Moochdocking

Refinished elephant table

We spent a week in the Denver area camped in my mother's driveway.  It has a slope downward but not as bad as I thought it would.  My airbags managed to get the rear up just enuf for a comfortable near level experience.  Turns out that it was illegal to camp on the street like I did last year.  I plugged the van into her outside outlet which kept the batteries charged and was enough to run the AC when needed.  I took showers in her house but did all other personal ministrations in my van, including the teeth brushing.


My dog and one cat hung out in my mom's backyard most of the time.  I carefully introduced the dog to her little dog and they got along pretty well for 3 days.  The cat and dog were always friends and my mother enjoyed having the cat around.  The second day, the cat hopped into her lap which pleased both. I made the mistake of having the dog's food in hand in the backyard and my dog lunged and cornered my mom's little dog suddenly in a ferocious display of resource guarding.  It was a sudden attack with no warning growl.  The dog did not mean to hurt the little dog but she did nip her ear a little.  The little dog was unharmed except for a little cut on her ear and some stiffness which went away in a day.  After that, I worked on stopping my dog's excessive resource guarding and we kept the 2 dogs separated.  My dog still got the backyard when the little dog wasn't in it but she didn't get to come into the house again.  The other cat stays in the van by his choice.  He freaks out if taken out.


I fixed up a few things at my mom's house including cleaning and refinishing what turned out to be a pretty little table with elephants on it.  It started out with a peeling finish that turned out to be lacquer and was so grimy, most of the design was obscured.  My mother is very pleased with the result.  I did some shopping for her and she got a few little things done.

Pete and Dirona with soccer ball

Dirona got the ball

Pete rolling the soccer ball

There's been a lot of big thunderstorms in Denver.  A lot of gulf of Mexico moisture is slamming up against the Rockies.  It's been fine in the van during them.  Getting between the house and van got interesting sometimes and I had to wait out the worst of the rain a few times.


We went up to my niece's wedding in Greeley on Saturday.  It was a lovely wedding.  Last Thursday, I drove up to my sister's house in Greeley.  My mother is in her 90s so I don't want to over-stress her by staying too long.  We are having a family reunion at the end of July so I am hanging out in the meantime.  My sister has a neat standard poodle called Pete.  After a couple hours of a little cautious play, they relaxed and have been having a blast in the backyard.  The two are within 10 pounds of each other and almost the same height.  My sister is pleased that Pete is being calm sometimes and he isn't trying to leave the backyard. It seems the 2 dogs are a good match in both size and their personalities.


Pete has a soccer ball that he rolls around the yard with his front paws, and fast.  It is hilarious to watch him.


I have a PO Box and I signed up for the Post Office's Priority Forwarding Service for this trip so it doesn't pile up.  I got 2 packets of the mail at my sister's house so it seems to be working well.  The web page says I can extend the service if I pay for more weeks ahead of time but the Postmaster said that they cannot take credit card charges over the phone so he doesn't know how it can happen.  I don't know if it will be a problem or not.

Laptop on folding table

Dog likes the center aisle

I set up my laptop on the little table I made and it makes a decent worktable.  I can use my sister's wifi connection in my van.  It is nice to have my stuff in my little cabin on wheels work like I need it.