A Christmas Holiday

I realized over this holiday, that sometimes there are traditions that we don't realize are traditions, until they aren't there anymore. That realization hit me several times this year.

The first such incidence was at the Candlelight service Christmas Eve at my parent's church, the church I grew up in. It had always been standard that, during the candle lighting ceremony, the congregation would sing "Silent Night". It has been very much a part of my Christmas. This year, the new music director at the casual service decided that he had another song he preferred. A song I didn't recognize. There was much grumbling amongst the congregation, myself included. A Christmas tradition by the way-side.

Another such instance occurred when I arrived at my mother's house. I mentioned the cookies and party mix that she always made for us. Mom greeted me with a suprise look and a comment on how she didn't make cookies or party mix for the kids this year. Needless to say, I didn't believe her. After much whining (and crying and a small temper tantrum that any 3 year old would have been proud of) Mom produced the usual bags of cookies and party mix. However, I realized that this was another one of those unspoken Christmas traditions.

There are other traditions that we know about, that we discuss openly. Virtually every year, once presents are open, Mom looks around, surveys the damage, and then will ask someone if we got a specific present. It is at this point that Mom realizes that she has forgotten to wrap someone's present. This year, it was some Petit Jean bacon, something we can't get locally.

Another such tradition is when Mom watches someone open a gift and utters the phrase, "There's a story behind that". This year, it was Dad's "Mental Memory" gift. Since all of Dad's gifts (or most of them) seemed to pertain to memory of some sort- the computer, blackberry, etc., This was Dad's *mental memory* gift.



One of Mom's *gag* gifts this year, was the present she received from Hemi and Boo. Pictured here, you can tell from Mom's face she was quite pleased with their gift of choice.



There is also the fairly new tradition where Dad "picks" on one of the dogs. This year was Hemi's turn. (But, let's face it. Hemi's a pest and deserves every bit of picking he gets!)



Of course there is always the tradition of placing a bow ontop of one (or more) of the dogs' noggins during the present opening ceremony. Such as these 2 from this year:





One Christmas tradition that I'm sure is common in most families, is the pre-lunch nap.





And then, invariably, someone has a little too much to drink:



In the end, being with family is about renewing old bonds:


No matter how old I get, some things just never change. Kyra will ALWAYS beg for food:



The table will always be festive:



And there will always be that photo that is worth a thousand words:




All in all, it was a lovely Christmas. The dogs are worn out, and haven't moved from the assigned places on the floor since arriving home. There are more photos to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed being there and taking them!

Group shot of the puppies:


Hemi's favrotie spot at Grandma's:



Another group shot:



I hope you all had a ver MERRY Christmas!

A Merry Christmas Massacre

I thought I should blog about a horrible, scary trend I've been seeing around my neighborhood. It seems that people are getting these big blow up lawn ornaments. You've seen them, Santa, a penguin, reindeer. Lots of hot air, and a bulb inside.

Imagine, however, being a small child. You see Santa in your neighbor's yard, all blown up. Then, the next morning, you go outside to catch the bus, and you see this:



Or this:



Or this:



That has got to be traumatic, don't you think? It looks like there has been a Christmas Massacre!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Trolls to youuuuu!

So, over a year ago, I got hooked on something called "Yahoo! Answers"

http://answers.yahoo.com/

***WARNING! Signing up for this free website is addicting, humbling, and maddening. The level of maturity shown in the question are enough to drive any normal human insane. Enter at your OWN risk***

This site is full of teenagers (must be 13 to join) and numerous adults that ACT like teenagers. If you hang around for long, the trolls will find you.




Some trolls are sometimes teenagers with nothing better to do during summer break, and ask inflammatory questions like "Is it normal to have sex with my dog" just to see if they can reaction out of you.



The more disturbing type of troll, is one that has disagreed with you because of a piece of advice you have given them, and decide that they will destroy you no matter what. These insane people have been known to create an account with your name and picture on it, and go around pretending they are you. They will also search through questions and answers you have asked or answered, and report them in an attempt to have your account suspended.



