The scene this morning from the family house.

Apparently I am to sit between them to sip my coffee. Notice my cup it’s still full, not a drop spilled? It better stay that way, or else two pooches will be banished to the hall behind the baby gate (aka penalty box) until I’m properly caffeinated. Just sayin’ 😉

The gate was installed when Tucker was a puppy to keep accidents off the hardwood floor. We never removed it because it serves us well during dog sitting and during mud season. 😎 In the above picture – taken yesterday – they had just come in from racing around the snow mountains out back when Tucker began to do that weird reverse sneezing Beagles sometimes get. He puked up some bile so I left him to calm down back there, which he did after a few minutes.

Note: I kept him company after snapping the photo by sitting on the dog bed and wiping up the bile while Reya observed worriedly from the other side of the gate. After a few minutes, everything and everyone was back to normal.

They both ended up on the sofa which I had declared pet free 3+ years ago when the family insisted on getting a puppy… 🙄

See how well that’s working? 🥴

I tried but you know Beagles think they’re lap dogs… 😀

The picture below was the scene last night after they discovered the couch was big enough for both of them simultaneously, allowed them a view outside and the ability to bark at anything that walked by which they did in symphony repeatedly until irritated teenagers appeared out of their basement rooms to investigate why there was so much noise going on upstairs.

Apparently, the couch is more comfortable than the 178 dog beds and blankets I strategically placed around the house.

And later…

This scene was repeated once more when Sonja and her dad watched a movie, flanked by both dogs. Comfort matters, as is purely evident, to all living beings in this house. I hid in a room in simulated solitude (my comfort) to try and come to terms that as of today I am the mother of an adult child.

The adult birthday child requested a dinner at Spoon and Fork tonight which features Asian cuisine, and cake before that with grandma who is coming by and will hopefully accompany me on a walk with the two pooches. My son’s favorite cake is LaRocca’s Caramel Crunch which is either discontinued or on back order because it can’t be found anywhere. I spent two days searching and ended up purchasing a selection of different, small cakes in the hopes he won’t object (too much). Longos had a pistachio cheesecake which I’d never seen before, but everyone likes pistachios so I’m hopeful it will be well received. I also got individual sized cakes: raspberry, chocolate and chocolate-hazelnut.

I’m not hopeful this week will be very fruitful in my online/writing/Etsy progress. I will set aside time to work, but will simply chalk up any inconsistencies as what it is: family life during March Break. The kids will be home but their dad is working (college spring break was two weeks ago), so I will don my mom and dog minding hats, grab a snow shovel, and tend to what I usually do when I return to the city from my room with a door in the suburbs: tend to hungry teens and walk dogs.

It’s still winter what with all the snow that fell in recent days, but I am grateful. Snowy paws are much easier and less messy than muddy paws to clean.

I think we can all agree mud season is to be tolerated, not enjoyed.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. 💖