greetings from arkansas

b and i headed down on tuesday night.
not even the threat of record rainfall and a partially collapsed road could keep us away.
it was time to get out of the city.
it was time to get down here and figure some shit out.
and it was time to relax a little and be reminded of why this is all worth it.

tuesday night it rained. but i was okay with that.
every now and then nothing can beat a good rain.
yesterday was drizzly mostly, with a little rain.
this was winston's first trip to the lake.
tuesday night we let him outside a few times and he would just do his business and come back in.
wednesday morning bryce let him out and he came back in.  then when i let him out later that morning he and luna decided to take a little stroll.
i decided not to freak out.
they are dogs.
luna always comes back and these two stick in a pack.
i convinced myself of this for about 5 minutes...then i put on my VFFs and took after them.
i had almost decided i wasn't going to find them, but when i turned around to head home i saw them run across the street, from the woods to a yard.
i started shaking winston's collar (it is metal) and he came running right for me.
i love that dogs are still excited by the idea of a walk when they are roaming open land.
(side note: some people think pronged choke collars are mean....clearly winnie disagrees)
this is wonderful as he has proven hard to catch in the city.
the hard part was that he was on one side of a barbed wire fence, and i was on the other.
i got his leash on him and then wrapped the handle around a fence post so i could walk around the fence and lead him out.
then me and the dogs jogged home.
after that winnie spent all of tuesday tied to the deck, inside or on walks WITH A LEASH.

this morning, after a pep talk from ryan, i decided to give him another chance.
winston and luna took off around 7:00am, when we let them out, and came home by 10:00am.
i can't explain the relief when he came trotting up those stairs.
i am so screwed when i have kids.
they came and went all day, but i am happy to announce that as i type this to you, sitting out back, under a sky of (visible) stars, my little buddy is totally exhausted and sleeping on his bed next to my chair.

we went to look at houses today. nothing to report. as in we didn't really see anything we liked.
this doesn't worry me as much as it makes me sad.

but i can't dote on that....this moment is far too nice for that.

i hope this finds you well.
thanks for all your kind words and silent support.
it really has meant so much to me.