you must have heard me telepath you

That's what I told Tony when he called earlier tonight!

And just why were we two in need of a chat?

Well, I'm the designated dog-sitter for his vacation.

Yeah, I'm not quite sure how I got that job, but, hey, why not?

Having a critter in my life will be a good thing.

And in a week, the dog will have his people back!

(smile!)

Tonight, though, was a trial run for me and the dog.

It isn't like he doesn't know me, but I wanted to make sure he understood what was going on.

So, Tony and Laura had me over for tacos and her -fabulous- salsa!

That gave me a chance to visit with her son, Noah, too, before he returns to Missouri for his junior year of high school.

(smile!)

Tony walked me through the use of their fancy TV remote and the volume control.

He also filled me in on their internet, in case I want to log in for anything.

You know, like blogging, or something.

(smile!)

He also showed me the foods for the dog and told me his feeding and bathroom schedule.

I'll be spending the night, partly so the dog doesn't get too lonely, but mostly so I won't have to rise crazy-early to let him out.

(smile!)

As for Frosty, the white cat that lives outside, I was clued in on his feeding schedule, too.

Do you know that little brother of mine has the cat's cans of food arranged on the shelf in such a way as to make sure the cat has plenty of variety?

I'm serious!

And this is for a cat that dislikes him.

I'm serious!!

It all makes me very proud of how very far Tony has come in the last four years.

He just recently was released from having mandatory meetings with his parole officer.

Wow, right?

He'll still be on parole for a while (I think he has five more years), but he no longer has to have physical meetings, or even phone meetings.

That means he doesn't have that meeting fee any more either.

(smile!)

Plus, he and his dear wife, who just celebrated four years together at the top of the month, have made their house officially theirs!

They closed on it this very week!

Woohoo!

(smile!)

I am so proud of him, and so proud of how he has become a true Grandpa for his son's and daughter's children!

Really, that's part of the reason I took on the dog-sitting job.

He asked me to take on that responsibility and he's paying me for it, which means it's very important to him and that he trusts me to take care of Dane.

Yeah, I can do that for Dood.

Glad to do it, too.

(smile!)