Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Monkeyshines

Silver has tons of stuffed toys. Until recently, one was a big stuffed monkey that she won as her prize for being valedictorian of her Advanced Obedience class. She played with it for months--lots of tug-of-war, fetching, and the occasional gnawing session. Bit by bit, parts of the monkey disappeared. Now, all that's left is the stuffed banana that used to be attached to the monkey's hand.

The other night, Silver brought me the banana and "asked" me to throw it for her a few times. It happened that her brand-new younger brother Cairo was sitting in the s.o.'s lap, taking it all in. He studied her carefully, as if to say to himself, "Hmm....so this is what one does around here."

So now Cairo is fascinated with the banana. Every time he gets out of his kennel, even if he heads straight to the back door to go out, he makes sure to grab the banana along the way. He looks so proud of himself for fitting in! I can't wait for the day when I'll be able to throw it for him.

Other news items:

• A gopher is making giant tunnels in the mache bed. I'm pretty sure this is the same gopher who ate my potato plant. I didn't ask to re-enact Caddyshack here! Anyone know how to get ride of a gopher? Poisoning it is not an option, nor is shooting it.

• The giant rosebush behind the bedroom window is in full bloom. It's not my doing; it came with the house. I'm sure it's decades old. I keep it pruned, and it rewards us with literally hundreds of hot-pink blooms at a time. Stunning.

• I am addicted to Quaker Cinnamon Squares cereal. I especially like the way it makes all the milk in the bowl into cinnamon milk. It stays crunchy, too. Could this challenge my lifelong passion for Life cereal? (Ironically, I don't like Cinnamon Life--just the plain kind.)

• I am snowed under with writing jobs right now. It's not to the point where it's unrealistic to make my deadlines. It's just at the level where I am going to have to work like a demon for the next, say, two weeks. *sigh*