Hello all you people. I am Snow Balistreri also known as The Snow Snow, Snow-regard, Snow Bunny, and, at this time of year, Inside Snow. My family thinks it confuses when they talk about the snow outside, as if I would think they were talking about shoveling me. Ridiculous! Anyway, in case YOU need clarification, I am Inside Snow, and the stuff that falls from the sky is Outside Snow. My mom is shoveling right now, so I am stepping in as the guest blogger.
I heard that my sister cat, Sky, had her own blog once. If a cat can do it, so can this dog! I am, of course, much more intelligent and entertaining. I believe The Snow Snow has the biggest vocabulary of anyone in the house. (I sometimes refer to myself in the third person. Is that weird?) I mean, look where I grew up! I know words like precipitation, adventurous, COVID, pneumonia, frankincense, mortadella, geographic, freudianslip, and, one of my favorite words of all time, magnificent. Of course all those complex, multisyllable words thrown around by my dad, mom, my human brother Owen, and Mom's grandniece Valery influenced me. But, I was born very verbally gifted.
Anyway, this morning, Mom offered the blogger spot to both my dog sister Storm and me. The blog is about little things that bring us joy. The only thing Storm could think of was being a good girl. "Being a good girl is the little thing that brings me joy whether there is Outside Snow or not," she said. She lives for that crap! My ideas are much more complex, so Mom handed the keyboard over to me.
When I was a young pup, I loved playing in the Outside Snow. It brought be great joy. I romped around and chased Storm. Sometimes we chased bunnies, too! All the neighbors were out cleaning off their cars and the sidewalk. Our favorite friend, Alberta across the street, made a big fuss over us. As soon as we saw her, we ran through the snow to greet her. Mom ran after yelling a worried yell. "Stop! Snow! Storm! Stop!" I guess she feared a car or the big, monster machines that clean up the snow might run us down.
Anyway, now as a middle-aged dog, I don't like bounding across the snow-packed driveway dodging icicles. This morning when Mom opened the door to take us out, a mountain made of that Outside Snow stood before me. I refused to take one step out there. Later, Mom put on her coat and boots, picked me up in her arms, and carried me to the driveway to do my business. I definitely prefer to be Inside Snow when the weather impacts my outside time.
Thinking about all of this, I searched hard to find something about the Outside Snow that brings me joy. This is a tough assignment. Sometimes Mom tosses us extra treats when a blizzard or snow-nado or something wintry like that occurs. But, that's not my most favorite.
In the past sometimes during a storm of Outside Snow, everyone in the family stayed home. I adored those times! My human brother Owen stayed home from school, Mom and Dad stayed home from work, and Mom always cooked something awesome. She made bread and cookies and cake and chicken and pasta sauce. So many favorites available at the same time. My mouth waters thinking about it. But, Owen does not live with us anymore, and all the cooking is not my joy-filled moment of the Outside Snow.
Here it is! The Snow Snow declares her favorite little thing bringing the biggest joy during Outside Snow is, the cuddling! When the shoveling is complete, Mom and Dad usually take long hot showers, prepare some sort of hot beverage, and then settle onto the couch. They bring so many blankets! The Snow Snow romps under the blankets before finding the perfect spot nestled up against Mom. Storm snuggles in with us too, and, occasionally, we share the space with a cat or two. And, of course, Dad lets us sit close to him, too.
Did I mention my sister cat Winter? Yes, this house has way too many animals in it. And, both names, Winter and Sky, could cause confusion. Mom and Dad NEVER make a point of saying Outside Winter and Inside Sky or anything. Sometimes, they combine everyone's name. "Oh, it looks like a snowstorm is coming," or "That is a winter sky if I ever saw one" or "We expect a winter storm, maybe even a snowstorm ,and the winter sky looks storm like, doesn't it?"
Sorry, I digress. Where was I? Oh yeah, snuggling. I mentioned Winter, because she always shows up for the cuddling. Mom said snuggling during a snow day (let's face it, every day is a Snow day, but this is about the Outside Snow) is her favorite thing. A "pile of Thompsons" (Thompson is Dad's last name, so, sometimes she drops Balistreri to make a point) brings Mom the most joy. Me, too! When Mom is happy, I am content. There it is! The Snow Snow believes cuddling with a pile of Thompsons is her favorite little thing that brings her joy when faced with the Outside Snow!
I can hear the shower running. Mom is back in the house. In a few minutes, we will all pile onto the couch, under the comforters, and snuggle all night until we drift off to dreamland. I am a bit sleepy right now. Inside Snow signing off...
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