Not Working

Well phooey, all that chanting the night before didn't work.  For a short while, I thought it had.  The wind wasn't too bad for a spell during the day, but, boy, it was cold!  Michael, always so serious and all business, surprised the heck out of me on our morning walk.  He'd done his thing along our route, but we didn't go out in the west field, something he likes to do.  We were heading back and I said, "Yeah, Michael, let's get back in the house.  It's too cold out here"  Omigosh, his head and tail came up and he started dancing.  "You want to go back now, too?"  "I do, I do, I do!"  Fearing he might possibly run down the drive, I took off his leash.  "Okay, kiddo, go for it!"  Turned out he wanted to race me.  "Come on!  I can beat you!," as he headed up the walkway to the porch, stopping to look back and make sure I was coming (slowly).  "Oh, Michael, you win again!"  He was obviously pleased with himself.  We'll have to do that again.  It's the first spontaneous game he's wanted to play.

Stove reminds me of Audrey II, the voracious plant in The Little Shop Of Horrors (Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, 1986), whose tag line was, "Feed me!"  Stove has chomped his way through nearly two wagons of firewood in two days.  As long as I keep generously stuffing his maw, he keeps us warm.  I'd been giving him appetizers and he wanted a full meal.

Mike took yesterday off, but planned to come back today.  The wind came back like gangbusters last night.  It was blowing so hard at 3:30, it woke me up.  Unless it lets up, I'm going to tell Mike not to come.  I don't want him walking and working on those rain-slick boards in gale-force winds.  My chanting didn't work last night, either.