Vibrant spring

Spring is in full bloom around here, and it looks to be a good year for the flowers.

The hyacinths are just about faded, and the daffodils are starting to fade, but it looks like my work on the hillside the last few years is paying off. Not only were there a dozen or so blooming daffodils, but it appears we'll have a lot of irises blooming as well. Most of them have been in the ground on the hill for about three years now, so it's nice to see there will be some color there this spring. The mums and the aster I planted there last year are coming back (especially the aster), too, so there should be some late summer/fall color. Now I just need some summer-blooming flowers to put there. Maybe some native flowers that could withstand the sun and heat.

I don't know if it's just me, but the flowering trees around here seem to be much more vibrant this year, especially the redbud trees. There's lots of them around here -- they do very well in the prairie, really -- and it just seems like their blooms are so much more plentiful and vivid than in years past. In fact, we discovered there five of them behind my property. We knew of two --- right near the back gate and a small one down on the creek bank -- but there a few other small ones, too. Not sure if they were there before and just didn't really bloom, or if they're new.

Speaking of trees, while my mom was traveling around the South in late winter/early spring, she fell in love with dogwood trees. So she bought two to bring home! We planted one with pink flowers in the back yard, and the other will go at my dad's house. So hopefully next year, we'll have some pretty flowering trees, too.

F*@#$% brilliant

I don't watch a lot of "South Park" anymore -- too many dull episodes and it got to full of itself after a few years -- but the episode I caught last night, where they lost the Internet, was terrific. One of the kids' families threw everything they owned onto the family SUV because they heard there was still Internet "out Californey way." The "Grapes of Wrath" spin was brilliant.

Even better, though, was the TV newspeople, who had nothing to say because they had no Internet and the anchors resorted to fighting over a fax machine set between them for information to read on the air.

How to get a bachelor's degree in one week

First, you go to college right out of high school. Five years later, and after dabbling in other areas besides your major, you get burned out and go home and work in a grocery store frying donuts then at the checkout and video rental until you get sick of that and find a job at the mom-and-pop radio station who's wiling to give a chance to someone with no experience but lots of enthusiasm and you have fun at what you call your "slacker job" for a few years until you get bored with that and up and quit one day and move back to the college town with all intentions of finishing your degree but that darn foreign language requirement keeps tripping you up because you just can't seem to conjugate anything more complex than "me gusta ..." and then a full-time job opens up in your field right there in town and so you get it and they don't seem too concerned that you don't actually have a degree so you just kind of drift through the next eight years until you realize that in that business, the only way things are going to change is because the bosses get stupider and stupider and care only about the bottom line, not what the mission of the business should be, so one day you check with the college and find out if you change your major to general studies you need only two credit hours -- and no foreign language -- to finish and there just happens to be two one-hour geology field trip classes in the summer that will fit the bill and 21 years after you started, you'll have a bachelor's degree with two days' worth of effort on a Sunday and the following Saturday.

Springing

Things are just springing up all over. I was out on the hill cleaning up flower beds this afternoon, and discovered the lamb's ears are sprouting. Hope they get along well before the grass does! My mini-irises are real pretty, there's daffodils with flower buds, hyacinths are sprouting ...

I've gotten a lot done today:
• made a batch of biscuits (I just wanted a drop biscuit or two for breakfast, but since I was too sleepy to read the ingredients list properly, I ended up with more than a dozen);
• cleaned up the kitchen, and got the dishes that need hand-washing done;
• took the recycling to the recycling center;
• cleaned up the garage and threw out a bunch of junk;
• put some other junk by my car so I can load it up Monday and take a trip to the county e-recycling center and the household hazardous waste site;
• painted an old popcorn tin to use as a container for all Buster's toys (that one's for you, Mom!);
• started a project to recycle my old cassette holder into something to help organize my computer desk area (more on that in a future post);
• cleaned up the aforementioned flower bed;
• put some chicken in the slow-cooker for shredding later this evening (and maybe some nachos tonight!).

That's it for the time being. Just taking a break before I take Buster for a walk and some playtime. I think he's liked being outside all day, but he's not happy he's not getting all my attention. When I sat down to start cleaning up the flower bed, he planted himself right in my lap for some affection!

