Happy New Year. A message for Peace

If you believe in the Power of Prayer lets get this message passed around the world to start off the New Year and aim for a million Hail Mary's.

 

Holiday Etiquette for Dogs

I got this from an old friend a few years ago who retired and now lives on the Isle of Wight in the UK. If you read it carefully you may pick up the slight British accent along with the spelling. Since it is dog related and so darn cute I'm going to make it an annual addition to my Christmas page.

Holiday Etiquette for Dogs

            1. Be especially patient with your humans during this time.
            They may appear to be more stressed out than usual and will appreciate your long sloppy kisses.
            
            2. They may come home with large bags of things they call gifts. Do not assume all the gifts are yours.
            
            3. Be tolerant if your humans put decorations on you.
            They seem to get some special kind of pleasure out of  seeing how you look with fake antlers.
            
            4. They may bring a large tree into your house and set it up in a prominent place, most likely where you are use to laying. They cover it up with lights and decorations. Bizarre as  this may seem to you, it is an important ritual for your humans, so there are some things you need to know.
            *don't pee on the tree
            *don't drink the water from the container that holds the tree.
            *mind your tail (if you have one) when you're near the tree.
            *if there are packages under the tree, even ones that smell interesting or that have your name on them, don't rip them open.
            *don't chew on the cords that runs from the funny looking hole in the wall to the tree.
            
            5. Your humans might invite lots of strangers to visit your home during this season. These parties can be lots of fun but they also call for some discretion on your part.
            *not all strangers appreciate your loving nature and your sloppy wet kisses.
            *don't eat from the buffet table. (there'll be plenty of crumbs on the floor to look for)
            *beg for goodies subtly.. a raised paw and sad eyes almost always works.
            *be pleasant when the strangers sit in your spot on the sofa.
            *don't drink out of glasses that are left within your reach.
            
            6. Likewise, your humans might take you visiting- here your season manners will also be important.
            *observe all the rules in #4 for trees in other human's houses.
            *respect the territory of other animals especially if they're wearing antlers.
            *tolerate the little humans - they call them children and other funny names
            *turn on your cuteness and charm big time.
            
            7. A big man with a white beard and dressed in red, and a  very loud laugh may emerge from your fireplace in the middle of the night. DON'T BITE HIM!!
            
            8. and please don't take the baby out of the manger - it's not really a toy - and it might be the most important part of this human ritual
            
            8. the best thing is that before you know it all this nonsense will be over and done with. Tomorrow you'll have your favourite comfy spot back,  on the couch and maybe allowed back on the bed, where'll you'll get lots of human hugs and you can shower them with all your adoring sloppy wet kisses.
            
            lots of love and hugs
            'Auntie' Beryl

'Tis the Season to be Jolly

I have two weeks of catching up to do and will probably get tripped up doing it in chronological order so let me just jump right in. The weather here in Northern Kentucky has been very unseasonably warm. And it is very hard to keep my mind on Christmas things without any hint of snow. I told someone the other day, I wonder where things would be today if Bing Crosby never got to sing, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". You all do know who Bing Crosby was, don't you. Yeah, that was like a half century ago.

Christmas Cards and Displays

This one came the other day. It is one of the prettiest Christmas cards I have ever seen.It reminds me of two things, we see lots of Cardinals here all year long and I planted some long-needle White Pines in our back yard.

I haven't set up a Christmas display for several years. Its been so long I almost forgot what we had hidden in the storage room so the other day I went in and emptied everything out. As I moved the boxes out I remembered two gorgeous Santa Claus sets and put them on the table in the hallway.

 

And a beautiful Nativity set.

 

This Nativity set looked so good in the photo I took that I had thoughts of turning it into a Christmas card so I tweaked it a little bit and got this.

Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on Earth, Good will to men.

