A Tale Of Tails

Stove is working overtime these days.  Even so, the house stays,if not cold, chilly.  Two sweaters and a hoodie, as well as the "bean bag" I heat in the microwave, and there are still times I can't feel my fingers.  Fall ducked out in a hurry and winter came rushing in.  This has been a whackadoodle year, for sure.

Michael has thick, plushy fur, and he still wraps his tail around to keep warm.  When he gets in one of his beds in the living room, I tuck him in with one of his blankets.  (This is a dog who moved in with creature comforts.)  Michael is not a tail wagger.  I feel grand when he gives me a swish now and then.  When we goes for walks, he raises that big brush high, but it stays low when he's in the house unless the doorbell rings.

Google answered a question I'd always wondered about...why do cats flick their tails when they're hunting.  One would think they'd stay statue still.  It seems it has a hypnotizing effect on their prey, and fools them into thinking the cat is on the move.  Ralph and Celeste do it even in the house when they see a bird or squirrel on the deck.

It's pretty obvious why lizards "throw" their tail when threatened.  The discarded tail keeps moving and gives the lizard a chance to get away.  I think it's a one-time shot because, although they can grow a new tail over time, it's never quite the same.

Mike worked all day yesterday and I'm sure, in the vernacular, he froze his tail off.  I wonder if he remembers it was sunny and warm when he contracted for this job.

I'm running late this morning and I'd best move my tail.

Off Track

Was I always such a creature of habit?  Probably.  I know I was thrown for a loop yesterday when I couldn't use the computer in the wee hours of the morning.  Computer time in the afternoon just doesn't work for me.

The grey skies brought only rain last evening.  For Mike, that is a good thing because it rinsed away most of the snow.  As of Wednesday, he planned to work today.  We'll see.  He said he never wanted to work in an office, but in weeks like this I'll bet central heating and a view out a window sound pretty good.  As much as I sympathize with him, getting the deck finished sounds good to me.

Ralph, also a creature of habit, makes such a pest of himself every morning.  He is long and lean and reaches up to pat my arm, wanting to be stroked.  When that's not enough, he gets on the bed and pats my shoulder until I turn my chair so he can climb onto my lap.  That's where he right now, eyes closed and content.  It's very difficult to type while sitting sideways.

For a long while the piglets had gone dormant.  They lay throughout the house wherever they'd landed when the cats lost interest.  They're on the move again and the crooning has resumed.  Now I never know where I'll find them.  At least Celeste has stopped flinging them into the toilet.

I overestimated how much deli turkey I'd need.  Now, just like the rest of those who celebrated Thanksgiving, I'll be living on leftovers for a week.  I do miss the gravy, though.

I'm very glad I had the forethought to bring wood to the porch.  Between the snow and the rain, this house gets cold.  If I go off track and wait too long, it takes Stove hours to get us warmed up, burning wood at an alarming rate.  Michael curls up in one of his beds and puts his long-haired, fox-like tail over his nose.  The cats, who have no concept of personal space, crowd onto my lap.

It's time to get back on track today.

One Thing Or Another

If it isn't PG&E, it's Nature.  Oh crum.  I didn't know what time I woke up because I (duh) hadn't reset the bedside clock...turned out to be 4:30 a.m.  Turned on the computer and went to make a cup of coffee.  Came back to...nothing.  The Wi-Fi modem only had two lights and it needed five.  What the heck?  Do modems wear out or break?  What do I know.  Being pitch black outside, I had no idea it had snowed during the night.  The computer worked, but I had no access to the internet.  After 50 games of Solitaire, I was getting pretty good.

After daybreak and I could see maybe 2-3 inches of the white stuff on the deck, I called for help.  Winston did some diagnostics and decided the satellite dish was probably clogged with snow and that I should hope for the sun to come out.  Ta da!

I declined a very gracious invitation for Thanksgiving dinner from Florence yesterday.  She said she'd come pick me up, but no.  That would have been four trips over icy roads and that just wasn't going to happen, but wasn't that nice?

Mike worked yesterday until he couldn't feel his fingers anymore.  Brrr!  I periodically took him mugs of hot coffee, but that only works for a little while.

I had wondered how Missy would fare in this white stuff.  I shouldn't have worried.  She was on the covered portion of the deck when I went out and had had a good breakfast.  There's a padded chair out there that she used for a bed.  She told me it might be a good idea for her to come inside, until she saw Celeste on the other side of the glass door, that is.  Hisss!  Probably not.

Michael's walk this morning didn't take long.  There are several patches of yellow snow now, but he didn't dawdle on the way back to the house.

I've got a good fire going in Stove.  I have TV and computer.  I had a marvelous turkey and avocado sandwich for lunch (probably another for dinner).  Minus my Kids, it's been a good Thanksgiving.

(The cloud cover is rolling back in.  If you don't hear from me, you'll know why.)  If it's not one thing, it's another.

Out Like A Lion

An old adage says that if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.  November seems to be the reverse.  Other than the one day of wind (when the power was cut for six days), this has been a pretty mild month...until yesterday.  The morning was sunny, but brisk.  Mike showed up early to work (I was dressed) and got right to it.  Michael didn't dawdle on our walk.  Even though the sun felt good, we were glad to get back to the house.  The wind picked up and the clouds closed in.  Along about noon, I wussed out and lit a fire.  I also hauled four wagons of wood to the porch (boy, I'm feeling that today).  If the weatherman is correct, we're in for more than a week of this weather.  As much as I'm going to miss seeing the Kids, I'm glad nobody is going to be driving tomorrow.

