Squirrel!
We do not have any snow on the ground here, a fact I attribute 100% to my recent purchase of winter boots. I had to forgo buying the cute, fur-lined boots I really liked because they were only good to 5 degrees F, and ended up with plain beige boots that will protect me in -50 degrees F weather. Sometimes I dislike the decisions Minnesota forces me to make. Somewhere in a warm-weather state, my alter ego is debating whether to buy a tank top made out of cotton or the one made with lycra.
Last weekend, Jason spotted a white squirrel in our neighborhood. (While normal squirrels piss me off by Digging Up Our Backyard, albino squirrels are awesome.) Of course, I was just getting out of the shower so I couldn’t run to the window to witness the Squirrelly Glory because Jason assumes all of our neighbors are perched near their windowsills Rear Window-style with high-powered binoculars, and he objects loudly to me streaking around unclothed. Naturally, by the time I was decent, the squirrel was gone. But! A few days later, I turned up our block after a nice long walk with Shorty, and behold! — a skinny white creature darted mythically up our neighbor’s driveway. I jogged to get a closer look and yes! Albino squirrel! Fantastic.
On Thursday, we’re having our washing machine repaired. Last weekend, it ran fine for two loads and then suddenly stopped advancing through the cycles, which is why I ended up at the laundromat sans makeup wearing grungy sweats. We’re hoping the cost of the repair is more cost-effective than buying brand new. All of our appliances are ancient at best and our collective fear is that once one needs to be replaced, the others will topple in a domino-like heap of 1950s-colored metal and plastic.
As I’ve discussed before, I’m not really a wine person. I’ll drink it every once in awhile, usually preferring white wines, but one glass is more than enough for me. But last weekend I discovered Moscato and well, I highly recommend it.
Our friend’s girlfriend has a Puggle, and after spending a few hours with it, we’re now convinced that Shorty is part Yellow Lab, part Pug. He does the snorting thing, he has the curly tail, and he has the wrinkly face. But this weekend, someone knocked on our door and as Jason ran upstairs, I held Shorty on my lap. And he SCREAMED. Like a human. It wasn’t a whine or a bark; it was this high-pitched screaming/“talking” that was unlike anything we’ve ever heard. In other words: HORRIFYING. I can only imagine what the person at our door thought was happening. Anyway, I know that Basenjis are notorious for “yodeling” and have a curly tail, so maybe Shorty is part that, too. Although they are also known as being “barkless,” so HAHAHHAHAHA, maybe not.
