Connected

It's gotten so that sleeping in until 4:30 seems like a luxury.  I'm not one of those people who can lie in bed when I wake up regardless of the time:  eyes open, feet hit the ground.  Well, there's a small delay while I try to move heavy-as-boulders cats out of the way.  How a 13-15 pound cat can become an immovable object in the night is incomprehensible.  It was lovely to see the little red numbers on the bedside clock this morning and know that the light switches would work, that I would have water when I turned the tap, and that the coffee-maker would provide a hot cup of that without which I cannot start the day.  The computer is computing and I am once again connected to the world.  Any day that is not a repeat of yesterday is going to be a good day.

A couple of days ago Celeste came into the living room making the darndest noises, probably because she had her mouth full.  Afraid at first she'd caught a mouse (acceptable in the barn, not in the house), I saw that it was one of the missing knitted piglets.  Aha!  I'd seen neither snout nor tail of the little creatures since Ralph had abducted the litter.  Celeste had the best time rolling around and batting the mouse-sized toy until she batted it under the hope chest (do girls still get chests to fill with articles for a hoped-for marriage?).  She looked back at me and cried for help.  Well, guess what I found.

All five piglets, a mouse (toy), the hairless hamster, a champagne cork, two shiny bows, the ears ripped from other stuffed animals, an Easter bunny (and, all together now, a partridge in a pear tree).  Davy Jones's locker could not have held more treasure.  Celeste immediately took off with one of the piglets, so, yes, there are only four in the photo.  Ralph nearly cooed with joy and began the business of scattering the goodies all over the house.  Vacuuming is going to be an exercise in avoidance.  It's too cold to go around without shoes or slippers.  I don't want to think about stepping on a small furry "thing" in the dark with bare feet.

Helper Dude said he would be here shortly after daybreak today.  I'll probably end up paying his way through college, but it's worth not being disconnected.