Lazy Weekend With nothing on our typically busy weekend schedule Saturday afternoon, we took an impromptu ride to the mountains and hiked the Appalachian Trail. Not the full 2,174 miles, but a fairly exhausting 1/4 mile portion of it in Washington Monument State Park.

This was not the only monumental occurrence to come out of our Saturday in rural Maryland. Zoe spied a little girl holding a new puppy outside the entrance of a store in which we were shopping. She led me to the dog, but kept her distance. "Sweet Pea" was adorable, but not to the point that Zoe would allow herself to pet her, but she was clearly tempted and got within two feet. Instead, Zoe grabbed onto my arm and maneuvered it, like a robotic device, to pet Sweet Pea on her behalf.

The moment lost some of its charm when Sweet Pea's heavily-tattooed, Red Man cap-wearing owner arrived and tried to encourage Zoe to pet her. "She might nip at you a little, but it's okay...she's just teething." Zoe, of course, refused. As much as I love dogs, family allergies and irresponsibility have always been obstacles to ownership and, as a consequence, I don't know a whole lot about them.

"What kind of breed is this? I don't recognize it," I asked, continuing to stroke Sweet Pea in an effort to encourage Zoe to follow.

"Oh, she's a mix. Half beagle and half pitbull."

As little as I know about dogs, the thought of Sweet Pea's pitbull half locking her jaws onto one of us brought a quick end to this canine Kodak moment.

Yesterday turned into just another lazy Sunday.

Uncle Gary, Aunt Dian and cousin Emmy came early to take some of our old unisex baby clothes and other assorted baby stuff off our hands. Next weekend is our annual community yard sale; the remainder of the "under 3" stuff up in our attic will be finding new homes at that time, as well.

A visit from Bubbe, Pop-Pop (dubbed "Poppy" to easily distinguish his name from "Papa") and other relatives for a dinner barbecue highlighted the day.

Zoe charmed and performed for the audience. This time she did Twinkle, Twinkle and totally nailed it. The inevitable comparisons to Peggy Lee, Celine Dion and Mrs. Miller were made. Matches were lit as the crowd demanded an encore, but the tempermental star simply walked offstage, in need of chocolate milk and a potty break.

  ¶ 6:09 AM