Merry Christmas

We wish all of our Blogvile friends a merry, happy, healthy, and safe Christmas. Hope Santa was good to all of you.

Christmas Card Wreath

Our first wreath is filled and our second wreath is filling up. We don't have a card count, but Mom and Dad have had a slight increase in cards this year. Clearly Blogville has them beat, but Mom is pleased her card count is up as well.

This is one of Mom's favorite Christmas decorations every year. It is familiar but different every year based on what people send. It also makes her smile as she looks at it during the season.

Santa, I'm Sorry

Ernie I really need your help. Mom says eating her snow boots has me on Santa's naughty list. I need a lawyer to get me off. Leather L.L. Bean boot tops/bully sticks it really is hard to tell the difference. We met Santa and he seems like such a nice guy. I just can't risk being on his bad list. I really need your help Ernie. I know you can win this case.

Annie and Thomas the Tank Engine

Katy here. Recently Annie had her first experience playing with Thomas the Tank Engine. I had to explain to her why small humans are so fascinated with these big wooden tracks and the little trains that travel on them. I also had to explain it is a banning offense to try to chew on the tracks and thankfully she didn't even attempt to use any of the tracks as chew toys or she'd have been banned from Thomas time for life.

After you've overcome not chewing on the wood, the next step is to realize your only job is the safety of your kid. The trains must fend for themselves. You are not to panic if Thomas and Percy have a crash up. This is not a Sheltie problem to resolve. They've survived far worse and likely will continue to pursue even more amazing crash ups in the future. While you may find this disturbing you should not attempt to stop this behavior. Percy and Thomas are built to handle this kind of behavior. Interference is also a banning offense.

Lastly you may be tempted to try using your nose to move the trains yourself. This is handled on a case by case basis. Sometimes little humans are cool with this. Other times this could result in a Sheltie time out.

While I am now a master of Thomas play, Annie did well on her first outing. She did not interfere with any play and showed appropriate interest in the boy's toys without any negative interactions. She will be welcomed back for another session of Thomas play.

Throwback Thursday: Turkey Cookies

We wanted Mom to post these after Thanksgiving, but once again Mom never got to do it. However we wanted to preserve this memory. Every year Mom sends Dog Dad to the store to find us Thanksgiving cookies so we can participate in the holiday celebration. Sadly Thanksgiving seems to be a very neglected holiday in the dog world. There are very few toys and until this year, we'd never gotten a holiday specific cookie.

This year Dog Dad surprised Mom with Turkey cookies. It seems someone is as crazy about the holiday as Mom and we got to have our turkey's while everyone else was having pie.

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Greetings

Christmas Cards are on the Way

Despite snow and icy roads Dog Dad got to the post office and mailed out all our Christmas cards yesterday, so they should be coming to Blogville houses soon.

Turns out it is a good thing that same day service really means same day service at the photo department. We pushed Mom really hard to work through all the card lists in one day. That is something of of a record. She normally does the cards over a couple of days.

We hope you are enjoying your Christmas preparations. We are doing our best to keep everyone safe as they keep moving stuff around to put up decorations.

Putting out the Outdoor Decorations

Mom has been slow getting our pictures up we had hoped to post this last week. We spent an afternoon helping Dog Dad trim the Holly bushes and supervising Mom getting all the outdoor decorations out.

You really have to watch these elves, they can get into all kinds of mischief.

Christmas Card Wreath

Christmas Cards began arriving right after Thanksgiving and Mom and Dad brought out the wreath holders to organize our paper cards. We've been getting e-cards, too. Along with sending and receiving cards from family and friends, Mom participates in 2 online card exchanges every year and she loves watching the card wreaths take shape. We want to thank all our Blogville friends for taking the time to remember us at this very busy season and tell all of you that no matter what kind of cards you send we read and appreciate all of them.

