So you remember when we brought home Berlin and she did nothing but hide in the corner all day and all night? We never thought she’d play with other dogs, and Lord knows we never thought she’d play fetch.

Well, things have changed. She fetches. Night and day, she fetches. She won’t stop fetching. Not even to drink water.

A few weeks ago we got her a set of tennis balls and brought her outside to give it a try. It took no more than 3 throws before she was bringing it right back to us and laying down at our feet. She now loves it so much that she is starting to like Matt more than she likes me. Because he can throw farther.

It was very exciting to see her catch on, but now she’s so obsessed she won’t play with other dogs anymore… unless it’s fetch. She used to rough and tumble with them but now hunts around the group of humans, circling, pacing, sniffing, looking everywhere for that tennis ball that she KNOWS MUST BE STUCK IN MY UNDERWEAR!

I’ve heard this is both the retreiver from her golden side and also the hunter from her poodle side. But I’m starting to get frustrated that I can’t seem to interrupt her one track mind. And she’s starting to hurt the feelings of her neighborhood playmates who are rejected for a slimy, brown tennis ball.

Please advise.

From Daily Daguerreotype

So thanks to all of you who made yesterday such a beautifully high-trafficked day. You have me wrapped around your pinky finger. Wait til next week. You get a whole week’s worth of guest posts from my favorite people ever.

But I’m VERY concerned for the person who came to this site from a Google search for “dog licked automatic shower cleaner”!!! Please, please, please tell us your puppy is OK! I cannot think of a more dreadful situation than that.

Here’s her cute little picture in the paper. Click on “related photos” to view my sweet little darling with her best friend, Ursula!

A few years ago my mother-in-law gave me an L.L. Bean canvas tote for my birthday. Inside she packed it full of clever and beautiful beach accessories. I had always wanted one of these canvas totes because if you’re a New Englander walking around without one you might as well have a few of your toes chopped off with a Sawzall.

Because I’m feeling like the end of beach season has arrived with a sharp kick in the pants, I’m transitioning the tote into the Official Carrier of Dog Park Items. Berlin’s frisbee, tennis balls, water bottle and treats will be stashed in here for easy accessibility on a daily basis. We broke it in on Saturday and it worked like a Clydesdale.

But then again, what product from L.L. Bean doesn’t work like a Clydesdale?

From Daily Daguerreotype

From Daily Daguerreotype

Everything I’ve ever purchased in my life has been from Target. I like to think that when God was thinking me up, he walked up and down the aisles at that great big box store pulling things from the shelves and dumping them all into a shopping cart that he waved his big powerful hand over - suddenly transforming the cart into ME!

I bought these shoes at Target last summer.

I love them so much. They are comfortable and surprisingly don’t give me blisters even though I never wear them with socks. Plus I feel so punk-rock when I wear them that I randomly body surf amongst the other commuters waiting for the subway. It’s wicked fun.

But secretly, I love them the most because they were the shoes I wore out into a muddy Ohio field the day I picked Berlin out from the barking crowd of her siblings. She came over to me and sat down right on my shoes. And I instantly knew we were meant to be.

This is my little family at the park. Sans Mojo Pin, the Dreadful. I’m going to miss these summer days.

From Daily Daguerreotype