Dear Readers,

I think it’s time for a little winter update! Life goes on pretty much as usual with Momma and me, but as you know, as usual for us is not always a smooth ride.

Range anxiety

Speaking of smooth rides, Momma continues to drive Sparky even in the winter here — although it is common knowledge that Teslas do not do well in cold temperatures or snow. I think Momma learned her lesson when she drove it to a store in Wayzata which is twenty-six miles from our house — according to Google — to have a watch repaired (and treat herself to a little look around). Momma prides herself on her math and saw that Sparky had ruffly eighty-five miles left on the battery. No problem Momma reasoned: 26 x 2 = 52, so she’d have plenty of charge left over. Or so she thought.

Turns out it was a cold day in Tesla’s world with temps in Minni only reaching a high in the upper forties. Now to those of you from Minni, you know that could even be a nice golf day, but apparently Sparky is a lightweight. Momma began to realize this when she was two miles from our house and the range had gone down by about five miles. After driving a little farther and watching the charge go down more quickly than she had estimated, Momma realized she had to conserve energy and turned off the heater and the media system. She also did not take or make any phone calls or do any texting that could possibly be routed through the car.

By the time she got to the store in Wayzata and parked, a message popped up on Sparky, warning her that the mileage was getting low and the battery would drain faster because of the cold temperatures. So full of #rangeanxiety by now was Momma that she could not even enjoy herself at the jewelry store (wondering if the battery could be draining even as she spoke with a rep about her watch repair), and practically ran back to the car. The mileage was now at about fifty miles remaining.

Gently backing out and careful not to accelerate or decelerate quickly or make sharp turns, Momma crept to the main highway and the road home. Momma kept the heater and media systems off and barely dared to use the blinkers. By now she had her tassel cap and fur-lined mittens on and she could see her breath as she drove, all the while keeping her eyes on exit ramps in case the car started to die.

By the time Momma got home, she was dog tired (by the way, I’m so glad I wasn’t on this trip). Sparky registered a range of about twenty-five miles, and the car gave her a stern warning that the battery was dangerously low and must be plugged in immediately to avoid damage. The down side to this was that Momma had to reprogram the car to charge “right now” instead of during off peak-hours beginning at 10 pm, something that would likely take her the rest of the afternoon. The upside? We still have a car with Dog Mode.

My dog cave

On another front, Momma has taken to putting me in my own gated community (something which I vehemently oppose on principle) when she leaves the house for longer than an hour. And all because I happened to have two teeny-tiny accidents in the house when she left me alone for a long time and it was dark out and I was scared. (“Better that you are in your own safe space then, Lina,” Momma chided.) I am making the most of it though and spend my time looking out the window for squirrels and taking naps in my bed. Momma also leaves out a pee pad, but I always hold it until she gets home just to prove I can have the run of the house again at any time.

Playing ball

Because it has been so cold outside and we’ve had several inches of snow in Minni, Momma has wisely not taken me for any walks lately. In fact, even going potty is a challenge and I’ve taught myself to squat right outside the door to do my business since I hate wearing a coat or boots. Have I woofed yet that I can’t wait to get to Florida?

As a result of our pawful weather, we are forced to play fetch in the house. And when Momma is binge-watching Fox News or Yellowstone, I make my own fun!

Lina, Resourceful!

WOOFDA!