Since you asked...

...Mischa is doing great. We're taking Adult Family Manners classes (with Kat Martin, whom I heartily recommend if you need patient, fun, helpful, extremely effective dog training, dogsandkat.com) and it's going pretty well. Mischa has learned "down" from a hand signal (we're still mystified as to HOW she learned it, but we'll take it) and how to give a high five. She gets bored sometimes and doesn't want to learn/work anymore, but in general, she's pretty much a genius.

Mischa has spent the first four months with us without going into our bedroom. Instead she hovers at the door and occasionally makes huffy noises of consternation. She is (appropriately) terrified of Mackenzie. Kenzie doesn't really leave the bedroom anymore, and mostly dominates the doorway, making a scene if anyone (other than Austin or me) crosses the threshold. This works out ok. Instead of trying to fit into our very tiny bedroom, Mischa sleeps on a green bed in front of my closet. She is really good about putting herself to bed, it's very sweet. We've just sort of looked at it as dumb luck that, because of our bitch-ass calico, we haven't become those suckers who have to share the bed with their dog. (oh, no, we're just those suckers who share their bed with three cats. who don't always get along. one of whom, the one with the forceful personality, prefers to sleep on any pillow that was already occupied by a human head.)

Well, of course, it's our own fault for being self-congratulatory petowner snobs. Because Tuesday morning, I was still languishing in bed (my rising time gets exponentially later as the temperature drops) and Austin was already up and dressed and productive and came in to talk with me and Mischa came, enthusiastically, after him. Leapt right over Mackenzie, right into the bed, and proceeded to be impressed with herself for the rest of the morning. How many more nights will she settle happily onto her green bed before she realizes, hey! They're having the sleepytime party in the bedroom! I can get in on that! And thus the end of peaceful nights' sleeps. Without any of the trouble involved with having a baby.

I have a lot more to say about a lot more things (Halloween, dog-chasing adventures that coincided with Halloween, the tree that fell on our house, pumpkin patches, sisters who all live in the same town again, why I'm having trouble coming up with any kind of nostalgic memory/myth that doesn't involve my mother, and my long-running pet peeve list). The good news is, I've got 29 more days to fill with all those thoughts and lots more. Welcome to NaBloPoMo. See you tomorrow.