I made spaghetti sauce today.  I had help in the form of two four footed helpers.  Their sort of help consists of stepping on my toes, standing between the counter and me, blocking access to pots and pans, and stealing three cloves of garlic.  I turned my back for one minute and the garlic POOF disappeared. 

     “Alright you guys, who stole it?  Who stole my garlic?”

     Two Bull Terriers did their best to look innocent.  Patty ran for her crate and hid in the back.  Guilty or not she always does that.  She doesn’t do confrontations.  Gavin danced around the kitchen sassy barking at me.  He always does that when it’s near dinner time.  I wasn’t getting any answers.

     I had a good idea who did it.  Gavin doesn’t often put his paws on the counter edge and he’s not quite tall enough to snitch anything from there.  However to be fair I smelled his breath.  “Phew, stinky breath but no garlic on it.”

     I went to Patty’s crate and leaned down.  I didn’t have to smell her breath.  Fumes of garlic panted from the back.  I didn’t have the heart to scold her.

     Today my muse sauntered in and sent me off on a flurry of writing.  As my fingers flew over the keyboard I swore, I wasn’t going to look back until my train of thought derailed.

     Out of nowhere, my little editor appeared and began to jump about on my shoulder screaming for attention.  I do wish they’d arrive on different days or at least take separate vacations.  Two chapters in and my train screeched to a halt.

     “You know, this would be a great place to throw in a red herring.”  My muse sat back in the chair behind me and stretched.  “I’m sorry I left you in a lurch but I really needed a vacation.  How about this for a what if scenario?”

     “Oh, that’s good.”  My fingers waltzed over the keys.

     “What if your main character gets backed into a corner here?”

     “I like that.  It works.”  The waltz became a boogie woogie.

     “This looks like a great place to start a new chapter.”

     “You’re right.  It will perfect.”  We were rocking now.

     Something kicked me in the left ear.  “Ow.”  My little editor had announced his arrival.

     “Reread that.  Your grammar sucks there.”

     “I can do that later, I’m on a roll here.”  My typing slowed and I reread the paragraph he’d pointed out.  “Crap.”  My finger hovered over the delete key.

     My muse bolted upright.  “Don’t do it.  Move on.  I have more ideas.” 

     Too late.  The train had stopped.  I flipped off my little editor and asked, “Why don’t you go on vacation?”

     With the New Year fast approaching, I thought I’d write down 10 New Year resolutions I intend to keep.

1. When Dear Hubby is having a bad day I will try harder to make things more comfortable for him
2. I will tell my loved ones ‘I love you’ often
3. I will remember to seize the joy in life
4. I will forget resentments, anger, and hard feelings and release them to the winds
5. I will walk more
6. I will take time to smell the roses even though they make me sneeze
7. When the neighbors get on my last nerve, I will find something constructive to do rather than b**ch about it.
8. I will eat more veggies and fruit
9. I will speak my mind
10.  I will take time for me and write more

     What are your New Year’s resolutions?

     It is still raining and our yard is soggy.  After my last trip out there with Gavin so am I.  I do mean trip.  Gavin was wandering along the fence line and I walked back toward the shed.  The wind we had last night knocked a small branch or two off the magnolia, I didn’t see the one that sent me flying until after I’d landed splat in the deepest puddle out there.

     Gavin is always ready to play and when he saw me hit the ground, he thought PLAY TIME!  Sixty five pounds of wet dog landed on me.  I started laughing, I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get up.  Well, let’s say that the laughing and the extra sixty five pounds didn’t help my efforts.  Never laugh at or with a Bull Terrier, it makes them sillier.

     By the time we made it back inside, I was soaked, muddy, and cold.  Gavin was muddy, wet, and full of himself.  Furthermore, he had the nerve to beg for a cookie. 

     I was about to remove my muddy coat when Patty rang the bells—she wanted her turn out.  She had a quick trip.

     My coat and jeans went into the washer.  After a hot shower and a cup of Bengal Spice tea, I was feeling warmer.

     Outside, rain, wind, and cold.

     Stay in.

     A warm, snug house.

     A well fed and happy Hubby.

     Having no stress is good for him.

     Two cuddly dogs piled in my chair.

     They are happy too.

     A tall glass of fine wine.

     Movie marathon—a combination of action and comedy films.

     What more could a person want?

     I told him no gifts and this time he listened.

     Color me happy.

     I look around and smile.

     I have all I need.

     Sometime around 11:00 tonight I’ll take the pups for a walk.  First I’ll walk one around the block to the east of us and then I’ll walk the other to the west.

     What makes these walks special?  The dogs will wear sleigh bells.  Any children still awake will have the thrill of hearing Santa pass by.  I do this every year.  In fact, I’ve done this for 36 years.

     It’s a hoot because I’ve heard about ‘Santa’s Bells’ for years from parents and kids.  They’ve yet to figure out where they come from. 

