Nashville is ok, this movie has let me down.

I just saw that I had started this post while in Nashville. I don't know why I didn't finish it but I still feel this way so I think I'll let the title say it all for me.

Pig Dog Says Howdy!

Sunday Roundup

The dog is asleep next to me having puppy dreams and making her blerp sound. So damn cute.

The husband came to Boston for Thanksgiving and we had a very nice time. It rained every day he was here and of course it stopped not long after he got on the plane to go home - I wish he could have seen the beautiful weekend. At least we finally made it to The House of the Seven Gables in Salem (I feel I should read the book now). We had a nice dinner although I couldn't find the turkey roast I wanted so we had turkey sausage instead. Yum!

We've got a lot of renovations we want to do on the townhouse. In no particular order:
1) fix the fireplace (includes making it work and putting up tile)
2) redo both of the upstairs bathrooms (all the way down to the studs and possibly move a wall)
3) install a tankless water heater (there's a rebate on that!)
4) redo the kitchen (also all the way down to the studs)
5) redo the patio
6) finish painting

I think the water heater may have to happen sooner rather than later, though. The husband says the current one just isn't doing the job anymore.

S is coming into town on Wednesday night. She's going to drive down to TN with me over the weekend. I'll drop her off in K-ville and head off to N-ville on my own. I don't know what she's going to do with herself on Thursday but I hope she goes shopping or sightseeing. I'm going to take her to dinner Wednesday and Thursday nights - probably to Legal Seafood one night and Top of the Hub another. Or maybe to the North End... we'll see what she's in the mood to eat.

I have to get all my packing done before she gets here - that's not why I asked her to come up. A big chunk is done - all of my clothes are in the suitcase (except for what I pulled for the week). I've cleaned out the fridge and the cabinets and gotten rid of some of the stuff from the bathroom - it's just not worth it to drag cotton balls and nail polish remover with me. They have that in N-ville! I have to start on my office tomorrow but I'm going to ship all of that so it's not going to add to the headache. Actually, I can probably pack and send a couple of boxes this week instead of waiting to send it all on Friday. It can sit in the new office as easily as in the current one...

Hard to believe that a week from today I will be in TN, dragging my suitcase into my "home-away-from-home". Blech.

Finch - 8 Weeks

This is Meagan's French Bulldog Finch. She had planned to get this one, then changed her mind and decided to get the all black one. When I asked why she went back to this one she replied "when I got there, the other one was really alert but Finch was just hanging out and his one ear wouldn't stand up straight and he's fat. I fell in love!"

Who wouldn't?

Fish

The guilty party - she knows she's guilty because she was afraid to come near me. But she's really a sweetheart and Sofie's back in the bed as I type so all's well that ends well.

Dog Issues

Fish the prop dog peed on Sofie's bed on Friday - a bit territorial or just jealous. I washed it and Sofie's curled up in it right now so I guess the smell is out. I'm glad becuase it's her new fancy one. I'll post a pic of Fish if I get the chance. She's a rescue and has some issues but she's a good girl.

Countess Sofula!

What's Next?

Did I mention I'm going to Nashville for my next job? And that I don't have any time off between? What am I thinking? Well, I'll be close to my parents and will be able to visit every weekend if I want. It's also keeping the money coming in which is important if we're going to redo both of the upstairs bathrooms and the kitchen (apparently it's still pretty slow in LA). And if the timing works out, I may get onto a Hugh Jackman movie afterward.

The only other interesting possibility I've seen is a job in Croatia and Budapest which I would consider if I hadn't been in Boston since May. I'm ready for an easy show and to go home...

I do get to go home for Christmas hiatus. I have to drive with Sofie so I won't get as much home time as I'd like, but I'm hoping to get down to see Sped and Dilly and Dan for at least a day. I have to find out if they are traveling.

Timmy

This is Timmy - a cat the husband sees on his morning walk. Timmy is very friendly and tends to run out to the husband and throw himself down on the ground at his feet waiting for a belly rub. Over and over again. I think he'd pretty cute.

Scene from a winery

I want to have a party where all my guests come and sit at a table like this and eat and drink and talk and laugh for hours until the stars go down...

