My morning begins at 5:00 to 5:30 when Mom takes me outside and I sniff at the brick steps (chipmunks!!), stare at the black sky and eventually relieve myself. Because Mom doesn’t want to get up, we go back to bed for a half hour and I actually fall asleep again ‘til Dad takes me downstairs for a boring old Wilderness chicken breakfast, but I get a tummy rub and he lets me sit on his lap. I think it’s funny that Mom doesn’t come down ‘til the coffee is made. Then, she peruses The Richmond Times Dispatch, The Wall Street Journal and internet politics. After about 20 minutes, she sighs and goes back to the kitchen for more coffee so I just quietly lick my paws and play with my blue dog. Or run and get more kibbles and bring them in the den. Someone needs to tell her to be sure and wear her bathrobe when the trashmen drive by.
After Dad leaves for work, Mom and I go explore the cul de sacs, so I can bark at the Cocker Spaniel, Black Labrador and Golden Lab. On the way home I try and eat as much weird stuff as I can, but Mom says, “No way,” not after the $1,400 hospital bill last week. I’d like to tell her the periwinkle was really tasty though I know she will just catastrophize. Truth is we have large moons of periwinkle in our front and back yards. Delicious!
9:20 AM. Nap on the sofa while mom jaws on the phone.
If she does housework, she puts me in my X-pen. At least once a day she says, “Let’s go out” and we go to Ashland, the gift shop Roomers, UPS store, drycleaners, Sneed’s Nursery. Once we went to Barnes and Noble. My favorite is visiting Miss Joanne because she has two cats, a Corgi and a nicer yard. Mom used to carry me everywhere in the Sherpa carrier, but now she says I am getting too heavy.
May 13
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother Cinnamon who lives in Gloucester, Virginia. Thank heavens I get to see her whenever I am groomed.
We have been having a heatwave here so I have been spending more time indoors. After all, I am an English working terrier so I don’t really like this awful Southern heat and humidity.
Mom cleaned out the shed today which seems kind of a strange thing do to on her special day. She says she does that whenever she starts gardening because she likes a tidy office. She certainly does wear funny looking clothes and big rubbery flowered shoes when she works in the yard. A long way from Bunny Mellon’s Balenciaga.
Now it’s 5:55 PM. (I am pretty smart. Six months old and I can already tell time.) Dad is grilling chicken on the deck. I’ve heard him explain this to company many a time: he roasts the meat for 30 minutes in the oven, then brushes it with sauce and grills for a few minutes. This means it’s cooked well on the inside rather than cold in the middle and burned on the outside. You would think they would give me a little bit of chicken. They only put peanut butter on a Kong and sometimes I get a chunk of Mozzarella cheese. I notice Mom gets the big piece. For people who like to cook and eat they seem a little stingy. Once Dad said I had bad breath and he gave me parsley. Whoopee….
7:50 PM. Time for a kip. My blue Kong dog makes a good pillow. Daddy bought me a stuffed bee yesterday, but I immediately tore a hole in it so Mom threw it away. Wasteful!
Speaking of Mom, I had a laugh when I heard her say some pretty bad words I won’t write here when she was doing laundry. Someone’s Kleenex got by her when sorting the clothes. What a mess. She pulled all the white paper specks out over the recycling bin and it was a big load because Marlyn has come home from college. (By the way, for a cat person she is nice. She told me I looked like a sausage with legs though I’m not sure how to take that.)
7:55 PM. I’m not going to take a nap after all. I’m going to stare at mom until she takes me outside. Usually if I start chewing on something, that will get her going. Hey! My jaw hurts. I’m losing teeth all over the place!
Monday, May 14th
I was having a nice mid-morning nap ‘til Mom woke me up to go to Goodwill and my new vet. She forgot to mention the reason I was going to see Dr. Z. was to get a flu shot. I don’t like shots though having a nice wee in the lobby made me feel better. I admit I enjoy watching Mom rush around whenever I have an accident.
We are still having a heatwave so this afternoon I am just going to stretch out on the sunroom sofa until Mom goes for a mani/pedi. She sure does seem to pamper herself a lot. (Note: Someone needs to tell her she has BBQ sauce from lunch on her chin.)
Now, I’m sitting in my plastic pen she moves in the hall upstairs while she “works” in her study. She is registering my microchip with the American Kennel Club which, frankly, she should have done a while ago. I’ve been here six weeks! (:
6:50 PM. Mom is now back from her mani/pedi and won’t let me anyway near her feet which is killing me. She smells like lemon-lavender-coconut-flaxseed. She is wearing some ugly rubber sandals although her toes look divine. Tropical coral.
I watched Mom and Dad eat a cold seafood supper and Mom took my bed away because I was chewing the loop on the side again. Well, heck. I’m sick of those *&^%$ Kong! Boring! Except with peanut butter!
8:00 PM. We’ve had a terrible thunderstorm and Mom was surprised I wasn’t scared. She said her late Jack Russell Weesie and cat Oscar were afraid of thunderstorms. She asked me why I was afraid of trucks, but not thunderstorms. Good question. Ask the vet! Go online!
That flu shot has really flagged me. I’d just as soon go to bed. I hope Mom doesn’t dance around with me in her arms anymore telling me how cute I am. That’s kind of embarrassing and once a day is enough. There goes Dad with a load of pants and he’s heading towards the washing machine. How come Mom doesn’t do that? Just asking. I heard her say she was busy in the yard all day. I guess. Though I heard an awful lot of chitty-chatty with the neighbor over the back fence.
I’m too tired tonight to even chew on anything and the rain keeps coming down in dogs and cats, cats and dogs. I’ll be darned if I go out in that soggy mess for my evening stroll. No way. I will take Mom’s look of grim determination any day. Poor Dear.
Things to look forward to –
- My puppy class May 29th.
- Going back to Gloucester to my breeder for grooming and visiting with friends and family.
- Going to PetSmart to buy a Kong Tuggerknot Frog.
- Going on holiday this summer in the Adirondacks.
Night, Night.
