In Praise of Snow Boots

When it snowed last week, I thought Alfie would be cold and maybe even avoid going outside.  I know he's got long fur, but when the wind blows it can part it right to the skin -- brr!  But, basically, Alfie proved that he's a lot tougher than me when it comes to cold weather.  He loved the snow.

He snorfled in it and ate it until his whiskers were white...

...went exploring the whole yard as if it were new, digging up sticks and leaves to play with...

...even (gasp!) lay down in the snow for a little snooze!  

All day he was in and out, in and out...never wanting to stay inside too long.  Reminded me of a little kid!  Well...if any of you readers have experienced this, you'll know what it led to:  snowballs developing in between his toes.  I'd clean them off every time he came in, then he'd go out and get more. Ack! 

Time to get out the snow boots!  When we bought these, the weather was warmer and they were on sale.  They're nothing fancy or professional, just basic and functional.

One thing you must know about me:  I am not, repeat not, a person who enjoys dressing up my dog!  So this was all about keeping his feet snowball-free.  I'd gotten them remembering the blizzard we had here last winter...this winter has been much milder, but hey, a dog has to be prepared!  Here he is, all dressed up:

Snazzy or silly?  Time for some product testing...

We put them on inside first.  He pranced around high-stepping for a few minutes, then seemed to settle in all right.  Out he went into the snow, and it took only a few moments for him to realize, wow, he had really good grip with them on!  If he liked the snow before, he loved it now -- he zoomed around the yard faster and faster in giant circles, zigzagging and bounding through the snow.  It was hilarious!  They stayed on really well with their velcro closure and were clearly a big hit.  So -- yep -- these boots get a resounding 4 paws up from the Alf.

But wait, there's more!  Alfie loved the boots so much, in fact, that he didn't want us to take them off when he came back in.  The whole main level of our house has hardwood floor and he's never been able to run around without skidding.  With the boots, though, he was unstoppable -- he circled through the kitchen, careened past the dining room, raced through the living room--around and around again, with the greatest of ease.  Show-off!  When we finally did take them off and left them behind closed doors in the sunroom, he asked to go out -- only to run in to the sunroom, grab his boots, and bring them to us so we could put them back on again!  Finally, to stop him incessantly asking to go out, I brought the boots inside the kitchen to dry, putting them on the top of the fridge.  Charissa and I were watching tv a few minutes later when we heard a strange scrabbling sound accompanied by some rather pathetic vocalization...went in to the kitchen to investigate, and sure enough, there Alfie was on his hind legs, looking longingly up at the top of the fridge!

...And, nope, I'm not getting anything from EthicalPet for this endorsement, although I think I should!  

Think we'll get any more snow this winter?!

Sous Chef, Revisited

Last night Charissa and I were baking, and just as I got my yummy pumpkin-oat-nut muffins in the oven, I realized--oops--not enough flour left for Charissa to make her World's Best dark-chocolate-mint-chip cookies.  Rats -- time for a trip to the corner store.  Grabbing our coats, we dashed out the door.  This should've been just a quick trip, but you know how it is...you get to the store and, wandering down the aisles in quest of flour, you see just the perfect gift for this person...something else you'd forgotten you needed...and on and on.  Perhaps there is no such thing as a quick trip to the store, especially at Christmas!

Only as we were checking out, which was rather too late, did it occur to us that the muffins were probably going to be wayyy overdone (read: torched) by the time we got back.  The timer I'd set only beeps once -- no second chances.  Sure, Tim was home, but he'd be the first to tell you he's not known for his kitchen skills. Plus, if he'd been in another room, he probably wouldn't have even heard it go off.  I hadn't thought to call him, and now there was no real point.  Bemoaning our muffin losses, we headed back.

Walking in, though, a delicious (as opposed to burnt) smell greeted us, and we saw two dozen beautiful muffins happily cooling on the counter. 

"Oh my goodness, Tim, you did take them out!  I thought you wouldn't hear the timer!"

"Um, yeah, I guess I must've heard it, but it didn't really register that it was your kitchen timer until Alfie ran over to the stove and barked..."  Apparently Alfie, who does rather have a way of insisting, made it quite clear that this was Something Important and Tim should Do Something! 

Good Dog.

Saving the world, one muffin at a time.

Will accept medals of honor, treats, and tummy rubs...

Oh What Fun

This year, decorating for Christmas felt extra-special: due to our move, it had actually been two years since we'd gotten out all the Christmas things.  Everything old was new again, and we found some things we'd forgotten we had!

Like these curious little musical toys:

...when you wind them up, the little rides start spinning, and they play Christmas music.  Okay, cute.  But Alfie found them totally amazing. 

