Rain Rain Go Away

This might be my record for blogging silence. I gotta get me a ghost writer for my lazy blog weeks. Maybe it's the holidays approaching - it's sapping my energy just thinking of them. All that shopping, bad TV commercials, non-stop Xmas tunes on the radio (KOIT has been playing them for over a month now), and depressing looking Santas in every mall. I don't embody the holiday spirit, do I? Well, I suppose it's a good thing I celebrate Hanukkah. A little lighting of the menorah, some potato pancakes, a dreidl spin or two, a few jelly donuts and I'm done. And a few gifties for my kids ... but nothing that comes close to Xmas calibre. No 'Door Busters' for me.

I felt a strange combination of awe and horror at all the midnight and 4am Thanksgiving sales here. People standing in line for 10 hours before the store opening at 4am on Thanksgiving. What the _ _ _ _? It's not that I don't enjoy some good retail therapy every now and then. But the holidays seem to blow the 'everything in moderation' credo out the window. It feels garish to me. The excesses of the holidays just seem too, well... um, excessive to me. Call me scrougey. No doubt this will not be my last holiday posting. Aren't you glad? Stay tuned for more upbeat holiday whimsy.

Onwards to a cheerier topic - yep - you guessed it, the canine. My good friend with new puppy 'McAllister' has sent a few new choice photos that I must share. You may remember from an earlier posting (Nov 2nd) that he joins the elder Retriever 'Bailey' and will spend most of his lucky days in Stowe, VT. I'm not sure there's many things much cuter in life than a puppy. OK, babies run a close second. But only until they can speak. I'm told McAllister's favorite spot to snuggle up in is behind the couch as you can kind of see from the 2nd photo in his spread below. He's the tiny ball of fur behind the couch and Bailey is the large, sprawled out hound. I also like the shot of him safely tucked between the winter boots.

I didn't put these pix in chronological order ... the most recent one is the shot of a snowy McAllister.

It's now pouring in San Francisco and I've been diligently doing everything I can to put off walking my gang in the rain. Heck, I've even resorted to blogging this morning and you know how I like to have a cocktail in hand when I blog. The day before yesterday my timing was perfect ... I was able to wait out the rain. No such luck today. Ask any dog walker and you will find that a rainy day can almost bring us to tears. It entails lots of paw wiping, wet dog stank in the car and walking in pelting rain while still managing to throw the ball for my obsessive friends all the while making sure those pups who despise the rain aren't bolting back to the car mid-walk. I'll try to take solace in the fact that my one outdoor plant that's still alive, is getting a much needed soaking.

Well, I would like nothing better at this point than to keep on blogging for another hour but alas, my four legged friends await their Dogilicious savior. Please do a serious sundance! Cheerio.