From the diary of Griselda Vargas-Beilschmidt

59

Autumn is here! The season of rolling in the colourful fallen leaves! Though... when I look out of the window, I don't see any big amounts of it. Yet. So I must wait.

The weather is getting a bit more windy, so when I go to school in the morning (I was finally allowed to go alone last year) I have to wear a bit thicker jacket. Papa is always scared I'll get cold, so today he wanted me to wear a thick winter coat I take when skiing.

Papa is just paranoid sometimes.

I watch as Aster rolls on the ground in maybe poop again, oh dear. Blackie is sniffing around the bushes in the park we're taking them to, and Berlitz stayed home today. He wasn't feeling like it. Mitzi keeps him company, because Vati stayed with him, and where is Vati, there's Mitzi. They're probably cuddling right now. I'm kinda jealous. The walking duty fell on me and Papa. Uncle Prussia is skyping with Uncle Canada and Fred. They're somewhere pretty deep in the wild right now, yet somehow their hut has wifi. I had a nice talk with them before we left. Fred said he's found some new beaver dams. I'd love it if he showed me, and he said he will. I'm really looking forward to it. But I won't take the dogs with me ;)

Isn't the world wonderful, though? I can't hear any traffic here. There are other people - walking and chatting and playing and jogging. Aster stops rolling to greet another dog, then we have a small talk with the owner and move along. Papa is asking me if I'm cold every five minutes, so after the third time I only groan.

But it's quite a nice walk. It's one of the days that make you happy you're here. I think I could even get Papa to carry me, but... hm, no. Holding his hand is enough.

Back home, I smell something delicious. Is Vati baking? I think Vati is baking! Wooo!

I love it when he bakes, and it's fun when he teaches me. Except we have to lock Mitzi, because she'd distract us and be annoying and Vati once tripped over her, fell and broke his arm. And of course, there's distressed meowing from my room.

Shit. Please don't go destroying my stuff, Mitzi, please.

"Ve! Luddy, what are you baking?" Papa smiles and hugs Vati from behind.

"J-just cookies," Vati replies.

YES! His cookies are the BEST!

Before that though, I have to deal with an angry Mitzi. I carefully, really carefully open my door, go in and slam them as fast as I can. Sure enough, there's Mitzi, meowing to release her. I'm sorry, gal, but not yet.

I look to my stuff. Good, it seems intact. It's not like Mitzi does destroy it, but one may never know. She accidentally scratched my sweater one time, when she was a kitten, but that fortunately never repeated.

If I concentrate enough, I can hear Uncle Prussia talking. Has he been skyping the whole time?! The whole hour and about, I check the time, forty minutes? Wow. Not to mention he already skyped for half an hour before we went out.

I change and quickly, before Mitzi knows what happened, get out and slam the door again. I can hear her betrayed noises. She's not going to be cuddly for a few days now. Oh well, she'll get over it eventually.

I glance into Uncle Prussia's room. He's still laying on his stomach, in the same position we'd left him in, still sounding like the happiest man alive.

Uncle Canada is laughing at something, and I can bear Fred's "Whyyyyyyy" in the distance. Oh, did Uncle embarras him? I know that feeling, Fred, I do.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the cookies are almost done. Vati gives me the spatula to lick, which I love, and puts the batch into the oven. Then he goes to 'rescue' Mitzi, because he's her favourite and she can't be too mad at him. She's sulking, but still she cuddles to Berlitz, and we hear her meowing some time afterwards. She's a talkative cat.

I can't wait for the cookies! So I wait, sitting right in front of the oven, watching them getting crunchy and darker. Vati will tell me to get up or take a pillow to sit on when he finds me, saying I might catch a cold, but I don't care.

For the cookies!