It was all about doing chores here at chez Chappy today.

Guess which one I was most anxious to address?

No, not dusting my bedroom–not even the ceiling fan blades. Not coming up with a completely new recipe for pot roast that hopefully won’t be bothering Mom’s stomach, which as been . . . cranky . . . since last night. Not doing laundry. Or taking Chappy out for a walk (though that wasn’t really a chore.)

Nope. the one I was most anxious to do was to give him a haircut. I didn’t even take that much off . . . all we ever really do is “trim around the edges.” Me, scissors, Chappy, and a selection of treats. No electric clipper, nothing that’s going to shave too close. Just a trim to cut away the raggedy-edges.

I paid particular attention to his furry little feet. I showed you his fuzzy feet a week or so ago, when La asked, but really, the fur was getting a little too out of control, making him slide around on the floors too much.

This is much better, now.

Except, of course, now his nails sound REALLY long . . . Sigh. I should have had the nail-grinder out days ago, except the fur on his toes was so long I was afraid it would get caught. I find it interesting that he has so much more fur than Katy did. Or at least, needs more trimming. She had feathery bits on her legs and under her belly that needed tidying from time to time, but not like him. Is it because he’s a boy? A different breeder? More curl to his fur? I’ve no idea, but really, I keep thinking that “Hobbit” would have been a great name for him, what with his short stature and furry toes….

Incidentally, Chappy wants to thank everyone for their kind comments on yesterday’s post. He’s feeling very chuffed and flattered and appreciated, and really, it’s a testament to his sweet disposition that it hasn’t gone to his head. (Although, it’s possible I may have told him that he needed to look good for his “public” when I pulled out the grooming scissors.) The fact that he wants now to refer to my blog readers as his “fan club,” really, I’m sure, will pass with time….

I had WANTED to catch up on my magazine reading today, but ran out of time. I’ve got an issue of Smithsonian that’s been waiting for over a week, and a copy of Whole Dog Journal (my favorite dog-magazine). And just the other day, my issue of Writers Ask came. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a journal for writers which consists of interviews with writers about various writing topics–their technique, inspiration, how they come up with character and place . . . all that. Interesting, if you’re a writer (which I sometimes like to fool myself that I am, though I’ve yet to get a single thing published, unless you count a dog-training tip in Click for Joy ). Anyway, Writers Ask is a sister publication of Glimmer Train Stories, which is a literary fiction magazine published by two lovely sisters that you may not have heard of, but is excellent, so I thought I’d just mention it in case you were interested.

Anyway, that’s pretty much been my day. No knitting or spinning to speak of, even though I was determined to get some spinning done today . . . Of course the whole Daylight Savings thing has thrown me off . . . I’m dreading tomorrow morning when, not only will it feel like my alarm is going off an hour early, but it will be dark again. I really, really hate waking up in the dark.

Now, I’m off to go back to the Audible.com website to try to figure out how to cancel my membership. I’ve found links on how to upgrade to a more expensive membership level. I’ve easily found locations for updating my credit card information to make it easier for them to bill me. Links for telling friends or giving them gifts? Easy. But I have yet to find a “cancel” button. I’m sure their service is perfectly fine, mind you, but I joined them last April, right after I’d gotten my first MP3 player, and have yet to download a single book. So, really, what’s the point? There IS a guide in the Help screens that will tell me how I “fulfill my financial obligation,” but I’ve got to tell you, if they bill me a single penny for cancelling when I’ve received not a single thing from them in the last 11 months, I will NOT be a happy person….

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