Wine, Cheese, Sausage....with Dexter.

I gave him one tiny piece of summer sausage, and I'm pretty sure at this point I could quickly train him to vacuum the floors and wash my car in exchange for another bite. Now that's power. However, if I could choose a vino buddy right now, it'd be you, Susan. We could be sippin' wine, each on our own part of the sectional, watching Veronica Mars on HD. Bitchin'. Shit, we could even watch your Bronco's. I've got the game on right now. But anyway. This is just starting to sound sad. I sound like that Adam Sandler/Chris Farley SNL skit - "Just let the boy get your mail while you're out of town. He's a good boy..."

Ahem. Though I'd been holing up with Joe and really isolating prior to his leaving, I do miss my friends. My old friends. I have a few good Army friends here. However, the more I try to branch out, the more I end up trying to get away from someone who is a little...unbalanced. For example, my ex-neighbor who I have been desperately trying to avoid for months (and with much success) called me a couple times recently to see how I'm doing and invite me to a BBQ. Not long ago I tried talking to her again, and out of nowhere (we were talking about moving) she made more inappropriate comments about Joe and elements of his profession. WTF. And it's not just her. There have been others as well. So anyway. I'm on a friend freeze right now. I mean, I spend all day with people who need talk therapy and medication; I do not need that kind of crap in my leisure time as well. asssssssssssssssssssssssssq2 ->Yeah, that's from Dex trying to rest his head on the keyboard. He's become much more clingy in Joe's absence.

Speaking of my main squeeze, I got a call from him today. SCHWEEEET!! He's doing well, and I was glad to hear from him (duh), but especially so since the tears finally came a little today. I hadn't really cried yet. I mean, I dropped him off at work when he left. Minus the extra stuff he was carrying, it was just like he was going to work for the day. This morning, though, as Dexter invaded my personal space immediately after waking me up - I sat on the couch, Dex sitting just inches away from me, eye to eye. I just looked at him and pitifully said, "I miss Daddy." Bah. But of course, after hearing from Joe, I feel great. Also, I got to share a funny story with him: As I was truckin' down the interstate with Dex today on our way to the dog park, these two douchey looking soldier guys passed me in a small sedan. As they did, the passenger did the full "head turn and stare" at me thing. I absolutely hate this move; I just find it incredibly disrespectful - like I'm on display or something. So after they passed me, I watched the passenger lean over to the driver and say something to him. The driver then looked back at me. They both smiled. Their car slowed, and in a second or two, they were right along side me. I, infuriated, grabbed the picture of Joe in uniform out of my wallet, slammed it up against the window toward them, smiled, gave them a thumbs up and pointed to the picture. They gave nervous smiles back and immediately left me alone. Yeah, and hilariously, I ended up following them on to post and almost to their barracks. (I didn't mean to - that's just where the DP is.) I hope they were afraid.

That was pretty much the highlight of my day. Dex had a good couple hours at the dog park with his buddies, and I got to talk to a couple of my girlfriends while we were there. I also got to meet a Vizsla puppy named Rex and a French Bulldog named Meatball. It really just doesn't get any better than that. In fact, I may have a lead on a litter of Vizslas that are getting rescued. I'm thinking about a friend for Dex. Thoughts?

And so, here we are. Dex has finally left me alone, given up on more sausage, and is resting comfortably on the other half of the sectional. I'm sitting on my half, sipping wine, and "talking" to you all. The dishes are all done. The fridge is cleaned out. The trash is at the curb. The roof, though still duct taped, isn't leaking. And the game is on HD (go Bronco's!). Life is good.