Parties and dogs...

This weekend I had a party. It was a good time for all I think. Well, it looked like folks were having a good time. I wished that I had been less drunk so that I could have take some pictures of the folks there and all. I never remember that there are about 13 cameras in my house, until it’s too late, and then, well, it’s too late. With the recent purchase of a computer, I am convinced that I should now also get a digital camera, because those are just 2 things that should go together I guess. And, I’ll have a place to store my pictures. In the past, I’ve stored pictures of mine on my roommate’s computer, and every once in awhile, he’ll get a wild burr and replace the hard drive, or just replace the computer, and next thing I know, I’ve lost any and all pictures that I might have had on there, and there is no way to get them back. So… Now I have permanent storage. And this is a good thing.

The party though, it was a good core group of my friends, and the SO’s friends all coming together to drink some beer, hang out, and eat a lot of food. I have to say, I threw down some money on this weekend’s venture. I spent I think it was $120 on food and beverages. That’s a lot of dough right there, but well worth it. Everyone seemed to be well fed, and well watered. There were deli rolls, mini quiche, pasta salad, sausages, turkey burgers, salsa, queso, and a few other things that I purchased. My most recent favorite discovery though was seeing that they now have Monterrey jack salsa con queso, such good stuff. Oh, and I made some semi-famous Lyster dip, which includes one block of cream cheese, one small container of sour cream, and an entire jar of green olives. This stuff is good, if you’re an olive fan that is. I know some folks who only like their olives floating in gin or vodka with a slight hint of vermouth, but I’m willing to bet that this concoction takes a very close second place to that. A very close second place indeed. When I’ve been at other parties in the past where this mix has been present, it has always been one of the first things to get eaten and it gets to the point where people are licking the bowl. I swear, it’s that good. Steve Lyster is a genius, at least when it comes to making dip. And fixing bikes, and well, I’m sure there are other things in there as well that I’m not aware of and I’ll think of a few later on down the line. I actually shamed Jason Darden into coming over for the party as well. He wasn’t even going to come, and then he heard that people were there, and he has a hard time NOT being around people, telling stories, and making with the funny. Now if we could only get Joel Darden to a party, but I have a feeling that is never going to happen within the next 2-3 years of his life. Possibly, never again. Then again, I think I can shame him into it as well. I might have to send out a “save the date” notice to people about the Halloween party this year, as I intend for it to be a massively good time. October 28th, that’s going to be the date for certain. Friday night, people are ready and willing to get down with the get down. It should be a good time. For the first time, I’m not having the Halloween party on Halloween. Why one might ask? Well, last year, I did it on Halloween, which was a Sunday evening, and it bombed party wise. Sure, there were big happenings on Franklin Street, but nobody came to the house for the most part, and this is what I’m really looking for. The best one I ever had was on a Friday night, so now, we go back to the schedule until the time when Halloween falls on a weekend again.

Something bad also happened this weekend. The SO’s dog, Beatrice, ran off unfortunately. She was let outside, and we assume that her shock collar for the invisible fence had a dead battery, and most likely there was some sort of animal in the back yard that she wanted to chase, and she took off running. When you have a lab/greyhound mix of a dog, they like to run, and The Bea can run very fast. This was Friday night, and Saturday morning we made trips around to the local animal shelters to see if someone brought her in, but no luck there. It was probably too early to check around the shelters anyway, and I’m going to go back and check again this week as well. The SO has called the police in Durham to report the missing dog, so they have a report on The Bea now as well, and her description. I think we need to whip up a few flyers and put them up in the direct neighborhood just in case folks around there might see her dashing around back yards, chasing horses, chasing deer, rabbits, and anything else furry that scrambles around. I have distinct hope that we’re going to recover The Bea, mostly because when the SO got her, she was a street dog anyway, a stray that nobody wanted, and she lived on her wits before, so I’m pretty certain that she can do it again, at least until the animal control folks can grab her, and bring her to a shelter so that we can get her back. Also, I have a feeling that she might just be on a grand adventure, and will show up at the door of the apartment, tail wagging, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth, looking for some water or something. She’s such a sweet dog, I could also see someone just taking her in, because she is so affectionate, and well, friendly. She is a little bit of a terror on occasion though, eating and chewing on things that she shouldn’t chew on, but then again, she’s a heck of a lot more positive than negative. I hope that she turns up, or that we find her again. I’ll keep looking for a long time before I give up on that dog.