He carefully watched us wind one of them, tilting his head first to the right, then to the left...when the music started to play he was surprised and very excited.  We set it down where he could see it and it seemed as if he wanted to play it himself, first flipping the toy over with his paw, then nibbling at the key to try to get it to work! This went on for quite a while, until I fear the tiny Victorian people on the ride were getting a great deal more excitement than they bargained for. We laughed til we cried, then I finally thought to take a little video before we had to take the toy away:

Enjoy your Christmas season -- in the midst of it all, Alfie reminds you: don't forget to let go, play, and have some fun!  

...and take time to snuggle with someone you love...

Two Years Ago...

...on this very day, we brought Alfie home for the first time!  Little did I know that that tiny ball of fluff and puppy breath would grow up to make himself a permanent part of our lives, bringing his special blend of humor, mischief, and affection with him. 

What a personality he's proved to be! Perhaps one of Alfie's most amusing traits is his natural curiosity.  I have never seen a dog as interested in every detail of our daily lives as Alfie. For example, the first time Tim did some work in the crawlspace beneath the house, the rest of us nearly died laughing as we watched Alfie trot alertly from room to room, tracing Tim's route by snuffling into the heat registers on the floor.  Then, one day, I helped Tim up into the attic to check on the insulation -- Alfie, who of course was watching these proceedings, gave an unexpected and valiant attempt to follow right behind him!  I had to hold him back, much to his irritation.  As he heard Tim's footsteps above our heads, Alfie followed his progress around the house, looking up at the ceiling with an occasional excited bark.  From time to time, he would just stop and look at me intently, as much as if to say:  Well, aren't you going to do something about this?  When Tim finally reappeared, Alfie greeted him as if he'd just gotten back from the moon, or perhaps some mysterious fourth dimension.  What an adventure!

Life is better with a friend by your side.

Right by your side!

Thankful

Thanksgiving week -- and there's so much to be thankful for!  I'm not so sure that Alfie understands the concept of thankfulness, as we know it.  But there are many things that make him happy, most of them very simple:

Games of fetch

Games of find

All games

Learning new skills

Showing off old skills

Friends and family

New people

Walks

Dinner

Breakfast

Anything that smells funny

Anything that smells

Squirrels

Rabbits

All other animals

Morning

Night

...so, you get the picture, he's happy pretty much all the time!  There is very little, in fact, that makes him unhappy.  The three main things:

Being ignored

Being left behind

Having to skip a meal

Enjoy all the little -- and big -- things that come your way this week, giving thanks for them all!   As G.K. Chesterton said, "When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude."

Happy Thanksgiving!

First Flurry

Yesterday evening as we headed out on our walk, it felt colder than usual...sure enough, before we were halfway along our route, tiny snowflakes were stinging my face.  Our very first snow of the season!  Okay, so it was just a teeny bit, but it was still exciting.  Couldn't resist taking a picture of Alfie with a couple of tiny white flakes on his face...

Sous Chef

Hi again blog friends -- Alfie's World has been quiet lately as I've been investing time and emotional energy in other areas.  Some big decisions have been brewing and we're excited for that.  But in the meantime, who keeps me grounded, makes sure I laugh several times each day...oh yeah, and makes sure I get my exercise?

I'm considering the title 'personal assistant'...

Alfie may no longer be a service dog, but that doesn't keep him from helping me out with many important things.  Sometimes I admit they are only important to him (such as alerting me that Hey!  Look!  The neighbor's dog is out AGAIN!); sometimes, though, he does help out in ways that are actually important to me.  He is a very alert and curious boy and not much gets past him.

One very minor inconvenience in our new home is the old electric stove...I'm still trying to get used to its quirky performance and miss some of the conveniences of the newer model I used to have in Texas.  I'll turn the oven on to bake something and keep having to go back to check it...it doesn't have a little beeper to let you know when it's up to temperature, and the guesswork can get frustrating.

That's where Alfie comes in -- twice now, he's actually come and alerted me when the oven was up to temperature.  Apparently he hears the little click when the heating element switches off.  Then he rushes over, gets my attention, and dashes back to the stove to show me what's going on.  Of course he got lots of praise and a nice treat for that -- I can use all the kitchen help I can get, so I want to reinforce the cool new trick he's teaching himself!

Last night, I'd made us a yummy casserole (shepherd's pie with lots of mashed potatoes...mmm...), set the timer, and popped it in the oven.  With a long time to wait while it baked, I went upstairs to work on the computer.  Alfie was napping on the rug near my feet.  Long before the timer was set to go off, though, he sprang up suddenly with a grrrUFF! and, making sure I was coming after him, raced down to the kitchen.  I opened the oven door to find that the gravy in the casserole dish had just boiled over.  Yikes!  I think Alfie must have woken up when he heard the first drops sizzling on the bottom of the stove.  Needless to say, I was glad he heard it when he did, saving me what could've been a very nasty cleanup job!

All in a day's work.  PS -- Can I have some??