“Remoted” – Day 372 (Tuesday)

Dogs not in their beds.

The day had an early start thanks to Moose’s bladder and his barking me awake at 2:57 a.m. to go outside. He often needs to go out during the night, but usually it’s closer to midnight. Winston usually stays in his bed during the potty break, but this morning he went out, too. By 3:15 they were both back in their beds on the floor and asleep, or faking it really well with their deep breathing and snoring. 

Meanwhile, up on the bed, I did the toss and turn thing until after 4:00. Apparently, sleep was being rationed and the dogs were hogging it all. The brain chatter kicked into high gear with an unwelcome and lengthy recitation of every stupid thing I’ve ever done since birth.

Finally, after what felt like five full and glorious minutes of quality sleep, it was suddenly 6:15 and the alarm was going off. Moose began his morning serenade of barking, then went outside. He stops barking long enough to pee, but in no time, he is at the back door delivering another of his monologues and I scramble to let him in before he wakes up the whole street. This is his morning wake-up routine. While the dogs noisily ate their breakfast, the coffee maker made some very strange and frightening noises worthy of a horror movie before producing hot coffee. “New coffeemaker” is now added to the list of things to look for sooner rather than later, and the new 30% off coupon from Kohl’s seems to have arrived just in time.

It was another nice weather day – sunny and warm and the stubborn snow and ice patches are slowly shrinking. Winston spent several chunks of his day laying in the sun on the deck, and while inside, stretched out in the sun spots on the floor. A couple times I went out with Winnie and sat in the sun on the step for a few minutes. He even cuddled with me, so he gets bonus points for affection.

 It’s not as comfortable sitting on a stone step as sitting in a chair, so five minutes was my natural time limit, but it was still a nice break. The deck chairs are currently packed into the shed with the table and lawn mowers and a lot of other stuff, so it is a challenge getting things in and out right now. They can come out of the shed and onto the deck later when I have the patience, strength and time to deal with it. For now, it’s sitting on the step.

Moose is not a sun worshipper or any type of a nature lover, so he avoids staying outside longer than necessary. No matter how nice the weather outside, Moose usually chooses to spend his weekdays sleeping under my desk, behind my chair, or in his bed near the desk, and weekends on the couch or wherever I am. He gets bonus points for steadfast loyalty.