It being trash day, I gathered up my stuff early and headed out with Michael.  Michael had other plans and took off down the drive.  Ratchafratch!  It was too cold to stay outside so I sat in the truck to wait for the wanderer. (Power blipped off just long enough for me to feel my way down the hall to retrieve the lantern.  Sure glad it came back on.)  Anyhow, I was surprised to see Neighbor Joe drive up and even more when Michael jumped out.  Joe had been going for mail when he saw my runaway and brought him home.  I'm glad I'd introduced the two.  I put my miscreant in the house and took the trash to the road.  Michael had already had his truck ride.

The wind picked up and along about three o'clock the first snow started flying.  Mike just kept working.  He said it wasn't bad enough to stop him.  Brrr!  He worked for another hour and then stored his tools on the porch and went home to thaw out.  He said he'd be back today.  We'll see.

Power just blipped out again.  Evidently this "lion" likes to play in the dark.  Sure glad I don't/won't have a turkey in the oven.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Catwalk

I knew there was a possibility that Mike might not work here yesterday and, if he did, it would be only a half-day.  I'm bad about taking "before" pictures, but this is the deck as it is now.  These are the loose boards where Mike does his tightrope act.  He's not the only one.

I knew from the empty bowl that Missy had been taking her meals topside, even with the deck under construction (make that destruction).  Yesterday I saw her carefully picking her way to the backside.  It put a whole new meaning to "catwalk."

This is the backside and the little cat's bowl is around the corner.  What a mess.  As I'd feared, Mike didn't make it back and another whole day was lost.  Ordinarily this wouldn't be a big deal, but the storm is predicted to blow in tonight with snow down to 2,000 feet.  I'm at 2,400.  If that weren't bad enough, a week's worth of rain is to follow.  It's been in the 30s at night and Stove is doing his best.  Note to self:  bring more wood to the porch today.

I made it up to the market and splurged on freshly sliced turkey, not the prepackaged stuff.  I went whole hog and bought an avocado for my Thanksgiving sandwich.  I'll miss the Kids, but I won't go without!

Having gotten "sit" down pat, Michael and I have been working on "down."  He makes me laugh.  It didn't take him long to get the "down" part, but he lies down and then rolls over.  "As long as I'm down here, you might as well rub my belly."

Our evening walk went pretty fast.  A couple of piddles and he was as ready as I to get back to the comfort of Stove.  It was/is cold!

Coming Right Along

Mike had planned to take Sunday off, but that one day's delay caused him to change his mind and he worked (and I mean worked) a long day yesterday.  I'd told Mike I get up early so not to worry about his start time.  Ha!  Yes, I get up early, but I sit in my robe until I'm darned good and ready.  It's a good thing I can see the driveway while I'm at the computer because I almost got caught.  I saw Mike's truck and made a mad dash for my clothes and was trying to find the danged strap on my bibbies when the doorbell rang.  I won't make that mistake again.

As with almost any job, there have been glitches.  Pulling off the top boards, he's uncovering more of those rotten joists.  That will add more time to his estimate.  Sigh.  The good news there is that he can fix the problem.  As I told him, my concern is for safety.  It's a wonder no one has gotten hurt here...scary thought...at one corner, it's a fifteen-foot drop!  I even worry about Mike.  As he pulls off the cover boards, he lays a couple of pieces of lumber across those bad joists and it's like watching a tightrope walker as he works his way down the line.  He knows what he's doing.  I just quit watching.  I did tell him I would not leave home while he's here, just in case.  All I could probably do would be to call 911, but I could do that.  I think he's pretty much done with the tear-off, so he's coming right along.  I'm getting excited to see the finished work.

Another who is coming right along is Michael.  He essentially learned "sit" in a day.  We practice all the time and it works.  Okay, maybe it's the treats, but he sits when asked...sometimes before he's asked and looks at the pocket where I keep the goodies.  Who is training who here?

I think Mike is going to work a half-day today.  That will give me a chance to make the truck runs I neglected yesterday.

Six o'clock and still dark.  I'd better get dressed now.

Drat!

The best laid plans, and all that...our family Thanksgiving has been cancelled.  Common sense, that rare commodity, took over in my conversation with Deb yesterday and we made that hard decision.  Not only would Bucks Bar be problematic for me, there will undoubtedly be a lot of traffic on Hwy. 50 with happy skiers heading up the hill for the first snow of the season.  It wouldn't be fun for the Kids to get stuck in that.  Drat.

Mike got a good start on removing deck boards yesterday, only to find that some (okay, a lot) of the joists need to be, if not replaced, at least reinforced.  In for a penny, in for a pound, and I told him to do whatever he deemed necessary.  I'm certainly not redoing the deck for cosmetic reasons.  I don't know what this glitch and the weather will do to his time frame.  As has been brought home to me many times, I'm not in charge.

Michael knows esoteric commands such as "turn left, turn right," so it was a surprise that he didn't seem to know some of the basics like "sit."  I called Florence to see if there were special code words that he might know and I didn't.  There weren't.  Drat.  I've started working with him, using those itsy-bitsy milk bones as an incentive.  Michael is so darned bright.  He picked up the cues, voice and hand, in no time at all.  I don't even need to throw in a treat now.  Because he is so smart, I think he likes the challenge of learning something new.  We are definitely going to work on "come!" and maybe stop him from going walkabout down the drive.  One can hope.

I will take Michael to his favorite meet-and-greet store, Mt. Aukum, today to get a replacement hose for the washer.  Later I will go up to Holiday to buy some deli sliced turkey...by golly, I will have a turkey sandwich on Thursday!