Dog sniffing at bedroom door

     My wife had a strange occurance today. She was in the master bedroom making the bed. She said as she was making the bed she heard a dog sniffing at the bedroom door that leads to the front hall and staircase. She was discusted because that would mean the dog had either knocked down the rear stairs gate and came upstairs and knocked down the gate to the green room or else had managed to push open the Parlor door and came up the front stairs. Either case scenerio would be bad for the dog as they are blocked from the upstairs in the daytime. A snort sounded at the door which indicated the dog wanted into the bedroom. My wife said she said,"You're just going to have to wait til I finish with the bed". A minute or two later another snort sounded, at which my wife swung around and opened the door; ready to scold the offending dog. There was no dog there. She looked up and down the hall and down the front stairs, no dog. She called the names of the two dogs we have, no response. Going back toward the rear of the house she noted the Greenroom gate was still up and quite closed. Going back down the rear stairs she noted the rear stairs gate was still up and in place. Looking through the diningroom she noted the parlour door was definitely shut. The older dog was sound asleep beside the diningroom heat register. The younger one was asleep in the kitchen beside the fireplace. What made, on three occasions, first a sniffing sound and then two snorts, like a dog asking admission? Recently we have had several dog phenomena. Apparently the strange has started.

Missing paint lid still missing

     Most women will tell you they know when something isn't right in their kitchen. My wife is no different. The paint bottle lid that she was using to dip her brush into and disappeared between the time she walked to the kitchen door and back (about 8 or 9 ft.) is still missing. Even though she has cleaned the kitchen. Go figure. I think it'll show up again; on the attic stairs, in the middle of the bedroom floor, on the table in the front hall or some other illogical place. But it hasn't yet.

Strange sound stops

  I planned to record the strange sound by setting up my sound activated recorder in the basement, under the Library. The sound has not been heard since Wednesday. If it starts again I will try to record it.

Strange sound

     This has been going on for a week. I hadn't mentioned it as I was sure I'd locate the source. For a couple of days my wife was insisting that when our furnace came on the water pump (we have hot water heat) was making a terrible sound like it was breaking down. I didn't hear it, and dreading going into our dank, dark, dungeonlike cellar, I put off going down there. Then, while using the computer one evening I heard what she was talking about. Figured I'd better get the deed over with because a furnace failure in these parts, especially on a cold night could be disasterious. You can only get a repairman out here between 8am and 5pm on a weekday; if you're lucky. So I went to the basement and awaited the furnace to kick on. It did, very smoothly and quietly. A few minutes later the hot water heater came on, also quite quietly. There is nothing else in the basement of a mechanical nature. I was relieved the appliances were working properly but it still didn't explain the noise. Then we discovered two things about the strange sound (1) It can only be heard in the Library (2) It appears to be timed. Last Tuesday we heard it at 8:04 pm,9:02pm,10:02pm and 11:02pm. Then on Wednesday we heard it at 6:02pm,7:02pm,9:02pm,10:02pm and 11:03pm. I went outside with my older dog and walked around the house to the library windows just before 10 and waited until 10:10 to go back inside. My wife heard and recorded the sound; I heard nothing like it outside. I tried again at 11pm with the same result. We may find a logical explaination yet; but this sound is frustrating. I think I'm going to set the recorder up in the basement under the library and see what, if anything is picked up.

Disappearing paint lid

     It had been quiet here for some time. However, I now have two entries to make. The first pertains to my wife. We spent Thanksgiving here this year as all our close relatives have long gone. The big Thanksgiving meal was eaten and the dishes cleaned up and put away. I had just walked our older dog and thought today would be a good day to play on the computer. My wife was painting a picture onto an old milk can for a friend. As I was computing my wife walks into the library and says, " I need you to do something I don't seem to be able to do." Figuring it was a stuck lid on some paint, I followed her back to the kitchen. Then she said,"I was painting a cardinal on a pinetree, using the paint in the lid of the red paint bottle when I thought I heard someone at the kitchen door" "I got up to see who was at the door, there was noone; but when I sat down to continue painting the paint lid was gone." "See if you see it". Frankly if it was anywhere near it would have been obvious. There was the milk can on the table with a couple of sheets of newspaper under it, four bottles of paint, three minus lids but two of those lids were right there and three brushes ranging from fine to about a quarter inch. The floor was totally clear. As this type of thing happens to me frequently, I reminded her that the lid would pop up someplace totally illogical in a few hours or days. "What," she said,"am I going to do to keep my paint from drying out?" I suggested using saran wrap and a rubber band as a temporary measure. Be interesting to see where that lid shows up. Can't blame the dogs as they were both curled up asleep in the library with me.