Snow, snow, and more snow. It’s been coming down pretty hard all day and it doesn’t look like it’s planning on stopping anytime soon. It’s not really very cold outside, though (2°C) and the doesn’t look to be accumulating much. It’s a slushy mess on the streets and sidewalks, and I don’t really feel like going out in it, although I think I may have to since Lydia wants me to make an apple pie and I dont’ have any apples.

We bought something called a D.A.P. system yesterday for our dogs. The initials stand for “Dog Appeasement Pheromone” and it’s a diffuser-type thing that you plug into an outlet to release a calming pheromone into the house. It’s supposed to help anxious dogs relax and deal with unfamiliar/stressful situations. Asbjørn doesn’t really need it, but Mette is so high-strung that we thought it was worth a shot to see if it would help her relax a bit. I know a girl who got it for one of her dogs and she said it helped a lot, so I’m hopeful it will work for Mette, too.

I’ve just been reading that the Swedish Department of Agriculture will be lifting the quarantine requirement for pets coming from the United States, starting in July of this year. I’m really tempted now to try to bring my cat, Winona, over. I’ve always wanted to have her here, but it would have cost upwards of $2000 to quarantine her for the mandatory four months, so it was out of the question. Now, though, it’s something to consider. There are a few reasons that it might not be a good idea, however. First, she’s gotten settled in with my mom over the last three years, and she might not like being uprooted again. Second, we have two cats here and I’m pretty sure that Pia and Åsa would not appreciate Winona’s presence (nor she theirs). Last, and perhaps most important, she’s twelve years old and, although she’s in good health, I worry some about how the flights would affect her. I don’t know … I’ve just been missing her ever since I moved (I got her in 1992, so she was a part of my life for a long time) and I’d really love to have her here.