Summer so far...

We've been back in New York since Sunday and it's even hotter here than it is in South Carolina! Bummer! I'm not too thrilled about the scaffolding directly outside our windows (or the workmen walking by just a few feet away at 8:30 in the morning!). Plus there's renovation work going on in the apartment next door AND a two-year construction project putting in a new water main in the neighborhood. Ah, how Petey and I long for the quiet sea breezes and croaking frogs and cicadas...

Let's look back at the month of June, from Petey's point of view...

Lots of time outdoors on the deck, scaring away the squirrels who like to hit up the bird feeder and the feral cat who drops by.

 Lots of bike rides down to Harbourtown -- Petey's decided he deserves a small scoop of vanilla ice cream as his reward for riding down in the bike basket -- plus he's also found out which shops offer dog biscuits. This dog will never starve, wherever he goes!

The big whirlpool tub in the bathroom brought out a voyeuristic side of Petey not seen since his puppy days. Don't think he's quite ready for a swim across the tub!

Just a cheeky little smile!

One of Petey's new stops was The Courtyard shop in the Village Exchange. It's an awesome combination knitting store and used book exchange. I have a fabulous group of ladies that meet up on Thursday nights for some socializing and "needling." Great fun. 

Here's the sweater I made...

For this little guy. I figure it will fit him in about three years!

 Petey came along and discovered the mezzanine level around the second floor of the store. He'd wait at the top of the stairs and nudge his rubber ball with his nose so it would bounce down the steps!

I'd catch the ball and toss it back up to him. Repeat, repeat, repeat. He loved it! We ended up hanging out at the store for several hours that afternoon and he'd play with every single customer who came in -- especially bored husbands waiting for their wives to check out all the knitting stuff!

Of course, we spent a lot of time at the beach. Though we were restricted to before 10:00 am and after 5:00 pm, Petey still found plenty of kids to toss the ball for him.

One of my favorite moments was when he made a beeline one morning for a little boy playing in the sand. I realized immediately that the boy had special needs and his father did indeed tell me that his son Will had had 10 surgeries in his 4 1/2 years, including open heart surgery and the insertion of a feeding tube. He was a bit cautious of Petey but the Dad kept tossing the ball for him and Petey kept bringing the ball back and dropping it in front of Will. Finally Will stood up and threw the ball and Petey caught it mid-air. Will burst out into a big giggly smile. I glanced over at the Dad and saw he was choked up, eyes brimming with tears. It was almost ten so we said goodbye and headed up to hose off Petey. I ran into the family again by the showers and the Dad thanked me for letting them play with Petey. Oh, no problem - thanks for playing with him, I replied. "No," said the Dad, "It really made our day."

The power of Petey.

WOOOOOO!!!!!

The first few days we were on the Island, we had thunderstorms almost every day and Petey was not at all happy. He didn't seem to mind them in his earlier years, but in the past couple, he doesn't like them at all, panting heavily, hiding in the bathroom or under the bed.  It's gotten worst - he used to be fine just sitting with me during a storm but now he gets so upset he exhausts himself.

So I bought him a Thundershirt. And it stopped raining for four weeks!  However this past Saturday, we had fireworks about 100 yards away at the country club and after the first "BOOM!" Petey had his tail between his hind legs and was trembling. I grabbed the Thundershirt and wrapped it tightly around him and pulled him into my lap. The panting stopped. He quieted down and...fell asleep with his head on my knee! It works!

One last romp on the beach before we head back to New York...

Chilling out in the Charlotte Airport between flights. Petey's a good traveller but I figured it couldn't hurt if he was extra calm with his Thundershirt on. And it also prevented any airport employees from insisting he go back into his travel bag between flights.

Now on to our next adventures....