Yesterday was kind of exciting. In addition to it being Cold Run release day, it was also my mom’s birthday. She and my nephew Mikey are down for a week to celebrate, so even though the morning was a “hard rain,” as Mikey put it, we still made it out to the Farmer’s Market for a quick walk, and then headed into the Fayetteville Transportation Museum to check out the exhibits. Mikey was quite enthralled with the steamship captain’s capstan and DVD that allowed him to pretend to be driving the steamboat down the Cape Fear River. He was less impressed with the little model trains, but as we were leaving, he was treated to the sight of an actual train rumbling by the museum.
We then headed over to the downtown area, grabbed lunch and took a quick walk around some of the shops. By this time, I was a little worried, because I had seen an email from the Carolina Basset Hound Rescue and had called the coordinator. We were supposed to get another foster Basset – but after my mom and nephew had left. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up the sort of which is completely understandable in all-volunteer organizations, I found out that Winston, a lemon Basset surrendered by his owner, was on his way. So, after a quick stop at the local comic book shop, we headed back to the house.
Winston showed up around 5:30, and he was full of nervous energy. He had never been neutered, and was friendly but again, nervous as all get out, which is to be expected when a Basset gets dumped with strangers, picked up by a stranger, sent on a car ride all day with a stranger, and then finally gets put in with more strangers. He was super skinny, with a prominent spine and all his ribs sticking out. He insisted on marking territory – inside the house. And he was stinky – even for a Basset.
We spent a large part of last night taking him for a walk, acclimating him to the house, making sure he and Mikey got along, and getting him into the crate, where after a few minutes of barking, he curled up and went to sleep.
So that was my day – interspersed with talking to people on Twitter, posting about my book, and letting folks know about some of the upcoming events, such as the giveaway, book blitz and blog tour.
The upshot of all this excitement, is that I ended up going to bed WAY past my bedtime, and slept through my alarm AND my Russian lesson. Most of this morning has been spent relaxing, eating breakfast, giving Winston a bath, doing laundry, and deciding what to do with this last day of freedom.
I think today we shall see about doing some more relaxing, some nice long walks, and doing some reading. (Also, I have an article that I need to write and send in.) All in all, a good weekend all around.
Winston, the new foster Basset of Perpetual Motion…