Buster has been using his dog door when I'm not home, by the way. I found that out for sure this week when I came home on Tuesday. After I changed my clothes, I was about to sit on the bed to put my shoes on when I noticed the bed was covered with dead, dried up grass! "I wonder how that got here," I said, looking at Buster. He kind of ducked his head for a moment. And then I noticed that there was grass not only on the bed but at the foot of the bed ... across the bedroom floor out into the living room ... through the kitchen and dining area ... all the way to the dog door! I just had to laugh, really.

The MRI

So the MRI biopsy turned out great. The process was not that much fun. And since I started this blog in part to maybe give an idea of what cancer and its treatment are like, I thought I'd give it a description. Hope it helps someone.

The facility I went to, Cypress Medical Center, was great. The people were really nice and put me at ease. They weren't great at placing the IV, however. Three days later, and both my forearms are still bruised from where they poked me three or four times.

I went to the same room and MRI machine I'd been in the week before. I had to lie face down on the bench, and there were, for lack of a better description, cupholders. I had to put my arms up over my head. Then they made sure I was positioned correctly and squeezed the cup closed a bit (not as bad as a mammogram, though). Then they slid me into the machine. They ran an MRI on the breast again, and they'd told me if they didn't see anything this time, they wouldn't do the biopsy. That actually gave me a lot of hope. If there was something, they said, the computer would give them coordinates for the needle. The MRI took just a few minutes, and then the techs came back in the room and prepared me for the biopsy. That was a letdown, because obviously that meant they had seen something again.

I got a local anesthetic, so I didn't really feel anything. I mean, I could feel something, but it wasn't painful. Just kind of like being prodded. They inserted the needle, then it was back in the MRI so they could check the position of the needle. That took just a couple minutes. Then they came back in and went to work. There was just some whirring noise -- the needle getting tissue samples -- and that was it. This whole time, I was laying there with my arms streched above my head. It was making me stiff, so I brought my arms down and started to get up, but they stopped me -- I was still "pinned down" with the needle! So I had to wait a bit longer. As I finally did get up, I saw some blood in the "cupholder" and that kind of shook me. Not feeling or seeing anything, it was hard picture what was actually going on (even though deep down I did know). I guess it was just hat visual cue that reminded me what was going on.

Before I could leave, they had to patch me up. I had to lie on my back this time, and they cleaned the blood off me and then put a little "glue" to close the hole, then put one of those plastic "second skin" bandages on. I could shower the next day, they said, but no baths, and after taking the bandage off, I wasn't to scrub at the site for 10 days. When I did take the bandage off, I took a look, and was a little shocked. There's quite a hole there! Maybe it's mostly scab and the glue, but it looks almost a quarter-inch wide. So obviously, I'm not looking at it too much.

All in all, it wasn't horrible for me. But one woman in my support group last night said she wouldn't do an MRI again unless it was absolutely necessary -- with her arthritis, being in the MRI with her arms over her head was too painful. And I could certainly see how that could be. I'm not in too bad a shape, and the 15 or 20 minutes I was in there, it kind of hurt by the time I was done. I'll probably do it again, as the doctors recommend, but I don't know if I'd drive three hours for it again, unless the biopsy were necessary.

Everything's good

That's the news from the doc! After getting more and more anxious throughout the morning at work, I called my surgeon's office after the paper went to press, partly to see if the news was in, but mostly to make sure they had my cell phone number. Michelle, the office manager, took my number and said they hadn't gotten the report yet, so she would call and see if it was ready. About five minutes later, as I was talking to some friends about how anxious I was, my phone rang. It was Michelle -- Dr. K was in surgery for most of the day, but she was able to tell me the biopsy showed no cancer! Whoo-hoo!

I called my parents right away, then e-mailed my brother (I don't have his work number, and he usually just uses his cell phone for trips), and e-mailed a bunch of friends and ran around the building telling co-workers. More than a few tears were shed. My friend at work, Kim, and I went to lunch, and a bunch of us are going out for ice cream tomorrow. Hey, a girl's gotta celebrate!

My surgeon called later in the day (and she sounded a bit choked up, too). It's normal tissue. For some reason, and I guess there's not really anything to explain it, that particular area showed up as abnormal. But it's not, and that's great news. It's been kind of a stressful week, and I'm glad it's over!

Success!

We have a dog door! Dad and I got the door put in today. It's probably not as good a job as a pro would have done, but we got it done. One thing I found out: Don't assume your door is a solid-wood door just because it looks that way on the edge. Yep, my door is solid ... foam. Obviously, it made the job a lot easier than I thought it would be. And I definately couldn't have done it without Dad's help (BIG thanks, Dad!).

