I've been up until midnight the last two nights. This is an issue because Murphy does not understand "Mommy was up late." Murphy wakes up between 5 and 5:30, and does not respect my desperate need to sleep in for an extra hour or so. He starts waking me with a soft but penetrating sighing noise, so soft it is almost subliminal, which progresses to a low whine, and if I manage to put him off by yelling at him several times (during which time I am of course NOT sleeping) he eventually hits a shrill yip that sounds JUST like a sneaker squeaking on an empty gym floor. He can hit that exact note over, and over, and over...I should record this sequence of noises and market it as the ultimate, no-fail alarm clock. It would have to be made of some sort of indestructible material, because it would be thrown at walls a lot.
Sophie, OTOH, is my snuggle bug and sleeping buddy; she will stay in bed as long as I do, and sighs and groans when forced to rise by the bossy old man. I make her get up when he gets me up, because misery loves company, and because if I have to shuffle downstairs to walk the dogs before my first cup of coffee, I am damn sure only doing it ONCE. I know that even if she is feigning sleep and I leave her behind to take Murphy by himself, she will be at the door when I return, expecting HER trip. So she sighs and groans, but she gets up when the little dictator demands.
I'm not sure why I stayed up late; I just started doing stuff on the computer and kept on going, and suddenly it was a quarter to twelve. But I cannot do that three nights in a row. I'm really feeling it right now, and I need my sleep. When you are over 50 a couple of skimpy nights' sleep really show
in your face, not to mention that I am totally out of gas by 3 p.m. This must not continue.
So I'm changing my routine effective tonight, and getting off the computer by 7. I will knit a baby blanket for one of the NC inlaws, and watch TV, and then at 9 I will get into bed with a cup of chamomile and read something soothing, and Murphy will STFU if he knows what's good for him.
I didn't plan to follow up on my rhapsodies about kale, but I follow Dreena Burton on Facebook, and this evening she posted something full of great stuff about why you should eat your greens and how to prepare them, and linkage to even more good stuff and recipes galore:
Awesome Greens Tutorial
Hannah is a snuggler too, and she loves to burrow in the blankets. If I stay up past what she feels should be OUR bedtime, she will whine and nag at me, trying to get me to go to bed with her. If I ignore her, she will eventually lose her patience with me and go off on her own in a huff. The first Yorkie I had was more like Murphy, but she was more subtle---she would sit on my chest with her face so close to mine that I could feel her breath, and she would stare at me until she woke me up. She would use that same stare on my dad when she stayed over there, and we used to joke that she had some kind of special Yorkie powers of telepathic psychic subliminal suggestion and could use them to bend us to her will. (Remember how Uri Geller used to bend spoons?) That, and she was incredibly spoiled.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is thank goodness for a house with secure yard and two pet doors. You read that right, two pet doors, Ace would not use the one on the right (the original one) so another one had to be made. Fred doesn't care which one he uses.
ReplyDeleteBut, when Ace decides that he wants to get up on our bed at some ungodly hour, he does not scratch, he does no whimper, he just stands there on my side of the bed and employs canine telepathy. He can hop on the bed if the room is lit, but in the dark, advanced cataracts, he waits for service. If he makes it to early June, he will be my longest lived dog, 14.
Hounds are real gentlemen.
Gae, in Callala Bay
I could never trust a doggie door here, Gae - we have too many wild things, even here in the suburbs. Owls are a threat, not to mention the occasional bear. I can just see Murphy deciding he can kick that bear's ass for coming in HIS yard.
ReplyDeleteBrenda - I know all about that Yorkie power to bend you to his will, like bending a spoon. Murphy is a Jedi Master.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, bears would be a worry, although I have a feeling that the bear would be at the very top of the nearest tree, quivering in fear, and the Holy Terror would be at the base of the tree, dusting off his paws with satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have to think about bears, only the occasional (feral) fox, and no fox with his wits about him would risk it, we also know that there is a (very) slight risk of a snake sneaking in. But the local reptiles are venomous, not VERY VERY venomous.
Please tell Murphy that I think he would be equal to seeing off a round dozen bears. Might not be true, but he is entitled to his fantasies,
Gae, in Callala Bay
Hmmm I can't comment on your page anymore. If this gets through, I want to say welcome back.
ReplyDelete