STAYCATION 2018, DAY 2 (MONDAY)

Clouds and sunshine today

You couldn’t make this “staycater” happier than to show her Christmas themes, and this morning’s email didn’t disappoint. If we’re going to be ready for Christmas, we must get started. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the proffered fabric line or I would have ordered a yard or two as a staycation gift.

Staycation alters my routine. I like to get up, put on my robe, fix a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoy a quiet hour or two with my laptop. Mike gets up, gets dressed, and heads out the door – summer or winter, rain or shine. He gets the dogs up, gets the paper, eats breakfast, and then he and Bess go for a 20-minute walk. Since the dogs are now my charges, I have to get dressed when I get up – just as Mike does – and be ready for whatever the dogs think they need.

Lavender in bloom -- so fragrant

This morning Bess wanted to walk a gully in our neighborhood, but when I tried to follow her, I realized it was a mistake. The area is overgrown with weeds, and the quail are nesting there – and then I remembered that Mike said he wouldn’t be walking there for a while. I called Bess and she showed up with what I initially thought was a quail egg in her mouth. Turned out to be a golf ball.

I had a list for today, but I didn’t do more than get organized, and yet I felt I was moving right along. You know, it just takes time to organize projects – to decide on patterns and fabrics, to clear the area and get started. I just see myself marching through my tasks more quickly than is reasonable. And of course, the dogs take some time.

It was cool and rainy today, so we didn’t get out a lot. As it was, Bess and I had to take the afternoon constitutional in the rain.

Naptime for Nellie

Mike brushes the dogs’ teeth every night, and I’m expected to do the same. I’m not so good at it, though, and they don’t like my technique. Last year I had the bright idea to provide a dental chewie after brushing, and that dispelled their resistance. Sunday night, when I announced that it was time to brush our teeth, both dogs showed up and patiently waited while I prepared the brushes. (Nellie even volunteered to go first!) This proved to me that they remembered how we did it last year. Good thing I was prepared with a fresh box of chewies. They both tolerated the brushing and eagerly accepted a chewie.

Bess enjoys a nap in the sun

I followed Mike’s instructions as to amounts to feed the dogs – at least, I thought I did – but it was clear this evening that they were hungry. They insisted on an early supper. Bess gobbled hers right down and began to eat Nellie’s. (You should have seen the expression on Nellie’s face. “Do you see what she’s doing?” she seemed to ask.) I replenished Nellie’s dish and gave Bess a little more. So what if we gain a little weight while Mike is gone. The important thing is that they are content. (I mean it – that’s the important thing.) KW