Now the task is getting Buster used to the idea he can go out whenever he wants. He was a bit scared of it at first, it seemed. He would only go through it if I held the flap out of the way (and some treats helped). But when I got home from the hotline tonight, he came out to greet me! He needed a bit of encouragement to come out through the door, but he did it without me holding the flap out of his way. I made him come in using the door, and he needed a bit more encouragement to do that. But he did, he got lots of loving and playing with his favorite squeaky toy! And as I've been sitting here at the computer, he keeps going to the door and sticking his head out, as if he's just checking what's going on in the yard. I'm sure he'll get the idea eventually. But life's going to be easier now, not having to run home on my long work days to let him out.

In other news

Spring is in sight. When I got home Tuesday, I took Buster out for a romp, and on the hill near the fence I spotted a few green sprigs of crocus leaves poking through the grass-clipping mulch. Ducks have been visiting my part of the creek the last few days. I've been seeing flocks of cranes heading north for about a week now, and of course the skunks are spreading their idea of perfume to attract a mate. Not to mention their carcasses on the highways, since they're too preoccupied to look both ways.

Today, it's supposed to be in the lower 70s, so I am going to attempt to put in a dog door so Buster can let himself out when I'm away at work. Actually, I guess there's no "attempt." Either I will put in a dog door or I'll need a new back door! Buster just will not go out when Dad comes over to let him out. I know he's somewhat fearful of men, but I would have thought he'd been around Dad enough to trust him when he opens the door and calls him to come out. But Dad says he always just hides in my bedroom. So yesterday, I closed both bedroom doors before I left for work. All Buster did was stand in the doorway, Dad said. He was really happy when I got home from the hotline at about 10:30! He went out about three times to do his business before we went to bed.

I'm pretty sure he'll catch on to the dog door quickly. A couple weeks ago, I used a big piece of cardboard with a dog-door sized hole to see how low I need to place the door that he can get in and out of OK. A few treats for enticement, and he was going through the cardboard with no problem. So maybe he's already got the idea in his head.

Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler and cloudy maybe with some rain. I hope the rain misses us. I have the whole day off and I'd love to get out and start cleaning up the gardens a bit.

Spoke too soon

So all my bitching about having to go to Wichita? I take that back. And I'll be going back on Monday.

Wednesday morning, almost first thing at work, I got a call from my surgeon here. "You don't want to hear from me," she said. "They found something." Gotta love how direct she is. (Really, she is the best). The MRI shows something, about 4 cm, in the right breast -- the opposite side of where I had my cancer. It took a minute or so for it sink in. And by the time I got off the phone with her, I was shaking and tearing up. I headed for the bathroom, pausing to ask a co-worker to come with me, and I told her what the doc had said. Poor Kim. She's lost some good friends and family to cancer, so I'm sure it was hard for her to hear what I said, but I'm glad she was there for me (and I told her so). She took me out to lunch, and then she even drove me to see my surgeon in the afternoon. It's hard to find friends like that.

I did go see the surgeon Wednesday afternoon, and she did a sonogram. But she couldn't find anything but a plain old cyst. That's a good sign, but I'll still be going back to Wichita, where they will do an MRI-guided biopsy. Dad will be going with me, so that'll be good. And the appointment is in the afternoon, so we don't have leave before dawn.

I'm doing all right. Some good words from friends, co-workers and family have done a lot of good. And playing with Buster takes my mind off things. I have a good feeling about this, really. I'll deal with whatever comes my way, but of course, I'm hoping for the best.

A long day's drive ... and for what?

That's what I'm wondering after spending a good chunk of the day on the road today.

There is a fairly recent recommendaton that women at high risk for breast cancer (and obviously, if you've had it, you're at high risk) should get a breast MRI each year in addition to a mammogram. Both my oncologist and surgeon encouraged me to do so, we got that arranged. There are three places I could have gone -- Denver, which is about an 8 hour drive; Salina, about 90 minutes; or Wichita, about 3 hours. My doctors suggested either Denver or Wichita, because the recommendation says the facility should be able to do a biopsy in case something is found (and the MRI machine here isn't that good, my oncologist said). That left me with the impression that the MRI would be examined once it's done, and if there was something questionable, you'd get further examination and maybe a biopsy while there.

