I'm trying to take a picture of the dogs for my Christmas cards. It's not working out well. I bought them some little hats - one is a Santa hat and the other is antlers and all they want to do is eat them. I'm afraid to put them on them, because I'll have Bobby dragging Java around by the Santa hat. So these are two of the most promising pictures, but I think I'll keep trying.

It is just beautiful out today. Everything is sugar-coated with snow, the sun is out and the sky is blue. I guess I'm ready for winter now. We just had a generator installed so we'll be OK if the power goes out for days at a time. Hopefully it won't. We've said that before, though, and look at what happened last year. Luckily we were on a cruise when the storm hit, but if we had been home we would have been very, very unhappy at our predicament. I think the power was off for 8 days total.

Last night we went to see the movie "The Blind Side". I thought it was great, and I definitely recommend it. It was a good distraction for us from the realities that are going on in our life right now. I highly recommend a movie or two when you need to get away mentally. It helped me back in 2007 when my Dad died. It's even better when the movie is uplifting like this one was.

Here's a picture of the first hat I've ever made. I did the pattern wrong and did knit 2, purl 2 instead of knit 4, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2. So it looks a lot smaller than it actually stretches to be. Here's a picture of the second hat, in progress, made in the proper pattern.


The wool is from New Zealand and seems like it'll be really warm for whoever gets these hats. I think the colors are pretty but also could be for a man. I'm having fun making them.

Great news! We took Bobby to the vet this morning for a heartworm test, and he tested negative! I was very happy to hear that news, because I didn't want to have to put him through another treatment. The treatments are so severe; basically you poison the dog with arsenic. Then the dog has to be quiet for 6 weeks while the worms in the heart die and decompose. If the dog isn't kept quiet, he can have an embolism and die from that. I'm just glad the first treatment worked. Stupid people letting him get heartworm. I'm glad he's with us now.

Java is doing much better as well. We're taking her off the anti-inflammatory to see if the swelling comes back. So far it has not. She even let the vet look into her mouth, so that's good news too. I have no idea what it was that was causing her pain and facial swelling. I wish dogs could talk sometimes.

December 3. We're coming up on the anniversary of Barney's demise. One year ago tomorrow was the first time we rushed him to the e-vets because of a fainting episode. That was an awful time, but for some reason I do tend to relive these memories. It doesn't help that on Sunday, Java seemed to be in pain. She bounced back quickly, but Monday morning she was still exhibiting vague pain symptoms. I brought her to the vet, who noticed that her face was swollen. She gave Java a shot of penicillin and sent her home with some antibiotics. We were thinking it was a sore tooth or an abscess because she'd take food and then spit it out. The next day, she was even more swollen and refused to eat, even her cream cheese with her pills, which she never refuses. I brought her back to see the vet again, who gave Java a 2-week antibiotic injection and an anti-inflammatory injection. This really seemed to help because by that afternoon she wanted to eat and even chew on a bone. Now her face is back to normal but we have no idea why or what. I'm bringing Bobby in tomorrow for something else, so I'll bring Java back with me for a re-check.

I made it! I posted every day in November. I hope that I'll post more often now that I'm in the habit.

We try to go for a couple of walks a day. It's about 2 pm and the sun is getting low in the sky so we're heading out. Robert and Bobby are ready.


My street looks pretty and rural but it's actually really busy. I feel like I take my life in my hands when I walk along it. Cars don't slow down when they pass us even though they should. It makes me nervous.


A lovely stone wall borders our neighbor's property. I wish we had one.


Some fun berries that I tried my macro out on.


Soon enough we turn onto the side street, which is a cul-de-sac and very quiet. Bobby has just seen the German Shepherd Dog that we call "DangerMax" so he's very excited.


Coming around the cul-de-sac, we are in the sunshine! It feels good.


The sun is out as we make our way home.