Frankie the clean and fluffy relaxing at the Hotel Indigo Scottsdale

I wrote last week about my behind-the-scenes stress about Frankie’s insulin when I went up to Scottsdale for a book signing, but didn’t provide any details about the whirlwind visit itself. Some highlights (or, if you ask Frankie, lowlights)…

Thursday

1:45 pm. Frankie and I arrive at the stylish and pet-friendly Hotel Indigo Scottsdale, in the heart of the downtown Scottsdale entertainment district, which is fitting for Frankie, who is a very hip dog. We — well, especially Frankie, whose picture is taken and posted on Facebook (scroll down to March 31) — are welcomed warmly at check in.

I am excited by the fact that the hotel has free shaded parking at the entryway. You have to live in southern Arizona to understand my excitement.

2-3:15 pm. I wash Frankie in the hotel room shower (with pet shampoo I have brought along for this purpose) because I want him to look fluffy for the book signing and he won’t be able to run very far trying to shake himself off. He is pissed, but when he dries off he looks mah-velous. I shower afterward. I am not made irritable by it, but look less mah-velous than he does.

Frankie is eying the pretzels

4:15 pm We arrive at the Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek, north of Scottsdale. There is a nature trail behind the library (you’ll have to trust me on that; I forgot my camera). I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a gorgeous setting for a library. Reverential before such beauty, Frankie refuses to pee on it, though I walk around with him for at least 10 minutes making pishing sounds.

4:30-5 pm I settle in at the book signing table with Phoenix Barnes & Noble rep Erica Ashcroft (who, like most people I seem to meet, has a picture of her dog as her telephone screensaver).  Not pictured except for her knee: Layne Kizler of Arizona Dog Sports, an awesome dog gym in Scottsdale. (I am going to do an interview with Layne on this blog; stay tuned). This being a “Yappy Hour” there is wine; see the empty plastic cups in front me and the relaxed expression on my face in the picture.

5-7 pm An attentive audience of dogs and people, including three representatives (far left, with blue Crocs, and the woman hidden next to him, and the German Shepherd) of the Foothills Humane Society, who provided water and lots of great information during my talk (well, not the German Shepherd; he just sat and looked handsome).  I enlisted Layne to tag team with me about how not to bore your dog and to repeat in public the nice things about my book that she said in private, because my mother taught me it’s not nice to say nice things about yourself.

 

Look how well behaved the dogs are, not even barking amongst themselves. I guess they are not being bored.
Books! People are buying books! That is not Frankie in the front left, incidentally, though it looks like him.

That said, I sold a very respectable number of books and think the event was a great success. I officially thank the library and my accomplished and well-organized friend Dereth Dehaan, who arranged it. She is also lovely, but you’re going to have to take my word on that too because the one picture that has her in it makes me look like a troll. And there’s a great distance between not bragging and posting pictures of yourself looking like a troll on the internet, even if it demonstrates the loveliness of one of your friends.

Friday

9-10am I have arranged to have breakfast with three Scottsdale/Phoenix friends, Laura McMurchie, Kristen Jarnagin, and Jackie Dishner, at the dog-friendly The Daily Dose.  As is my wont, I studied the menu online in advance of the event and really wanted the Breakfast Nachos: “Warm corn tortilla chips topped with Oaxaca & cheddar cheese, jalapenos, chorizo scrambled eggs, pico de gallo & red chili cheese sauce. Served with a side of sausage gravy.” I was intimidated into ordering something with eggwhites instead by the fact that my slimmer friends all ordered things with eggwhites.

Jackie bought SIX of my books to give as gifts to friends, which is supportive beyond words. I want to explain here why I didn’t buy any copies of the book she recently wrote, Backroads and Byways of Arizona, to give as gifts to my friends: It’s because I also wrote a book about Arizona, Arizona for Dummies, and I always get upset when members of my family and friends buy other people’s books about Arizona, because it suggests that they have no confidence in me (yet another example of my mean-spiritedness and pettiness). That doesn’t mean that you all shouldn’t buy copies of Jackie’s book. In fact I urge you to do so. She is a better person than I am and I’m sure her book is terrific because she’s an excellent writer and does far more adventurous things than I would ever do in Arizona.

I will leave you with a picture of me and Frankie because the rest of the morning was spent packing and, then, getting crazed about the insulin left on my front porch by UPS. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see the small permanent sneer that Frankie now has as a result of his recent tooth extractions. It is no reflection on the company or the food at the Daily Dose, which was very good, even if it involved egg whites. Next time I will go by myself and get the Breakfast Nachos.

Frankie and I at The Daily Dose in Scottsdale

 

18 thoughts on “Frankie’s Whirlwind Scottsdale Tour”

    1. Thank you! I wish I was a better photographer/less of a camera klutz. I can never do Frankie justice.

    1. I love that idea. I need to get him a little guitar or a white body suit (depending on whether we’re doing early or late Elvis)!

    1. Thank you. I was actually trying to think of another word than “pishing” which is what my mother used, but really I couldn’t find an adequate substitute.

    1. No, Jackie doesn’t blog about dogs, she blogs about biking, as a metaphor http://bikewithjackie.blogspot.com/

      Still, she bought six books from me, which makes her a better person… unless six people buy her books because of this post, which will make us equal. I won’t venture into where we’ll be if more than seven books are sold…

  1. This is freakin’ hilarious. Am feeling like it’s probably a strange thing to bring it up, but: Is it odd that I’m sitting here trying to imagine you making pishing sounds? Don’t answer that. Really. Don’t. Also, am I a better person than you? Doubtful. I just wanted to get some early holiday shopping in. Isn’t that kind of selfish on my part–having you lug SIX BOOKS with you to breakfast. Great blog post and thanks for the pitch, because of course I’m going to do the selfish thing and social media network the heck out of it. (It’s not really shameless self-promotion if someone else says the nice things about you, is it?)

    So glad we had the chance to meet again, Edie. Can’t wait till we get to meet up or tweet up or friend up in Tucson. Hope to see you soon!

    To more Yappy book events!

    1. I won’t say a word about the pishing. I will say, however, the fact that you are doing your Christmas shopping more than six months in advance makes you… well, a little frighteningly well organized. And of course your sharing this on social media means that I benefit too 😉

      I’m glad we had a chance to meet again too! Do come down to Tucson; it would be terrific to see you.

    1. Frankie thanks you for the compliment. Of course I am controlling the message of our time together. I suspect if he were capable of writing this post he would have put a different spin on it…

  2. I was wondering what Frankie so disliked in that photo that would cause that oh so NY sneer on his face – thanks for explaining. Family and sometimes friends can marginalize you and your talents right off the map, can’t they?? Frustrating, but unchanging. You are too funny with the pishing noises…good thing I wasn’t there – I would have cracked up and disrupted Frankie’s concentration. Sounds like it was a really worthwhile trip;)

    1. At least Frankie’s sneer wasn’t one of disdain for my caving in to the eggwhite peer pressure 😉

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