Troll Dog

Here she is, my lovely canine companion, with her newly completed redocoration project. I think she had a lot of fun with this one.

Here is what I have learned: Firstly, putting a couple of army blankets over one's bed does not protect it from doggie depredations. Secondly, Rose is capable of a lot of chewing in a very short space of time. The day after the event pictured, I put her in a wire kennel while I was gone (PETA people, do not freak out; she was comfortable and happy, with bed, toys, and treats.) But the one thing I forgot to do was remove all chewable objects from range, so she managed to grab the edge of my comforter, pull it into her kennel, and completely remove and destroy the blue-and-green apple duvet. Then she somehow chewed off all 4 plastic carry handles that were attached to the outside of the kennel. I am very impressed, she is a true troll dog.

The third thing I learned is that goose down is very difficult to sweep up. It's been a week and there are still feathers lurking in the corners like surly little pixies, ready to float out of range at the first sign of a broom.

Hilltroll in the City

This is it; I have moved half my stuff and put money down on a studio apt in Oaktown. You might wonder why I would voluntarily leave paradise to move to purgatory, and if you were to ask me I would tell you that it all has to do with jobs and the fact that it is hard to get one when you live in the absolute middle of nowhere. At least one that won't land me in jail.

So off I go. I can't wait to try out my freshly-honed curmudgeonly troll skills on the unsuspecting populace of the East Bay, ha ha! I will be heading down the hill with one more load of crap, and then it's all about the fulltime jobhunt thing until someone dares to employ me.

I left 13 Springs last week in the middle of a snowstorm, very unusual in my neck of the woods. Since I grew up in California and have no experience with actually living in snow, I found it utterly charming and beautiful. Magical, even. I don't really beleive in omens so I am not going to wonder if the enchanted setting for my farewell is a sample of things to come or a last huzzah, a grand finale for the last act of this part of my life. Besides, I am already beginning to sound overbearingly pompous (something inextricably tied to the analysis of omens and portents).