apartment ("Oh, it's only a couple of miles.") -- it's three point three miles if you take the route Google Maps suggests. If you tend to get veered off course, like I do, it's quite a bit further. Something like four miles. With lots of hills.

I managed to make it closer to six on the way back. I know, I'm special. I blame the trail. It winds around.

(via)

But before I embarked on my return voyage, I walked around downtown, window shopping at the boutiques I can't afford and grabbing lunch. Then I ran into someone I met at church a couple of weeks ago, and I got coffee while she ate lunch and we chatted. For both my lunch and hers, we went to Austin Java at City Hall on 2nd Street. Not bad. The veggie burger wasn't life-changing (potentially out of a box), but they have iced Vietnamese coffee, which is my current favorite and not everyone serves. Plus, the staff was super pleasant, and there's a lot of outdoor seating, which was lovely until the wind kicked up and tried to blow my salad away. The cupcakes looked yummy too, though I didn't indulge. It was bad enough that I was spending money to eat out when I stocked my cupboards just last week.

It was almost four by the time I got home, and Miss Bennet met me at the door all excited and antsy and wanting attention like whoa. So I parked my bike and we went to the dog park.

Mmmkay, remember that post I wrote Miss Bennet wrote a couple weeks ago, about the aggressive doggies? Summary: If your dog is aggressive, don't bring it to the park.

Well let's chat about that again. Today there was not one, but two major fights, involving some of the same dogs both times. One lady whose pet was in the midst of it decided to respond by standing close to the mess and screaming (thanks, honey, that's very effective). Bennet's response to all this craziness was to jump into my lap and watch from a safe distance.

People, she's not very big, but neither am I. My lap is definitely not well-sized for a Bennet. Nonetheless, there she sat until I finally shoved her off to go play, and I put down my book to be on my guard. Some of the bad doggy owners left with their pets, but not all. I should have left too.

Because then one of the dogs (who may or may not have been a fighter) decided to approach Miss Bennet, who was leaning against my legs, and, unprovoked, start snapping and growling at her. It's a big dog, so I'm not sure what to do. I'm hesitant to touch an aggressive dog at all, and though I considered picking B. up to get her out of harm's way, I was afraid the dog would have jumped at both of us. So the owner finally takes notice, starts casually calling Mean Doggy from her chair over yonder, but this dog is hell-bent on making B's life miserable.

Then it snaps at Bennet and catches my knee.

OH HELL NO.

I jump to my feet, furious, and see one of Mean Dog's owners finally strolling to the scene. I start yelling at him to get his dog away from my dog because it just bit me. Some other guy asks if we should call the police, since I was bit, but it didn't really break the skin and all I really want to do is get out of there, so I call Ben-Ben and storm out to the double-gated entrance. She's more than happy to leave, but we stand there for a moment, glaring across the park at the owner who didn't say a word to me. Though I just want to go, I'm shaking so hard I'm hesitant to drive until I calm down.

Jolly good time, eh?

(via)

When we get home, I have approximately one hour to finish reading A Clockwork Orange, which I started yesterday, in order to participate in the I Read Banned Books club at BookPeople.

70 pages. One hour. Go.

I did it. I finished the book at 6:32pm, got ready, and arrived at the store with 5 minutes to spare.

Go me.

And I'm going to tell y'all about it. Really.

However, this post is already far too long, and it's nearly 10:00pm, and I have to return to work tomorrow, so you're just going to have to wait.