Well, it is a.m. 3:30. I have loaded the coffee maker and cleaned the kitchen, which includes washing all the day's dishes, finding where my wife has hidden the dirty griddle (it was, of course, in the closed oven), washing it, and then cleaning the "island" in the kitchen where our fat Garfield-like cat spends most of her waking hours, swatting us when we walk by, at least when she can bestir herself enough. Actually, as far as I can tell and who knows what goes on in a fat cat's mind, she will settle for a few moments of gentle petting. Hmm, once again, the incredible richness of being at our finger tips, a fat black cat named Pinkie, who washed up on an island in the middle of our kitchen.
We put her in the downstairs laundry room for however much of the "night" is left when we finally retire, which leaves the island free to be cleaned. As I was cleaning it tonight, I saw a small black creature scurry across the floor and under the cabinet rim. Rats! I said to myself. A mouse! Fortunately it wasn't, on closer inspection, just a long black tube of cat hair. The incredible richness of being even in our kitchen!
And I haven't even gotten to my notes for today. Ah, here we go. It was around 2 p.m.; I was sitting in the dining room at our, guess what, dining room table which seconds as a workplace for me. I was just about to finish the day's Cryptoquip, having already done the day's Jumble. Those two daily puzzles are part of our daily routine; we love to do them. I am better at the Crypto than Mary is, she is, in turn, much better at the Jumble than I am. Each of our two daily papers contains a Jumble, but only one paper contains the Crypto. Since I tend to get to it first, I copy it for her. That may help account for our 48 years together.
In any case I was finishing the Crypto, feeling the usual satisfaction of having another well-solved puzzle under my belt, so to speak. While I was working, Mary was sleeping, directly behind me in the living room, and snoring. Sorry to say but she snores. In fact she had been snoring for such a long time that I discovered, when I had finished the Crypto, that I too was sleepy. Very sleepy in fact. With the sofa occupied, I immediately thought of our bed with its very comfortable, 4,000 dollar tempur pedic mattress. Who on earth would pay 4,000 dollars for a mattress? Well, yes. Here we are, and it is worth it, and before you could say Schuster three times I was stretched out there.
Oh yes. Did I mention we were going to a movie in Richmond at 4:30? We were, and I had time for a nap! Okay. On the bed at 2. Just about to drop off to sleep at 2:14 when I heard a sound-barrier breaking bark! Simon was in the room!
I stiffly, slowly slid off the bed on to my knees beside the bed where little Simon was impatiently wagging his tail and watching me. He knows the routine: he puts his front paws on the side of the bed so that I can get one hand under his chest, the other hand on his butt, and pull him to my chest and up. The bed is very high, compared to our old bed. My movements are somewhat precarious, given my disabilities, but we made it. I was on my back again, Simon was tucked neatly under my right arm, it was 2: 23. We were out.
I have written it before, but I absolutely love napping with Simon tucked under my arm. He doesn't move; I don't move. We are warm and comfortable. When I glanced at the clock, the red numbers said 3:38. Simon and I had achieved something that does not happen at all for a number of reasons, none of which I feel like explaining, beyond the fact that I (we) have 3 more dogs (one a lively youngster), an island-hugging cat, a wife, a phone, a few friends, neighbors, etc. End of entry.
However, we had decided to go to the movie, St. Vincent, in Richmond, at 4:30, and it was raining heavily from time to time. First I had to get Simon off the bed. It is not good for dachshunds to jump from high places, though try to tell them that! So, I swung my legs over the side of the gorgeous mattress, put my right arm around Simon and carefully set him on the floor where, by this time, he was met by an extremely excited Schuster. They ran to the front room.
First real dog problem of the day: Simon does not like to go out into the rain. Simon will not go outside into the rain. Open the door to the backyard, he steps back, deeper into the kitchen. Push him out, he will run to the end of the deck, turn around and run back. "Done Dad!" Of course his back is dry. By this time, 3:56, he was on the sofa, partially concealed by his blanket. I did not mess around. All the other dogs were out. Simon was going out too. "Not gonna happen, Dad! I don't do rain!"
I calmly walked to his sofa, tossed back the blanket, picked him up and tucked him under my right arm, for the second time that day. I got the kitchen door open safely, I saw that the stairs to the left of the deck were wet and slippery. Oh my goodness. I have broken a big toe once there and fallen twice, unpleasantly. Holding him tightly with one hand and arm, I crossed to the wet railing, and slowly stepped down, one step, two step, three steps down!
There is a broad over-hang across the back of the house. For the second time that afternoon, I gently and safely set the little guy on the ground, under the over-hang. He didn't even give me a dirty look. I discovered that the reason for that was that he was truly loaded. He walked along the back of the house for about 8 feet, and pooped, a real bunker buster pile of it! He went on for another 3 or 4 feet, pushed his way into a low-flying shrub, tilted his long male body to the left, and held the position for a good 40 seconds, matching any record of mine.
Though the rain was still falling and I was still happily standing in the rain (he pooped!), I waited until he left the side of our house and ran down the board walk to me through the rain. When he got to me, he looked up, and if such a thing were possible, I would swear he was smiling!
I haven't said it lately, but I really love the little guy, even when he hops down off the sofa, calmly walks over to the piano leg, and, because it is raining and he remembers that it is raining, he pees! I cannot fully trust the little beastie, but I can and certainly do fully love him, little Simon!
Everyone stay well.