Happy Father's Day

Today is the first Father's Day for Steve to not spend at least part of the day with some of his children  (unless we count Walter).   Typically, our kids in Florida, will come over and we'll have a meal together.  So we went out to eat at The Counter where you custom build your burger with toppings.  

Steve received a free burger for saying, "BFD" (Burger For Dad).  We wondered how they would know he was a dad since we didn't have any kids with us, but they never even questioned it.  I guess he just looks like a dad and a good one at that!

On our way to The Counter we passed by The Ritz Carlton which is about a half mile from our apartment.  I looked for Lindsay Lohan sitting out on her balcony, but I didn't see her.  You see, the top story on the local news the other night was about how paramedics were sent to The Ritz to check on Lindsay after she didn't show up for work at the movie set (she's working on a movie about Elizabeth Taylor).   According to the report, paramedics entered her room to find her asleep in bed.  You know you're in L.A. when that is the top story of the day.  

Wild Walter

Knowing that living here is temporary,  I sometimes feel an urgency to research and explore as much of the area as we can.  But lately we've been staying close to home and there's a lot to see right at our back door.   During Memorial Day weekend we went for a walk to the nearby jetty and it's become my new favorite place to take Walter.














This past Saturday we returned to Runyon Canyon in hopes of a nice long hike.  We had not been there since January and we looked forward to the views and getting some exercise.   We had a few stops along the way with the first being our search to find Walter a new leash (which was recommended at his recent training class at Topanga Pet Resort- more on that later).  After stopping at three stores we finally found it.  Unfortunately the last store was near Tito's Tacos and well, we just had to stop.  Walter and I waited in the car while Steve got the food.

I learned something that day- Tito's Tacos and hiking on a hot day don't mix.  I barely hiked at all;  I went back to the car while Steve and Walter hiked.   It wasn't too long before they returned to the car with  Steve saying that Walter missed me.

Back to Walter's training- while he was boarded during our trip to Fl, the report about his stay wasn't that great.  "Crazy, doesn't pay attention, and plays too rough at times" are just some of what the staff said about him.   So we took him for some one-on-one training which was helpful.   He's a sweet dog just very stubborn.

Last week we bought the biggest crate we could find for him.  He had been crate trained, but hadn't stayed in it for the past few months because he had outgrown it.   But he started chewing on things recently; it started when we began leaving him and sometimes it even happens when we're there with him. He recently ate a tube of lipstick and his fur around his mouth is still slightly pink.  And just this week while I was watching TV he destroyed my favorite pair of shoes from Allison.  (I thought he was chewing on his bone!)

Here are the apartment repairs, so far:  

touch up the baseboards, replace a zipper on a sofa pillow, and replace the vertical blinds on both windows.  

He actually likes his new crate and hopefully it will keep the repair list from getting any longer.