I went to Bikram in the morning. Afterward, I stopped in Target to pick up some Milk Chocolate Hersey Bars with almonds because I was running low, and Amazon said the delivery of my next package of 36 bars was coming on Wednesday. I also checked if they sold pill pockets for dogs and cats. Not only did they, but they had the Milk-Bone brand, which is much, much cheaper than the Greenies. I bought one package.
Then I went to Petco to check if they had a harness with the attachment ring on the back instead of the front. For the one with the ring at the dog's chest, you need to use a 6-foot leash. It's designed to teach dogs to walk obediently. This is not what I need with Elsa. I want to use the harness so that she doesn't wind up choking on the occasions where she does pull on the retractable leash. I'm concerned about damaging her. I also checked their supply of pill pockets to get a relative price. I couldn't find her flavor, Salmon, in the dog aisle. It finally dawned on me that I buy the cat pill pockets for Elsa. They are smaller; you get more in a package for the same money, and Elsa is happy as a lark with it.
It wasn't' until I got home and tried to Milk-Bone pill pocket that I realized that I had bought something different from what I usually do. The dog pill pocked is more than twice the size of the cat one. Who needs that for a 12 lb. dog.?
Shivani, Sidney, and I just hung around for a good part of the day. At one point, I asked Shivani if she started reading the parts of the book I sent her. She said yes, but it was so technical that she lost interest. She felt she had to start by asking me about my intended audience before she read on. I opened Chapter 1, which begins with the book's introduction, and read it to her. She said it didn't sound familiar. Winds up, she was reading from the appendix, which is supplemental material for those who want a more in-depth understanding of the linguistics behind the work and is more technical.
While the introduction was more accessible, she still had many comments to make about the technical vocabulary I used without defining it, my overuse of the passive voice, and, best of all, identifying what was unclear for her. She asked the questions that were raised in her mind about the work. Who was supposed to read this book? How was this work different from traditional phonics? The latter question gets answered deep into the book. She said it should be in the introduction. Boy, she is a perfect reader for the book. We've set up something where she will work on me with the whole book. She's interested in everything, loves language, loves to write, is even participating in a writer's group. Best of all, she is not trained in teaching reading methods; she doesn't even know many of the terms, so she accurately represents parents who might want to learn with this method. Also, she is aware of her own confusion when the words on the page don't answer her questions, and she is not shy about telling me. Love it!. I'm very excited to be working with her.
I was planning to go to the beach today with Shivani and Sidney when my neck and back started acting up. Nothing major, but I didn't want to risk being stuck on some beach and not being able to walk back to my car. I stayed home with Sidney so Shivani could have some time at the beach alone. We played for two hours straight. The laundry sorting system became a toy. The large dog traveling crate that I have to get rid of became a toy. He went in and out on his own and peered at me through the grate. No, the door was never latched. While he was entertaining himself, I was able to get some chores done. I set the photos back up on a table we had used for Thanksgiving dinner to accommodate all the people. I swept the bedroom and the bathroom. Yes, I had to move the towel rack that Mike had moved after his death to remind me that he loved me and, no, he hadn't left me for another woman. Sidney also played with the garden spray bottle with vinegar. It became the very best toy in the world. He was soaked and stinking of vinegar at the end of the two hours. He had a great time. I did too. I got stuff done that I had been putting off. It was a clear win-win situation, actually win-win-win, for Sidney, Shivani, and me.
When Shivani came home, Yvette contacted her, asking when she wanted to for dinner and what kind of food she wanted. We agreed upon Thai, and Yvette made a reservation for 6:30 pm. Paulette had already texted me, asking if we were still on for the evening. I texted her the time. She was over here by 5:45 for our 6 pm departure to babysit Sidney. She needn't have to come over so early. After Shivani shoveled some food into his mouth, he was out like a light.
The three of us headed off at 6 pm. I took my own car in case there was an emergency phone call. I may not be as good as his mom, but he knew me much better than Auntie P. I was prepared to go home.
The plan was for me to follow Yvette. I knew roughly where the restaurant was, but I knew that finding the parking lot might be a problem. Unfortunately, two cars got between Yvette and me when she made the turn onto the Mamaloha Highway. Worse yet, Yvette made it through the light at Hina Lani while the two cars in front of me were stopped. I was hoping she would be waiting for me on Henry right after we crossed Queen K. No such luck. I made my left onto Kuakini Dr. off Henry. Barricades were preventing me from making a left turn into the restaurant parking lot. I turned up on Kalani instead, made a U-turn, and then a right on Kuakini, which put me on the same side as the restaurant. Unfortunately, I turned into a driveway too soon. I called Yvette. She said the restaurant shared the driveway with Starbucks. That was a clear landmark. She was waiting for me and had saved a spot for me.
The restaurant, which is usually on overflow, was empty. We figured it was people staying home finishing up Thanksgiving food before it went bad. I had a chicken noodle soup. It was delicious. I wasn't' able to finish the whole bowl. I dumped the remaining veggies from another dish we bought into the soup and took the whole thing home. Between the soup, the leftover Thanksgiving food, the chicken I had made before thanksgiving, and the Salmon Shivani made that I put in the freezer, I'm set for a time.
When we got home, we were all exhausted. Sidney had slept through our time away. We said good-bye and thank you to Auntie P and went to bed. I heard the kids come in an hour or so later.
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