The Sandy Diaries: Part 2

Monday, November 5

I think I'm going through technology withdrawal.  It has been seven days without power and while Sister is still nice enough to post for me when she gets to work, I really do kind of miss posting it myself (not to mention I'm always concerned that Sister might twist my words around and tell her side of the story rather than mine). 

Today was a very lonely day.  Like they warned me, Sister and Ma went back to work and left me all alone except for during Sister's lunch break.  True, I took advantage of the silence and caught up on my sleep (you'd be amazed how much energy it takes to keep an eye on those two), but I really did miss them.  I was so excited when Sister came home after work that I ran around the back yard like a lunatic!  After dinner Ma gave me another Kong filled with peanut butter. 

Tuesday, November 6

Meri

The rat has abandoned ship!  Sister decided this morning that it was simply too cold in the house for her pet hamster Meri to stay, so she bundled her up, put her in the car, and took her to the Library to wait out the blackout.  I was quite jealous and tried my best to jump into Sister's car, but Pa held me back (and I thought he was on my side!).  Why does Meri get to go and stay in the Library and I don't?  It's just not fair!  I'm the avid reader, not the rat.  I'm the one who has shredded countless newspapers and ripped up a travel book!

Wednesday, November 7

Ma decided to stay home from work today which I thought was great until I realized that she had a lot to do and wasn't going to be able to spend the entire time with me.  She and I did, however, toward the end of the day, have reading time (Ma reads her book and I lay on her feet) which was nice.

When Ma took me outside later in the day I was thrilled to discover that it was snowing due to something called a "nor'easter."  Now, I don't know that much about nor'easters, but if they bring snow they can't be all bad, right?  I'm hoping that it snows a lot, though I get the feeling no one else in the house share's my excitement.

As I mentioned earlier, the rat moved to the Library yesterday to stay warm.  Today, Ma and Sister each packed an overnight bag and headed out to Denise and Alex's house to spend the night.  That meant that Pa and I were going to have something called a "boy's night in."  So far it has been great.  We sat around the living room for a little while then, at 9pm, we went to bed (finally someone has figured out that you're supposed to go to sleep when it's pitch black out!).  Then it got even better.  Pa said I could sleep on his bed with him!  I'm never allowed on the big bed (not that that rule has ever stopped me).  I cuddled up next to Pa and before he went to sleep he pulled a blanket over me to keep me warm. 

Thursday, November 8

Today was great!  I know, I've been a bit down lately since I haven't been able to check out my bff's blog and the hamster, Ma, and Sister have all escaped to warmer places (though I have enjoyed sleeping on the bed with Pa), but today was a real treat!

 

A canopy of branches

When I went outside this morning, not only was there still snow on the ground (about 6 inches), but the cherry tree in the back yard was bent over and touching the ground from the weight of that snow.  It was so weird!  I mean, who would have thought a tree could bend over like that?  Anyway, this new development got the wheels in my head turning and I came up with a number of really fun games relating to the tree's position.  First, I ran around like mad bursting in and out of the branches.  When I tired of that game I started grabbing the low lying branches and ripping them off of the tree.  It was really, really fun.  Yeah, I've grabbed and shredded branches that have fallen out of the trees before, but never did I ever have the opportunity to pick them off myself! 

A little while later, Ma and Sister returned from Denise and Alex's and, along with Pa, started cleaning up the yard:  Pa shoveled, Sister beat the bushes and the tree with a broom to remove the snow (which looked like a lot of fun especially when the branches suddenly sprung back upright) and Ma picked up sticks in the front of the house.  At one point, after Pa had left for work, I sprinted past Sister when she opened the gate and ran out into the front yard.  Ma grabbed hold of my collar before I could get too far which was good since I was so overwhelmed with the entire winter wonderland that I didn't know what exactly I was doing (I just wanted to run!).

Ralphie and me playing!

Ralphie and me leaning.

But the fun didn't end there.  After lunch Sister told me that she had a big surprise for me:  I was scheduled to have a play date with Rita's dogs Ralphie and Brandy.  Now, I've never personally met either Brandy or Ralphie but I have been a kind of pen pal with them for a number of years now and I know they are avid readers of my blog (they especially liked the video of me carrying on after my bath!).  Needless to say, I was excited.  Sister and Ma put my prong and choke collars on (or bling as we call it) and off we went down the street.  After a short walk we came upon a house with a cousin (AKA Golden Retriever) in the door.  "That's Ralphie!" Sister told me as she opened the front gate and let me into the yard.  Minutes later Ralphie bounded out of the house and the fun began.  We each gave each other a good sniff over, greeted our respective owners (Ralphie is all about being petted), then ran around like crazy dogs.  We had a great time running up and down the yard, begging for pets from passing strangers, and eating snow.  Ralphie even taught me how to make dog angels in the snow which I've been practicing ever since. 



Having a conversation.

After we played for a little while, Rita let her other dog, Brandy, out into the yard.  Brandy is very different from Ralphie.  She is much more refined and gentle which is fine by me because I've very flexible when it comes to playing with other dogs--I'll box with some, I'll run with others, and some I'll just hang out with.  Ralphie got a little jealous of me playing with Brandy, but eventually we were all running around the yard (and vying for pets).  I had a lot of fun and I hope we'll have another play date soon (after a good long nap).



All tuckered out from playing.

Sister and Ma are leaving again this evening, but I'm not too sad because that means I get to sleep in the big bed again (I just hope Pa doesn't hog it too bad).  Oh, and we've gotten more good news.  Just before nightfall, a utility company from California came and started working on the broken utility pole up the street.  Maybe we'll have power soon.

Friday, November 9

The day started out rather bad.  Today is day twelve with no power.  Now, if that wasn't bad enough, I also didn't sleep well last night because Pa was hogging the bed (though he will tell you that I was hogging the bed--he lies!) and Ma and Sister have gone back at work again (Ma took two days off and Sister's Library was closed yesterday because of the storm). 

PG&E to the rescue!

At lunch time, however, the day started to take a turn for the better.  First, those people from California showed up on the block around lunch time and continued to work on the utility pole outside.  I barked orders at them to tell them which wires to connect and whether or not the pole was perpendicular to the ground (none of the workers thanked me for my help).  Then, around 2pm, I heard the familiar sound of the refrigerator starting up and the house lit up like a Christmas tree (my humans really should have turned off all those light switches earlier).  Now the heat is coming up.  Maybe now things can get back to normal.