Things are looking up! All winter the sun has hidden behind the neighbor's roof for most of the day, but by Valentine's Day it runs right along the top and shines in our eyes. That really helps with the cabin fever. Fur Rendezvous, Anchorage's big 10-day winter carnival, started on Friday. That helps, too. Fur is something to celebrate, you know ... I simply couldn't do without mine, all soft and silky and warm.

One thing that DOESN'T thrill me about "Rondy" is the big emphasis on dogs ... like the North American Sled Dog Championship sprint races, the Weight Pulling Contest and the Rondy Mutt Show. That's a lot of emphasis on dogs, it seems to me. And then the Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome starts as soon as Fur Rondy ends. I hope those classy Siberian sled cats from Oregon enter the Iditarod and have a great run.

There's a cat show next weekend ... the Purr Rendezvous ... but I don't suppose I'll get to participate. Unlike the mutt show, the Rondy cat show is for pedigreed pussycats. I've got everything else ... youth, svelte shape, charming personality, winning attitude and great fur ... but if I ever had one of those pedigree papers, it got lost when I did. I haven't missed it. You can read all about Fur Rendezvous here: http://www.furrondy.net/

We skipped the opening fireworks display Friday night. We'll probably miss the Rondy pancake breakfast, too, but we might get to see the snow sculptures and a few other highlights. I'm hoping to avoid the events with dogs, though Miss Jerrianne says some dogs are really quite well behaved and treat pussycats with proper respect. You can't prove it by me. I'm still pretty mad at Sam for last week's sneak attack. Miss Jerrianne says he's a Rottweiler and Black Lab mix and hasn't gotten over being a puppy yet so I shouldn't expect too much of him. I'd sentence him to obedience school, if it was up to me.

I don't know whether you've been reading The Country Scribe by that nice Mr. Eric Bergeson in Fertile, MN, but Miss Jerrianne reads it regularly. She tells me that he went to the pound and adopted a gray cat with green eyes last week. The cat's name is Nemo and he's busy training his new housemate (Eric) to do things his way. A cat's life is far more pleasant with a properly trained staff. If you aren't familiar with The Country Scribe, do take a peek: www.countryscribe.com/weblog/