I love my dogs very much, on top of everything else, they love to have fun. I think their new roles as Wake Up Squad is their favorite thing.

Maria was in a deep sleep this morning and I got up early. After I fed the dogs and let them out, I told them to be quiet and we all crept up the stairs together slowly.

They love this new task, especially jumping on me. But they’re happy to switch teams and wake Maria up also.

They got the plan and I opened the bedroom door, pointed my camera, and said, “let’s go, get her up!” and they eagerly plunged onto the bed, licking her, trying to pull the covers off with their noses.

What fun. This was a good clean revengeful hit on Maria for teaching the dogs how to get me up and out of bed. This one was just as much fun as it looks.

She tried to hide under the covers but had no chance.

Tonight, Maria and I are going away until Sunday morning. The winding down of the pandemic has brought me a lot of work and writing, which makes me happy.

But it also makes both of us tired. I can’t speak for Maria but I need a quiet day to get my head clear. This has been an intense couple of weeks.

And we planted two blueberry bushes in our garden last night. Seems I bought them without quite knowing it.

I’m bringing four books, even though I’ll only be gone a day and a half. I’ve got to tell Moise I’ll be away in case he needs a ride somewhere.

The books are The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz; The Talented Mr. Varg by Alexander McCall Smith (reading him is like drinking a glass of warm milk); Mayflies, a novel by Andrew O’Hagan; What Technology Wants, by Kevin Kelly , and The Riddles Of Amish Culture, by Donald Kraybill.

Okay, that’s more than three, I will skip back and forth.

Thanks so much for your kind words about my Amish experience. We’re sharing this discovery and adventure together. I appreciate your thoughts, questions, and encouragement. I’m lucky to be doing this.