That’s a safe subject, isn’t it? Well, maybe not in these times of “climate change,” but I’m sure it’s safer than politics. Athough…I suppose even the weather comes under the umbrella of politics nowadays. Oh well, I want to tell you about the weather anyway.

It’s positively wild out there today. It started yesterday with gray clouds and little drizzles, but with an ominous feel to it. I went out early to de-xmasize the deck out back. Unraveled the little white lights from the white pine garland that both wove their loopy way along the railing and then down underneath, where they lit up the grotto (our euphemism for the bricked in area under the porch). By the time I’d begun to take down the garland, trying to unwrap the wire from it so that I could safely take it down to the gully to add to the debris pile that the chipmunks live in, the rain started coming down in earnest. So there lay the garland, still mostly looped around the railing.

As the day went on, the rain just sorta spit and spat in starts and spurts, never really amounting to much but making outdoor activity unappealing. We went to the movies around 2 in the afternoon to see Sherlock Holmes before it left to be transformed into DVD format. If you haven’t seen it, go…go now…the sets, costumes, grit and grime of late 19th century England needs to be seen on the big screen.

Later, as we sat down to a dinner of homemade vegetable soup and organic tater tots, our dog, Loki, with impeccable timing, vomited right in the middle of the room. She continued in this endeavor throughout the rest of the night. The weather had taken a nastier turn as well, with the winds picking up and the rain coming down in slants and intermittent sheets. The rest of the evening was taken up with rushing the poor dog outside every 20 minutes or so to relieve herself of the contents of her guts. It was iffy whether this would end up being another emergency vet visit, but as her misery eased and the winds intensified, we made the decision to wait it out till daybreak.

She’s still miserable, but I think she just needs rest at this point. She’s not dehydrated or feverish and her gums are nice and pink. I’m going out later today to brave the high winds and predicted thunderstorms (in January?) and 60 degree temperatures (in January?) to buy organic chicken breasts to boil with rice for the sick dog, a new dog bowl which will make it difficult for her to wolf down her food whole (which I believe is part of her problem), and more paper towels.

I try not to complain too much about the weather since it’s one of those futile things to complain about, but really, it’s so much easier tending to sick animals when the sun is shining.