I don’t mean the metaphorical dogs that are my feet. It has to get a good bit colder than single digits to keep me entirely indoors, and I’m confident I’ll reach my daily step goal today (Though I readily admit to bundling up when I go out.)
But for the hound dogs, definitely too cold. The Puppy will go to the back yard ready for a romp with her brother. But the brother, The Beagle, gets only as far as the 4th step down before turning around and heading back to the door. And so back we all go indoors, as the puppy also doesn’t want to be out there without the brother.
Which makes snuggling on the couch all-important. The dogs snuggle together, and they snuggle with whichever human being will sit with them. Usually that’s my husband, but in the early morning hours, when only I and The Puppy are up, I head to the couch so she’ll have company. And occasionally, just occasionally, The Beagle joins us. He’s the one who snores, ever so softly, ever so sweetly. He also leaks out little moans when he’s awake and we pet him. He’s a talker, and I don’t pretend not to love that.
Reading while snuggling
Indoor days are good for cleaning, cooking, and reading. Not in that order. Today I finished devouring Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway: 576 pages in three days, not because I’m an amazingly fast or devoted reader but because the story and the characters and the prose just pulled me through. I’m still processing the ending (no spoilers here) but loved every minute of the read.
Dinner will come from the freezer, where I need to free up space for many leftover portions of a delicious ham-and-bean soup filled with more vegetables than you can imagine. That was dinner last night, along with a pound cake that I made intending to share at book club, only to be reminded just before it went into the oven that it requires several hours’ rest after baking. That rendered it moot for book club, which started 1/2 hour after the cake came out of the oven, so that’s something else that needs me to free up freezer space. This is feeling like an endless cycle.
Yesterday’s book club discussion was about Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck, which I found both beautifully written and a fascinating look into East Germany just before the fall of the wall, but perfectly excruciating to read because of the utter toxicity of the relationship it centers on. Thumbs up and thumbs down at the same time, if that’s even possible.
Today I’m grateful
- For Elwood’s snores and moans
- For jeans loose enough to accommodate leggings
- For Tess’ crazy eyebrow whiskers