Stevo and Annie: Ralph n' more

Ralph sleeps, eats, barks, humps Steve’s leg, but by far, lives for his 4-a-day walks…yep, I said 4! We are dog sitting for our neighbors while they are away. Aside from the many walks, Ralph can’t be left alone at his house because, “He will get too lonely.” His owners even called from Europe today just to see if he was okay. They treat Ralph better than some parents treat their own children. I wish all human beings were treated like animals…or, I should say…like Ralph.
Although Steve feels violated every time Ralph creeps upon him…it’s worth the $1500. Our neighbors are letting us park in their driveway in exchange for dog sitting every once in a while. Free parking is the best because parking in our area is usually anywhere from $100-$150 a month.
Our First Major Snow Storm hit about a week ago. I think we got about 6-8 inches. All I have to say is that I now know what a real snow storm is. When it snows in S.G., I still wear flip flops. That doesn’t really work here. Despite the coldness that comes along with snow, it really isn’t that bad. Boston was beautiful the day after the storm. The powdered snow helped the leaf barren trees reclaim their beauty.
Christmas was great. We spent Christmas Eve with some friends and had a yummy dinner. Christmas morning Steve and I slept in until 11:00, opened presents, and then went out for Chinese food (our new tradition). We then journeyed to the only ice skating rink that was open, to find out that it was about 2 ft. by 2 ft. Okay, it wasn’t quite that small…but we thought if we skated we might run over all of the 4 year olds. We went home and relaxed for the rest of the day…it was nice for a change.
The Cat Lady reminds me that everyone is a little weird in their own way (some more so than others). Who in their right mind walks a cat on a leash!? Maybe I’ll start walking Steve on a leash and see how people react.