Sidewalk stories

I'm not sure what is going through my head at night, but I had another dream. This one was totally different from the other night, and equally bizarre. 

M and I were travelling somewhere by plane. For whatever reason, I had all the carry-on luggage, which was a lot. The way we got boarding passes was bizarre. Anyway, we got separated at the airport, and my phone wasn't working. I didn't have any chargers with me, and I had no way to get in touch with her. But guess who I saw at the airport? Heather from Stitch by Stitch! She was on her way somewhere else. What a weird dream! I think we missed our flight!

I'm almost finished with the project that I have to deliver today! Nothing like leaving it to the last minute! I have to make a couple of minor adjustments to one part for everything to fit together, but it's turning out as I envisioned, so that's a bonus. Plus, it's a new sample that I can later use in my trunk shows. 

I have just enough time this morning to make that adjustment, and then put it together and add the binding. All is good! 

What happened yesterday? It was such a lovely day that I couldn't stay indoors. I know! I'm my own worst enemy!

Murphy and I hung out in the backyard for quite a while, enjoying the last beautiful days of warm weather. And I think after I make my delivery today, I'll be back out there! 

MOM - my fish jumped in the pond! 

Because it has been cool at night, this was what the park looked like as we walked past at 7:30 AM. 

Mist in the park

Here's another thing to contemplate. Remember the saying - when a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound? Or something like that. Well, Lexi and I were walking in the forest yesterday, when I heard a commotion in the tree tops, and next thing I knew, this dead branch fell onto the path. A squirrel must have jumped onto the branch, and that was enough to snap it off, and the noise I heard was the squirrel scrambling to not fall! He was safe; the branch fell, and no one was hurt. However, the incident made a lot of noise! 

A dead branch that fell in front of us

An update on my AI search. CHATGpT and I have been having this grand conversation about what I want. Sheesh — you would think it was simple, but no — the AI generator keeps coming back to ask more questions, and then more questions. I've already said what I want - how hard is that to comprehend? Wait -- this is not a person I'm talking to! OK - I would have expected it to just accept the task at face value, but nope - it's talking back! 

Good grief — it keeps coming back. Are you sure? Is this what you want? YES -- that's why I asked for it in the first place! 

The other thing I noted was when I was editing a document yesterday. I have Grammarly installed on my big computer, but not on the laptop. I usually edit with Grammarly, but since I needed to babysit the embroidery machine, I worked downstairs. I used the editor in Word to help. Once I was finished, I ran the document through Grammarly on the upstairs computer. 33 errors! Those issues were resolved, and the document was sent. So, why is there such a big difference in the editors? 

What I find hilarious about Grammarly is this - well, there are many things I disagree with, but one thing Grammarly doesn't like is the use of Passive writing. It wants ACTIVE writing all the time, and I'm learning, but it's a challenge. I can't even give you an example - that's how well my brain has grasped this concept. So, if I am to write in the active voice all the time, why does it sometimes correct a sentence structure and give me the passive version? It's an idiot! 

OK -- I give up on using AI for my search. This time, with a "full crawl" through the files, it came up with 10 items. That's worse than the day before. I think I'll just ask the site owner if they have a record of what I'm looking for and go from there. 

So far, I'm not impressed with AI. It did NOT do a good job with a simple task. As I mentioned yesterday, it probably makes a difference whether I have a paid account or not. For free, I'm not getting much. 

Oh, that Murphy was full of himself yesterday. She came running to her toy box and grabbed a toy. Then flung herself on the floor beside me and proceeded to shake the toy. She's not keen on ripping it apart, just likes to shake! 

MOM - that toy needed to be disciplined! 

And then last night, I was sitting at the kitchen table, working on my project, and I spotted Murphy running to the TV. She recognizes the music from certain commercials and runs to watch. I spoke with her and told her to be a good dog, ensuring she didn't bark. If that were DH, he would let her bark and then discipline her for it. Sheesh --- nip the bad behavior in the bud. And then we wonder why we have issues with her barking. 

MOM - one of my favorite commercials!

Now let's chat a bit about sidewalks. I've been noticing these words on the sidewalks in the area. We've seen the yellow paint for years, but now the white writing has been added. Hmmmm --- what does that mean? 

What does this mean?

Well, someone walks around the sidewalks and marks those that can cause tripping hazards. The ground has settled, and the slabs are uneven. 

Well, I noticed this the other day. The SW CUT means to cut the sidewalk to even it out. Does SW CUT mean - sidewalk? Sideways? However, it is an effective way to eliminate that ridge. I've only seen three cuts and a lot of writing. Note -- that is NOT the same section of sidewalk. 

The sidewalk after a SW CUT

Here's my other sidewalk story, and I'm not sure what to do about it. With the advent of e-scooters, Murphy has developed a distaste for anything on two wheels. Motocycles, bicycles, and especially escooters. Whenever I see an e-scooter on the multi-purpose path, I make her sit, and I grab her collar because she wants to lunge at the e-scooter. Those things come fast, and they are dangerous. 

Yesterday, she was dawdling behind me, and I was looking at her, so I didn't notice that an e-scooter was coming towards us. Again, they are going fast, and it doesn't take long for them to be upon us. Murphy all of a sudden lunged, and yep - the e-scooter whizzed right by us. 

This is the SAME person we saw two days ago, and even though I held her collar, she attempted to lunge at it. You would think the rider would appreciate the situation. Nope -- he just turned around and looked at us. Hey buddy, you are also an issue here, not just my dog! Especially when he could see that I didn't see him. I would say that the guy has nerves of steel and good balance, because he has had to swerve on one other occasion. That is three incidents now: one that I could control and two that I couldn't. The SAME rider. 

Even when she sees a motorcycle on the street, she stops and stares at it, and would chase it if she had the chance. When they are stationary, she couldn't care less about them. But moving? Oh - she hates them. 

I must be even more diligent in the future, as I don't want to be the cause of an accident. Thankfully, it's mainly on the multi-purpose path, but we still see e-scooters on the sidewalks from time to time. I think it's the speed that bothers her, as she never lunges when a bicycle passes, although she stares at it! 

And I got a call from the vet yesterday, and Murphy's blood pressure and blood work are just fine! One small marker is elevated, but that can be due to age. So we can give her the medication again if we wish. That cost me $500 for the initial exam and the tests. But better to be safe than sorry. I have to pick up the medication since we paid for it, but she does not need it at this time. It's best to have it on hand, so if she does need it, I don't need to go through all that again! 

Well, I'm off to walk the girls and then get my butt back downstairs. It's relatively straightforward what's left to do, and now that I know how to make the necessary adjustments, I don't foresee any issues. I'll just force it to work! And we all know that things take way longer than we envision! 

Have a super day and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

Ciao!!