The snow has changed to rain and the ice is piling up on the trees so I’m going to try to get this off before I lose power. (How’s that for an optimistic view of my power company!?)
Apparently Mars is not retrograde enough that it enhances alien communication because there have been some strange things going on around here the past 24 hours. The yellow alien remained downstairs and did not move overnight, but yesterday Fric carried a catnip mouse downstairs the same way she carried the alien. This, too, she treated as something other than a toy. This morning, she tried the lug the hedgehog down, but only made it half-way down before she gave up. Watson later knocked it down on his way to bark at the plow guy who was here converting my snow cement-covered driveway into an inclined skating rink. It–the hedgehog, not the driveway–now lies at the bottom of the stairs.
Now things start to get weird. When I went to put wood into the stove mid-morning, I realized that one of my stove gloves is missing. If you hear a collective groan here it’s my kids because this happened once before. Once again I’ve torn the place apart looking for it and I can’t find it anywhere. It’s big blue fireproof welder’s glove, this is not a big house, nor do I have a lot of furniture, but I looked under and behind everything I do have. I also looked in the garbage, under the stove, in the refrigerator (and freezer), the clothes hamper, all cupboards and closets. Nothing. I have no idea where it could be. The good news is that I saved the remaining half of the pair from the last disappearance and it was the opposite hand I lost this time, so I still have a pair.
While I’m looking for the glove, Fric came downstairs and, after walking by it I don’t know how many times in the last day, suddenly spied the yellow alien from more than 10′ away and ran toward it with great joy. She picked it up and ran into the livingroom in an obviously thrilled state: “That which was lost is found!!!!” It was on the couch for a while where I assume she carried it when she jumped up there to harass the cat. Later I noticed it on the floor near the coffee table. Still later, when I accidentally kicked it when I was looking under the table for my glove, she immediately came over and picked it up and headed toward the stairs. I have no idea what happened next because I was so puzzled by that damn glove. And still looking for it. Once again, I assumed she brought up it to the office.
Well, if she did, I don’t know what she did with it because I don’t see it anywhere. The only place I haven’t checked in under the mound of sleeping puppies in the crate because they look so peaceful and I have work to do and it’s so hard to work when they’re awake because they’re moving more every day and making funny noises and doing silly things that inevitably distract me. But I really don’t think the alien is there. I have visions of him sliding down my ice-covered driveway on my glove in the rain….