We mention this because we got a disturbing email from someone who perhaps thought they were trying to help, but was kind of insulting. We send paper cards to all the people on both our card exchanges that live in the US. We just got our picture taken for our Christmas card on Saturday, so don't be surprised that you haven't received our card yet. We did send out e-cards, though. Only our Blogville list has residents outside the US and we send e-cards to those on that list. We use e-cards instead of scanning our Christmas cards or creating picture cards to attach to our emails. It is our choice and our preference. I've gotten both over the years and understand everyone chooses what works for them. We received an email from someone upset that they couldn't print our card and therefore had taken a picture from our Blog and created their own Christmas card from us so they could print it and display it I guess. Then they sent me a copy of the card so I could use it.

Well, clearly they thought they were trying to be helpful and I am trying to respect that. However, if I'd wanted to send a picture card, I could have done that. I didn't choose to do that. We don't print our e-cards, it is just too crazy this time of year to get to more than just reading them. However, we do enjoy the various types cards we get every year. The cards have ranged from hand made works of art to very simple cards and each is a sign that someone remembered us and thought to send us a card. As far as e-cards go we also get a variety from funny or sentimental e-cards to picture post cards and again all are welcome and appreciated. Each person does what he/she can.

The Blogville community is a very special one. However, all successful communities are based on people being considerate and thoughtful of one another. The Christmas Card Exchange is a gift we give to each other and we all participate in the best way we can. The simple reaction to a gift is thank you, not you didn't give me what I wanted in the format I wanted. These are the kinds of reactions that do eat away at the goodwill of a community.

So we end this on a positive note by thanking all of you for all the cards you send each year. We love seeing our Christmas wreaths fill up each year with cards people send. We also are grateful for those who remember us by email as well. There are many people who feel lost and left alone at Christmas. It is an amazing gift we give each other just in remembering and reaching out in what ever format that takes.

New Friend

Mom went over to a friend's home to help her put a crochet edging on a blanket. Her friend surprised her by inviting us to come with her. She packed us up and put us in the car and we got to enjoy a really big backyard and make friends with Otis her 13 year old Golden.

Otis and I became very good friends. He showed me his yard and he was quite the gentleman. Annie has a wonderful time running around the yard chasing squirrels, chipmunks, and other critters. She was exhausted at the end of the day. We went inside to rest a few times and Mom left our leashes on in case we decided not to behave in a stranger's home and were hard to catch. She said something about a greased pig, but I'm not sure what she could have meant by that.

However, as you can see I was taking no chances. I really like Otis and I want to be invited back again. I wasn't taking any chances of Annie getting into trouble while we were in the house. Therefore, I sat right down on her leash, literally keeping her on a short leash during our time in the house. Yes, I did this more than once. You have to keep the young ones under control.

Friday Funnies

Hi Katy here. We are off to see Santa this weekend and then Mom can finally get going on the Christmas card list. I'm an old hand at talking to the big guy, but Annie has no idea what all the Christmas stuff I'm struggling to explain it all to her. Annie is going to just have to wait and see because nothing really explains Santa Paws.

Thanksgiving worked out well for us. I convinced Annie to take over Bailey's position as meeter and greeter. Dog Dad's family hadn't met Annie yet, so they were quite excited to spend time with her. Dog Dad's niece is going to a high school where she is studying dog and animal care, so she's even more interested than before. This left me to approach only when I was ready. We got a surprise when Dog Dad gave his niece turkey cookies for us. Last year the dog baker failed to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Annie has decided she doesn't need a dog bed, Mom and Dad's bed will do nicely. Since she refuses to jump up on the bed Dog Dad picks her up every night and she settles in for the night. I'm not sure how she manages to deal with people moving in the bed. Bailey and I liked to visit, but it's like sleeping on an ocean wave when Mom and Dad move. Annie doesn't seem to mind though.

Annie's helping me with my moon issues. Mom has called me her moon child for years. New moon, full moon it doesn't matter, if we are close to one, I can't help myself in the middle of the night I go nuts. It drives Dog Dad and Mom crazy. Poor Bailey tried to help me but nothing worked. This time exhausted, Mom picked me up and deposited on the bottom of the bed next to Annie. I flopped on top of Annie snuggling as close as I could get. Annie moved up the bed and I followed her. The moon madness was passing with Annie close and I wasn't letting her get away. That's never happened before.