here’s a picture of toby when we first got him - he was 8 weeks old:

am I an abusive mother? toby was barking nonstop on sunday, so nate and I tried a new game to entertain us and also stop him from yapping. we call it “flying toby.” it looks sorta like this:

believe it or not, we got this shot in one take. I was the thrower…and if I do say so myself, I think he looks quite distinguished soaring through the air. we tried it using the bed and the sofa. I don’t think he particularly ‘loved’ the game, but I can’t say he hated it. I think it made him sorta dizzy, though, cause he stopped barking after that and sorta just passed out on the tile floor.

Ok, enough laziness, I have the ability to write a small column.

Bought a ’small dog’(term my grandfather used) named Toby and have been training him. Things he can do: sit, lay down, and come when you call. Things we are working on: Stay, don’t bark, don’t eat that, don’t shit in the apartment.

The pool finally opened after Labor Day and I made my first voyage there on Saturday with Scott. The pool is shaped like a square, with an entire side devoted to stairs (not just a corner) and it only hits 4 feet. And although it is not deep, it still managed to make us feel like dwarfs. If you’re old, there’s a lovely shaded porch for you to sit under, with your ugly swimsuit and wrinkled skin and staw hat, and stare at the “kids” in the water. Exciting. We figured that it was good for them to be out in the heat since they are cold 10 months of the year. It was interesting to see what types of people live in the complex - interesting and scary. It is in this type of environment that you truly understand why the average IQ is 100.