didja ever wake up on your bathroom floor and wonder, "how the hell did i get here??" yeah, well, add to that, a terrified diva dog who feels comfort only when her quaking little furbody is laying across your head. the origin of the saying "hair of the dog" no doubt. well, among the things that frighten poor diva (and the list is endless), among those items, under "t" is thunder. and last night out of the blue, with no warning, around 2am REM-sleep time, there was an explosion, of sorts, in the sky. 1 loud BANG right over our house. huge bang. the house shook kind of bang. like, who's got the meth lab, loud bang. no rain. no nothing spritzing. just bang and FLASH. so it was the flash/bang that got her going. uncle Bill was so sweet with her, trying to soothe her nerves (i could have told him he was in for the long haul) but she was not to be calmed. after about 15 minutes, the rain finally caught up, bringing lesser attempts of thunder & lightning, so any promises of "all gone" were seen for the sham that they were. so after an hour, i did the only thing i knew would help...grabbed my pillow and her woobie, and followed her to the bathroom, where she promptly jumped into the tub and cowered. (sidenote: who the heck design a house with a skylight right over the toilet?? i do not want to be found charbroiled in the tinkletorium).) i settled down for a nice comfy sleep on the tiles. i was too tired to bother with any padding, having quite enough natural waddle to cushion anything. bath sheets and an extra bathrobe for blankets. and i was tired enough to fall into a nice sleep. and for many short hours, it worked, despite the clawless cat trying to wear a hole in the door to see what the party was about. it almost worked. till the "angels bowling" really turned competitive. and around 4am, diva had to pee. it seemed quiet, so we headed to the door, she bolted out, heard a boom, turned tail and ran back in. i tried the old, "let's go out front" trick, as if it's all different weather out there. and it was working till 1 little paw touched driveway, and a blinding flash scurried her back in. i begged her to just go tinkle in the garage, but she is a Good Girl. so i feel for her, but can't help. right now, we're in the livingroom with the chocolate brown velvet curtains drawn tight to keep the flash out, and the tv on to try to block out some boomers, but they are persistant. the weather report is ugly. i will be cleaning carpet today, i have no doubt. and can i say this? as awesome as Uncle Bill was with little diva who torments his very life, one of the first things he did from a dead sleep was grab the remote and check the weather channel. for real. and remarked that there was nothing showing on the map. as if we were having a communal dream/nightmare, possibly from the chicken i made last night that may have been a tad undercooked. just a few degrees maybe. but enough to induce heartburn and cramping. so maybe it was a blessing that i was already in the bathroom, just in case. the local weather map shows it may be ending soon. i say "feh" and will believe it when i see it. and for the record, and apropos of nothing...if i see that incredibly annoying & poorly written Arby's commercial 1 more time....