The first weekend of the year has been action-packed and beyond hectic. My weekends are anyway usually full of horse-riding classes for Piglet and art classes for Snubnose. And now I have added activity for Coco as well.
The last time we took Coco to the vet, the doc mentioned that he was getting a tad podgy and could do more exercise and needs to cut down his calorie intake.
K found a nice resort outside the city with a swimming pool, and we thought we’d take Coco and see if he’d like a swim. In addition, going there for a couple of hours allows Coco to make friends and learn how to behave with other dogs. Currently, he’s all enthusiastic and over-friendly, not realizing he’s intimidating the smaller dogs with his overtures.
Anyway, that was my plan for the weekend. Take Piglet horse-riding, take Coco swimming, take Snubnose for art class, and a much-needed haircut, and maybe some cooking and reading as well.
It all felt a little rushed on Saturday morning, and I thought I might have over-packed my schedule (considering the traffic in Bangalore and how long it takes to get anywhere in this city). But by Sunday evening, I had a delightful feeling of satisfaction at completing everything I set out to do.
Saturday
Saturday was the usual early morning start with Piglet on the horses. Then we got back, did some grocery shopping, and then Snubnose and I headed out with Coco to the resort swimming pool.
Ugh! I cannot tell you enough about that hellish drive to the resort and back. We couldn’t have picked a worse day for a long drive. There was an event happening in Bangalore, with many ministers in town, and traffic was chock-a-block, taking us more than an hour each way.
Poor Coco got extremely restless. Thank goodness I had the foresight to bring his favorite bone to while away the time.
Coco was extremely restless despite the bone, and I was kicking myself for not foreseeing the amount of traffic on the roads. I felt so cruel keeping him cooped up in the car for so long.
Once we reached there, it took a lot of energy to get Coco into the pool and fetch the frisbee that Snubnose was so excitedly throwing into the water. A lot of fits and starts later, Coco eventually got into the rhythm and started diving like a pro into the water. It was a good thing it was a nice hot, sunny day (or at least as hot and sunny it can get in Winter).
After the swimming, the shaking to dry himself up, and a few rounds of the running of the place, it was time to head back. Another extremely taxing hour later, we were back home, and I spent a couple of hours just curled up under a blanket with these books.
I completed This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer (review coming soon) and embarked on Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures by Muhammad Khalid Akhtar.
I couldn’t really read too much as I was too exhausted by the long drive to concentrate, and I eventually called it a night.
Sunday
Sunday morning was as usual – a late(r) start to the day than the rest of the week. After a leisurely family morning, it was time to take Snubnose to art class. She spent a couple of hours there and came back with the most beautiful thing I’ve seen from her.
I”ll share a photo of her work in another post shortly. But trust me, it’s one of the best she’s done so far.
After that, I took her for a long-overdue haircut. Her hair had grown long and straggly, and she badly needed a trim. And then, of course, hunger pangs struck Snubnose.
We decided to try Keventers – a new milkshake place in Indra Nagar. I’ve often driven by and was intrigued by the long queues outside, and on Sunday, seeing the queues seemed a little shorter than usual, we went in and placed an order for a Chocolate Oreo milkshake to share between us.
I love the glass bottle they serve the milkshake in 
Lapping it up in one huge delicious gulp
The bottle looks humongous, but the milkshake was quite light and not overly sweet. I liked it all right, but next time I am overruling Snubnose’s choice, we will go in for a Chocolate Hazelnut shake instead (not too fond of Oreos). They also have some yummy-looking berry shakes and cold coffees. So, if you are in the Indra Nagar 12th Main area, give it a try. I really liked that the milkshakes were cold but not ice-cold, making them winter-appropriate drinks as well. The glass bottles look super cool, too, and can be reused. I am planning to use mine as flower vases in the kitchen.
After the milkshake, we drove back home. And then cooking, an extremely detailed Harry Potter discussion with Snubnose later (amazing just how dark and complicated Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire gets, and it’s taking some time for things to sink into Snubnose’s head). Anyway, after a nice pleasant gossipy session with her, it was time for Piglet’s storytelling (The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson), and then we all tucked into bed.
So, that’s how our first weekend of 2017 went. Not too bad, I thought.
How was your weekend?
Your weekend sounds like it was jam packed but fun!
@bermudaonion_kathy:disqusWith two small kids and a dog, our weekends are pretty much action-packed these days 🙂
What a sweet dog! Do you have dog parks in India, where people bring their dogs to play together? What are the dog resorts like?
@adam_s_morris:disqus no specific dog parks. But there is the one park in the center of the city that is open to dogs to roam freely on Sundays. The term pet resort sounds fancy, but there’s nothing much to it. They are primarily a boarding place for people to leave pets behind when traveling. But you can book it to spend a few hours with your pet. The one we went to just had a swimming pool, and a small park where he could run free. That’s it.
It sounds like a wonderful weekend! I wish there was a pool where we could take my dog Jazz — she’s never been in the water, but I think once we coaxed her in she’d be really excited about it. Or she might never get in, I guess — when I took her to an apartment with two stories, she reluctantly climbed the stairs but then wouldn’t come back down. She just stayed at the top of the stairs crying until I came up and got her. Maybe a pool would be similarly daunting!
@readingtheend:disqus Aww, she sounds super-cute. What kind of dog is she?