Hurricane/Tropical Storm Jeanne took pity on us and veered sharply north, missing us by a wide margin. Having said that, she's still brewing in the Atlantic and may circle around to hit us yet. I'll stop complaining until she's within twenty miles.

Weekend was fun. Sushi on Saturday with Steve & Michelle. Lunch with them at the Sailing Club the next day (avec les enfants, this time). Nice little massage in the afternoon. Syd and I tested her new cooking utensils by making cookies (making icing and piping it on to cookies is not, I repeat, NOT easy).

A note on our pups. Tiger and Smudge have been on leashes for a couple of weeks now. I let them run around with the leashes attached once or twice a day. It has done wonders for everyone's mood. Smudge, who never let anyone within ten feet of her (because she knew she was getting caged), is now a frisky and playful pet. Tiger, who used to find the smallest hole in the fence to get through, now listens when I say, "No!" No neighbours complaining about them wandering. No visitors running in fear when they bark at the intrusion.

The remaining complaint I have: Tiger barks at night. A lot. Last night, it started around 1am and lasted twenty minutes. Then again at 5:30 for another fifteen. And it's because he's tethered and can't check out the noises that grab his interest.

We're looking into the electic fence/shock collar solution for a couple of reasons. One, to stop the barking. Two, for protection. The dogs are better than any alarm system at keeping people from coming on to the property and they're not so effective when tied up. Saturday night, someone tried to get into Steve & Michelle's property. Luckily, they have a Great Dane the size of a Buick whose just as protective of her turf as Tiger & Smudge are of ours. But it did make me wonder what Tiger barked at last night...