Hug's Work

I wish Hug could like his job more. I think sometimes you get lucky and what you like to do is something that you can do easily. Like me.

Hug loves this city and knows more about it than anyone. He also seems to hate it more than anyone. Hug is like that.

I think his tours are really great and would take them all the time if I didn't have to work. Though I do get to help with most of the tours he plans now and I can go walk them and see what he is talking about. And he points stuff out when we are in town.

Hug works hard. It is too bad he does not have a C.P. Dibbington to tell him how good he is at what he does.

Politics

Politics is one of those things that you are not supposed to talk about if you want anyone to like talking to you. But sometimes you have to.

I want to vote for the best candidate. But I think that the nicest candidate is not always going to be the one who will do the most good things for the biggest number of critters. I don't know which super smart and wise critter said that is the reason for politics, but I am pretty sure politics is about picking the candidate who will make laws and give money to the right places so that the biggest number of citizens get the most improvements to their lives. Hug is rather insistent that it never, never, never works this way.

But even if one candidate is only just a little bit nicer or a little bit kinder than the other and will do their work in a way that spreads that kindness and niceness just a little bit further then that is who I should vote for.

Who that is in this election I have no idea.

More Rocks, More Work

After I'm done with work, when the evening is super cool and refreshing, I'm allowed to look around the grounds for interesting rocks. Mr. Dibbington trusts my judgement. He knows that I know what to keep for myself and what has to be left where it is for the grounds to be the healthiest that they can.

You might not think it is so important where one rock is but you would be surprised. Getting plants to grow is tricky. Sometimes they have relationships to stuff you would never think of. Like rocks.

There is a friendliness to the grounds. To the rocks and the grass and the trees. You might not be able to notice it if you are just hurrying through but if you slow down, like I do when scouting for a good rock, you feel how the grounds welcome you and want you to be happy.

Philosophical Wax

Sometimes when Hug gets to waxing philosophical he says stuff like how there are as many different ideas about what the world looks like as there are critters in the world.

Like how everyone you meet thinks everything is about them and gets confused and can't agree about what actually happened or what someone meant by what they said. At least that's how Hug explains it.

Here's how I see the bridge we take to get to our spot by the river.

P.S. I know this is not what he means but I like the picture.

Paddy Paws

Like I promised last time this time I'll tell you about Paddy Paws. He is kind of my assistant and kind of my co-worker. He is nice. But a goof off. Not in the good way like Hug but in the bad way where he doesn't do his work.

Paddy Paws likes to ask me a million questions and tell me about all kinds of stuff that he does so he can hear what I have to say about them.

I've taken him under my wing to help him see how the estate works. But also so I can show him how if you look at things right it helps you act right and acting right helps things run more smoothly and everyone likes being around a lot more when things are running smoothly.

I like working with Paddy Paws. He is a good sort.

Work

I am lucky because I live where I work.

A lot of critters have to wake up, get themselves together, and then spend a long time getting to where they will spend their day. I wake up and look out my window and already know what is needed of me.

My home is a shed on the grounds of C.P. Dibbington and I am employed by his estate as a groundskeeper.

I love my work. I do a lot of raking because Mr. Dibbington appreciates my attention to detail. Mr. Dibbington has a beautiful estate. There are large lawns and so many different kinds of bushes, trees and plants. I could get lost for hours just walking around and seeing all the care that goes into making everything look so nice. More than once I have.

I am sure Mr. Dibbington likes it to, but we never get to hear him say so because he's never really around.

Next time I will tell you about Paddy Paws. I work with him the most. He is very good hearted but a bit too much of a goof off. Everyone likes to have fun, but the lawn isn't going to rake itself.

Fun

It seems like I have fun no matter what I do. I know that Hug thinks this is a moral failing on my part, but what is life for if not to enjoy? Lucky for me the stuff I enjoy is pretty easy to come by. I’d be in serious trouble, like Hug I guess, if the stuff it took to make me happy was hard to get.

Next time I will have more details about my life. I will continue my quest to know it better. And to share it with you. Promise.

Old Money

Hug calls the part of town where I live "old money" Villeville. I think he means that if you live here, you have money, but some of the stuff you own got old because you have been rich for so long.

One guy has a shed with a caved in roof. You might think this is a bad thing. But when I passed it one snowy day all the snow had come off and there was still snow on the brand new roofs.

Just because something is broken, doesn't mean it can't be useful. Like Mr. Huggins. When he tells me to stay away from something it's usually because he got hurt by it. He's like a caved in roof with no snow.

Rocks Are Neat

It isn’t just that rocks are pretty (rocks are pretty). It’s that they are old.

Rocks are the oldest stuff that is. No matter what thing you could think of that you could pick up in Villeville or what thing you might think of collecting, or how old your coin or your stamp or famous, snooty family might be, a rock is older. So a rock wins.

Intro

Somebody super important and truly very smart once said that if you want to make yourself happy you have to know your life.

That sounds right to me. So I am going to use this blog to do just that. And you can follow along and get to know me (Snugglypoo) and my very bestest friend ever, Mr. Huggins.

More soon. I promise.