But when we were making the appointment, my surgeon's office manager mentioned that they "wouldn't be able to do it the same day." I thought that was kind of strange, but they already had all my info, so I didn't say anything. So this morning, I got up way early, left before dawn and was in Wichita in plenty of time. The MRI itself took a little over half an hour, and I was in the facility for maybe an hour and a half total. As I was getting dressed to leave, one of the techs said I would get the results "in a day or two" from my doctor.

So this just has me wondering if it's really worth it to drive six hours for maybe an hour and a half of my time, when it's a great big IF wether or not there will be anything to be concerned about. Why not just drive to the facility that's 90 minutes away -- even if they can't do the biopsy -- when I'd just have to make another appointment and another trip IF the Wichita facility found something? If my doctors had found something and the biopsy would be a sure thing and could be done the same day -- and the whole procedure couldn't be done at or closer to home -- then I wouldn't have a problem with making that trip. But just for an annual, routine procedure? Yeah, that's a problem. It takes me a day away from work, and driving that much sucks my energy -- not to mention gas (and at over $3 a gallon, that's a BIG dea).

I'll bring this up at my next support group meeting. I know a couple of others have had it done also, so I'll see what they think. And next year, I'll mention I'd prefer to go closer to home. Or maybe suggest the local hospital work on getting a new MRI.

Sick sick sick

I'm tired of it. Being sick, that is. A week ago, I came down with a cold that had some kind of vendetta. Sore throat, stuffy and painful sinuses, runny nose, bad cough ... blech. I slept most of that day until I had to go to work at the hotline. Didn't go to either job Monday, and suffered through Wednesday, when I worked both jobs. I was supposed to work Thursday and Friday nights, too, but fortunately we have a new hotline assistant, and she wanted to start ASAP, so the boss asked if I wouldn't mind letting her have those nights. I was too glad to have that opportunity! I don't think I'd be in near as good as a shape if I had worked those three nights in a row -- and I'm still not in too great a shape!

I am feeling much better though, and have managed to catch up on the housework I hadn't been able to get to. You can actually see the countertops in the kitchen now, and I have clean clothes! I still have to catch up on about three rooms' worth of cleaning, but I don't work too many weeknights this week, so I think I'll be able to manage.

I did get some bad news about one of my support group members last week. She went into the hospital after some vomiting and bad headaches. They found two small tumors in her brain, for which she's geting radiation now. Someone who went to visit her said she is in great spirits, though, and looking forward to getting on with life, so that's good news. The hospital here lets you send e-mails to patients through their Web site (volunteers print them out, paste them into a card and deliver them to the person), so I sent her message since I probably shouldn't go in to a place with sick people when I have a bad cold. I'm hoping she does well, because she was another who was diagnosed around the same time I was. This will be her third time around with treatment. Go, Gina! You can beat it again!

Snow day

Well, a half day, at least. When I woke up this morning, there was already about 3 inches covering the ground. The snow wasn't as heavy in the town where I work, but it kept up all day (and blowing), and when I got home about 1:30 this afternoon, there was probably about 7 inches on the ground here. I had scooped a path on the back patio to the garage before I left for work, and when I got home, you couldn't tell I'd done that.

Before I got settled in and cozy inside, I scooped paths in back and up front, not that you can tell now, and decided to put out some more birdseed. The birds did not want to leave the feeders, though, and one little female finch wouldn't get off the thistle feeder until I nudged her a few times with my finger! I've gotten within a couple feet of the feeders before they fly off sometimes, but never have I ever been able to walk right up to the feeder, let alone touch a wild bird!

I tried my mom's chili recipe for the first time today (after she FINALLY she gave me the recipe). I browned the meat Sunday and tossed it and the other ingredients in the slowcooker this morning. It tasted just as good as when she makes it, I thought, but I'll take some to Dad tomorrow (after the snow dies down) and see if he thinks it's just as good as what he calls Mom's "damn good chili." I filled up on that and cornbread muffins this afternoon, and had popcorn for dinner. Hey, it's a snow day, I can indulge!

Looks like I need to get a dog door in pronto. Mom is off on her next adventure, so Buster has some long days by himself when I'm working the hotline on a weekday. I hate leaving him alone, but I thought I could wait until spring to put in a dog door (since you're supposed to take the door off its hinges to install one) and in the meantime, Dad could come over and let him out on those long days.

Buster's timid around strangers, especially men, but I thought he was used to Dad by now and would be OK. We tried it Sunday, when I worked an 8-hour shift on the hotline, but Dad said Buster would not go out for him. He greeted Dad at the door, but went right into my bedroom and wouldn't come out. So I guess Operation Dog Door gets moved up. It's supposed to warm up toward the weekend, so maybe I can get something done soon.

