29 April 2015

Mancation

This week has been a bit of a change.  A quick road trip to El Paso/Juarez for a supplier audit, then load up the truck and head north to Fort Worth for our annual pilgrimage to the mecca of antique automotive collectors and assorted junk.  It's that time of the year again where my brother and I load up the trailer and head off on a short mancation called Pate.  Camping out in the trailer, drinking lots of cervezas, hiking all over the meet looking for god-knows-what kind of part or deal we need/want, spending money on rusty old car parts (or crap as my wife refers), talking smack with other old farts about cars and such, eating steaks, enjoying some good scotch, smoking the occasional cigar, it's all about quality time.  Will post pictures when we get back in town.  




And in dog news, last week we have had several rounds of thunderstorms roll through the area, some pretty spectacular.  Lord knows we need the rain, but the dogs are not quite as happy.  They sense when a storm is pending.  On one hand, Claire is a rock.  She's never been destructive like some dogs, instead she finds a spot to hunker down and ride it out.  After a few storms, I have found her tucked under the desk, behind the couch, hiding in the corner of the closet, she's even managed to crawl under our bed once or twice (neat trick for a big ol' 95 lb dog).  I even found her tucked into one of our laundry baskets in the closet.  Sort of like finding small buffalo in amongst the towels.  Grayson, on the other hand, is not at all happy with all of the rain and thunder.  He paces and frets and is really nervous.  I finally bought a thundershirt for him at the dog show one year and it seemed to make the difference.  Whenever I am home and a storm is brewing, I have strapped him into his shirt and he seems to calm down quite a bit.  I keep telling him it is his super hero cape and nothing bad can happen to him.  I am not really sure how or why it works but it seems to work for him, so I ain't going to question it.          


While I have been off in El Paso and wandering the lot at Pate, I left both of the kids with my parents.  My folks love taking care of the dogs - more opportunities to spoil their furry grandchildren.  I hear rumors of each one getting their own eggs & bacon for breakfast every morning.  I don't think I am eating as well as they are right now.  Of course, the rules about feeding them at the table have gone out the window for the week.  It's going to be ruff retraining them next week.   

4 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

I'm so glad you were able to take your yearly mancation. With as much as you've had going on lately, you deserve it!
It's funny that the thundershirt works for Grayson. Do you think it's because he feels secure in it? Well, whatever the reason, I'm happy it works for him.
Best of luck unspooling the "kiddos" next week.

Riot Kitty said...

I haven't heard of a thundershirt before, interesting. Enjoy the mancation!

terri said...

Shopping therapy for men! We women can appreciate the therapeutic effects of a good shopping trip. Why shouldn't you guys have the same opportunity?

We've had some good rain lately, but no thunder, so Lucy has taken it all in stride so far this spring. Good to hear the thundershirt works for Grayson. I may consider one for Lucy. I seem to recall wrapping her up in a beach towel one time last summer during a good thunderstorm.

Abby said...

Pate time already! I can almost smell the testosterone.
China is no fan of thunder, and I've thought about springing for a thundershirt for her. The cat's on his own.