So last week, when the bomb cyclone plunged temperatures here into the single digits, TYG decided we needed to keep Snowdrop in, even though it freaks him out to be inside with the door closed. It wasn’t easy — he’s very wary of anyone getting near the door — but we succeeded. He was not happy.
TYG suggested I go to bed and take an Ambien rather than endure his high-pitched panic whines. I did, and so missed Snowdrop’s eventual freak-out, including pissing on one of the couches and climbing out of reach.
On the plus side he let TYG brush some mats out of his fur and snuggled next to her on the couch. That made her very happy. And he’s come back inside since so we know a)he’s forgiven us and b)he can survive the cold. We still want to get him adjusted to at least short periods with the closed door — it’s a lot more practical for us not to endure the cold (or later in the year, the heat) but obviously we’re not going to turn him into an indoor cat.
Despite the freezing weather, Christmas was great. Last year, TYG had a lot of work and felt way stressed; this year, she was more relaxed, so I felt the same. I made German apple pancake (a tradition) and Dutch cheese and potato soup (not a tradition but a favorite of hers) and, of course, we exchanged gifts. Mine was much heavier on books than usual — TYG picked several items off my Amazon wish list — but that suits me fine. And she had several specific asks so I bought her more stuff than usual, which I loved doing.
And we even put a ribbon on Wisp.
A Merry Christmas, as they say, was had by all.
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Fraser Sherman's Blog 