It’;s absolutely dreary here. I read the weekend forecast for Milwaukee and it will be the same there. So much for concern about snow. So much for my plan about coat, etc. We did have a touch of snow this morning. More slippery than anything else to say about it. I’ve been dealing with a cold or some thing so have given being sick priority to get done before Friday. It has blown a hole in what I had planned to do this week. No energy at all. I have made myself walk with Elwood some as he would be unmanageable otherwise. He has had to be patient about park times and has done really well. At a friend’s house, Elwood found another dog’s play sock and had great fun with it Unfortunately, when I had difficulty getting up this morning, he used his mat as a sock and chewed a corner. I have a second one on order so this one can be sewed. 1000 teal poop bags came today. They’re all contained in one box that is quite manageable as are the bags so we’re set for a good while. I elected not to order rose or green ones.

A crazy day yesterday, Christmas Eve. Morning worship in Fredonia. Elwood was fantastic. Elwood does not care for baking. It means he has to watch from his tie down and I take forever! Then on to a festive supper with friends. They had cats–cats who wanted to play with Elwood’s tail! Then the service… We went early because our ride had to be at choir practice. Elwood doesn’t care for classical music in the big church. He was very antsy. Also, people kept coming over and that made him bouncy, too. Then waiting, waiting, waiting while the special music was performed before the service. I have only encountered this in Jamestown. Then onto the service itself. I read. Elwood bounced around. I kept focused on the reading. Then he laid quietly throughout the rest of the service. Curiously, no one fetched us for communion. Then more waiting around for the ride home. I would have had us walk, but we had stuff to carry. A late night park (actually, at 1 a.m., and we slept in. Now we’re off to a.m. service and communion, I hope. Merry Christmas!

Elwood and I have had a busy week. Elwood, apparently, has not previously had exposure to church. Having gone Saturday night, he was able to survive the Cantata at the Methodist church. He did jump up periodically when everyone else did and when there was applause. We are learning other people’s cars. I have asked my friends to remember what worked. Then there was Wednesday night and Thursday morning … Elwood found a traditional Vespers service with chanting and candlelight more than he could take. He wriggled out of his harness and climbed on the pew and me. Holding him with one hand, I unbuckled the harness and got it back on him to settle him back down again. My pewmate said: I figured out you didn’t want a lighted candle to hold. We had practiced resting in the pew alone every day. What I hadn’t planned on Thursday morning was that everyone gets up. Elwood got up, too. I ended up with the flixileash wrapped around Elwood, the pew and myself. More practice needed. We have a new place at the table for doughnuts afterward. We have to sit far away from the person who comes with dog biscuits in his pocket and who cannot restrain himself. Children are always better. They know about rules. Bible study was also a trial. The children had been in the room with cookies the night before. Park is going better. Elwood prefers the elevator to the stairs. Today we took a walk, down 2nd Street, up Prindergast, across on 5th and back down Main. After doing all this walking, Elwood suddenly made a turn. He had found St. Luke’s. He was convinced that was where we were going. It took a lot of persuading, after a lot of praise, to convince him to pass it up. We have elected to go to the late service Christmas Eve. I didn’t think either of us could manage the early one with the pageant. I’m vesting and reading. Elwood’s first time at the lectern. It’s not hard–I hope. I may finally have gotten the reading sitation changed. It is always announced as Isaiah 35 but it is actually Isaiah 9. Well, we have some work to do and our final park of the evening.

Today we walked around the neighborhood. I totally missed Pine Street on the other side of 3rd. I will have to re-educate Elwood that this is not a pedestrian mall as I had originally indicated. I figured it out when we had walked too far and then came to North Main. We are still working on the park issue. At the curb is working best and will be more practical long term. We just couldn’t practice at the Seeing Eye. It’s the moves which we could have practiced along with the cars, stationary and otherwise, we we couldn’t practice. Elwood is eating though I cut back his food since we are not on school schedule so sooner or later something has to happen. We went to the 5 o’clock service. Elwood thought it was quite peculiar that I wanted him to turn right after the building and didn’t understand that the sidewalk with steps was his goal. I am teaching him to lay under the pew. Elwood was not thrilled about this. I spent a lot of the service putting him back in position. Fortunately, Episcopalians believe in assigned seats so I will be able to teach Elwood where to sit.

It has been a long day perhaps because we have been tied to each other. We have been out to breakfast, greeting old friends and learning how to behave when there is so much to sniff. We’ve been to the post office and walked around a little. We met our mobility instructor who said we looked good. Elwood had been laying down some paw and avoided the ramp at City Hall. Our greatest accomplishment was at park. We have found appropriate places and Elwood is relaxing enough to do what is necessary. It took 36 hours to get something to clean up. This is normal but nerve racking. Our biggest laugh was having me climb into the back of the truck for grocery shopping. It’s a long way up and the seat is low inside so ballast is an issue. Being young and thin, Elwood bounds in and out. He did take a turn at the driver’s seat. We laughed and laughed. Elwood also knows a few handy commands like … inside. It means find your way into the building. For us, it means find the door to the apartment building from the street.

A long day … up at 5:30. Left the Seeing Eye at 9. Flight delayed. Arrived Buffalo 2 pm. With collecting baggage, tending to Elwood’s needs, a midafternoon meal, we got back to Jamestown at 5. Unpacked. Ate again. Out with Elwood twice. Getting into a routine is difficult. Writing on my desktop is also difficult. We’re off to bed.

