Summit on Columbia River Gorge Drive, Oregon : August 2003

Working from home is great. It’s also not-so great. Especially when you’re actually trying to get the work done while your four pets create all sorts of havoc around you. The new guy, Pete, wants to be in the office with me and has the jitters about every little thing so he’s constantly pacing. Juliette barks at anyone who comes up the walkway, regardless of whether I’m on the phone. Lucy jumps up on the desk whenever she fancies and pads all over my papers, sending many to the floor. Maggie once mistook the brand-new iMac for the older version that was there the day before and tried to jump up on top of the monitor — only to have it go crashing to the desktop and scare the bejesus out of both of us. Those antics along with the piles of pet hair that collect daily in this house can be enough to drive a person batty.