     Have a Merry and a Happy everyone!

     The two pups enjoyed their reindeer walk.  However, of the two I think Patty was the one who enjoyed it the most.  I’ve never seen her trot so happy or proud–she loves the bells.  She extended the walk by a couple of blocks.  Gavin had fun since he ran into a young woman who thought he was very clever to be wearing bells but he didn’t want to walk as far or as fast as his sister did.

     I get to go out to dinner!  To everyone who helped, thank you!  A special thank you to Delaney for that 50,000^th hit.  I’ll think of all of you when we are sitting in a restaurant for the first time in a long time.  You all twisted Dear Hubby’s arm by helping me to win the bet. 

     Usually, if I don’t want to cook, he’ll order delivery food.  I mean that’s wonderful and I love him dearly for it but it also means I still have to do dishes afterwards.  At that rate, I might as well cook too.  For once, I just want to go out for dinner.  Let someone else cook our meal and clean up afterwards.  Let me relax and lounge over a cup of coffee without thinking about doing the dishes.

     I’m a cheap date.  To make me happy it doesn’t have to be fancy, expensive, or even come with drinks, though dessert is a necessary given.  What’s dinner out without a dessert too?  I’d be completely happy with one of several local diners that serve exceptional meals at a nominal price.  Four of which have the most wonderful cheesecakes.

     I’ll leave it up to him.

     Our dog Gavin has a problem.  He’s addicted to the Homedics back massager.  We can’t turn the thing on without him leaping to attention and begging us to use it on him.  I think he needs a support group.  Poor boy, I think I’ll send him to one tonight…

     “My name is Gavin and I’m an addict.”

     “Hello, Gavin.”

     “I’m addicted to the back massager.  It’s my humans’ fault.  They got me started.  I can’t hear that thing turn on without turning into a drooling, rolling on the floor, whore for it.  I must have it.  I insist my humans use it on me first.  Turn it on.  NOW.  I need it.  It is MINE.”

     “Whoa, whoa there boy.”

     “Sorry, I can’t help it.”

     “We understand.”

     “It started when my Dad human brought the thing home from the pharmacy.  He bought the wonderful thing for his back but then thought it would be funny to try it out on me.  Oh, it felt soooooooo good!  Later that night, I tried to turn it on myself, but couldn’t, and even if I could I have no thumbs and can’t hold it.”

     “You poor boy.”

     “Now they hide it behind the sofa where I can’t get at it.  It’s no fair.  I need it.  I WANT IT.”

     (Patty:  Geez, he’s such an idiot.)

     Years ago, I met Jackie online.  We’ve instant messaged and talked in chat rooms for ages and ages.  We even talked on the phone once or twice.  Today, we finally met in person.  We had a great time visiting over many cups of coffee.

     Gavin and Patty were ecstatic over meeting someone who knew all the right places to scratch them and didn’t mind a few puppy kisses.  Although there were a couple of times that I had to send the pups to their crates to calm down because each wanted the pets the other was getting from Jackie they were well behaved for the most part.

     I’m not sure if we were what Jackie expected but then I have no idea what she expected. 

     There’s nothing more stressful to a young animal than to arrive in a new home smack dab in the middle of the holiday confusion and excitement.  For quite a few years, I managed a small pet store.  We specialized in purebred kittens.  Around Christmas, the owner would push the sale of them and offered to stay late on Christmas Eve so they could be picked up then.  I protested his zeal the first year I worked there and managed to get him to change his policy a bit.  We still sold the kittens but the new policy saved the babies from the stress of the holidays.

     I talked my boss into holding the Christmas gift kittens until after Christmas.  So what if they stayed with us a couple days longer?  Instead of taking the new pet home for the holidays, our customers would present their gifts to the intended people in a different way.  Some would buy all the needed supplies, wrap them, and put them under the tree with a note that the kitten would be theirs after the holidays.  Others would give the intended giftee a picture of their new pet to be along with a collar, or toy, or bag of food.  Most of our customers thought this a great idea when I explained how stressful arriving in a new home is on a normal day and was so much more so during the holidays.  In fact, they took great pleasure in buying twice as many things for the new pet to put under the tree for the giftee than they would normally buy.

     I managed to schedule pick up dates so we weren’t jammed with people on the same day too.  All of this saved the kittens the stress of being in a new home when stress and activity levels are off the scale.  They would enter their new homes when things were calm and they had time to acclimate to their new families.

     I know several dog breeders who have done this for many years.  Many of them refuse to allow a pet to leave their premises until after Christmas.  Reputable breeders will gladly hold the pups (or kittens) until after the holidays. 

     If you plan to give someone a pet for the holidays, spare the animal the stress, present the person with the pet’s supplies or a picture, and a note that their new companion is waiting for them.