Yesterday, we started out thinking we'd put up our Christmas tree, but (it seemed to me that) one thing hinged upon another so much that we needed to get a few other things done first. So, though our tree is still languishing in its box (yes, it's artificial), the dining room is back to rights, now. Sure, it still needs a little tweaking from a decorator's point of view (table cloth, etc.) and a little sanding and touch-up paint where Trixie chewed things she wasn't supposed to chew-- but the cyborg/sideboard is out of the living room, and our foyer feels huge after being cramped for months with table and chairs.
We also reorganized the laundry/utility room so that it's roomy enough for Molly to sleep in there at night (instead of the dining room). The plan is for her to become a mostly-outside dog who comes in to sleep at night (maybe eventually only on cold nights) and possibly on miserably rainy days. We'll see. . . Part of me just isn't up to the challenge of house-training two dogs simultaneously, but I still feel guilty for thinking about training Trixie for more indoor living than Molly-- especially when, for the moment, Molly's actually more reliable than Trixie. . . I don't know what we'll end up doing.
As Donald pointed out yesterday, I'm looking at this from a human perspective-- indoors = good and outdoors = bad. So long as the weather's decent, I imaging most dogs would rather be outside than cooped up in the house. The problem is that when they're outside all day and are we are inside most of the day, they don't get enough time with us. (And that, I think, contributes to my awful nightmares of finding neglected, malnourished or dead infants that I was supposed to be caring for.) Of course, one solution for that problem would be for me to spend more time outside. Goodness knows the yard needs some attention! I could also be better about scheduling time for just playing with the dogs-- running around with them, playing fetch, taking them on walks down the easement.
If only I were as good at executing plans as I am at making them!
So, that's why the tree isn't up, yet. We were sidetracked. (Or I got us sidetracked.) Maybe this evening will be the Right Time.
