Birthday Girl

 Three years ago today, we adopted Callie Girl. She demands at least two, if not three walks per day. If I am tired and unwilling, she will tug at my arm, cry, and not stop until I get her leash. She sits behind me on my office chair, barely leaving room for my rear end. She follows me from room to room. She is sometimes not friendly to new people. Much like a baby, she needs to be fed and have her poop cleaned up. All this sounds like work and, yet, I love her so much. Just petting her has a calming affect when I am upset. She makes me smile and often laugh out loud. The kids adore her and she puts up with them carting her around all the time. She is a part of our family now and I can't imagine her not being with us. The vet said he marks a dog's age in thirds. The first third of their life, the second third and the last third. He said Callie is in her middle third. I guess we can grow old together.

It bears the question....Who rescued who??
Happy Birthday, Callie! And many more...

Christmas Card

 Best part of Christmas for me is the sending and receiving of cards. I have been torturing kids for two generations with my hair brained ideas! This is the first year that the grandkids didn't want to cooperate!! When did they become so stubborn, opinionated and unbending?!?!? Oh, wait, that sounds a lot like me!!
The irony of it all is, after taking about two dozen photos to try and capture this one for the front, I ended up using the VERY FIRST ONE I took!!! That gave me a good laugh after all the struggle to get the shot.

Here's the inside. It was taken on our annual family camping trip to Convict Lake. It is a fun, family time that brings a smile to everyone's face. Good for capturing a photo of the kids! For full disclosure, I have to admit, Pa was fishing at the time this photo was taken of the kids and me. Through the magic of photo shop and a little editing, he is miraculously in the picture with all of us, even standing barefoot in the stream! HA!

I often wonder how many people turn my card over and check out the back. There is usually something extra to see. This year it is a shot of my three loves, again, looking happy. Their joy is catching. I highly recommend grandchildren. They are the best part of my card....AND of Christmas!!
P.S. Jack told me the tape tore off his moustache!! Who knew 8 year olds had a moustache!!
There's always a back story to my cards....and I love it!

P.S. to Oh, Christmas Tree

Well, I decided to buck tradition and do a table top tree. In fact, I did three, one live and the other two tiny ones on each side are fake. I like it. It is different. It looks nice against the mirrored wall. I was able to go and buy it myself and it fit in my car.
"Never worry about the size of your tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."
Unless you're Abigail. She looked at it and proclaimed, "That's not a real tree. It's just too small, Grammie!"
Sorry, Abs. It will have to do this year.

Jack Claus

Not sure if he is channeling Santa or Si from Duck Dynasty. Either way, this photo just makes me smile. This kid is fun, spirited, kindhearted and funny as hell!! He always has a comeback line. He is the first to question, "Why?" and really listen to your answer. He knows the value of a good laugh. He thinks people and their feelings matter.
He is wise beyond his years.

Oh, Christmas Tree

 I am struggling this year about the Christmas tree. For 11 years, we had this huge, 10 foot fake tree that I loved. I could bend its branches any way I needed to accommodate the ornaments. It didn't have any bare spots or flaws. It was perfect. My family HATED it!! No smell, fake is dumb, it's TOO perfect!! My husband swore like a sailor every time he wrestled to put the thing together. When it finally died (area three just would not light up anymore!!), they rejoiced. I grumbled. We got a real tree last year and yes, it smelled and it was pretty but not that interesting, and certainly not 10 feet!
I had a creative brain storm that this year. I would buy a mix of small fake and real trees (2, 3 and 4 feet tall) and create my own little forest on top of a table. The gifts would go under the table. It would be different. It would be interesting. You would think I had announced I was going to walk naked down Irvine Blvd!!!! My family, loudly, let me know that was the dumbest, ugliest idea I have had in all of 2014!! So, as of today, we have NO tree in the house. It's usually up Thanksgiving weekend. I am still torn about what to do. Indecision IS a decision!
I like to read. Maybe I should make a tree of books like the one pictured above.

I like wine. Maybe I should create one like this. Now that would be a challenge...maybe!!

I always thought an upside down tree was fun and funny. Maybe I should make my husband wire one from the ceiling. Nah, never mind. He'd just start swearing like a sailor again.
We remain treeless! Sigh.