“Still raining, Twiggy.”

“Means I’m going to hunker down right here.”

“We have that tent out there, which means we won’t get wet.”

“But it is still chilly.”

“Yeah, that’s true. By the way, why does Dad have his underwear in a bunch?”

“Don’t worry. He’s just launching a new book is all.”

“Hasn’t he done that before?”

“Yeah, like eight times. But he gets into the same bunch with each one.”

“You would think he would get used to it.”

“I heard him telling Mom about the tour schedule, which will impact us.”

“What do you mean? Are we getting a vacation?”

“No, but Dad is switching us to Saturday. He will do posts during the week highlighting the tour hosts and always hates running two posts daily.”

“So he has no tour stops on the weekends?”

“That’s right. So we will be on Saturday the 8th instead of Thursday the 6th, and his regular Views of the Neighborhood will run Sundays.”

“How long will this go on?”

“The first stop is Saturday, February 1st. The last will be on the 26th. A total of fifteen stops.”

“You know. I think I’m going to join you. All that information made my head hurt.”

“This is much better than trying to battle the rain, don’t you think?”

“ZZZZZzaz”

“I’m pretty sure Dad wouldn’t like you sleeping on his computer.”

“It’s so nice and warm, though. Why don’t you cozy up?”

“Okay, is this better?

“I would say so. There are no words running around on you.”

“So where did Mon go anyway?”

“She went to the store to get food.”

Human food, I’ll bet.”

“Well, she sometimes gets our food too.”

“I’m just thinking about a nice taste of peanut butter.”

“We only get that when it is crate time.”

“Whoa, that’s right. We are not in our crates.”

“You just scared the bejeezes out of me jumping up like that.”

“I hear the garage door.”

“I’m going for the back of the couch. I can see better from there.”

“What do you see from there?”

“Mom’s pulling in right now.”

“Why do I hear a noise in the backyard?”

“That’s the mowers for the house behind us. Trust me, Mom is out this way.”

“I’ll take your word. Let me know when we should start the bark-a-thon.”

“Not yet. Let’s let her enter the door, then we’ll cut loose. We need to rush her, too.”

“Yeah, and lots of jumping till she screams, “No jumping.”

“You got it. Ready?

“I’ll tell ya, Tempeste. This cold weather makes me want to sleep all day.”

“Yeah. Now that Dad is back blogging, you know that’s impossible.”

“I know it. He has been underfoot for what seems like a century.”

“It was fun visiting with our upright sisters and brother, though.”

“You are so right, but having Dad wander around with no purpose is unsettling.”

“At least he is back to work. I hear he has another book tour coming up.”

“Yes. It is a good thing. It’ll take him out for most of February.”

“That’s a long time. You think he’ll forget us?”

“Nah. He needs us. Besides that, it’s three weeks away. He’ll be around begging us to pose for photos. You wait and see.”

“That’s good. Hey, hold on. Mom just went into the pantry.”

“Too early for dinner. What is she doing in there?”

“I can’t see from here. I hear some things rattling, though.”

“Rattling things? Like maybe some pots and pans?”

“I think we ought to go check. You never know what might hit the floor.”

“You kill me. You know this is a split-second house regarding falling food.”

“Yeah, Mom is the quickest thing on two feet. Even if we can grab something, she has that iron grip that makes keeping the mouth closed around it impossible.”

“Man, did you hear that? There was the sound of a dinner can being opened.”

“Yeah, I heard it. You don’t suppose we took a longer nap than usual, and it really is dinner time?”

“That is impossible. Look outside. There is still plenty of light.”

“You must admit we don’t normally hear cans opening for the humans.”

“You are so right. That’s why I need to go and investigate. You coming?”

“Just give me a bark if I need to come eat something. Be careful out there.”

“Hey Tempeste, come try this Coolaroo.”

“Try what?”

“Coolaroo is the name of this resting place.”

“It is a hilarious name.”

“Yeah, that may be, but taking a break on it is nice.”

“Okay. Since you are the chief rester around here, I’ll take your word.”

“You don’t have to take my word. These things are made by Austrailians.”

“What does that mean?”

“If anyone knows how to rest, it’s the Aussies.”

“You know I have never met an Aussie.”

“They do work hard and play hard. Dad has some relatives there.”

“This thing does smell good and is easy on the feet.”

“I’m not sure, but I think I hear the roar of the dinner bowl.”

“Did you see that the leaves are all cleaned up?”

“Yeah, Dad cleaned them up.”

“There goes another food opportunity.”

“You aren’t supposed to eat leaves. I think the dinner bowl was a false alarm.”

“I’m heading back to the Coolaroo. Could use some nap time.”

“I’ll call you when the dinner bowl is on.”

“You are the best sister. This is nice.”