A Freethinking Dog

I just finished Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog. I love dog stories. This past year I've read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (P.S.) and
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel.
Merle's Door is about a dog and a man who find each other on a camping trip and their life together. Ted Kerasote, the author, portrays Merle as a thinking, feeling creature. When Mr. Kerasote installs a dog door he gives Merle freedom. They live in an area where dogs are not leashed or fenced. Merle makes the rounds of the small town every day and becomes known as the "mayor" who must meet and greet all his constituents. I thoroughly enjoyed Merle's Door and was sad when it ended as our own dog stories do with aging and death.

notes from the checkout

Last week a brand new grocery store in a brand new building opened across the street from us. It's beautiful, glitzy, and on staple items pricey. Our store was relatively quiet last week since everyone was across the street. I think the assistant manager did a good job scheduling us. It wasn't crazy busy but it wasn't totally dead either. Some of the customers who came into our store had been across the street told us that we don't have a lot to worry about. Sure, their sales are good but the things people buy every day are more expensive. We'll see what happens after all the excitement dies down. Our boss told us to give the best customer service possible (which we should be doing anyway) to keep our customer base coming back to us.

How Can I Keep From Singing?

I've given up on my women's spirituality group. I haven't liked any of the book selections so far. Yes, I know I'm picky, but long ago as a bookseller I decided that with the limited time I have in this life I want to read books I like. I confess, I am a book snob. Hmmm, the church choir practices on the same night that the spirituality group meets. I love singing and I've really missed singing with the choir after being out for a year.
Today was our choir's first day back after summer vacation. It feels so good to be back singing with my friends and getting my voice into shape again. Singing is like flying, it makes my heart soar. There is the discipline of practice but the joy makes it well worth the work.

Notes from the Checkout

I worked from afternoon through evening yesterday. It seemed like every small child was crying. I mentioned to one of my customers that I hadn't heard as many kid meltdowns on the same day for a long time. She reminded me that it was the first day of school for Seattle Public Schools. Even if the small child was not going to school, if their siblings were there was a change in routine. They had to go to bed earlier the night before and get up earlier yesterday morning. I remembered being unable to sleep before the first day of school back in the day. Ah, there was an explanation for the behavior and also why we were so busy in the evening. When it was punch out time I was glad to go home for a little peace and quiet.

Multitasking

There are some things that one can do at the same time like making a peanut butter sandwich and checking out the internet. One shouldn't try to preheat a pan for frying eggs while on the internet. I remembered before there was a disaster but the pan was too hot and I had to cool it down before I could pop the eggs in it. Lesson learned until the next time.

Outrage in the USA

Why is it that whenever something simple like President Obama's address to school children is announced those of the opposite political bent become outraged? Since when would it be outrageous for the President of the United States to tell it's children, "Stay in school"? Do they think that the kids' eyes are going to be held open ala A Clockwork Orange?

Honestly people, I don't think President Obama is going to turn your child into a "gasp" Democrat with just one speech. There's politics and then there is history. I remember watching President Lyndon Johnson's inauguration speech at school in fifth grade and I don't remember a word of it. How many of the kids that President George W. Bush read to turned into Republicans? Aren't there times when the president is just the president instead of a product of the political machine?

I have neglected my blog for too long. I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I finally broke down and bought a

It came down far enough in price to make it worth it to me. I love it! Most books are $9.99, some are a more expensive, but some books that are in the public domain are free or of nominal cost. I've been rediscovering classics. They are so much more fun when you don't have to read them. Classics usually take me longer than the three-week period our library allows so I'm better off buying them. I've re-read A Tale of Two Cities: 150th Anniversary (Signet Classics)
They wouldn't let me link to the Kindle edition but it was less than a dollar. Right now I'm reading Treasure Island (Signet Classics) which I got for free on Kindle. It's so easy to order books that I have tried to limit myself to buying books that cost $9.99 or more to one on payday. I loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Random House Reader's Circle) and
Shanghai Girls: A Novel by Lisa See. I don't think I've read so much since I worked at a bookstore. I have heard bad things about the Kindle cracking when using one of the covers sold on Amazon so I bought a much cheaper fabric cover made by Book Sox at Staples during their back-to-school sales. It's worked quite well. I did decide to purchase the extended warranty after reading some tales of woe on one of the Kindle blogs.
Oh, and I haven't neglected my library. I'm reading Palace Council (Vintage Contemporaries) by Stephen L. Carter. There is one drawback with library books though and that is that they are heavy. I just make sure to read them at home, when I have a long lunch at work, or when I have some extra room in my backpack.