Christmas Excitement

MacArthur and S. Claus- December 24, 2011

MacArthur on his CAT- December 25, 2011

          
         
          It is 8:30 pm on our grandson's first Christmas. Judging om the pictures his father posted on Facebook, it was an exciting Christmas for their family.  You can see that he is learning more and more about his world every day and we wish we were there to share more of that.  Oh, but their visit is just three sleeps away!
          After a mid-morning nap, I awoke to my husband calling the Mika dog to come inside.  The Mika loves to run and romp in the fresh snow.  Apparently she had wandered away from the house.  At first we thought that she had followed the 13 wild turkeys who had come for a breakfast of corn on the cob, but when my husband went outside and followed the turkey tracks, Mika's were not among them.
          I took it upon myself to find her tracks and follow her trail.  To my horror, she had travelled down to the lake, out on the ice.  I could see where she darted from dock to deck, from boat ramp and then back out to the middle of the lake.  I was sure that she had somehow gone through the ice.  While we discussed her demise (with tears rolling down my face) we heard a snowplow go out along the nearby county road, located at the end of the lake.  Suddenly my husband yells, "There she is!"
          I looked out onto the lake and, sure enough, there was the Mika bounding up the lake from the opposite direction, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.  She was joy running over the snowy ice.  We called her name and she abruptly changed direction, this time heading straight toward shore, up the steep hill, and right to my feet.  I was not impressed and made sure she knew it with a swift swat on the backside. 
          Poor Mika then spent the rest of Christmas Day locked in her kennel, while the "good dog," Finnegan was able to roam the house while we were off at a delicious Christmas dinner.  The meal was perfectly lovely, thanks to my husband's older brother and two younger sisters. 
          After dessert and tea, we gathered up gifts and a plate of food and drove to the nearby hospital to deliver Christmas dinner to another brother, who had to miss the family event due to illness. After a quick visit there we headed home.  Because it was snowing and Christmas, the roads were very exciting too.  Thankfully our four-wheel drive jeep kept us safe all the way home. 

And that is the kind of day it was here!  Until tomorrow,


Bee Rich
         

It is the Weekend!

Walking down the lane this morning, I heard an owl ask my name.

       This morning our house was awake at 5:00 a.m.  The sky was clear, the moon was bright, and as I walked the dogs down the lane to pick up the newspaper, the shadows loomed behind and ahead of us.  Then an owl hooted, "whooooo-whoooo-whooo?" Though I did not see her/him, I knew he/she was close by.  It was a perfect moment. 
       Why, you may ask, are we beginning a weekend so early in the morning?  Today is moving day for my brother-in-law, and we have been recruited to assist.  Since his home is two hours away from ours, it means an early start.  It is the least we can do for the man who looked after our Finnegan, a.k.a. the third child, while we taught overseas. 
        It's going to be a great day.  More tomorrow.

Until then,

Bee Rich