I'd give a pretty penny to know what Bao was dreaming just now.

Such twitching of the paws and lashing of the tail! Such happy little yelps and whimpers. It was a nice dream, I'm pretty sure of that. Sex? Food? And do dogs remember their dreams? Do dogs even know they're dreaming? Or are they like Chuangzi, who woke up from a nap and wondered if he was Chuangzi, who'd just dreamed he was a butterfly -- or was he a butterfly, fast asleep and dreaming he was Chuangzi?

It's cold. The water in my little pond is frozen solid, and I have to go outside and put sheets over all my pot plants every night at sunset to keep them from freezing. For the first time since I've lived here, it's cold enough to turn on the furnace. But it doesn't seem to be working. There's probably one stupid little switch someplace, but I can't find it.

So I'll throw another log on the fire and curl up on the new couch, with Bao.