HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2017

From all of us to all of you, may the new year be the best of all the years that ever was.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wishing you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

From just the two of us, to all of you, may you have as much love in your homes this Christmas as we have in ours. 

 

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

I give to you my very humble annual Rottweiler Christmas card.

And from all of us to all of you we sincerely wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

The Abdullah family,

Nelson and Jacqueline

Bessie, Ruffin and Axl

My annual Rottweiler Christmas Card project, (Part two)

Here is the second batch of outtakes on my quest for the perfect Rottweiler Christmas card for 2016. Like the others before each was marred by the unexpected turn of the head or dropping out of the frame, as Axl is fond of doing. This batch also ends with what I thought would be the most promising card. One that had everyone sitting just right (except me) and looking in the right direction but one that required the most digital remastering. When I started this years ago I tried to attach the Santa Claus hats with elastic chin straps but this became too difficult and unpredictable. Later on I posed each Rottweiler by themselves with the hat and took several pictures and then saved just the hat to later paste on top of someone's head.

It is futile to try and hide a few biscuits. They gang up on you until they get what they want.

 

 

 

 

And here is the completely finished, Second Place choice card.

 

I originally liked this card because everyone was looking in the right direction but I looked like I had too many drinks and was falling over. But the Santa Clause hats came out pretty nice anyway.

 

My annual Christmas card project begins. (Part one)

Two days ago I started taking photos to use on our annual Rottweiler Christmas card. To make up for the shortage of Rottweiler pictures on this blog lately, I decided to post some of the outtakes from the project. When I first started doing this Christmas card it was a tedious effort to get everyone ready and then go set the timer on the camera, run back to the couch and hope to get a decent picture. I even went to the trouble of putting a leash on each of the three Rotts so that Jacqueline could keep them from walking away.

All that changed when I bought a remote shutter release for my Nikon. Now I no longer need to leave the couch and I can hold all the dogs in place. It also helped to have a box of Milk Bone dog biscuits on hand. On the plus side I have a lot of good pictures to choose from but if there are any downsides it is that I have too many pictures to choose from. So rather than one final Christmas card to share I am posting a few of the dozens of Rottweiler pictures that were taken.

 The camera wasn't tilted down far enough and I only got the top of Axl's head which I cropped off.

 

I love to get kisses from Ruff. He uses them to buy favors, like "Gimme a biscuit."

Now if I can only get Axl to turn around.

Great example of Rottweiler biscuit radar.

OK. Take 2. Where is Momma?

A little pep talk to explain how I want everyone to pose for the camera. By the way, if anyone is still curious about how big Bessie has grown, that is her on the left sitting next to the big guy, Ruffin. I still haven't had the chance to take her to the Vet's office to put her on a scale but I'm sure she is well over 100 lbs.

Ruffin on the couch and Bessie on the floor. Now where did old man Axl wander off?

That's better. This is only a small bit of the three dozen pictures. Believe it or not out of all of these I managed to pick just one that came out just right. Stay tuned for Part 2.

One more note of interest. Take a close look at the little Christmas Tree on the table. It has over 25 tiny Rottweilers climbing it. Here is a closer look.

A gift of love from Jacqueline's old friend came the other day.

Everyone seems to know about the love we both have for Rottweilers, and the running joke about how we can never get enough of them. A few days ago a package arrived in the mail from a wonderful lady named Marge who was Jacqueline's best friend when she lived in Northern Kentucky. We all came down here together in 1991 when Delta was expanding flight operations at CVG. I worked with her husband for many years before we both retired. Marge bought a little Rottie puppy plush toy and had it mailed to Jacqueline from her home in North Carolina. The card that came attached read: "I think you need another Rottie."

From the moment I gave the toy puppy to Jacqueline she held in her hands and her fingers kept stroking and caressing it. She even held on to it when she was sleeping.

 

 

When I got Jacqueline out of bed this morning to have breakfast she was still holding her baby Rottie so we took it out to the kitchen while we had breakfast. She never let go of it all the time.

That's what Rottweilers do to you. They fill you heart with love and you can't ever stop thinking about them.

Marge was right, we could always use another Rottie. But these little guys are not as soft a cuddly as the one she sent.

Friends come and go but good friends never leave.