Let it Snow!

Invasion of the Bed Snatchers

Laura is finished her 50K. Finished. Yet she's still writing! She says National Novel Writing Month isn't over yet, so she needs to keep going. Plus, the story isn't finished yet.

I've tried to be supportive. I've tried to be understanding. But this is getting to be a bit much. She's even bringing that blasted machine into the bed with us now!



How is a puppy supposed to sleep with that monster in the bed?

Confessions of a Wrimo Widow -- Week One

Here we are. One week into November. Laura is well ahead of her required word count and yet still she sits at her computer all day, pounding away on those keys. She would have more time to play with me if she truly wrote with the wild abandon that one is supposed to use for National Novel Writing Month, but you know Laura. She wants to write something that's actually good.

So I try to be patient. I sleep lots. This I don't mind, so long as I can sleep beside Laura. Sometimes she goes to the library to write, however, and that makes me sad. Most of the time she is still home, working on her computer, just like any other day, however. The biggest changes have been to our schedule.

For some reason, Laura believes that getting out of bed at an obscene hour of the morning is key to one's novelling success. (I don't mind that she wants to go to bed early as well, but I ask you: Is there really ever any reason to get out of bed before noon?)

I wasn't so sure about this whole getting up before the sun gig. The first time Laura did it, I thought she was joking and just stayed in bed. The next day, however, I thought I should follow her and make sure she was okay.

It turns out, she was only going into the living room, where she rolled out her nice red mat. I know what those thin mats are for. I've been camping before. I picked a good spot beside Laura and settled right back down to sleep.



Laura was more restless than I, unfortunately. How's a princess supposed to get her beauty sleep with all of these crazy calisthenics going on overhead?

Trick or Treat

National Novel Writing Month is less than two days away.

If you, like me, are concerned that you may lose the attentions of your very best friend in the whole wide world as she embarks on her own crazy quest to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, I have an idea which may help you:

Earlier this month, I blogged about my plan to avoid going for walks by making sure I come home from each one good and dirty. I've been implementing that plan with limited success so far (my Mum really doesn't want me to go for walks anymore, but Laura isn't deterred), but I think I may have hit upon an even better use for the good old fashioned roll in the mud.

Now, for this plan to work, you have to find something to roll in that is really smelly -- and I mean SMELLY. And you have to roll in it good. A little sniff at the offering left by a neighbourhood friend might not be good enough for this tactic to work. You need to find something that smells really strong and you have to roll your whole body in it. Make sure to get lots of that smell behind your ears, on your face, on your belly, and in the nice thick long hairs of your back.

I found a suitable spot on my neighbours' lawn this morning, and I made good use of it while Laura was collecting the gift I had left for her on our own lawn. By the time Laura was ready to go back inside, I was covered from nose to tail in this wonderful stinky goodness.

Whatever this stuff was, I managed to get it matted nice and thickly into my hair. A little scrub with a wet nap was not enough to do away with the smell, so Laura had to mix up a pail of nice warm soapy water and take me back outside for a shampoo!

My Mum doesn't let me use her bathroom, which worked out to my advantage this morning. Laura scrubbed my whole coat down, gave me a nice belly rub and a strong butt scratching, then, while she was wringing out the sponge she had been using, I took the opportunity to roll in the grass right beside where Laura had been washing my hair. All sorts of lovely stuff from our lawn stuck to my wet fur -- and Laura had to give me another shampoo all over again!

I figure, all told, I had Laura's undivided attention for at least half an hour!
NaNoWriMo, you won't whip me!

She's At It Again

Laura has started yet another blog!



This one doesn't even have a title yet! In fact, I'm supposed to ask you all to go there and vote on what you want the title to be. There's not much time left to vote and the four proposed titles for the blog are all still running pretty much neck and neck! (Laura might end up needing to give it four names at this rate!)

Here's a little backgrounder: The blog is a group story being written by members of the SL Wrimos group which takes place entirely within the virtual world of Second Life. It's a bit of crazy fun about avatars in the metaverse, and you can have a say in what their adventures are called.

I just hope Laura will still have some time to play with me with all of this writing she is doing!

New Music

Last weekend Laura went away for FOUR DAYS!

That was a long time for Laura to be gone, and I was very sad.



Then Laura came back home... and I was very tired!

Laura had been to a folk music conference from which she brought home a new CD and she said we had to dance to EVERY SONG because she had promised Tannis that we would.

I'm not sure why Laura's promise obligated me, but I did try my best. I twirled around the kitchen with Laura, and I practiced my yoga, and I let Laura use my rib cage as a drum.

I really like the new slow mix of "My Body Moves" (Laura, of course, likes the fast version), but some of these musicians write dangerous songs. Tannis' new CD, for instance, has a song on it called "My Bike". Laura has one of those scary contraptions out in the garage and, listening to Tannis' song, Laura decided she should get one of those trailers for little people and hitch it to the back of her bike and make me ride in it!

"Then we could ride all over the county!" Laura said.

Don't these musicians know how suggestible Laura is? One song and Laura is full of crazy ideas. And she'll do it too! She'll put me in one of those little tents and drag me around behind that scary contraption of hers goodness knows where! Laura has an unhealthy lack of appreciation for laying about in bed all day.

Take this new CD for instance: Laura danced to EVERY SONG on it! Every song. It's 12 minutes longer than Tannis' last CD but Laura still danced for the whole thing.

I think maybe Laura was trying to prove to herself that she's not OLD because she went to this conference where people party and there is cool music until 4:00 a.m. every night -- and lots of performers who Laura knows and loves were there performing in these late night gigs -- and Laura left at 11:30 every night and went back to our friend Pam's house and slept!

Well, I'm not worried about that. I like my beauty sleep and I'm not afraid to admit it. I like Tannis' music, but I'm glad there was a safe place I could lie down and listen to it nice and quietly while Laura was spinning around.



Laura is too tall to dance under here!

I'm a Wrimo Widow

National Novel Writing Month is still 27 days away and already I'm a Wrimo Widow!

Have you been keeping up with Laura's blog? She's posting daily now -- all about her crazy plan to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days! She went down to the local library today to find out if she'd be able to work on her novel there next month, and she's set up a new group within Second Life for SL Wrimos. Worst of all, have you read this post? She claims she is going to start hiking 4 miles a day again in November! Somehow she thinks this will be necessary to her success at writing a novel in a month, and you know what Laura's hiking 4 miles per day will mean: It will mean that she intends for me to go with her!

I showed her what I thought of that plan last night by making her chase me twice to get me to put my collar on for our walk. Laura was undeterred, however, I think I may have hit upon a new tactic:

We went to the park for our walk, as per usual, and I found a nice fresh spot on the grass to roll in. I mean really fresh. It was warm and steamy and smelled super. I rolled and I rolled. I rubbed all over both sides of my head and neck on that spot.

Laura was not impressed.

When we got back home, Laura scrubbed my whole body down with one of those stinky cloths. She even scrubbed inside my ears! That was not nice. The upside, however, is that my Mum was even less impressed than Laura. If I can find a nice fresh spot again tonight and bring some more of that wonderful smelly goodness into the house, my Mum might declare that I'm no longer ALLOWED to go for walks with Laura!

It's worth a try.