I Dreamed A (Stupid) Dream

I had the stupidest dream last night.

I dreamt that I had this brilliant idea for today's Mirth Watch Thursday post. It was going to be all about these semaphore-like poses that Rita sleeps in that signal different messages - like laying (lying?) a certain way meant "send treats," and how I was going to do drawings to represent each one. (Actually, almost all of them ended up meaning some variation of "send treats." Although one was the symbol for pi: π - just to show that she's smart.)

In my dream, it was all hysterically funny to me. I woke up thinking, "Awesome. I've got today's post all written! All I have to do is whip up some drawings." Then I thought it through and realized it was absurd. (Who would even see these signals, I ask??) Sigh. Had to come up with something else to post.

So, I thought I'd roll out one of me and the hub's favorite commericials from a few years back. We still quote the final line sometimes after a walk. It's got a cute dog, outrageous Scottish accents and it's about cheese. What more could you want? Here it is:

Wordless Wednesday: Rita's Christmas Recap

Rita here with a photo-journalist style review of my holiday.

It started out not too good. There was a lot of this.

Seriously?

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