Radio options, dogs, our weekend trip

I took my car to a shop near the house that specializes in tinting and stereos. I have not had reception on the radio and I had assumed the antenna was not hooked up. What they found is that I was half right. The antenna was hooked up – just not properly. It was plugged into the back of the radio with the proper adapter but the antenna in this particular make of car requires a separate power line to tell it when the radio is in use. I suppose since it has five or six different inputs, the antenna is only active when the tuner is in use. It almost makes sense.


While I was in the store waiting I got a long look at their displays of radios and multi media players. There was one in particular that caught my eye. For $299 I could put a DVD player with a 7” screen in the place of my radio. For cars that have a smaller opening for the radio there is a flip screen model to fit the opening. The unit still serves as an AM/FM radio and a CD player while allowing you to watch DVD’s when selected. I thought that was pretty awesome. I am not sure how safe it is, but the concept caught my attention.

Now there is no need to pay the outlandish price for having a factory installed DVD player. For about half that amount you can put an after market player to fit almost any make and model of car. They can do the same with an in-dash GPS, backup cameras, etc. It does cost, just not as much as having the dealer or factory do the installation. And the work they do is just as good. I will probably schedule my car to have the windows tinted after we get back from Brittany and Andrew’s wedding. Summers here almost require some tinting on car windows.

Mama is starting to enjoy this little rat dog. In the evenings I do too. She is constantly at my heels throughout the evening which presents a problem. Mama is worried about keeping her rugs free of pee and poop – especially in our bedroom. Getting into the room without allowing the pup access is a real challenge. She seems very smart and has quickly adapted to Mama’s routine. She responds fairly well to Mama, especially the scolding sound Mama makes when the dogs are out of bounds in something they are doing. She knows which door to go out of to relieve herself and will stay out and play each time she does go out.

The neighbor’s dog is not quite sure how to treat her. I don’t think the older Golden Retriever knows if Lucy is a canine or a rodent – so she barks and chases her away whenever Brittany’s little runt is in our yard. I thought it was frightening the pup at first, but once she recovers from the first startling bark of the neighbor’s dog she begins taunting the older dog. We have a good fence between us so there is no danger to the pup – and I think she is aware of that fact. Maybe it is a game for both of them. I really don’t know.

We have three dogs at the farm already and Mama and I are taking two more for the weekend. I will ask Mama and Victoria to be very careful with the pup around the larger dogs. I am not sure how they will react to the “almost dog”. I am hoping they will recognize the canine familiarity but with the size difference and their propensity to hunt rats and mice, we could be in for a problem.

Since it is only a weekend trip we are taking the little car to save on gas. With a trunk full of scrap plywood and limited space in the back seat because we are taking two dogs and all their paraphernalia, we will not be taking a lot of extra items to the farm on this trip. I am still not sure if it is even worth the trip, but I made the offer and I will follow through on it.

At least I will get a full day on the farm out of it.