They're eight months old now, and still the frantic little devils they ever were. If there's silence in the house it spells trouble, and we set out to investigate what, at the moment, they're up to. Invariably it's to no good, for themselves and/or for the items with which the house is furnished. On the other hand, sometimes, on rare occasions, they're merely contentedly settled down with a rawhide chewie, satisfying their chewing impulses that would otherwise victimize items as diverse as one of their little beds, stray slippers, ball-point pens, book bindings, you name it.

Basement door, staircase

They spend the night sleeping together, curled up comfortably toward one another. During the day it's a different story. Although they're inseparable; what one is up to the other must also be involved with, and they're rarely apart from each other; they do tend to, when it's down-time for a nap, separate themselves. Each has a favourite place to perch, for those all-too-brief slumbers. Jack usually on top of the sofa back, and Jill on a large, flat red cushion sitting before the fireplace. It used to be Riley's favourite resting place. I wonder if she can detect his odour impressed into it. 

Basement Study

We did, however, two weeks ago, remove the large, cumbersome pen my husband had put together and plunked down in the middle of the family room for them when we brought them home to live with us. They seldom used it on their own initiative, although Jillie from time to time, who is more inclined to settle down for naps than her brother Jackie more given to restlessly wandering about to find bold new exploits, might from time to time use it. Its purpose was for us to install them somewhere if we had to leave the house without them, where they would be safe from self-harm.

With the removal of that pen a great deal of space has been released for us, space that we sacrificed somewhat needlessly in retrospect for months, while in the process of house-training the devilish duo. They don't miss its presence and we certainly don't. It's very nice to luxuriate in the released atmosphere of free space, absent the irritation of a pen with limited use and maximum inconvenience quotient.

They've grown more accustomed to accommodating themselves to what they at one time viewed as frightening challenges. They would never descend the staircase to the basement, for example. And if one or both of us decided we had something to do there where we have a study, and a large all-purpose activity room along with a bathroom, they would be puzzled, thinking we'd gone upstairs, and race up to the second floor only to find it devoid of our presence.

Jackie

It took a little while for them to fully understand that a staircase didn't necessarily lead up to a second floor, but could also lead down to a sub-floor. Now they negotiate that staircase with ease, following us downstairs and amusing themselves in the discovery of yet another large space to roam about and discover intriguing new opportunities -- for mischief.

Jillie