Sleeping with a Night Light

I've had a doggy door for my dogs for more than 15 years now.  I didn't get it so I could be lazy about taking my dogs out but rather so they didn't have to wait for me to go out.  That said, I will admit to enjoying its convenience over the years.

Fast forward to a few years ago.  My sweet dog, Harley, got very sick.  He stopped going outside to eliminate and he wasn't eliminating inside either.  I got very concerned and started dragging (literally!) him outside to try to encourage him to do his business.  If he did do anything, I gave him a treat.  Well, that caused a bad learned behavior when he got better to where he didn't (and to this day doesn't) want to go out without me because there was/is food involved if he did/does something.  He only goes out without me if 1) it's a sudden "urgent' need to go out; 2) I'm out cold asleep or not home; or 3) I don't get up to go out with him until it reaches the "urgent" need to go out. 

That said, I will usually go out with him anyway because now I track what he's doing so I know everything is working well and I document it, in case I need it later.  Then, a few days ago, he went out without me.  I decided to follow him out so I could document what he was doing and sat on the little "stoop" at the back door like I usually do.

We have this family of frogs that visits us quite often so I wasn't alarmed when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye.  I'm not afraid of frogs or anything but I do like knowing where they are so that I'm not startled if they move closer to me.  So I looked over to where the movement had taken place.  Only it wasn't a frog . . . it was a snake!  And not only was it "next" to me, part of it was actually UNDER me!

Unlike frogs, I AM afraid of snakes as in deathly afraid of snakes!  When I saw the snake I screamed and suddenly (although I have no memory of moving) found myself on the other side of the patio.  I stood there a moment trying to figure out what to do.  Did I go in and get a shovel or hoe and try to kill it?  Did I go get my camera to take a picture of it so I could show it to people to identify the kind of snake?  And how did I do either of those things with the snake between me and my house?

I finally decided to chance it and run in the house.  I opted for the camera, I guess because it was closer.  By the time I got back outside it was climbing between my walls.  I snapped the picture and then stupidly decided to try to coax it back out of the path it was taking into my walls by using a long tree limb.  When I touched it instead of coming back out of the wall, it scampered in more quickly.  It probably would've ended up between my walls anyway but I ensured that it did and more quickly at that.

I immediately came in and called my stepfather and emailed him the picture.  He assured me that it's a non-poisonous snake but I really don't care - I want it gone.  Thing is, I haven't seen it since it crawled between my walls.  Logic tells me that it's long gone by now but my irrational fear of snakes tells me it could show up anywhere in my house at any second.  I can't get near cabinets without checking for a snake.  I can't crawl in bed without checking under the pillows and covers first.  And, I can't sleep without a light on so that I'm not getting up in total darkness where I couldn't see the snake slithering by.

So, if you drive by my house and see a light on in the middle of the night, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm still up, it just means I'm still traumatized by my experience with a snake who may or may not still be somewhere in my house.

October 2017 Book Review

It's time for another book review and this month I will be reviewing Kim Gruenenfelder's Love the Wine You're With.

I'm a HUGE fan of Ms. Gruenenfelder's work and preordered this book almost THREE YEARS AGO so was like a child on Christmas morning when it finally got released and I got the email that it was on its way to me.

As with her other books, this is a book about friendships and trials and tribulations you go through in life and with your friends.  It's also told in first person POV for each or the characters, in alternating chapters so you get a good perspective of each of the characters.  Once again she told a story where I had no idea who love interests were supposed to be and even though that's typically a deal breaker for me in a book, it didn't bother me in this book . . . something about the way she tells the story.  It makes me think about how people talk about head hopping in writing and how no one but Nora Roberts can do it without it being distracting.  Kim Gruenenfelder can keep me guessing who the love interests are until the final page and I don't care - I just enjoy the ride.  :)

I was going to tell a bit about the characters and the storyline but found that the amazon blurb did it better than I could have so here is the amazon blurb on this book:

Jessie is finally about to realize her life-long goal of owning her own house, the first step to a wonderful marriage, kids, and life with her boyfriend of three years, Kevin; except after they find the perfect place, Kevin suddenly gets cold feet.

Nat is having a passionate affair with her gorgeous British boss Marc—unfortunately, he’s married. Now what?

Holly is an actress who still waits tables to pay the bills, and who is coping with the recent loss of her father. A particularly bad audition, where she snaps and tells off a big director, leads her to wonder what to do when you stop loving what you do. (And also what to do about her hot neighbor. Because, you know, hot neighbor.)

After each girl finishes a particularly awful workday, the three friends meet at their favorite wine bar, which has been sold by its owner for a huge profit and will close that night. In a moment of tipsy brazenness, Jessie suggests that the three of them open their own wine bar in the gentrifying Echo Park area of Los Angeles. An unapologetically girly place for good wine and good friends—which leads to a challenge for each woman: how do you fix a life that’s not actually broken, but needs an upgrade?

This book was fun and funny and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing it because I couldn't put it down.  It took almost three years to get to me but it was definitely worth the wait!  I highly recommend this book.

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@Barrie Summy