This morning the local students left. They are driven home by an instructor who does some work with them around home. We had to say good-bye to one of our classmates. Our class list has names and addresses but not phone numbers. I asked if she could take down my number. She said her equipment was packed. Then I had an idea–I went to the map room where there is a braille machine and wrote down my numbers. This morning we went to the hospital. Elwood was indifferent to the hospital personnel and equipment he saw. Our greatest excitement was the electronic revolving door. I am mostly packed. What is left I am still using. It’s raining and I’m wearing my crocks which means the rain can come through the holes. My sneakers are almost dry, sitting on the window sill. This afternoon we will take the bus. This brings me to going home. Here are some things to remember. ...

Sunday was a busy day though no trips are scheduled. Several of us went out on the leisure path in the morning. I went twice around–2/3 of a mile. Gail and Pete came. We went out on the leisure path and did a turn, then came inside. When the lounge got crowded, we went back outside. Very mild weather here and there was a bench in the sun. Pete passed on another turn round the path, but Gail and I persevered. After supper, I went for a night walk in Morristown. Elwood has never worked at night and sometimes I walk in the dark, especially in winter. He did great. I even had the sense I knew where I was since we traveled on the same streets but in a different configuration. I had a chance to ride in a mini van and review dog-in-car. With air bags, it will be important for Elwood to lay down while traveling. It is being recommended that traveling longer distances in a crate is helpful. All the puppies have been crate trained. This morning we were awakened to Garth Brooks and “Low Places”. walked around the courthouse. We got to go through two metal detectors which was the real point of the exercise as well as working through some groups of people. Elwood went to the vet because of a bump near his eye. It’s being analyzed, but the vet thinks it is a pimple. I guess when you’re a teenager, you get acne even if you are a dog! Actually, they are calling it a whitehead. We went through a revolving door, walked inbetween two men having a heated discussion about football and that was Monday so far as trips go. In the evening we had a long lecture. One of the instructors was giving us some history. I can’t remember our founder’s first husband’s name, she said. All I can remember is his last name: Wood. It was L. I said. Oh, she said, L-Wood? The class broke up. The instructor took a while to get it. As it turns out, the man’s name was Walter Woods. Tuesday was a zoo. First, we had to put the dogs’ booties on for a walk in style.. Then we went to the coffee shop–two drinking coffee while the other one worked. I was last to work. Elwood had been good–because he was busy chewing a hole in one of his booties. He did great work in one of the stores with tight clearances. I met a woman on the street who asked how I knew she was there. I didn’t–just that Elwood was sniffing something. In the afternoon, I had my exit interview with the president, went to the vet to hear about Elwood’s health history and our class went for ice cream Sundaes. Our instructor thought it would be good to do some sedan work. We had one person and one dog in front, a second dog and person in the back and I was also to get into the back seat with Elwood. I got in. Elwood got in. The dog already there thought it was a bit tight and growled. The instructor decided to spin Elwood around, which meant Elwood was on my lap while spinning. However, he didn’t quite fit because when we closed the door, he jumped onto my lap. We got in the van to go to town. When we went for ice cream, I went outside but didn’t know where the van was. Another classmate joined us. A classmate in the van called to us. Oh, no, I thought. She’s driving! Today the local students go home. An instructor drives them and settles them in. We are all frantically figuring out how to get everything in our suitcases including 8 pounds of dog food. Last night at park two of us stepped in our dog’s output. We were instructed to come to the wall and hold up our shoes for inspection. not like that, the instructor said. Like a horse. He untied our offending shoes and left us there, one shoe off, one shoe on, holding onto the wall. He was gone a long time. Water wasn’t enough to get my shoe clean. It is still quite wet. Fortunately, I have another pair of shoes!

Gail took this picture of Elwood and me. http:/pics.livejournal.commerrillnelwoodgallery00001bkr

Yesterday we had a Meet and Greet exercise whereby some of the instructors came up to shake my hand and Elwood had to remain sitting. Is this a wedding with the mother of the bride? one of the instructors asked. Sunday morning worship, I replied. He came, sobbing, saying A wonderful sermon. He greeted another student, thanking her for such a lovely wedding, then he came back to me, shaking my hand, telling me what a wonderful sermon for the funeral. The task was serious, the play acting hysterically funny. We shopped at a pet store and went to Wall-Mart for our afternoon outing. One of the dogs jumped up on the counter when his person was checking out. This morning we did some country-style work in a subdivision–walking along people’s front yards, around parked cars, onto short pieces of sidewalk, lining myself up to cross a street. Afterwards, we went to an A&P to practice shopping cart work. We’ve been doing it right, shoppers, guide in front of the basket, person and dog behind. Elwood left the bread and the meaqt alone. Clerks crack me up. They are giving you instructions with the debit card because you’re blind and then keep saying, Now press the green button. I was able to get my wash done–not a lot to do because of the early instances of emergency washes. Lunch was a cafateria line with a tray and silverware wrapped in napkins. Our sandwiches and dessert were wrapped in foil, our macaroni salad in a cup with a lid and our soup in a double coffee cup with a lid. Then we worked our dogs to our tables while carrying the tray against our bodies. I said to our server, who also does housekeeping, You must hate it–all this trash to pick up. She replied, I don’t hate. I can handle it once a month. Drinks were served at the table. This afternoon we practiced in the airline seats provided by Continental. These were first class seats though with lots of room for dogs, even in the bulk heads. We read our puppy profiles. Elwood was raised by a veteran puppy raiser–an older couple with grandchildren who came to visit. Some reports have lots of information. Sadly, neither of my puppy reports have been too detailed. My instructor said the training report she gets was not particularly detailed either. We changed tables again at supper for the rest of the time here. I don’t handle this well. This table will take some getting used to. I tire of the cross examinations. Just let me be! This evening we learned how to massage our dogs. Elwood wasn’t sure about this at first. He mellowed over time. We listened to this album: A Gathering Of Eagles