Chloë Charms Her Guests

Nap Time.

So sorry that I haven’t written in a while. I have been too busy lately, which may sound crazy coming from somebody who sleeps as much as I do. While I don’t deny I love a good nap, sleeping so much means I have to cram a lot of important stuff into my waking hours, which are limited and getting more so all the time. Afternoon naps are great, but they might explain why I get up around 5.

And there have been distractions, too. The house has been in upheaval for several weeks now, including repairs in the bathroom, to the front door and out back  on the deck, creating a lot of noise and dust that I could do without. Sometimes we couldn’t use the front door or the kitchen door, so I had to leave and come back on different routes, sometimes going downstairs to the back yard or through the garage. which was confusing to my already addled brain and taxing on my aching limbs. Often the front door was left ajar, which in my younger days would be an open invitation to bolt out and down the street to chase the Bartons’s cats. Sadly, those cats are long gone, and so are the Bartons, who recently moved to Queen Anne, a neighborhood a couple of miles away.

One of the Barton Gang.

Still, one afternoon I did wander out the open front door without a leash.  Heather was already outside, talking to neighbors, and she watched me stroll down to the Barton house and then cross the street (there were no cars coming!) to where my friend Claire used to live,  where I like to pee in the planting strip. That short tour was more than enough excitement for one day, so I ambled home and went back to sleep, deep inside my bedroom crate, trying to find some peace and quiet.

Annabelle and Alison with Chloë.

I enjoyed a brief  respite when Heather’s sisters Annabelle and Alison visited in May. Annabelle lives in British Columbia and has visited us many times before, but this was Alison’s first visit, so I had to show her around the house (that is, where the downstairs treats are located). I had been to Alison’s house in Ontario several times on our summer trips, but this time she didn’t have her own dog with her, so she paid plenty of attention to me. Not only did she know where my treats are, but she managed to slip in a few extras at unscheduled times, which is always appreciated.

While I got plenty of attention while they were here, I was a bit disappointed, that I didn’t get to ride around Seattle in the backseat with my Canadian aunts in Annabelle’s Little Yellow Taxi (pictured above), like I did in Heather’s car when my Syracuse aunts when they visited two years ago. Maybe next time.

Chloë sucks up to Richard.

After they left, Richard, who seems to show up to remodel our house every so often, stayed overnight for several nights while he was working here. He now lives up north by the Canadian border, so it’s a long commute. While he stayed, he was really busy all the time, so Heather made me stay upstairs and not go downstairs to  bug him for treats. But I can tell Richard likes me (and probably all dogs), so if I could get him alone for a couple of minutes, I have a feeling things will be more productive when he returns to finish his jobs next week. He’s a smart guy.