The Silence is Broken

Ok, I know I said the posts would be more infrequent once I returned from New Jersey but I didn't really mean a whole week's silence. This did occur, however, due to the arrival of a friend of mine in the area from out of state. I spent the whole week taking her and Prada all around Oregon, showing off our wonderful state.

I've got quite a bit to write about and some great puppy pictures for y'all but I'll try to break it up into several posts so I don't overwhelm y'all 'cause I'm sure you have lives and don't just spend all day surfing the net while waiting for my next post.

Friday, June 26th
Prada and my friend and I visited the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), where Prada took on the role of a K9 unit sleeping at our feet as we played around in the interactive CSI exhibit. OMSI is an interactive science museum so there were plenty of things to touch and fiddle with and sniff, including a static electricity display that set Prada's fur on end. She wasn't too impressed with that and shook herself out several times to try and diffuse the effect.
  I have discovered that Prada, understandably, does not understand museums. "It's a route, right? So we get through and get done quickly and go home and play!"  The stop-and-go viewing didn’t appeal to her sense of efficiency.

Eventually I got her to calm down to a more sedate pace as we toured the exhibit halls, laboratories, and such. Mom held her leash while my friend and I rode the motion simulator and Prada fairly jumped into my arms as I came back to her
(An anecdote I didn’t add to this entry but find amusing:  As my friend and I walked away from Mom across the museum’s lobby Prada kept glancing back to see if Mom would join us.  I corrected her but Prada kept glancing behind her…and walked into a pole designating the ticket line.  Way to go, dog guide!)

Saturday, June 27th
Took Prada and my friend to my grandmother's ranch, where we hiked through the cow pastures looking for the bovine inhabitants. We didn't find any of those, but collected a huge number of burrs and other irritating little seeds and stickers in both people hair, socks, and dog fur. I got to see how Prada would behave for a martial arts class when my friend and I sparred with both sticks and some hand-to-hand combat drills. I put her on tiedown around one of the porch supports at Grandma's house and she lay quietly while my friend and I practiced falls, throws, guards, blocks, and self-defense techniques. She got a little excited when I came over to check on her. "Playtime?" so I obliged briefly, then hooked her back up.
(Martial arts classes still mean “playtime” to Prada.  No sympathy for Mommy while she gets thrown across the mats—we want to get in there and tussle!)

Ok, I think that's enough for one post. I'll write more tomorrow and hopefully by Tuesday have y'all all caught up.