Monday Mysteries: the Garage!

 Heimdall:  See this basket?  It's the laundry basket, but it lives someplace called "the Garage".  It's not in the house!  It comes in the house sometimes, like when this picture was taken, and it brings the smelly clothes and towels out to the garage.  I like balancing on the basket, Auntie Tabby likes eating it, and Freya likes scratching on it.

Freya:  Sometimes my brother likes climbing inside it, too, and going for rides in it while Mommy or Daddy is bringing it in.  We aren't supposed to follow it into the garage, though.

Heimdall:  A few weeks ago, Erin suggested that we start going out to the garage on our harnesses.  I always want out there whenever our purrents go out there, so I was very excited about the idea of actually exploring!  My sister wasn't, so she practiced more with her harness on inside, playing with the string-leash.

Guess what?  There's something called a cement floor out there that's cold to your paws!  The laundry goes into a white box called the washer, and there's a noisy grey box called the furnace that Mommy says heats up air for the house.  I found Daddy's work boots, the laundry, Mommy's bike, and lots of other things!  So many different smells, too!

This is where Daddy chops up the wood for our fireplace!  He has a HUGE pile of it in the garage, then he brings it in using a big box.  I got to climb all over the wood pile!

Today, after I was done helping Mommy do laundry, a very funny thing happened!  When I was going inside the doorway, Starla nosed her way past me and went out into the garage, too!  She wasn't on harness, so Mommy let me go inside by myself and spent about 7 minutes walking around the garage with Starla, letting her explore a little and then guiding her back toward the door.

Starla:  I had FUN!  The garage isn't what I expected at all!  The only garage I've known was at the other place, where I slept underground on the dryer.  My washer and dryer are out in this new garage, and many other things I recognized, such as the gardening tools, but it all was confusing.  So many new smells, plus the wood out there when it should be in the yard or growing as a tree.  Then there's this thing called the garage door, which smells like it has a road on the other side of it.  Mommy finally said we had to go back inside, and I thought she was mad at me for escaping out there.  She said she wasn't mad at me, but that I had to be on harness next time.  I don't like the harness, but I might let her put it on me if it means going out there again!

Freya:  After I saw Starla come back in and she told me her adventures, I kept thinking about that other room.  I thought while playing spring, while eating, while taking a short nap, and then I decided:  I wanted to go out MYSELF!  I really did!  Now, how to tell Mommy?  I sat by the door and squeaked, then cried louder.  She came to see what I wanted, and I just looked at her and sat up very, very straight.  She asked if I wanted to go out to the garage, and I squeaked again! Yes, yes, yes!  I got harnessed and leashed, and so did my brother, then Mommy picked me up and put me on a white metal box.  Mommy picked my brother up and put him on the box too, but he jumped down into that laundry hamper to play in it.  I lay down on the box, which I was told is called a washer, and looked around excitedly.  So THIS is what the garage is!  Wow!!!  Mommy started the dryer, and it made a loud sound, but we weren't scared (at least not too much).  I got up the courage to investigate it, thinking there must be some giant mousie inside it to make that much noise.  Whatever's in there doesn't come out, though, just makes noise in the box.  Clothes come out of it, all warm and snuggly!  The box moves like it's purring, and is very nice to lay on.

Heimdall wanted to go back inside, so Mommy let him back in, but I got to stay out with her and explore some more!  I investigated all the things that my brother and Starla have just talked about, but my favorite was the woodpile.  The wood moves when you walk on it, and it's good for chewing!  I stayed out for about a half hour, and then Mommy said we'd better get back inside the house.  Now, I'm wanting to go right back out, but Mommy says we have to wait a while until another day.  But I WANT to go out there!