It feels deep into November around here. It starts to get dark around 4pm and while we’ve had some hours of brilliant sunshine, other days it feels like the sun never really rises. There’s been a lot of rain. We’ve added extra blankets on our beds and I’ve started lighting candles in the evenings. As much as possible, I like to lean into the coziness of home at this time of year. (I also take a vitamin D supplement in the winter.)
We’ve been building lots of Lego and reading lots of books (sometimes at the same time). Halloween saw us once again trick-or-treating around our neighbourhood. It was a very Star Wars Halloween this year!
There was heavy rain in the forecast on Halloween but in the end it turned out to be not so bad. We got a little rained on but not nearly what we expected and by 8 o’clock the rain had stopped and we were home counting our spoils. (This was the first year Peter and I got offered candy by a couple of houses!) Halloween being on a Friday this year was also very nice.
We also recently celebrated Winnie’s 3rd birthday! As an SPCA adoption, we don’t know her actual date of birth but counted back by 5 months from the day we got her. (She was estimated to be 5 months old in April 2023.) We celebrated with cake for humans and a special can of wet dog food and a new toy for Winnie.
The Cone of Shame was not part of her birthday celebrations but was part of early November life. Winnie got an ear infection and also somehow managed to tear one of the pads on a paw. These happened separately but in the same week and so the cone was necessary to keep her from worrying at both of them. For the first night, she couldn’t figure out how to lay down while wearing the cone and sat up whining until I lay down on the couch with her. From there she was eventually able to lay down and then took a while longer to figure out how to rest her head. We slept together on the couch for a couple of hours until she woke up, forgot how to lay down again, and went back to whining. Eventually Peter woke up and spelled me off. I went back to bed and he spent the rest of the night laying on the living room floor with her. It was not unlike having a baby again except I do not feel unconditional love for Winnie the Dog.
She spent 5 days with the cone and 10 days on antibiotics and was back to her usual self in time for her birthday celebrations.
Karissa Reads Books 
It’s interesting that you wrote you don’t have unconditional love for Winnie the Dog. I don’t know why that stung a little but I also know that people are willing to let go of animals, but not (typically) children. I know Winnie is super well cared for, evidenced by her vert visit, so maybe I am just sappy today, lol.
*vet visit
I do love Winnie! It’s just that on nights like that I’m very aware of how differently I feel than when I’ve been up at night with a sick child. Winnie is a part of our family and she will be for the rest of her life. But she’s not an equal family member. If it makes you feel better, I think Pearl does love her unconditionally!
Don’t sweat it; I think I was hormonal or something that day 🤣
😂