From the Houston Chronicle this morning:
Early voters in the heart of the heated race to succeed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were greeted Wednesday with red and white signs that read: "Want more illegals? Vote Democrat" and "Encourage Terrorists. Vote Democrat."
Precinct 3 Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers acknowledged paying $2,800 to the Republican Victory Committee PAC for 75 signs that tied Democrats to terrorists, higher taxes and illegal immigration.
"All I am doing is repeating what the leadership of the Democratic Party's position is. So I am not sure why they would be upset about that," Meyers said.
Wow.
It's cold this morning (-6°C, 21°F), but not cold enough to keep Parker from running himself ragged at the dog park. I love this, because today is an Office Puppy day. As is our custom, we left from the park, stopped at my office to pick up my coffee mug, and then made our ritual pilgimage to Peet's. There Parker and I met Georgiana Penelope ("my husband called me Georgiana but my family called me Penny"), a local resident, who said Parker had beautiful markings and was the sweetest puppy she'd met. Parker ate it up and fell in love with her. Actually, Parker ate up the banana muffin she gave him, which contributed to his good behavior.
When I came out, Georgiana had Parker's complete attention:
It's amazing what dogs will eat. Parker (whose food ration just got increased today) consumes just about anything vaguely food-like, including sticks (high in fiber), rugs (made of fiber), and, apparently, yogurt:
Yesterday he also got an onion off the counter and started peeling it before I could get to him.
He won't eat figs, however. He barks at them. We don't know why.
As my major infrastructure project continues apace, Parker is keeping me company. I know I've posted lots of photos of him sleeping in my office, but I'm so happy about it, and he's so adorable, why not post another?
He occasionally rouses himself, too:
This is a marked improvement over yesterday when he attacked every cloth item in the place.
Another photo of Parker at one of his favorite places in the world. We stopped by the dog park Saturday afternoon, but we arrived after everyone else had left. He may have missed his buddies, but he also seemed to have a good time:
Lisa might have a point about those paws. We've had him almost two months, and in that time Parker has grown 71%, from 7.7 kg (17 lbs) on September 1st to 13.2 kg (29 lbs) yesterday. Even since the last Puppy Pounds update, he's grown 20%:
After enduring Parker chomping on my office rug for half an hour, I finally took him for a walk. First, he hates the Halti, so instead of doing his business on the grass he tries to get the Halti off:
Oh it looks cute, but when you know he has something better to do on the grass, it's kind of frustrating.
Then there was the stop at Whole Foods. I was inside for—no kidding—four minutes. I heard him crying all the way over at the checkout counter. Then, when I put my food out of his reach so I could un-clip him from the fence, I ran into a difficulty:
He had to climb up a 50 cm (20-inch) wall and then get over the fence, all for a green salad.
And yes, I probably should have gotten him out of the flower bed immediately instead of taking a picture, but come on. Even when he's a brat he's criminally adorable.
The weather this weekend has obviously helped the CTA. Already by 9 this morning they had almost completed the Church St. viaduct replacement:
Also, a few days ago I posted a photo of the ivy on our building. Two days later, the leaves had fallen. Before and after:
Must be autumn.