The Book Tally

We're moving, which foments topics, though not time, for blogging. In any case, I've had a chance to take stock of my books, so I'm finally publishing a list (in some cases, to the best of my memory) of books Blondie has eaten. It's a nice little microcosmic autobiography (of me, not the dog):

American Heritage Pocket Dictionary
Benjamin, Carol Lee, Surviving Your Dog’s Adolescence: A Positive Training Program
Crewdson, Gregory, Twilight
The Daily Show and Jon Stewart, America, The Book: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction
Faulkner, William, The Sound and the Fury*
Fauset, Jesse, There Is Confusion
Gilfoyle, Timothy, Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark***
Gilroy, Paul, There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack
Glaspell, Susan, Plays
James, C.L.R., C.L.R. James on the “Negro Question”
Kuhl, Nancy, Extravagant Crowd: Carl Van Vechten’s Portraits**
Lawrence, Jacob, The Great Migration**
Lee, Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird
Lonely Planet, Southeast Asia on a Shoestring
Manning, Russ, 100 Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Nafisi, Asar, Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Norton Anthology of American Literature (edition chewed off)
The Norton Anthology of Poetry
O’Keefe, Georgia, The Poetry of Things**
Obama, Barack, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Parker, Wolf, and Block, Scene Design and Stage Lighting
Reed, Adolph, Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era****
Rowling, J.K., Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*****
Spitz, Bob, The Beatles: The Biography

* This book was over 15 years old and I had read it multiple times. Probably why it was so tasty.
** An art book :(
*** a free review copy that a friend gave me
**** nibbled, but not eaten. Maybe he found it distasteful (though I do not).
***** a borrowed book that I had to replace (see the media edition of this list for more of these)

Today I left the house without securing a box of records I had packed. So stay tuned for the media edition!

dog-opticon

Chris and I are going on vacation soon, and we hoped our friends who often dog sit for Blondie would be able to take care of him, but, eek, they can't! We weren't sure boarding Blondie would be a good idea or even possible, because of his people aggression. But we contacted the behaviorist and found out that the doggie daycare where she offers classes is pretty good with "special needs" dogs like Blondie (I'm not kidding, she really said "special needs," and they also used the word "special." Blondie thinks "a special" is a pig ear treat.)

Today I brought Blondie over for an evaluation, and he passed! The best part: he gets to do group daycare, which means he'll get to spend most of every day playing with other dogs while we're gone. I'm hugely relieved. Also, they have a webcam, so we'll be able to check on him while we're gone. (I know, I'm pathetic.)

It's a pretty posh-looking place, all hip and steel and glass. Luckily, the rates are pretty comparable to all the other places in town, so it won't break the bank, and we're staying with friends when we're gone, so the lodging budget can go to the dog. (Here's where I reel at how crazy this dog has made my life.)

National Pig Day

It's National Pig Day--hooray for Pinto, the painting pig at the Brookfield Zoo! (He plays basketball, too!)