Why You'll Love PupLove

Pamela over at Something Wagging This Way Comes (great blog title, no?) came up with the great idea of a "Pet blogger gift exchange" - only the gifts we're exchanging aren't wrapped in shiny paper and pretty bows. Instead, the gifts are the kind that money can't buy and that can't be stuffed under the tree: encouragement, compliments, and appreciation! Who doesn't want to get some encouragement? Better than a funky Christmas sweater any day, right?

Pamela matched everyone up who wanted to participate with a partner, and I was matched with the uber talented AJ of PupLove.

Have You Seen This Man?

I've decided to start a new thing that I'm going to call Mirth Watch Thursday. It'll be a little silliness from me or from somewhere else on the web to (hopefully) make you smile and/or laugh each Thursday as we round the bend toward the weekend.

So, to kick off Mirth Watch Thursdays, I give you: A composite sketch of Rita's fears:

Have you seen this man? He may be armed and is considered dangerous. (At least, by my dog.)

Wordless Wednesday: Presents!

This is our first Christmas with Rita so it will be fun to see how she reacts to everything. We've been spoiling her and letting her open any presents she gets early. She seems to love the gift idea, and tears right in to the paper. (I've never had a dog that didn't instinctively know how to open a wrapped gift. I swear, dog toys must have a specific odor.)

"Let me in there!"

A Pause . . .

I normally try to take part in the Monday Mischief blog hop. Today, I just couldn't. I was too sad about the tragic news out of Newton, CT on Friday to just go on with a normal silly post. Yes, we do try to keep things light around here, even when our pup had bone cancer and even when the country seems to be going crazy. But today was not a day for "lightness."

My purpose with my writing and my blog is to spread smiles. I'm not eloquent enough to even try to wrap my words or my head around what happened on Friday, so I won't even try, but I didn't want to just plow happily ahead without pausing to express my condolences publicly to the entire community of Newton. For so many in that community, their worlds are forever changed.

For those of us lucky enough to be celebrating the holidays with our loved ones, let's all just try to remember to be a little nicer, be a little more patient, and try to understand where the other guy (even if he/she is pissing you off) is coming from.

Peace. Let's be reasonable out there.

[P.S. I signed an online condolence card for the Newton community today at We Are Better Than This. You can too.]

Ringing in the Holiday... with the Hounds

Today, we have a guest post from my friend Peggy, of Peggy’s Pet Place. Peggy and I decided it would be fun to exchange posts about holiday traditions involving the dogs. Below, Peggy shares her adorable family Christmas cards and tips on how to take great Christmas card photos with your dog. Then pop over to her blog, to check out my post on painting dog-themed Christmas windows! 

Take it away, Peggy!

Baby Kate, with Schuyler

Our daughter Kate, 3, with Schuyler

 

Wordless Wednesday: Scenes from a Walk

Okay, this won't be wordless, but it will be less-wordy and more-picture-y...

I got the idea for this post because I love this Abominable Snowman & Rudolph display in a neighbor's window:

Sorry about the not-great shot, but it's in a 2nd story window

Monday Mischief: The Ghost of Christmas Past

We really miss our beautiful Abby, but I miss her in a special way on Mondays because she was one heck of a mischief-maker. You could always count on her for counter-surfing, underwear-thieving, and sock-sucking. (The sock-sucking was kinda sweet... every time we'd come home we'd find her with one of our socks next to her. She liked to carry them around when we were gone. Luckily she never ate one, but she did enjoy nibbling them a bit.)

Thankfully, I don't have photos of her chewing our underwear, but here's an example of her mischief, as she cruises through the living room, flaunting her disregard for the "No Sticks in the House" Rule.

"It's not a stick. It's a big cigar."