Really news from Dec 1, even though I just got it posted today.

Maggie declines to go out in the cold snow

There has been just enough snow here to have a good time outside. The temperatures have felt brutal given our warm fall, in the 20s, but it makes for great skiing snow! I’ve been out several times, and Omer has gone out twice. Of course I haven’t gotten the last mowing of the trails done yet (still hoping for some snow free December days), so I don’t dare go down any of my biggest (not very big) hills, because of the danger of catching a ski on frozen-in grass or berry canes.

The first morning of real snow Maggie asked to go outside. You can see in the photo how far my wimpy dog went! She does not like to be wet or cold. But here’s the real poser. She had already been outside that morning to come upstairs from the bedroom. So did she think that it might be different if she went out the kitchen door?

There’s A Large Mammal in the....

...pantry. OK, how come in a house that is only 15 years old there are as many mice as there were in the old house? It’s turned cold and the dirty little runners are messing up my pantry shelves. We took several cups of dog food out of a kitchen drawer this week!

...compost Pile. What on earth does Maggie think is so great about rooting around in old apple peels and broccoli stems? I don’t put any meat products in there, but she still thinks it’s great fun to stick her nose in and sample the decomposition.

...kitchen. Behind the stove to be exact. Our dear little kitty, V-8, is seventeen years old. Where does a seventeen-year-old cat sleep? Anywhere she wants. She’s losing her mind we think; acting very odd. Instead of being a seldom seen cat who had two favorite spots in the entire house, she is now trying out various locations to see which she likes best. For a while she insisted on sleeping in the kitchen sink. That was interesting, since she was a sink-sleeper as a kitten (second childhood?).

face to face with V-8

Then she took to climbing on top of a high "chimney cupboard" (a large old-fashioned dresser) and sleeping there. The only problem was that I had a large pile of mailing supplies there, and she had to climb up and down over the spare computer. She made quite a mess, but we just kept padding things and waiting for her to change her mind again. She did.

Three days ago I was in the kitchen and thought I heard a mouse behind the stove. Later I heard it again, but decided it was way too big to be a mouse. So I crawled under the microwave table and tried to paste the side of my head to the wall so I could aim an eyeball behind the stove. Guess who? I found myself starting at a little gray butt with a long tail. It’s V-8's new hidey-hole. A little disconcerting to hear something that large behind the kitchen appliances, but I’m sure she’ll change spots again soon.

...living Room. Omer is happily stringing lights on the Christmas tree.