A Little Further
My in-laws got a new puppy and since we don't have any schedule, we drove to their summer place to meet him and, also celebrate my father-in-law's birthday too. We took their care and they are getting old, so while he drove there, I drove back. I think it is fast becoming the time where someone has to take his license away, as I don't feel comfortable with him driving. The thing that likely has kept him going this long, is that the car has a lot of safety features.
That aside...
Look at this little guy!
He only weighs a couple of hundred grams!
He isn't a very good guard dog though, as when we arrived, he was sleeping and he slept for the next hour so without even noticing all the noise. When he was finally up and had shaken the sleep from his eyes, he was playing around with us for about another hour, before retiring back for a nap.
It's a dog's life.
Their summer place is an old farm house that they have renovated inside with a country style and they spend a few weeks there with the family each summer. They occasionally are there in the winter too, but last winter the cost of heating it was so high, they kept it on the bare minimum to stop the pipes from freezing, and didn't visit much.
They used to have a house not far from where we live, but they decided to move into an old apartment in the city and renovate it. Now that life doesn't include maintaining a family home, I think they are also more interested in spending time at the cottage. The father is a specialist doctor, but raised a farmboy, so during the summer he helps out on the farm (where the cottage is) and rebuilds this and that. Finns are generally pretty handy.
Smallsteps had a ball there playing with her cousin on the trampoline and kicking a football. It hasnät really stopped raining, so her dress was soaked through and through and had to be dried in the machine before we headed home. They have a saying in Finnish "Summer dries" - but it is only 13C (55F) here today, which isn't really what most people would consider "summer".
There are a couple neighbors in the area and they have some horses which we went to have a look at. They were so bored and as soon as they saw us entering into their line of sight, they were really excited to get some visitors. Due to the mud, I wasn't able to get close enough for a pat, as even though I don't ride horses, I like petting them :)
And the view looking out in the other direction, with grain fields stretching into the distance, and plenty of forest breaking up the scene. It is quite a beautiful area, even with the heavy clouds hanging over the lush green. We might visit again when the weather is warmer, which I am looking forward to, as there are heaps of interesting flowers and bugs to take macro shots of and, it relaxes me.
What wasn't ideal...
As said, I drove my in-law's car the hour home and then just as we were in our driveway, I realized that I had left my hoodie at the cottage. Not a big issue except, my wallet and house keys were in the pocket and since I am having blood tests tomorrow morning, I need my wallet.
Then, my wife didn't have her keys on her either, which meant we were locked out of the house and had to drive to our in-laws (they had already left) to pick up a spare. Thankfully, they only live a few kilometers away, but I still had to drive the two-hour roundtrip back to the cottage, just to b there for 30 seconds to get my belongings.
Normally I don't forget stuff like this, but there was a "change in routine" with me driving the other car, and those change in routines kill me. I am not very good these days at pivoting quickly, so changes tend to make me miss what I normally wouldn't. I think this is normal for many though, where disruptions that break the flow of a routine, means pieces of the routine get missed.
There is a lesson in there somewhere.
It wasn't the end of the world, and it isn't bad to have a couple hours to my own thoughts along the drive. My imagination isn't what it was, but spending a little time reflecting still has some value. Though, it started raining very hard again and the driving conditions were terrible, so I had to pay attention to the roads too.
Not quite to plan, but a nice weekend to start the vacation season nonetheless. :)
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
There might be a cat inside the dog :)
It was the hottest day here till now with 90F and no wind, a great weather for sea.
It definitely doesn't have the grace of a cat!
Did you go to the beach?
I haven't opened the season yet :) The sea might still be cooler.
In love with that beautiful puppy...it's normal to feel fear when a senior citizen is driving and it's time to retire.
Driving on the highway was an experience!
The puppy looks beautiful
Everything and everyone in this picture look very amazing.
I like that!
It was a nice day :)
C'mon dude, the little pup didn't rocket out of the womb guarding... give him a minute to grow into a big strong guard dog to guard your hoodie and belongings. I think changes in routines wreak everyone up. I'm so super paranoid about my keys, wallet and phone, and I'd probably be pretty exhausted with spending a couple of extra hours in the car that I wasn't really planning on.
Do you think the FIL will give up his license easily? GIL finally gave up her license at 92 but I think it had been pretty worrying for a few people for a few years.
I am too. it is kind of like getting an unexpected phone call in the morning as you are walking out the door and then something gets missed. Do you get that?
Hell no. He is "only" mid 70s, but he has some mobility and memory issues. Not paying attention as much as he should. The reactions aren't anywhere near fast enough.
I thought I was going to be the one driving (our car) so it was a surprise when we took theirs.
Oh totally... I've had situations where I've been on a work call as I'm leaving and afterwards just can not remember any part of the journey at all... and have left my work laptop at home because of it.
Honestly I'm hoping Full Self Driving gets figured out before we hit our 60s and 70s so we can keep our mobility. I totally get not wanting to give up your mobility, especially when you're older and may need to get to a doctor or a hospital... but I've also had some really close calls with elderly drivers who just had no idea I was there.
Wow, I love that puppy. I have never had a dog (i had a cat) but I think that it must be much educative for kids and for adults as well.
Best of luck to you all for this new family member!
Dogs are great. I have had both, but I think I prefer the company of dogs, but I respect the independence of cats :) The challenge with dogs is, they are needy!
Would you ever consider getting a dog?
Well, Yes, I definitely think so! But for the moment, I do not have my own garden (it's shared with other people) so I would consider having a dog when I will have some space for them to live outside and having more space than just few walls
I think I would have given myself several raps on the head for having to drive all the way back. Then again, I'm only thinking about the costs but I don't doubt that it would be an excellent time to just let my imagination wander.
That's an adorable pup. No doubt about it.
Yeah, I wasn't overly pleased with myself, but it was my fault for not paying enough attention. Tried to make the most of a crappy turn of events.
The dog makes up for it :)
I'm the exact same way about routine. I can't tell you the number of times I forget something when even just a little piece is off. I have a hard enough time forgetting things anyway. So it's kind of even worse for me!
<(55F) here today
Lord, I wish. (Thanks for the conversion.)
Glad to see you got a chance to get away. The in laws place looks really enjoyable. I can see why you would want to spend more time there again. I would too. I bet Smallsteps was loving all over the puppy.
I could relate with you on the forgetting your keys and wallet with the change of routine. This has happened with me as well with my cognitive issues. I don't think on my feet like I used to and forget things easily if distracted or routines change.
Hope your holiday continues to provide you more opportunities to share some cuteness like that puppy and beauty like those horses and the fields.
Being babies and all, young puppies are generally terrible guard dogs XD It's so tiny and cute!
That farm cottage looks like a lovely place. Too far out to be anything more than a holiday home? And drat about forgetting your hoodie but at least it wasn't too far out in the grand scheme.
I hear you on losing bits of routine when something changes. I can't count the number of times where I've had mornings (it's always mornings because I'm awful in the mornings and do everything on auto) completely disrupted (and then struggled to get the rest of the day back on track) because something (usually) minor exploded or a new thing got added in or something got taken away or changed while I was on auto XD
This is a post with cuteness overload!
Sorry to hear about your father in law but it might just be safer for everyone for him to stop driving. You know, maybe you needed that two hour drive to find some moments to think and reflect that you may not have had otherwise. I'm trying to see the positives.
Becca 🌷
The dog is a cutie for sure. I need to take this lesson from you to be more dedicated to my writing (error, commenting) even while I'm on vacation. I really missed reading your content and my new involvement on theads while I was away at a music festival "on vacation." Better late than never, I am back and hopefully better than ever.