The other voices are not talking to me today...

I am sitting here, all alone, wondering what to do with myself. Can you believe it?

The other people that I live with went camping this weekend -- I went up the mountain last night to cook dinner and eat smores with the best of them, but came home to clean up and sleep in my nice, cozy, little nest. A well known (or maybe not-so-well known) fact about me: I hate camping. I hate being dirty. I hate dirty feet. I hate the fact that I don't have any comfortable shoes to walk or hike in since my foot surgery. I hate the smell of stale campfire -- it reminds me of the days that I used to work with people who lived outdoors and were not able to take baths or clean their clothes; I was often sick to my stomach in those days and bodily smells as well as campfires have affected me in a negative way ever since. I went to bed last night with the smell of campfire still in my sinuses and in my hair because the shampoo would not get rid of it. (It was not pleasant.)

The only things I like about campfires: sitting around them with family and friends late into the evening hours and laughing too loudly at stupid, slap-happy stories and I really love when my sweetheart roasts the *the perfect marshmallow* for my smores (I usually end up turning my attempts into miniature torches because I don't have the patience to toast them to perfection). Last night I made my smore with part of a Caramello candy bar. I think I may have died and gone to Heaven -- until the smoke from the campfire blew my way and brought me back to earth with a crash.

Today I am trying to think of something to do -- I am listening to Def Leppard, surfing the Internet, and trying to get the courage to pull my book-making supplies out of the armoire. One of my closest friends had a baby this past week and I would like to make a small book for her baby "memoirs". I have the perfect paper and flower in mind for it. I sure hope it turns out the way I want it to..... I think I might take a nap before I will have the strength to make it, though.

My sister-in-law brought her little dog up the mountain and I volunteered to take her home last night so she wouldn't get too cold. I feel sorry for this poor little animal. I am sure she does fine all on her own and with her own family, but she is wary and always on the attack when other animals or people come near her. She is about as small as my friendly kittens and she is terrified by them. They want to come up to introduce themselves, but she keeps running around in circles so they won't get near her. My bigger dogs wanted to introduce themselves, too, but she didn't want to have ANYTHING to do with them. She has snapped and barked and "hissed" and gnashed her teeth and been so unpleasant that now my Sparkles just walks by her and growls back. I wish I knew how to help her understand that we all just want to be friends and that we won't hurt her or whatever it is that she feels so insecure about. It must be awfully unpleasant to live life and be that nervous all the time. I have never seen another animal act like this.