Alas, Saturday morning came all too soon, but we wanted to go to the Farmer's Market and take Tucker with us. First we had to try to get him to do other things. :-) It was shaping up to be a blazing hot day, temps headed for the 90s, but there was a nice brisk breeze out that, at least, made the yard cool. By the time we hit the Square, everyone seemed to be there: not only was the Farmer's Market in full swing, but this morning was the artist market, too, and there was some kind of Civil War re-enactment going on, not to mention the dozens of cute little girls going to ballet class. But by circling the square (that sounds oddly geometric), we found a handicapped parking space in front of the courthouse.

Tucker was overwhelmed. Dozens of dogs, even more people, and smells, smells, smells: frying bacon, fresh tomatoes, pastries, cheeses, flowers, honey, shea butter, breads, and even dog biscuits. He comported himself well with the other dogs, from a huge grey Great Dane to two of the tiniest Yorkshire Terriers I've ever seen (one was the size of a kitten). He and a corgi went for some dropped bits of Pine Street Market bacon and the corgi nearly snapped his nose off. We arrived at the Big Daddy dog biscuit booth at the same time an adorable Australian shepherd puppy named Ty was there. Tucker sniffed the youngster curiously. He also met greyhounds, an indeterminate fuzzy terrier, and several others. Besides the dog biscuits, we bought fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and more chicken salad for James, who was limping badly by the time we got back to the truck.

Came home, had something for breakfast while Tucker ate his, then lured him into his crate. The one thing we had to do today was drive cross-town (again) to the vet. When they tested him last week, they found out he had roundworms! I was a bit aghast—they gave him vaccines at the rescue, but didn't worm him? But apparently this is common with rescue dogs. Before we got on the freeway, we stopped at Barnes & Noble. Yesterday I saw something there that I thought might make a good gift for a couple of people. James agreed with me, so we stopped and bought them first.

The vet stop was unremarkable. While I was waiting for the meds, two folks came in with boarders, two big English springer spaniels, and an absolutely huge German Shepherd.

Discovered there's a Sprouts store (healthy grocery store) opening in the old Harris-Teeter store behind the vet before driving on to the Buford Highway Farmer's Market; since we were on this side of town, it was a good chance to stock up. We found a handicapped spot near the door and James found a cart, which was a relief. We picked up slivered almonds, frisee for our salad tomorrow night, onions, some chicken drumsticks almost as big as turkey legs, turkey wings, lamb steaks, and Italian sausage (hoping it won't be as salty as last time), Ritter peppermint candy bars for desserts, some rice noodles, sesame oil, low sodium teriyaki sauce, and some pork/vegetable wontons. And a Toblerone dark chocolate bar to share (only half) since we haven't had one as a treat since Fry's quit carrying them in the checkout line.

(The Buford Highway Farmer's Market is a trip. If you live in Atlanta, you ought to go there at least once. They carry chiefly Asian specialties, so many Asian specialties, in fact, that there are separate aisles for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai food, plus several Hispanic aisles, a combined aisle that is Italian and Spanish on one side and British, French, and Dutch on the other, and two aisles of Eastern European. There are many tropical fruits in the produce department, a big fresh fish market in the back, and meat products you will never find at Kroger. Today, the guy next to me picked up "ox pizzle." No, not the cow version of "Rocky Mountain oysters," but the other item that pairs with them.)

As we headed west we noticed the clouds building up, and by the time we reached the traffic light at Cobb Parkway it was grey and stormy-looking, the wind whipping the trees about. James rolled down his window and the temperature had gone from stifling to quite nice. We left the windows open for the rest of the ride, and then when we got in I rushed Tucker outside in hopes that he'd do his Good Dogs, and he did. And we picked up the mail. Alas, we had some thunder, including a long rolling clap that sounded like field artillery in the distance, and a little rain, just enough to wet the street and that was it. It was only 3:30 and we settled down to relax since James has to work tomorrow.

Tucker kept us hopping for a while with "fetch the stuffed mouse" and "throw the squeaky bone." I had breakfast for supper while James had some chili. Watched The New Lassie (the first of three episodes with Roddy McDowall as Andrew Leeds), the news and eventually America's Secret Slang, while we are now in the middle of United Stuff of America. I have been reading Essays of E.B. White off and on all afternoon. I've never read any of White except for Charlotte's Web. James Thurber always talked about how much he admired White's writing, and I can see why. His prose is lovely.

Labels: books, dogs, errands, food, health, pets, shopping, television, weather

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 10:45:00 PM

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