I fixed my shower door! One of the rollers had come out on one of the sliding doors last week, so I have just kind of avoided using it. Once I got a look at it today, though, and saw what needed to be done, it didn't take very long. It was simple, but I'm kind of proud of myself and feeling all handy. Not that I'm going to go put in a dog door right now or anything.

Overworked

The past week has not been a great one. I've been putting in a lot of hours at the second job, due mostly to the fact the boss hasn't gotten around to hiring a new hotline assistant. My friend Judy, who helped me get this job, gave her notice more than three weeks ago. Her last day was the 16th (except that she's working today, since I'm working at the paper today and there's no way I could have done both jobs on a Saturday), and the boss is just now putting an ad for the job in Sunday's paper. Until now, all she'd done was call some people who had applied for the job at the same time I did -- months ago -- and couldn't seem to understand why none of them called her back. Duh!

It didn't help that the other hotline assistant had a family emergency and couldn't work two of her days. So I've had six days on this week's pay period alone -- twice what I should have! Add to that I had to get the paper's annual bridal tab laid out this week, and put in extra hours Tuesday and had to deal with the stupid software we have corrupting my file more than once, and I've had a very stressful week. And it's not necessarily over, at least until another hotline assistant is hired and trained.

So I'm just kind of kicking back this morning until I have to go in the paper to work. I slept in, and Buster and I went and filled the birdfeeders then played around the yard for awhile. Then we worked on some agility training, and Buster's doing quite well with that! For Christmas, my brother got me this agility kit. We haven't gotten to use it too much because of all the snow and cold and me working, but we got the chance to do it a couple times this week. I'm having fun. Buster has fun, once he figures out what I want him to do, and that the things aren't anything to be afraid of! So far, he's learned to do the high jump (actually the not-so-high-jump), and today, I got him to go through the tunnel a few times. He even did both in succession ... sort of. I can't wait for him to learn the weave poles, but the instruction book says that's usually the hardest part to train for, so I'll probably leave that for last, when the weather might be a bit warmer and we can get out more frequently.

There's no dog agility clubs or competitions where I live (not outside of 4-H, and I'm a bit old for that) at least that I know of, but maybe I'll post something somewhere and see if there's some interest. Even if there's not, it's been fun to do, so great gift, bro!

Some updates

I've been working on updating my Web site, Bad Dogs and the Women Who Love Them.(If you have that bookmarked, you'll have to change it). It just didn't seem right to keep Nipper on there now that he's gone. I didn't want to do away with it entirely, though, even though I haven't done much with it for years.

So I've redone the index page and profiles of Buster and I. Nipper's presence is still there, of course, since he was the inspiration, and I'll soon prepare a memorial page for him. There will be some other changes, too, slowly. Keep checking in.

Heat!

We have heat! After two months, the furnace is finally working! And I essentially have a brand-new furnace, for probably less than a third of the cost. It's nice and cozy warm here, and even my closet feels nice.

The bad thing is, dad's furnace went out on him this afternoon, or at some point today. The blower wouldn't stop and it was only putting out cool air, no heat. So he and Mom got it to quit by pulling the fuse on it so that part of the house would still have power and Mom took the space heaters we had been using to his house. Hopefully, it won't be anything big and can be fixed a lot faster than mine was!

It's a cold bugger, out there, too. I think it got to only the 20s today, and isn't supposed to get too much warmer through the next week. So I hope it won't take too long. Especially since Buster needs to burn off some energy! I come home and he wants to play ALL. NIGHT. LONG. He needs to get out for a good walk and some frisbee chasing when I get home.

Which might happen less for a while. One of the other hotline assistants quit, and they haven't hired anyone else yet. So I might have to pick up a few extra hours. But I'm not going to let that go on for long. It's just not worth it to be away from Buster and home (and do things like laundry) or be available to help Mom or Dad that much. There's plenty of other jobs out there, but I do like this one, since I'm basically paid $7 an hour to sit and wait for the phone to ring. Otherwise, I can read, write, surf the Net on their computer or play solitare, or sometimes I'll take my computer and work on personal stuff. If only I could take Buster, it'd be perfect.

