THE BEST LAID PLANS…

Last night I would have bet big money when Robert Burns penned the phrase “The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men” he knew precisely what my Halloween night would be like.

I betcha!

If you’ve been reading Groovy Goldendoodles™ for a while, you’ve probably noticed there’s a pattern to my blogging schedule. I am close to psychotic when it comes to getting my blogs posted before midnight on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Those are “post” nights for me. They’re the nights that dinner is either a leftover rerun or DH gets to be as creative as he wants to be with whatever we’ve got in the house (he comes up with some meals that are Food Network worthy I might add).

The point I’m trying to make here is that I will disappear for several hours to get a story out of my head, onto the monitor so that it is in your inbox when you log on the following morning.

I don’t do well when an unexpected change hijacks my system – UGH!

Mid afternoon on Halloween, life was as pawfect as it could be. Leo had ingested something earlier in the week, giving him a tummy ache which made for additional potty trips the night before. He was now on the mend, wrestling with Harley, and throwing toys all over the place. Life was getting back to normal.

I pawposefully held onto their October BarkBox because I wanted to open it on October 31st. Silly? Pawhaps – but I thought they could have a little Halloween surprise too…

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Harley will always show me what he’s interested in

As usual there were great goodies inside.

Our fav’s:

  • A Fetch and Glow ball from American Dog Toys. You leave it in direct sunlight during the day and watch it glow in the dark at night. It’s been cloudy where we are, so I haven’t tested it out yet  – but I think we’ll have a ton of fun with this one. Leo – – – ball – – – A match made in heaven.
  • An EVERYTHING toy from West Paw Design. We’ve been waiting for one of these. You can pull, throw, fetch, it floats and best of all, it’s a great toy for two!!!!
  • Finding these gems inside was too cool – Fruitables. The Boys go nuts over these treats, and to have a Halloween bag full with individual mini travel size bags inside – pawtastic!…
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We’ve got our traveling snacks now!

Day gave way to night, and DH took his treats to the church for their “trunk or treat” celebration. Harley, Leo, and I set up our station in preparation for the two hours of Goblins, Ghosts, and Fairy Princesses who would descend upon our doorstep…

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A “Super Mama” and son dynamic duo team

I set up the camera by the front door to get a few shots of the creative costumes…

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The scarier the costume – the happier Harley gets

While Harley enjoyed all 36 trips to the door,  Leo grew weary quickly and decided he’d rather go back to his favorite spot in the family room..

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He wasn’t afraid, just bored with people ringing the bell but never coming in

By 9:30pm the streets were dark and quiet again with the exception of the intermittent raindrops. I grabbed a bottle of water, took my camera off the tripod and climbed the stairs to my office. I had a story to tell.

Or so I thought.

The phrase I referred to earlier comes from a poem “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns, about him running over a mouse home. It basically means no matter how well you plan something,  “stuff” happens!

I plugged the cord from my camera into the computer to transfer the photos and…

NOTHING

For the first hour I thought the battery needed to be recharged. The second hour, I thought the plug I used wasn’t functioning, so I moved it to another room and waited again.

I even gave it a third hour and watched “Scandal” from the DVR to stay awake.

NOTHING

I woke this morning, bright and early just knowing something magical occurred overnight and I would push the “on” button and “poof” the lens would expand, the indicator light would shine brightly and I would be back in business…

NOTHING…

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DEAD – Freddie Kruger dead

I pouted as I drove The Boys to doggie day camp for their Friday romp. I had let you down. There would be nothing in your inbox from us when you got to work this morning, and it was all my fault.

I called my son while I was still in the car. I was desperate for suggestions / recommendations. I could take the camera back to the store and get a new one, but I wanted my pics that were being held hostage in this one. There were days and days of photos locked inside,  which translates to “oodles and doodles” of pictures. He then asked me about the sims card.

“Get the Doodle out of here.”

I’m so conditioned to transferring the pictures using the camera and a USB cord, I never thought about the card. I couldn’t wait to get home.

Sure enough, I stuck that little critter into the computer and BAZINGA – I got my pictures!

But after all of that, I couldn’t remember what I wanted to write about twelve hours ago. So I thought:

“What the doodle?”

I can at least tell you why there was nothing in your inbox this morning. Pawhaps you’d find my substitute story entertaining.

Once I post this, I shall call the camera store and see what trouble shooting techniques they’ve got for me, before I launch out to exchange it.

But as always -Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour late Saturday night. If you don’t you’ll be super early for church….

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We ruv this kind of weather

DISCLAIMER: Although I have an affiliate relationship with BarkBox, for this particular post I am not being compensated in any way. Just sharing my independent opinion about the goodies inside the box.

6 Comments
  • Caren Gittleman
    November 1, 2013

    there must be something in the planetary alignment affecting all things technological. I was without internet (and cable TV) due to a huge outage caused by high winds that occurred last night and this morning. I was without everything from 8am today til approx 5pm. I feel your pain.

    • Cathy Bennett
      November 2, 2013

      Thanks Caren – I feel like I’m missing a body part. Gotta run to the store and make an exchange today!
      Did your problem get fixed?

  • Kimberly Gauthier
    November 4, 2013

    Glad that things worked out. Halloween is quiet every year at our house. It’s Johan’s birthday so we stayed in and grubbed on BBQ. It wasn’t that good (new owners).

    • Cathy Bennett
      November 4, 2013

      Okay Kim, I need more – who’s Johan? Halloween is always busy but only for about an hour. In our neighborhood, parents are very respectful about that 6-8:30pm timeframe. They usually come out about 7 and disappear completely before 8:30. I’m not complaining 🙂

  • Tiffany
    November 7, 2013

    Glad all the pictures were safe and the boys enjoyed Halloween. Did they like the Fruitable treats?

    • Cathy Bennett
      November 8, 2013

      Fruitables will get them to do ANYTHING!!