Smooch Winter

The weekend was a whirlwind of indoor projects, due to the whirlwinds outside that mark the coming of spring in New Mexico. We have four seasons here: summer, fall, winter and wind. There’s no point trying to ride horses when it’s like this; the wind hampers their ability to hear the sounds of predators – real or imagined – so they are skittish and can be dangerous to be around, as they might spook at the slightest provocation. The burros seem to take the winds in stride, but if one of the horses spooks, a chain reaction takes place and everyone takes off, running away from the imagined prey.

So I stayed inside, mounting the tv to the living room wall, which set off my own chain reaction: rebuilding an end table to hold the tv components, moving the old tv cabinet into the guest room without killing myself (heaven forbid I should call the neighbor and ask for help), rearranging the furniture all over the house, while vacuuming and dusting along the way. Sometimes I need supervision, if for no other reason than to tell me, “STOP!”

I did sit down to watch the Oscars and learned from Jon Stewart how to come up with my stripper name – take your pet’s name and the name of the street where you lived growing up...Smooch Winter? Wynonna Winter? Rosebud Winter? Daffodil Winter? I think I’ll go with Smooch Winter.

Smooch supervised the weekend’s baking activities...applesauce-peanut butter dog biscuits.