It has been three months since I last went to Starbuck’s, apparently the last time the weather was nice enough to take the pups for a walk to the location about a half-mile from our home. They love to “GO” because they always get a treat, plus they get to “GO” for a longer than normal airing. We were out of town over the weekend, so they did not get to “GO” on the run/walks we typically do to get them out of the stuffy confines of their home.

We rarely say the word “GO,” and usually try to spell it out instead. It slips out on occasion and our oldest schnauzer, Tinker, immediately recognizes it and frantically twists her head in our direction. The younger one, Tally, then mirrors Tinker’s excitement, so it’s a chain-reaction of anticipation. When I mentioned to them this morning, “let’s GO to Starbuck’s, they quickly put the two key words together and beat me to the door. Tally once broke free from her leash and ran there by herself to claim a treat. (See Post #33).  She’s a much more mature 8-year old now, so we have fewer of these attempted escapes, but she still can’t be trusted as much as Tinker.

Starbuck’s did not have my traditional order of Peach Tranquility Tea with 3 packets of honey, and as I learned when I arrived for my order, they have recently stopped handing out dog biscuits. There was a moment of disappointment, but the dogs ended up getting something better, a frothy “puppuccino,” that will probably come back to haunt me. Tinker is affectionately nicknamed, “the poopingest  on the planet,” so we’ll see howpup she reacts to whip cream. Ice cream was never a problem for either of them. Tally’s moniker is “Eggbert” because she loves eggs and waits patiently by my feet every morning for her share. Tinker is allergic, so I have to distract her, but she has a cast iron stomach, a result of surviving on acorns in the woods where she was abandoned as a puppy. We learned this from the Vet at the time of her adoption. Tally is adopted, as well, but was never starved for food, so she’s somewhat picky about what she eats, unlike the voracious Tinker.

I had to change my Starbuck’s routine this morning, opting for the Comfort Wellness Brewed Tea with honey. GOing there reminds me of my last two years before retirement and frequently stopping for tea at the location in the lobby of our office building downtown. There was a time in my working career when I was hooked on coffee, but it always left a bad taste in my mouth so I eventually stopped drinking it. I first switched to decaf because the real stuff also made me jittery, and then settled on a daily fix of caffeinated Diet Coke that remains one of my few addictions. I was “jonesing” for one yesterday and overlooked a bottle hidden in the back of our refrigerator.  GOing without it for a day was a good reminder of how it affects my system. I should stop drinking it, as I have many times throughout my life. I’ll think about it again after I finish my comforting tea and this last bottle of Phenylalanine & caffeine.

That’s enough writing for today, it’s time to GO…