I was the target of such a troll today. Actually, it's quite flattering to think that I am that important to someone that they devote so much time to me. I have never before had a stalker. If my stalker/troll should find their way here, please give greet them warmly. For, their life is so sad and meaningless, that they must pick on others in order to make them feel good about themselves.



So, Merry Christmas Trolls!

A day in the life of Hemi

He hasn't been to agility class since 2 weeks before Thanksgiving due to a variety of things. We had BETTER have class Wednesday, or I'm going to cut the lock on the gate, take him up to her door, and beat on her door until she comes out and HAS class with us. Why? Here was a recap of mine and Hemi's morning:

Gene leaves, and Hemi is standing over me. Staring at me. Waiting for me to get up. I get up, and of course all of the dogs are happy. Hemi shows his delight by grabbing Boo's leg and tugging on it. "Hemi, no!" So, He jumps on Hershey. "Hemi, no!" He rolls Kyra "HEMI NO!" He stops and looks at me, his head cocked slightly to the right in a "what did I do" type look. (If you own a dog, you KNOW the look I'm talking about!)

So, I move groggily to the couch and turn on my computer. Hershey is laying on the floor, Kyra on her black pillow, and Boo on the couch next to me. Hemi? He comes out of the bedroom with a sock. His prize. "Hemi, no!" and I take the sock away. He trots into the kitchen, and then into the dining room where the crates are. He make an investigative sweep of both crates, just in case Kyra (the canine hoover) missed any crumbs. (Which, has not happened in the nearly 2 years of his life, not sure WHY he would think it would happen now!). Trots back to the living room, and disappears into the bedroom. Emerges from the bedroom with the partner to the first sock he brought to me. "Hemi, no!" and I take the sock away from him.

Boo begins to beg to go outside, so I let Hershey, Hemi and Boo all outside. Hemi begins to scream and chase the other 2 as they scatter like roaches to get away from him. The older dogs try to find their spot to potty. Every time they stop, Hemi hits them at full speed, pushing them out of the way. My backyard sounds like there is a dogfight going on. I open the door to look out, and what do I see? Hemi is running in circles in the back yard. As fast as his little legs will take him. Around and around and around and around. (reminds me of the last 10 laps of the Daytona 500). The older dogs are trying to position themselves behind trees and the corner of the house in order to protect themselves from the silver bullet.

Once they've had enough, I can see Boo begging me to let him in. I open the back door and he darts for the door, only to receive a body block by Hemi, nearly rolling both of them. They manage to both scramble into the house. Hershey gives me a look of relief, as she wanders off to finish her pottying in peace.

Once inside, Boo curls up on the couch next to me. Home base. He's safe from the PEST. Hemi begins to trot through the kitchen, through the dining room, up the hallway, into the living room, a loop around the coffee table, and then back to the kitchen. I sit on the couch thinking to myself. "Here he comes. There he goes. Here he comes. There he goes". After about 6 or 7 laps (I lost count). He goes to the water bowl, gets a drink of water, and then takes the long way back to the living room and up on the couch. Settling in for a long winter's nap. (FINALLY!)

So..if Pamela tries to cancel classes tomorrow night. I might just cut the lock on the gate and leave Hemi in her yard!

Living with Kyra

For those who know Kyra, you know how she loves her food. She has gotten into more trouble than I could ever have imagined. From Kyra, the things we have learned are:

1.) ant bait of any kind is not toxic to dogs.
2.) aluminum foil does not fluoresce on an x-ray
3.) pot pourri does not change color in the intestinal tract. (It does, however, lose it's fruity smell)
4.) silk flowers also do not lose their color in the digestive tract.
5.) dogs don't digest caramel, or candy wrappers. If a dog swallows a snack-sized snickers bar whole, the peanuts and chocolate will digest, the wrapper and the caramel will be regurgitated some days later. Whole. No teeth marks. No fading of the wrapper.

I came across another dog on the internet that could give Kyra a run for her money! It's one of the funniest stories I have ever read. For those who don't know Kyra, read this story, and imagine this dog being a big brown poodle,and Voila'- you now know what it's like to live with Kyra!

http://littera-abactor.livejournal.com/7748.html