Claws.

I don't trim Evilcat's claws because I like my skin, but I do keep the Hellions from getting too pointy. Tabby Hellion likes having his claws clipped. Tortie Hellion hates it, fortunately she is very slow. I keep the claw clippers in between the couch cushions so I can catch her by surprise when she climbs in my lap.

Then I can start clipping while she tries to process the situation.

I can usually get 3 or 4 feet done before she finally figures out what is happening and what she should do about it.

Night Terror Marathon.

Z has the flu. When Z has a fever, he has far more night terrors than usual.

It's a really good thing that I am not at all creeped out by any of this, and also that I can go back to sleep immediately after being screamed awake.

I would love to know what was hanging out on our ceiling and chasing Z around that night, but when he was finally coherent he didn't remember anything.

Some People are Afraid of Dogs.

It's true, and there are a lot of different reasons for it. Some people have an irrational phobia, they're afraid of dogs like tons of people are afraid of spiders. You know, you're way bigger than it, you're a safe distance from it, but it still gives you the creeps or maybe makes you want to flee screaming. Dogs make some people feel that way, and there's no good reason for it, but they don't want dogs touching them the same way you don't want a tarantula or an orb weaver touching you.

You can understand how this person feels by picturing the dog as a giant spider. This is one reason why it is polite to not let your dog approach strangers uninvited.

Some people have movement disorders like cerebral palsy and Huntington's disease. The way these people move often creeps dogs out, even really friendly dogs that never act aggressive. Many people with movement disorders are afraid of dogs because they have been by normally nice dogs.

Some dogs are fine with everybody, and some have been specifically and deliberately trained that people that move in unusual ways aren't scary, but most dogs don't have a whole lot of experience in this area and find it kind of horrifying. The problem is that scared dogs do scary things like bite, lunge, and bark. Sometimes you can tell that someone has a movement disorder because they are equipped with a cane, crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair. Sometimes you can't tell until they take a step and your dog suddenly freaks out because it's seeing this:

It's polite to keep your dog on a leash because just seeing an unleashed dog can ruin this person's whole day without you ever knowing it.

For someone with a movement disorder, a leash means the difference between a safe dog and a dangerous dog.

Likewise, plenty of people are afraid of dogs simply because they've been attacked before.

There's a good chance the dog that bit them was supposedly friendly, and that dog's owner probably said it had never done anything like that before.

People who are afraid of dogs are everywhere. We dog owners can avoid scaring them by keeping our dogs on leashes and not letting them get into anyone's personal space in public. It's a good idea, because people who are afraid of dogs might be landlords, politicians, city council members, and other people who can actively make life easier or more difficult for dog owners. Think of it like scooping poop: when a few people don't do it, it makes all of us look bad and it makes non-dog owners want to make rules and ordinances banning dogs from places. Likewise, seeing a dog owner break a leash law can make a person who is afraid of dogs feel that way. Let's stick together and make dog owners as a group look good by keeping all of them on leashes, even small, friendly, harmless, elderly, and young ones. I can promise that the people who are afraid of dogs don't visit off-leash areas.

D.S.A.

Tinydog is basically naked. His coat is thin and light, and his tiny pink belly has just the lightest coating of peach fuzz. He seems to be incapable of overheating even in triple digit temperatures. Despite my intentions of turning him into a dog, he is basically a Barbie doll and happiest in a sweater.

Shortly after we got him I realized the entire point of having a naked foo-foo sissydog is to dress him up.

I like to sew, and since acquiring Tinydog I have also learned how to knit. I also occasionally buy him sweaters. It's...kind of hard to stop.

The Grim Reaper and the HOA

On our front porch there is a 4' tall statue of the Grim Reaper. We bought it at a clearance sale right after Halloween, and we love it. We call him Grim.

At the time we bought him, we lived in a condo complex with a Home Owners Association. The HOA had Rules. Lots and lots of Rules. Tenants were not allowed to have plants on their balconies, patio furniture or barbecues, and any decorations had to be seasonal.

By July the HOA had changed their rules. Holiday decorations were only allowed within a week of the holiday they were celebrating. We move Grim inside until we moved out that September. He has remained a landmark in whatever neighborhood we are living in.

Christmas Tree

I love Christmas trees, and so do the Hellions, but for different reasons. The tree is basically a cat playground, and since we acquired the Hellions four years ago we haven't put anything breakable on the Christmas Tree. We could probably take some extraordinary measures to keep them out of it, but they have so much fun I actually feel a bit guilty depriving them of their seasonal escapades.

I am hideously allergic to real trees (pine, fir, oak, any trees, all trees) and so we always get fake ones. I like to get free fake trees on Craigslist of Freecycle and then give them away after the holidays so I don't have to store them all year. This past December I decided to get a 3' tall tree, both to save space and to maybe discourage the Hellions from enjoying it quite so much. It's too short to climb, so they can't climb it, right?

While they can't technically climb it, they can wrestle it into submission, which they did at every opportunity. The poor tree never spent more than five minutes upright for the entirety of its career here. The Hellions still had fun, though.

Reverse Trick or Treat!

Pirate? and I went trick or treating long after most people gave it up. Even in college we were going door-to-door in awesome costumes on Halloween. Eventually we gave it up and figured we would need to have or borrow kids in order to resume begging for candy on Halloween. A couple of years ago we threw a party and decided to go reverse trick or treating.

This was easily one of the most fun Halloween activities if you enjoy making other people's day a little more surreal.

Aside from confusion, the reactions we got varied widely.

Some people were trying to eliminate their candy supply, others were delighted. Most were bemused and sort of pleased despite having no idea what was going on. It made for a good night.