It’s been quite a week for me, personally. My German shepherd, Carson, passed away. He was 12 and a very large dog. He had a great life. But I loved him dearly and miss him a lot.

Our eldest daughter, Achsa, bought my wife and me a gift certificate to the Auburn Alehouse to make us feel better about losing Carson.

Eating at the Ale House in Old Town Auburn was very nice. I had the filet mignon with prawns and Carmen had the green peppers stuffed with crab. Yum. I also had a glass of American River Pale Ale and she had a glass of red wine. For dessert we split a berry tart with vanilla ice cream on top.

I still miss Carson but that was a fantastic meal and a very sweet gesture by a hard-working 20-year-old.

I am on vacation next week but have plans locally.

I will be hanging out with the Dining Divas, an Auburn-based group of fun-loving women, on Tuesday.

I can’t believe school starts Aug. 13. It seems like it gets earlier every year.

Life goes on. But it won’t be the same without Carson.