Two warnings

Damn, I'm tired of it being cold in my house. It's not literally freezing, no danger really of the pipes bursting or anything, but it's just hard to get going in the mornings when it's cold. In case you are wondering, my furnace is still not working. Yeah, since before Thanksgiving. Except for the compressor, I basically have a new furnace, I think. And I'm not holding out hope that thing won't go either.

The first part, by the time the guy got my check and it cleared, it was on backorder, so we had to wait. Then when that got in, the furnace was still doing its mini-exlosion thing, so the repair guy had to check with the manufacturer and found it was the control board in the unit. So that had to be ordered. Then when he got that in, while we were gone, he left a note that try it, should work, and when Mom turned it on, the whole house started vibrating. Seems some packing material was still in there and was blocking the blower. He came out the next day, got that fixed, but then the blower wouldn't come on. So he's got some kind of valve ordered and we're waiting for that to come in.

I don't know what's worse. Not having heat because the electricity went out, or not having heat because of this. Now, we at least have electricity for space heaters, and while it gets chilly in the mornings, at least it's not the 40-some degrees inside during last year's ice storm. But after the ice storm, it was only a couple days we were without heat. I just want my damn furnace working.

And yeah, I probably could have avoided this with having regular maintenence done before winter, but know what? That costs money. And my newspaper job paid me only enough to get by with the basics. At least until 2006. I sat down last summer and figured it out. My regular expenses -- and I don't have a lot of extras I pay for -- went up more than 20 percent from 2006 to 2007. My paycheck? Went up by not even 2 percent. Guess what. That don't add up. Hence, the second job. Now I'm having to play catch-up on all the things I should have been able to do.

So, two warnings: Have your furnace checked when the weather's warm, and don't go into journalism if you want to be able to afford to do things like that.

Happy birthday/new year

So Sunday was my 39th birthday. I'm on my way now to the Big 4-0. And you know, I'm actually feeling pretty good about it. Sunday was a really good day. I slept in, with Buster kind of snuggled up with me, and later in the afternoon we went out to play and took a nice walk. I tossed his new floppy flying disc he got for Christmas for him, and he made a couple of awesome mid-air catches. There's still plenty of snow on the ground, but it was a warm day, so we were out for more than an hour. Later in the evening, Dad and I went into town and met Mom after she got off work for dinner at a new Mexican restaraunt that was excellent. We were all too stuffed to have cake when we got home, so I opened my presents.

It was an all-Peanuts birthday. I got a Peppermint Patty bobblehead and a Peanuts birthday set by the Danbury Mint from Mom, a Peanuts clock from Danbury Mint from Dad, and from my brother, the next in the series of books of the Peanuts strip collections and some cute Snoopy ice cube trays.






Today, I also had the day off from both jobs. I had a visit with my oncologist for my 2 and half year checkup, and most everything is well. My blood test showed I might have a kidney stone forming, so she ordered another blood test to make sure it's not a mistake, and then we'll see. I sure don't want to go through that whole thing again. But everything else was OK, and we discussed having my port-a-cath removed, which I'll talk more about with my surgeon when I see her next month.

So 2007 ends on a good year. I have a good feeling about 2008. Hope your new year goes well, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Have an enjoyable day, everyone!

Back to posting

I haven't been anywhere, just haven't had much to say.

Still waiting for the furnace to be fixed. The heat exchange part has been replaced, but the furnace is still making that big WHUMP sound. The repair guy said it's probably something in the board ... I guess it controls when the furnace lights ... and it's maybe trying to light twice. He's supposed to be in tomorrow and thinks he'll be able to talk to some tech person from the manufacturer and get it figured out. I sure hope so. We have 3 space heaters, but it's awful chilly in the bedrooms and bathroom, especially in the morning.

We had a big snow last weekend, about 10 to 11 inches. Digging out from that was fun. Not. Buster doesn't seem to like deep snow. We went and romped around in the back yard for awhile, but mostly he liked to stay either where we had shoveled or where he had already worn a path. Made doing his "business" interesting, poor guy. More snow is expected this weekend, too.

Not much else is going on. Work, work and more work. A few nights off. Wrestling with Buster. Laughing at him as he picks up some dog kibble, runs into the living room to eat it, then runs back for more kibble and runs back to the living room to eat it .... He's got some quirks, that dog.

Here's the picture I used on Christmas cards to friends and family:

Christmas dog

Why do we torture our pets this time of year? Who cares. They're cute:
Trying to get Buster in the holiday spirit:

He thinks I look better in it:

Time for a retreat: