Home Again

We arrived home this morning, after traveling on about four hours of sleep. So catching up there was the first order of business. We got in too late to pick up Chewy at the kennel, so had to wait until 5:00 pm. He seemed pleased to see us, but in that way where I'm not really sure he noticed we were gone until he saw us again. Which is good. That's what I wanted. He stank like a mo fo, though, so he got a bath as soon as we got home. He's been pretty chill tonight. We're reminding him of the household manners he forgot while we were gone.

Austin was awesome. Awesome Austin. Lots of family, food, fun, and baby time. I've got permission to post a pic of my nephew, so I will as soon as his mom is able to send me some. She's considering a blog herself, but would like to get on the beta version. Ouiser, die Frau, and I had no problem with this, but she doesn't seem to have the option, even though she has a blogger account. Is it invite only? Anyone have any tips for her?

Ooh, by the way, there was a hawk sitting in the tree in our front yard when we got home. Very cool. We reached for the camera before pulling into the driveway, but he flew away. Then we saw a huge gray cat rounding the corner. His flight may have been more about that than us. At any rate, it was a nice welcome home.

Merry Christmas!

Sorry I've been gone so long. I'm not quite back yet. The holidays overtook me and I am woefully overdue on blogging. I'll be home on the 27th and will aim for a real entry then. Happy Holidays everyone!

Treeless in Tucson

I got the lights up. All roughly 1,800 of them. And, while I'm not afraid of heights, per se, I do tend to be afraid of things that will kill me. Like falling off a ladder. So I bought this pole that was supposed to be specifically for clipping lights to shingles without having to get on a ladder, but it was useless. The clips were too weak. So I ended up borrowing a ladder from a neighbor and got all the lights up without loss of limb.

I also go the Thanksgiving decorations put away and the few indoor Christmas decorations we have out. I have all kinds of ornaments that I've never yet used because we've never had a tree. This year we have a house, so we have room, but I'm too worried about the puppy. I also have a lot of large pinecones I'm not sure what to do with. Ideas?

I made this jingle bell wreath. In case anyone else wants to try it, it took 75 bells. I used 16 gauge wire, but would recommend something even sturdier. Apart from the fact that those bells are a lot heavier than they look, it was easy.
And here's a gratuitous Chewy pic, from his first trip to the dog park.
Got some time on your hands? Let it snow...
(And thank domesticali for the fun.)

Light It Up

Say what you want about the suburbs, but they're a great place to walk your dog at night this time of year if you're a Christmas lights fan. I love it. In fact, we have tentative plans to see the Winterhaven Festival of Lights in Tucson this weekend. Our own lights are still in a sorry state. This is the first time ever that I've had a house to decorate. We currently have 5 snowflakes on stakes near our front door. A couple of strings of icicle lights will be added this weekend, along with a jingle bell wreath. And maybe 5 more snowflakes. And I think we may have some red LED lights that the husband's aunt gave us a few years ago...I'll have to hunt those down, too. Oh, and I just realized that we'd better celebrate my birthday this weekend as I work the weekend after my birthday...better get on that.

By the way, everyone saw this last year, right? Worth an annual look, I think. I wonder if he's got new choreography this year?