Headin' to Medford

It was a lazy day.
From Eugene to Medford is a short drive so we made the most out of a few stops along the way.
We stopped at a rest area in Creswell, OR that had such a zen stillness and haunting quality to it almost as if soft, eerie music was playing.
I noticed the bare tree branches against a beautiful cloudy sky; the mountain. the grass, the flowers... the sound of the wind in my ears, and some bees gathering around one of the posts of the roof over the table I was eating my breakfast on. 

River was so relaxed and interactive and I'm happy with how it went today when I brought a toy out.  I wanted to see if he would bite and carry it. He was hesitant at first, but I teased the ground with it, and then his legs and finally he bit it and we took it and we ran with it for a while.
He drops it pretty quickly. I need to use a bigger toy next time.

I was trying to initiate a push of war with him, but he wasn't interested in that. He would push once but then when I pushed back, he was done. Next time I will give him a bit less of a push. And I think I may have forgotten to say "PUSH" which he responds to by charging into me, but I hesitate to use the word because he associates it with the snarling energy I don't want to foster anymore. I didn't get any of that today. We just laughed and played.

He found a hard piece of plastic tubing that had teeth marks on it and we played with that for a bit in the same way. He was a bit more into biting that one, but not so much into holding on to it. He gave a few chews as we ran and then spit it out, too.

When he lost focus and wandered off, I threw the toy so that it was landed near the tree and drew him toward it. Then when as was interested in the tree, I grabbed the toy again. Once he moved on from the tree, and sniffed something else, I put the toy in the tree and called "Ready?" He looked at me, and I made a gesture to the toy in the tree. He didn't see it at first but I kept pointing and inched a little bit closer, he finally noticed and grabbed it. I backed up and he jumped up on me and dropped it as I pushed on him.

He did a great job today, I was so proud of him.

River has a tendency to stretch out and knock into the joystick or hit the buttons or turn the knobs that control all of the interaction I have with Babe. When I'm not paying attention, he can change my map view or call someone or change the music.

I had to keep pushing him off the control buttons and we were getting a bit miffed at each other.
And then I came up with a rather convenient solution, as it happens. I hadn't quite settled on the place where my driving journal would be kept. It needs to be easily accessible, without being in the way. Space is precious in Babe. So I wedged it in between the seat and the controls. He can use it as a shelf and it protects the buttons from his interference. And it couldn't be in a more handy place in the car.


So that worked out well for us, and we made up immediately.
From then on it was smooth sailing. Pals again.

 

Last night, zipping up my new Eddie Bauer rain slicker, the zipper caught the lining and tore it. So today, I stopped at the Rogue River Mall and went into the Eddie Bauer store. I explained it to them and they quickly gave me a new one with a smile. 

I bought rain slicker with a removable fleece lining maybe nine years ago at an outlet mall. I wore it a lot, and loved it. Eventually, the internal lining seemed to disintegrate. Each particle stayed contained internally until the piece was small enough to make it through the mesh layer and onto my clothes, giving me the appearance of being covered in itchy white flakes.

So I brought it back to my local Eddie Bauer store and they told me they couldn't help me because the concept of satisfaction for a lifetime refers to the lifetime of the garment, not of the person. Plus they didn't sell that model anymore, so couldn't tell me how much it was worth. Sorry. But no, she said.

I didn't like that answer, so I went home and was prepared to never shop at Eddie Bauer again, when I could just as easily get stuff at REI, Patagonia, or many other places. But I also wrote an email to EBHQ and told them my story. They said they'd honor the slogan and asked me to return the jacket. I did, and they sent me a gift certificate for $75, which I used to buy not only a new slicker, but also to replace my luggage (which I'd gotten from Eddie Bauer well over a decade ago). I like their stuff and most of their customer service.

We pulled into the Motel 6 in Medford but our room wasn't ready yet, so we explored the Rogue River, which runs right by the property. I've stayed in this Motel twice before and never knew the River was so close. We hung out in that for a while until the room was ready.
Back in the room I had my lunch and then took River out for his feeding. We also explored a baseball field. We didn't go on the diamond, but walked around and hung out on high up on the bleachers for a little bit. On the way back to our room, River posed on this big rock in the parking lot.
Room 144 is right near the laundry room. And it's cheap here. Only $1.25 for the superwash and $1 for an hour in the drier. So I did all my laundry, and two of River's blankets. Then I had my dinner and took a shower. I've been writing ever since.

Tonight I plan to take a look at the choreography for some Rock and Roll Nia songs I'm teaching in Arizona next week. I haven't looked at them in a couple of years; they may need some review.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Food Purist

Routines From the Vault

Night Sweats