I already posted about my 3500 words on Friday. I’m on the downhill slide of Lanternfish, and it’s getting fun to move toward the big event that ends book two.
Old What’s Her Face has to work all four days I’m off, so getting to the conclusion is a real possibility. I added 2500 more words on Saturday morning. This included the creation of another new creature called a snubhorn, who is basically a beast of burden.
I needed to think the next bit through, and turned to my short story. Normally, I would jump to Mrs. Molony, but the short story has a deadline. I wound up finishing it, but it needs a little something. It’s going to be a bit short for the desired word count, but I don’t want to lengthen it only for that.
Then Rusty showed up. My daughter decided to drop in for a visit, but she brought Rusty with her. This is the leftover from a litter of Rottweiler puppies her roommate had bred. Since nobody wanted him, she decided to keep him.

I love seeing my daughter, but Rusty is a handful. He’s a perpetual motion machine, and licks everything. As he walks he licks the couch, the footstool, the chair, my shoe, the wall, whatever is within reach. It’s cute, but weird. He also get’s Frankie pretty fired up, to the point of angry sometimes.
He’s also gangly. He slid across the dining room floor, into the kitchen with all four paws in the air. He impacted the pantry doors and I had to put them back on track.
I worry, because he’s an intact male Rottweiler. Otto is also intact, and I would like to see Rusty start staying in Sun Valley when our daughter visits. He’s twice as big as he was when he came in April, and while he’s cute, Otto doesn’t need that shit. I’ve been around a lot of dogs, and Rusty is going to be huge when he grows up.
My daughter took him to town for a few hours this morning, and I added another 1500 words to Lanternfish. It isn’t a lot, but it’s better than nothing. It’s important stuff, too, so that helps. Then she came home and gave me a haircut.
As I’m writing this, Old What’s Her Face took our daughter to the store. There was some talk about buying something for dinner, so I have a hunch Rusty will impact my Monday writing plans, too.
All told, there isn’t a downside. I get to visit with my daughter, got a haircut, and honestly get a kick out of this gigantic weird puppy. I just wouldn’t want a steady diet of him.
When my grandson and his wife visit, they always bring their black lab–Evie. For the first time ever, she’s starting to calm down. We actually had a lowkey time with them. So there’s hope a year from now:) We still take our chihuahua to my sister’s house while they’re here, though. Evie doesn’t understand how much bigger she is than Chewy and wants to play. Chewy gets tired of her really fast.
And yay!! Your story draft’s done. No worries about the word count.
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I need to go over it a few times, then send it to my group, but it’s a draft at last.
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Congrats on the progress. Does sound like Rusty is a handful. You think he’ll mellow out as he ages?
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He will for sure, but no telling how macho he’s going to want to become.
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As long as these boys keep their equipment you may have problems. Sounds like you made some nice progress.
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She decided to go home tonight. Kind of bittersweet feelings right now. I have tomorrow to accomplish what I can.
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Wishing you a productive day of writing, Craig!
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Thank you.
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My biggest dog is the weirdest of the three. All my dogs slide on the hardwood like cartoon characters. As much as their antics can be distracting or inconvenient, I wouldn’t trade them. Sounds like you’ve got an exciting weekend on your hands.
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It’s not easy to integrate dogs, ane especially males. I hope that they find a way to respect each other’s territory, but that’s pretty hopeless with a pup. 🙂 Best of luck, and Happy Memorial Day!
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He’s cute, but never stops moving. He doesn’t seem to get put in his place easily and that frustrated Frankie, who likes to put everyone in their place.
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How old is Rusty, and do you have a fenced yard where he could run?
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They all went out back together. He’s about five months old, and can nearly take a saddle.
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Sounds like you are getting a lot of work done! We used to have a 150 pound rottie years back. He was a huge handful and I had to stop walking him, as he didnt like men near me he didn’t know…lol. I realized I couldn’t control him at that point in public. He was fixed though but at home very entertaining and terrified of cats. I’m enjoying the calm of our shepard mix now.
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He’s cute as can be. My daughter has this leash that she wears like a belt when she takes him for walks. As he muscles up, I’m curious how good an idea that is.
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Nice blog
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Thank you.
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My pleasure, followed you!
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Your commentary on Rusty reminds me of a few of the visiting kids at my house. Fun for a short time, then exhausting. I’m glad you got to see your daughter and got more writing done!
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That’s about the extent of it. I enjoyed him, but am also glad he got to go home.
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“A gigantic weird puppy” is kind of hard not to like. Also sounds like Rusty would make a great character in a book. Maybe he’s providing inspiration.
It sounds like you had a fun and interesting weekend. Fingers crossed there are no issues between Otto and Rusty. I’m sure you’ll referee if it comes to that.
Congrats on moving Lanternfish ahead and wishing you the best with the short story. As someone else told me “A story is as long as it needs to be.”
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I’ve heard that last line somewhere myself. Rusty was a hoot, but he’s kind of like grandkids. One of the nice things is they go home eventually. Otto is such a lover, that I don’t think they’d have problems, but Rottweilers are a breed to keep an eye on.
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Glad you got some writing in – and a haircut – despite the chaos Rusty’s visit caused. I bet Frankie and Otto will be exhausted by the time Rusty goes home.
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They did have a quiet day after Rusty went home.
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Rusty is adorable
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He’s pretty cute.
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