As I was beginning to wonder what I wanted to write about this month, I had some help today with a door. I always have "help" around here whether I need it or not, but today was actually more colorful and I wish to share it.

I got a new exterior front door for my birthday. I know that sounds simple enough, but if you could have seen the two old ladies who live here moving that door into the boat (it was the only thing we own that was big enough to haul to a lumber store and put a thirty-six-inch door in!) and getting it back here, you would have gotten out the video cameras.

Fortunately, the weather has been very cooperative lately and this is the perfect time to install a door. Removing the old door was fun, for I had indoor cats standing in the hallway waiting for the perfect time to race outside...plus pigs outside waiting at the steps because they couldn't figure out what was happening.

We soon learned that Junior (the youngest cat) needed to be in the TV room with Marty-Bird, so he wouldn't escape outside. We also learned that pigs who got their snouts all filthy then tried to "help" were not nearly as helpful as they thought they would be. To top it off, Tyler happened to see me talk to Louise as I sat on the porch one late afternoon and he began to chase her around their pen. Louise took it for all of five minutes then she shoved him down and grabbed at his side. It was at that point in the little skirmish that I stepped between them and shouted "NO!!!". I find that the pigs don't necessarily listen to me if I need to yell, but they are scared that I did raise my voice and stop whatever it was that they were doing.

It's nice to have distractions while one is trying to concentrate on a task. It reminds me of when my human children were little and they wanted attention at the most inconvenient times, however, I learned that a task can be completed with little interruptions and normally everything works out for the best.

This afternoon, I began to paint the exterior trim of the new door. Lillian decided that she had to come into the house at the precise moment I began to paint. (Lily is extremely adept at knowing "precise moments" and tends to use them to her advantage. This is not an easy thing for me to admit.) I put the paint brush down and let her inside. I finished all the trim I could reach without opening the door to stand on the sill. It was at this time that Louise decided she needed to get inside. The most interesting part of this whole scenario is the fact that we intend to install a brass kick plate at the bottom of the door to minimize snoutly dirt and scuffs. The best way we humans could think of to do this was to place the cement blocks in a line around the top step of the porch when the pigs went outside in the morning. So today, I had to "open" a spot in the cement blocks to let Lily and Louise both climb the steps and come inside. I then fed the two of them inside and Garbo and Tyler James were content to eat outdoors.

Everyone's happy, right? Well, I thought so as I resumed my painting. Junior was taken to the TV room and I left the door open while I stepped on the sill to finish painting the upper part of the door trim. It was then that Lily "needed" to go back out. I didn't move the cement block that I'd put back along the line, so I asked her if she just wanted to come out on the porch and help paint. I believe that must have sounded good to her, since she was content to just come out and eat a few oak leaves as they fell from the trees.

Tyler and Garbo both come to the step of the porch because they think Lily is getting some sort of "treat" that they haven't had yet. I told them the entire yard is filled with the same oak leaves that Lil's munching on. Of course, that didn't matter. Now both of them want to be inside and they tell me, not too loudly, either. I put the paint brush down (once again) and slide a cement block out of the way to let them through.

The three Texas pigs are now inside getting ready for bed and Lily is still munching on the last "porch leaf". As I get done painting, I let her inside to join the others. It is important to note here that Lily only ended up with two small drips of white paint on her back and no snout marks were left on new, wet paint. Overall, I would call that a complete success.