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Christmas Eve
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Rain has poured down on us all day and yet the icy snow remains in the yard. Last night’s freezing rain coated everything in a thin sheet of ice. I stepped out on the porch to look at the neighborhood Christmas lights reflected from every surface our block. It was a festive sight.
I’m happy to be snug at home this Christmas. I spent too many of them in the past far from my home. Where I was, I didn’t feel all that welcome and I missed Dear Hubby something terrible. A couple times, I was stuck in some distant airport waiting for a flight home.
So tonight, I’ll count my blessings while I snuggle with DH and the pups and we enjoy our movie marathon and pop corn.
A younger sister who was the strongest person I ever knew blessed me with her love every day of her short life.
A father who was loving, kind, and compassionate blessed me.
A mother who understood and always told me to be myself and be proud of who I am blessed me.
I will always love and miss them.
My Dear Hubby is a blessing to me every day.
My wonderful aunties and cousins are truly a blessing.
My dear friends old and new are always a blessing.
Have a wonderful Holiday dear readers for you too are a blessing to me.
Posted in Holidays, In memory of..., My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, gifts, Home, Humor, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Snow, Writer, Writing
Cookies, friends, and comfort
Posted by doggonedmysteries
My closest friend stopped by today to schmooze and bring us a container of Christmas cookies. She does this every year. I stopped baking my usual ton of cookies several years ago. (I limit us to a few pies, brownies, and fancy loaf breads most of which I give away.) Dear Hubby and I don’t need too many baked goods around and our dear neighbor’s kindly treat is just enough.
Tomorrow I’ll bake my traditional pecan pie for Thursday’s dinner. If it hadn’t been for another dear friend, I wouldn’t be doing that.
Christmas Eve DH and I will snuggle in with the pups and treat ourselves to a couple of new DVDs, eggnog, and pop corn. The pups will go through their repertoire of tricks to try to beg some pop corn off us. They’ll get some, but they’re not spoiled or anything.
Christmas day we will sleep in late and then enjoy some fresh coffee and sweet rolls. We don’t do gifts. Each day we have together is gift enough for us. The pups will get their new Nylabones, they like presents, and we wouldn’t think of depriving them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday.
Always check for uninvited guests
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Many years ago, when we still put up a Christmas tree, we’d go to a local tree farm and cut down our own. Getting a tree at a Christmas tree farm guarantees that you get a fresh one. However, every now and then, you might bring home some uninvited guests.
Almost everyone remembers National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. One of my favorite scenes is when Chevy Chase tangles with the squirrel that had stowed away in the Christmas tree. We didn’t have a crazed squirrel but we did find some uninvited guests in our tree one year.
While hanging the lights on the tree I came across two odd looking things stuck to two of the branches. I showed them to Dear Hubby and he knew what they were. He clipped the twigs off, took them outside, and tied them onto a couple of hedge branches. “People pay for those egg casings,” he told me when he came in.
“They what?”
“Those were Praying Mantis eggs.”
“Oh, neat!”
Had those objects stayed in the warm house, several thousand, tiny Praying Mantis would have hatched out of them. It’s definitely not as dramatic as a wild and crazy squirrel stowed away in your tree.
I’m glad we didn’t have thousands of teensy bugs running around the house for Christmas.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, gifts, Home, Humor, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Snow, Writer, Writing
The procrastinator’s tree
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A conversation I overheard this evening while I had the dogs outside made me wonder how many other Christmas tree procrastinators are out there.
The smallest of three children asked, “We’re getting our tree tomorrow aren’t we Dad?”
“The wind chill is going to drop the temperature to zero degrees tomorrow and there’ll be wind gusts of forty miles per hour. I’m not taking you kids out in that for a tree.” The father tugged on his dog’s leash and dragged it away from a telephone pole.
His wife shrugged. “We can better put it off for another day it’s supposed to be nicer on Tuesday.”
“But, you promised we’d go TOMORROW. All my friends have their trees up already.” The eldest of the three children whined and kicked at a chunk of ice.
“Oh, yeah sure. We’re going to go hunting for a tree in that kind of weather. No way. The tree can wait another day. I don’t intend to be found frozen to some pine tree, ax in hand, at the tree farm.”
The middle child said, “But MOOOOM, tell him Christmas Eve is Wednesday.”
The mother said, “Why don’t we go buy a fake tree tomorrow? Then you won’t need to go chop down a tree and the kids will happy.”
The man wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “But it’s a tradition. I’ve done it since I was a kid. I want them to have the same traditions.”
A day without sunshine is, um, night?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
When I woke up today, thick clouds covered the sky and it was dark enough to make me take a second look at my alarm clock. It didn’t get any lighter as the afternoon wore on. I expected it to storm any minute-it didn’t. The sky brooded all day.
There wasn’t much difference in the light when the sun (what sun?) went down. It’s after two a.m. now and the clouds are still there-thick, heavy clouds. The forecast says we could get as much as six inches of snow. That’s okay. I cleaned all that icy junk off my car and Dear Hubby’s truck today, so I’m ready for the next snow dump.
The pups would be happier with a snow covering over that icy stuff in the yard. Both of them could make do with some doggie snow cleats-do they make them? The next question would be how funny would that look?
Patty manages fine but poor Gavin reminds me of Bambi in the ice skating scene with Thumper. He scrabbles his way out a few feet and back. The relief of making it to the steps is quite evident on his face. Yes, we could do with a bit of a snow coating over the ice if only to give the poor dog some traction.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Snow, Writer, Writing
“Oh the weather outside is frightful…”
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Is how the song begins. Tonight the weather is not as frightful as it is icy. Gavin looked as if he wished for extra toes and claws as we slipped and slid on our trip outside. Patty, who is a bit lighter footed and coordinated, had less trouble with the yard.
Right before the sun set a crash of snow landed on the porch roof. It shook the entire house and sent the two dogs into fits of barking. It also drove me outside with more salt for the walk.
Much to our delight early today, we had an elf come by and shovel our walk. For years, we were the neighborhood elves who cleared the walks for everyone and it does my heart good to see someone returning the favor. Dear Hubby can no longer do it and having it done before I got out there with a snow shovel pleased me no end. I don’t mind shoveling snow but my muscles do a lot more complaining these days when I do it. Thank you dear elf whoever you are.
Tomorrow I’ll go start my car, crank the heat on high, drag out the ice scraper, and hope I can scrape and melt the icy snow off. The weather report says there’s more on the way so I’d best get that stuff off before Saturday night when the next wave of storms comes through.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Snow, Writer, Writing
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