Sofie - A Trilogy of Bliss

JS and I went on a wine-tasting trip and Sofie took some time out to roll in the grass. You'd think she'd been tasting, too.

Monkey Friday!

Sadly, the monkeys have wrapped but we'll always remember Monkey Fridays fondly.

Office Dog

This is Souris - a Papillon with the biggest ears I've ever seen. She belongs to a woman in Set Dec from the other show with offices on our floor.

Puppies!

These are pics of the French Bulldog puppies my friend Meagan is going to choose from... She was initially thinking of going with the one with the white on his face and chest but now she's leaning towards the all black one. She will name him Finch - a good name.

Shower and Snow and Babies that Grow.

Jenny and I hosted a bridal shower for Suzanne this afternoon. It was a total surprise and a huge success! The only problem is it made me regret not getting to have a shower of my own... yes, I am still bitter 11 years later.

Anyway, it's been raining all day but there have been periods of SNOW - actual snow on October 18th. I'm told it's pretty early for snow but it is so enchanting. It's not sticking to anything but the flakes are huge and just tumble down - that sounds kind of dumb but I don't know how else to describe it.

I'm totally missing Dilly growing up and I'm very sad about that. She's so frickin' adorable and every time I see a pic she's bigger. I think I'm actually jealous of Caitlin. I hope I can get down there in December when I go back to CA. Sometimes I wish I had a regular job that didn't take me out of town for months at a time but it is what it is. I console myself with the knowledge that she's too young to know if I'm there or not but I think of her (and her mom) all the time. Still my best friend.

Something tasty from the shower - crackers with whipped cream cheese and hot pepper jelly. Try it!

Why the Industry Doesn't Take Boston Seriously...

"Just wondering if you fixed the time on the ticket? the girl had me leaving at 12 pm when in fact it was 12 am and she rudely wrote across the ticket in bold that I left early! after 14 hours of working I dont consider that early! im also partial disable and im protected by fedral law! any retailation or denial of future work will be an act of discrimination! to add fuel to the fire im hispanic and im 42 years old, so I got you on disablity, age and race! just waiting to hear back about my time sheet being corrected! there was another day where they wrote me leaving at 8pm and Its was 8:30 pm, if you dont correct these mistakes now its going to become a big issue later so to avoid the drama you should just respond to me and do the right thing and correct my time sheet. Thanks!"

An actual email sent from a background actor. He's very emphatic in his threats, isn't he?

September Already

One of the animals on our show died unexpectedly. They did an autopsy but didn't find an immediate cause and now we're waiting for the tests to come back. It's very sad and I feel terrible for the owners/trainers. An animal-rights organization is all over us for abuse and crap and it's just ridiculous. I had gotten to meet him several weeks ago and fed him carrots. It was obvious he was cared for so to imply they would neglect or abuse him is just mean and petty.

Beyond that, the show is going well except the AD's suck as usual and I'm super busy doing my job and their paperwork. There hasn't been too much drama - just minor diva stuff from the star and some of his personal crew. Oh, and one of the producers is just over-the-top. He was on another show that's sharing our office space and when he moved over to us, everything just went nuts. He makes deals and leaves it to the "little people" to figure out how to make them happen. It's so frustrating because he obviously only cares about being perceived as a generous guy to the shooting crew - the office staff could sit and spin for all he thinks of us.

Sofie is still universally loved despite her territorialism. She guards the area outside my office pretty fiercely for 28 pounds. She gets very barky and I make her come into the office and shut the door. I really don't want to annoy people...

It's starting to cool down weather-wise. We were gone by this time last year and I'm looking forward to seeing fall in New England. I'm sure I'm going to be complaining about the cold but at least the humidity is gone. Ugh.

About 1 Month Later

New Bed

Sofie got a new bed and it's pretty swank. That's her new hedgehog she's pointing at - my boss bought it for her.

Ice Cream

Sofie and I went to an ice cream social tonight. It was at a nearby dog boutique and was for charity. Sofie really enjoyed her peanut butter dog sherbet and my chocolate chip people ice cream was good, too. She wasn't thrilled with the other dogs there since some of them were bigger but they were all pretty good. Especially the big bloodhound...