We never get to have friends over!

It's been a long winter for us, with our chances to run around outside severely curtailed by the mountains of cold snow that are everywhere in our yard. We really wish that we could run (or, for one of us, waddle) free around the yard so that we can get some exercise and make sure that we keep our girlish (or, for one of us, linebackerish) figures. We dream of the day when we can have a Nike Doggy Fuel Band attached to our arms so that we can track how many calories we burn, and that way we could be sure to get the exercise that we want and need. But, that day is - we are afraid - far off.

Yes, a pretty jacket, but not what we're looking for from Nike

So, instead, we spend hours and hours just sitting around, resting, storing our energy for spring and summer, when we'll be able to burn much of it off. Oh, sure, we get some fightin' in, and we're a pretty good pair, if by "pretty good" you mean that Izzi gets Rozi pinned down in about a second, and then tries to nip at her neck while Rozi thrashes upward from her clever "lying on my back" defensive position. And, Rozi also likes to get a few laps around the bedroom in, mostly after everyone else has just about fallen asleep, Rozi incredible speed causing sound waves to bounce off the bedroom walls and ensure that her exercising has an audience.

But, the rest of our days are mostly quiet, which is why we were disappointed that we were not allowed to have a ... well, if not "friend", then at least "acquaintance" come visit us today.

You see, our mama has put a little house in our big house that that our playmates have a place to stay when the come to visit. She makes sure that the little bed is all made for them, and she even leaves a little bit of peanut butter for them so that they can have a snack when they're tired (Rozi has tried to share the snack, but the little door the the little house is just thismuch too narrow for her to get her nose and tongue into, but she keeps trying and maybe someday, she'll succeed). And, there are a couple of these little houses around, so that our visitors can have a choice of where to 'hang out'.

But, for some reason, we never get to play with them. And, since one of those time just now happened, we wanted to talk a little about it, hoping that this forum will allow us to blow off some steam and work toward self-enrichment, without the expense of a licensed therapist (as it happens, we recently found out that our medical insurance was cancelled, and so even if we wanted to schedule a visit, we'd have to pay the whole thing, and, well, with both of us currently "unemployed but looking", that's just not possible).

When we woke up this morning, we noticed that one of the little houses was different than a usual day. It seemed as though there was a warmth coming from it that was peculiar. When Rozi investigated, she found that the peanut butter was gone, and she mentioned it to Izzi, who had at that moment been planning a surprise attack on Rozi, but who cancelled those plans after she heard what Rozi had to say (and, plus, Rozi turned around and saw her coming). When Izzi investigated, she saw that the little red bed was pulled up against the wall, a little Murphy bed action going on. So, both Izzi and Rozi wondered if they had a playmate and they went to tell mama who went to look for herself and thought that today wasn't a good day for having friends over, and so told them to stay away from the little house with its tiny guest. Mama then got the maintenance man to remove the house and ask the playmate to find somewhere else to play on this rainy, snowy day, an assignment that the maintenance man balked at, wanting the girls to have a friend over, but - as usual - he was overruled. So, the house and its resident were taken out to the big forest and the door to the little house was opened and as we both watched from inside our warm, dry house, we saw the little house turn upside down, the little bed get flipped down, and our playmate fall to the snow. We were worried that the little friend was sleeping, but we saw that when it hit the snow, it seemed to wake up and blinked and looked around, and then ran far far away (which, given its size, meant about three feet).

Non-playmate I

So, we were friendless again, and once again, weren't allowed to have a playmate over.

But, the story doesn't end there. As we were dictating this to the maintenance guy (after making sure that he'd washed his hands so that this entry would be unmarred by the remnants of our little friend), we had another visitor!

This time, one of our squirrel friends came to visit, and this surprised Izzi who was sitting on the chair, looking outside for someone to play with. But, the sly little squirrel snuck on the porch from the side that Izzi was not guarding - her "blind spot" - and began walking across the porch. When Izzi saw the squirrel, she was so excited, she jumped from the chair, tore across the carpet, and scrambled on the wooden floor, trying to stop her forward progress. She ended up looking like one of those Saturday morning cartoons, where feet move in place but the body stays still. Finally, the door was open and Izzi ran outside and ran to find the squirrel, who'd torn across the porch and was now hiding in roughly the same place that the little furry friend had run to a few hours earlier.

Non-playmate II

Saddened by this, Izzi moped back into the house, wondering whether her two potential playmates were now having fun together without her and without Rozi.

Izzi, in an act of misplaced anxiety, then attacked her sister.

And, so, as we said earlier, we just can't wait for the snow to melt so that we can go outside and run around and play with all our friends (except for the ones that might eat us).

Arf, Arf, Arf, Yip,
Izzi and Rozi