Recalculate

Arrived here in Alexandria Tuesday afternoon to dog/house sit to find there is also a turtle to take care of.  There are pages of instructions for the care of these pets.  My brother and sister-in-law have no children . . . if you get my drift.

The dog is as laid-back and sweet as you can get . . . a gentle giant.  She's 10 years old and has hip problems so moving is in slow motion.  Walks are short . . . meds are a plenty.  She sleeps in the bed with them . . . how cozy.  I chose to sleep in the guest room and she slept in their room the first night, but slept in mine last night.  There are huge dog beds in each room of the house . . . sorry, she's not sharing the single bed with me!

The turtle is said to be "social" . . . seriously?  He didn't even move until I moved him last night.  He doesn't seem to eat . . . or drink . . . or explore his huge aquarium.  Haven't seen his social side yet.

It's been too hot to do anything outside . . . except short dog walks . . . so I've only gone to Trader Joe's, Springfield Mall (which is about to close for a 2 year renovation and is practically deserted), Potomac Mills Outlet Mall, Ikea and dinner with my childhood BFF.  I'm not even a person who likes malls, but I did get a few fast walks in there in reasonable comfort.  The plumber is coming today to check-out the slow sink draining problem . . . we'll see what kind of time I'll have to explore this afternoon.

After dinner with my BFF, she drove me by our high school (one of three I attended . . . we moved a lot).  T.C. Williams High School (of "Remember The Titans" fame) was the "new" high school in Alexandria.  We were the first sophomore class (I was there for my sophomore and junior years) while construction was still going on . . . stepping over power tools in the hallways was common.  I don't remember any "racial tension" when I was there.  The movie was about the time period a few years after I graduated.  They have since torn the original building down and built a new larger one in it's place . . . and I must say it is a better looking and much bigger building.  When I heard they were tearing it down, I thought:  "They're tearing down the new high school?"  It was built in 1966!  Not so new anymore!

Traffic sucks!!!  There is no way I could do this without my GPS.  I may have grown up here, but I didn't learn to drive here and I only returned to live here for one year after I learned to drive.  Growth has been a major explosion!  Alexandria was a small town when I was a child!  At times the GPS is too slow to actually make the correct "off ramp" in the maze of bridges and lanes of bumper to bumper traffic . . . I-95, 495, 395 . . . I never seem to choose the right one . . . RECALCULATE is the word of the day!

 Carry On
     and
Recalculate
     ~*