There's an omnivore in the house

There is a nectarine missing from this bowl.

I didn't know dogs ate fruit - well I did really because as a girl, our labs and golden retrievers would follow me around with the hopes of eating my apple core or the end of my carrot. These used to be snack foods - not sure if kids today even know what the end of a carrot is. Anyway, back to dogs and fruit, let me rephrase - I didn't know dogs ate fruit right out of the fruit bowl, until recently. Recently, that is when I discovered a missing nectarine from the fruit bowl and Buster with it out on the deck, munching away. You see, Buster has a very bad or is it smart? habit of getting his paws right up on the counter and helping himself to what he wants. This includes the compost, butter, fruit bowl, drinking glasses, dishes, you name it. Don't leave an apple out on the counter - it will get confiscated by an omnivorous canine.

In the another great habit category - Buster, when wet, likes to dry himself off on people's pants legs or the curtains. Isn't that cute?

Speaking of canines - Toto nipped at another victim. This 'nip' created a couple pin size holes in the boys shirt. The boy was scared of Toto, making too much eye contact, recoiling and Toto growled and bit his shirt. Good thing for clothing. That was that. My best hope is to give young, fearful visitors handfuls of steak to re-program Toto's anxiety about strangers in the house. Outside, he 'seems' better . . .

Unrelated thoughts

• What's worse than gray hair - a bad dye job. A friend waved to me at a crowded restaurant from a good 60 feet away and I could easily see the skunky strip where her roots would be.


• Thank you to my women friends who I will call my e-support group. It helps get me through the day.


• My boss likes me to use a bigger, bolder font in email. He thinks it looks more important. For this reason, perhaps bigger is better and makes more of an impression.


• Seen on school medical form: Check all that apply - absence of one lung.


• When I complained about a certain 'control freak' at work, the boys declared "You become the control freak." Isn't that supportive of my guys?


• In the bad karma department - my mother dismantled my grandmother's engagement ring - as well as one of my favorite, tangible memories of my grandmother. She took the emerald out and put it in gaudy yellow gold. That Tiffany setting will never be the same. This ring was really how most of us remember my grandmother but mom couldn't look at it without thinking of Gram's bony finger. Well, well, well that new ring with the old emerald has gone missing, stolen she thinks. It doesn't really matter how. But don't worry, my mom still has Gram's old ring with a nice amethyst replacement stone. Yuk.


• Stories from Mom when visiting this summer: -She thought she heard Daniel howling like a wolf one night. My guess it was the coyotes in the nearby woods. -She brought and thought about mixing up some 15 year old spinach dip from a packet. This would be presented to ladies coming over for drinks - my mother bought this dip from one of them who owned a store that closed some 15 years ago. I did not allow her to make this dip. She thought it would be interesting . . . who keeps packets of spinach dip for 15 years and brings them on trips? -Finally, she related how her family had chickens and a duck growing up. She and her brother would fight over the duck egg and often end up breaking it. "Why my parents never thought of alternating who got the duck egg, I don't know," Mom explained. A very good point.