Barking Day

It's Barking Day here at the Chappy house. Yes, I know, most people call this Halloween, but in our household, it's known as Barking Day. Because, well . . . isn't it obvious? Doorbells. Trick-or-treaters in funny clothes. Voices and slow-moving cars outside. LOTS of things to have to protect the house against.

Did I say that Chappy's been bored while his Mom and Grandma have been sick? Well, not at the moment!

Nor is he the only one barking, because my cold, at least, has progressed to the coughing stage--which, if you knew me, you'd know is no small thing. My coughs, my parents have always said, come from my toes. They're deep. This one's not quite there yet, but . . . it's thinking about it. At least we've gotten past the drippy nose stage, and even mostly past the stuffy-nose stage.

Seriously. Let me recommend to you, if you don't use them, the Zicam and Coldeeze products. They claim to substantially decrease the length of a cold, or the severity of it. And while I have had a couple colds where there didn't seem to be much of an effect, I have to say that, for the most part, these claims are true--at least for my family. And since they're homeopathic products (not actual medications), they really can't hurt anything. But  . . . you know as well as I do that most colds take seven days to run their full course. Well, this one? I woke up on Sunday morning with a swollen throat, and here it is Tuesday night and, while not well yet, I am feeling better, and have made it most of the way through the cold's usual course . . . that's three days. To my mind, that makes either of these products well worth the try!

But enough about my health! Right now, I'm sitting in the living room so as to be close to the front door for trick-or-treaters. Chappy's in his favorite spot in the dining room window, keeping watch . . . which, really, is a good thing, because by the time any kids get to the actual door, he's barking so loudly I have yet to actually hear the bell! We have the same set-up as last year, but Chappy's barking keep scaring the kids--who don't realize, as I open the door, that there's a gate protecting them. (I love the eyes in that picture . . . boy did his eyes ever reflect THAT flash! No wonder he can see in the dark so much better than I.)

I wish I could post video for you--I filmed a couple seconds on my camera of Chappy running at the door, barking . . . you know, what he does every time the bell rings. (Every. Single. Time.) It's happy barking--he's excited and eager rather than mean and protective--but it does get wearing after a while (grin). But here--if this works, I uploaded the actual file for you. Download MVI_2187.AVI

Actually, I spun for a good 45 minutes before, while waiting for the bell to ring. I didn't spend ALL  my time on my laptop. And now I'm upstairs, in our room, and tired. (Hey, I said I was feeling better, not that I was there yet!)

And, for the record, I ate one KitKat while on door duty. One. That's not bad, huh? With all that temptation? (The cold, I admit, helps with this--things don't taste right anyway.) As for the leftovers . . . do you KNOW how good KitKats are frozen?

Happy Halloween everyone.

Comments

[Jenny Raye]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. I came down with a cold/virus on Thursday and had to take myself to the doctor yesterday because I just wasn't seeing any improvement. Turns out I had an ear infection....which I haven't had since I was like 5. On antibiotics and decongestant, but my ear is still killing me. So far, three of us have had the gunk. I'll have to remember the zicam and coldese recommendations next time.

[Meg]

Love the picture of Mr. Spooky Eyes, and I'm glad to hear you're doing some better. I swear by Zicam, it's helped me through several nasty colds in less than a week.

[Kat]

Barking Day. What a perfect description of Halloween with a dog.

[Jessica]

LOL! Aren't animals fun? Hope you had a great Halloween!

[CindyCindy]

Yup. I had the same thing, but Dylan Thomas is so big that he frightens "some" of the kids so badly. All he wants is to go out to see them. When the kids aren't afraid, I let him. He absolutely adores them. The gate is a brilliant idea. Take care. Hope the cold goes fast (I hate hate hate coughing).

[Eva]

Oh man... I totally forgot to eat a white kitkat this year while in the US!!! darn...

Doesn't Chappy get hoarse barking like that all night long LOL???
Waiting for the clip to download... guess all of Lux is online right now cos my internets is soooooo darn slow :)
Cheers Eva

[Lisa]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. I hate getting coughs - I'm usually caoughing all night and can't sleep.

It was a gorgeous night last night for the trick or treaters. I'll have to remember that about the frozen Kit Kat bars...

[Lizzy B]

Heh, I can only imagine how fun Barking day must be for Chappy. :) I think I would have invested in ear plugs, but that's just me. :)

Glad you are on the mend. That is the one thing about my house that makes me a little sad. In 7 years we have never had a single trick or treater. I would love to see the kids in their costumes...

[Marcia]

Add some chicken soup to the Zicam and you'll be back to new in no time! Seriously, research at the Cleveland Clinic has proven that zinc tablets every two hours when you first feel "coldy" will reduce the duration from 7 to 3 or 4 days. Try a saline nasal spray, too. Forget the echinacea.

[JessaLu]

Most chocolate bars are best frozen ;o)

Chappy and Beanie have alot in common :o) We have one of those motion sensors for the driveway that goes off and sounds like a doorbell...even when there's no one in the driveway...you can just imagine how much she freaks out when that thing goes off - and I HAVE to let her out because she doesn't believe me when I say that no one is there! ;o)

[Stephanie]

Still love that little guy. I'm glad you survived the trick-or-treating.

[minnie]

ask catherine over at bossy little dog, she says they go well with morning coffee, too, lol!

[Gracie]

It was Barking Day here as well! Although we stuck her in her playpen with a jar of peanut butter and she was a happy camper.

[lorinda]

Does Mr. Glowy Eyes have laryngitis today? What a big job to bark at all those trick or treaters!

Glad you are on the mend.

[Laura]

I'm glad you're on the mend, gf. I'm also glad to see that Chappy does his job of protecting the house with such enthusiasm. :-)

[Chris]

Belated Happy Barking Day to you and Chappy! :) I wonder what he would've thought of my cat ears? :)