Seventeen Selfie

-17 was what we woke up to this morning, and is also what we've just gone for our - mercifully short - evening walkie in. I don't like to complain about winter, but this is too much. We should have gone to visit my sister Norah and the new puppies tomorrow, but mum has cancelled. What if the car breaks down, she says.

I feel sorry for the poodles in the wild, even though mum tells me there aren't any. I ask her how she knows this, and she has no good answer. And for the rabbits. And for all small animals. Except snakes, I don't like them very much. On our daylight walkie (-14, warmish) mum found catkins of vide, which we hope could translate into grey willow, and said: "Look, Alice, a sign of spring! Let's blip it!"
I thought to myself: Sign of spring?? Are you nuts?

We had a discussion, maybe even THE discussion about boots today.
Me: I'm not wearing any
Mum: but it IS exceptionally cold, and we do like being outside
Me: I'm an Adventurous Explorer, they don't wear boots
Mum: Adventurous Explorers GEAR UP, to be prepared for anything!
I consented to come along to the pet shop, just to look. Hoping they would be sold out, obviously. But they weren't. I had to try two on, and the nicest way to put it was that it was a complete fiasco. It just hung limp from my front paw. I refused to put the paw down and started shaking it vigorously to see the boot fly off on the second try.
Mission accomplished.