House Tour. And virus testing…

Frodo here. Self isolation. Day 11. Yesterday her highness left us. Yes. She went out. But before you start shaking your head and screaming “no” – allow me to explain.

We have come to the conclusion that besides direct contact with someone who has the virus, or touching something that is contaminated- one can get “symptoms” of the virus through Facebook. That is correct. If you read too much on Facebook, or really even in the news or on the internet, you can suddenly begin to feel that you have symptoms. Then when you answer the online screening – you find that you should call the health hotline. Even though you basically feel OK, and you have no aches or pains and you have no fever – BUT you WERE out of the country. AND you have a stuffy nose and a cough. Such was the case in our house on Wednesday. To make a rather long story short, her highness needed to go for testing yesterday. She was probably more in a panic over the nasal swap than she was about having the virus. Again – watching videos on the internet does not instill the feeling that having a nasal swab is a joyful experience. Even the nurses who met with her, warned her it could be unpleasant. She braced herself for the sensation that someone was drilling into her brain via her nasal cavity. When they told her to open her eyes and that they were finished, she couldn’t believe it. She has had teeth cleanings that were 100x more uncomfortable.

Anyway, she immediately came home and now she waits for 24-72 hours for the result. She figures it is a win-win situation. Her cough is better than it was the other day. If she has the virus, she thankfully has a mild case. And if she doesn’t, well she doesn’t. Always look at the positives.

In the meantime, we have been hanging out in the house because we got more slushy snow yesterday. So. I had an idea….

Those who are long time readers of the blog, may have an image in your head of what our home looks like. You have certainly seen pictures of the lake – and photos of our trails and our driveway. But, I thought I should give you an inside photo tour of our abode, taken by yours truly. So here we go – in no particular order. And keep in mind – they are from MY point of view…

First stop. The dining room. This is the leg of a chair. Note the teeth marks. Or maybe it’s just normal wear. Sure it is.

Here is the Kuranda dog bed in the dining room. It has no teeth marks on the legs. They are made of stainless steel. Could be why… Ordinarily one might find enough dog hair under there to make a chihuahua. But her highness vacuumed before I started taking photos.

Here is a goose decoy in the dining room. Nobody has chewed him. Yet.

Um. Here’s another goose. He HAS been chewed…

Now I’m in the kitchen. With my favorite location. In the fridge. You will note the box of wine that was delivered the other day. I think her highness has had the odd glass. In the drawer are carrots and potatoes. Carrots for me and the beatnik. I often get parts of his because I eat mine quickly and he is the world’s sloppiest eater. Anyway, I LOVE what Viktor called the “buffet review.” It’s sticking your head in the refrigerator when the door is momentarily left open.

Here’s the gate to the DFZ.

We have been allowed in there more often recently, UNLESS yours truly jumps on the furniture and starts digging for a comfortable position OR unless the beatnik goes out and brings this in:

Then we have an immediate eviction.

Here I am in the DFZ with the vacuum cleaner. It is frequently out.

Here we have a couple of well behaved dogs in the DFZ. They are about 2.5 feet tall. Almost life sized. Well a small life sized Saint Bernard and I don’t know what breed the other guy is. Her highness collects dog stuff. They are pretty quiet.

Here’s a hooked rug in the DFZ that took her highness YEARS and YEARS to make. We are not supposed to go near it. Note the dog hair on it…

Here’s her highness’ slippers. In front of the sofa. I’m thinking it’s about time she splurge for a new pair..

Oh I forgot to show you the deck that is off the dining room. You will note the olfactory art on the glass. The beatnik was practicing his alphabet. It’s the letter “I”.

Here we are in the front hall. When you come in, there is a maple syrup bucket that holds walking sticks and these rain stick things. I think her highness got those to try and trick me that it’s raining out. Her sense of humor is odd.

Now I’m going in the bedroom. And I’m going to do a magic trick. Here’s the pony sized crate. With the mat. And no dog.

But remove the mat and voila!

OK. That’s enough for today. I didn’t go downstairs to the rec room or other bedrooms- I’ll leave that for another day. And I didn’t take photos in the bathroom. I mean really- who wants to see a toilet. Or toilet paper. Although I hear that stuff is pretty collectible these days….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up. And STAY HOME.