Pronoun Trouble

It is snowing in southeast Iowa. Probably in other parts of Iowa as well.

Chester the dachshund has liked snow exactly once, and that was the first time he saw it. After that, he quickly realized that snow is simply rain on a time delay, and he doesn't like rain. It's difficult to get him outside to do his business in any precipitation, and also when it's cold enough out that we want him to wear a sweater, and snowing is (usually) two of those things at once.

This afternoon I managed to get him bundled up by sweater-ifying him while he was half-asleep on the couch; after that, I got him to spend more time outside by denying his initial request to go back in after spending only sixty seconds out. We went for a bit of a romp around the yard; while it wasn't as much of a walk as I would have liked, it was still better than if I'd have let him go right back in. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow.

In other news, my Mukluks have officially gotten their first real taste of winter weather and have passed with flying colors. An expensive purchase, but with the weather in Iowa sometimes getting ridiculous bad, very worth it.

Step one: Learn to crochet; start making amigurumi.

Step two: Get a dog.

Step three: Give your dog a crocheted toy or two, because you like making things and also making your dog happy.

Step four: Teach your dog to go down the stairs, because it is an important life skill and maybe you wouldn't mind seeing him down there from time to time.

Step five: Notice that your dog is much quicker to go back up the stairs when he finds something to take with him (such as dryer sheets (acceptable; he tears them apart and then gets bored, allowing whatever humans are near to pick up and dispose of the pieces) and socks (Chester put that down)), which is nice, because although you love him, you don't necessarily want to spend every single moment watching him.

Step six: Start stashing a few of his toys in hiding places downstairs for him to find, on the bases that A) This will be great enrichment and encourage natural behavior, and B) As stated above, this will get him to go back upstairs more quickly. Include your room, where you also store and do much of your crochet, as one of these hiding places.

Step seven: Neglect to close your door all the way before leaving for work, and trust that other people will help make sure that the door at the top of the stairs will be closed to prevent dachshunds from wreaking havoc downstairs.

Step eight: Final step. Return home to find destroyed crochet projects. Reflect on how you got to this point. Make a social media post about it and vow to do what you can to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Optional step nine: Pet your dog and let him lick your entiiiiiire face, because you know it's not his fault that he learned to do a thing you didn't want him to.

I woke up today at a very decent hour (after having to open yesterday and thus having to be up at absurd o'clock) to hear whining and scratching at my door. I thought seriously about going back to sleep, but when the whining continued for another minute, I figured it was time to get up.

"Okay, Chester, I'm coming."

Soon as I got the door open, Chester trotted in, tail going a mile a minute, ready and eager for attention. I left him on the bed so I could hit the restroom, seriously expecting him to (most likely) follow me or head back upstairs.

Instead, he was still there waiting for me when I got back to my room. After a quick face washing, Chester settled in for a nap under the blankets while I grabbed my laptop. He's been sleeping next to me for about an hour and a half now, and I'm starting to get hungry. Darnit, Chester, why must you be so cute!