Did you happen to notice my Rottweiler Christmas tree on the left side of that top photo of Santa's sleigh? I just found out it has become a highly desirable collectors item. One of them just sold on ebay for almost $600. We bought ours over 10 years ago from The Danbury Mint and it isn't being made anymore.

Last Tuesday was sort of a big day in my life. 

I wrote this on my Facebook page. This afternoon I go to pick up my two hearing aids. Hopefully now I'll be able to understand what people are talking about on TV and in the movies I watch.

One of the workplace hazards from being around jet aircraft is the exposure to very loud noise and ever since I retired 15 years ago my hearing has been getting progressively worse. So due to the fact that I am a big movie buff and my prime source of entertainment, other that being around my Rottweilers Ruff and Bess, is watching movies at home, I thought it was time for hearing aids. After growing disgusted with the high cost of cable TV I ditched them 10 years ago and started buying the movies I liked to watch. I have accumulated almost 500 titles. You can buy a lot of movies on the $1500 a year spent on cable TV. But this has not been so enjoyable when I wasn't able to understand the dialog being spoken by the actors. So I went out and had a new hearing test and ordered a pair of high-tech hearing aids.

First test with the new hearing aids came a few days ago. I sat down and watched a movie with Bess and Ruff. The hearing aids worked very well. I actually got to understand most of the talking but it needs a bit of tweaking. I also noticed they were set too sensitive for high frequencies and normally quiet things like paper and plastic began to sound like electrical sparks. 

During the entire movie Bess was laying on the small couch with her head resting next to my knee and I kept scratching her ears. Then after the movie was over the living room looked like the morning after a really wild party.

Got more photos back of Bessie meeting Santa

The company that took the Santa photos at Pet Supply Plus sent me an email with the rest of the photos they took of Bessie. Here are the two best ones.

That about wraps it up. Sunday night is Christmas Eve and the weatherman has predicted we will see some snow on Christmas Day. Hope it holds off until after I get home from Midnight Mass. I hate driving at night, especially on slippery roads.

Wishing you all a Blessed, Joyful and Merry Christmas

Busy week, we had some snow and got to meet Santa

Stopped in Pet Supplies Plus this afternoon to restock the dog food and found Santa was paying them a visit. Since Bess has never seen Santa before we had our picture taken. Bess seemed to enjoy hearing people say she was beautiful. Bessie has become a people dog just like Ruff.

Yesterday we woke up to a dusting of snow which came back several times into last night. Total was less than one inch and it was mostly gone by today. This was the first dusting of snow the season and I wanted to catch Bessie's reaction so I brought my camera out with us. Bess had her own ideas and wanted to play a game of catch with her ball. I love to see her leaping into the air to catch it. We play this game every time we go out, even late at night, and I'm amazed how she manages to catch the ball in the dark.

 

Sometimes she misses but not very often.

Yesterday I also received my copy of Angie Ruiz's latest Rottweiler film "Forever Faithful". I'm very excited to watch it. I loved her first documentary "Black Beauty Breed". I am going to write a review as soon as I get to watch it. I am told it is a very sad film about a dog with cancer.

December is the month to wish everyone a Merry Christmas

I like to think that the entire month of December should be dedicated to spreading Christmas Cheer. Certainly most of our stores are already decorated and many homes are putting up their lights. So I'm getting a head start, too.

Here is our special Christmas card to everyone this year.

And the insert page.

A Rottweiler Christmas Story

This is a short story I wrote some years ago. I posted it on my blog every year during the Christmas Season. The format has been changed to fit the presentation on Facebook but I think it looks better now. I'm posting this early to get a head start on the season.

The Holiday Season has begun.

Lots of catching up to do here. The preparations for Thanksgiving have come and gone and in spite of the crazy weather we need to turn our attention to the next big event. Christmas. So while I am making plans for our 2017 Christmas card project I need to recap the events of the past two weeks.

I know you all realize this has been a very bad year for us. The loss of the two most important members of our family have saddened us all. And I am constantly reminded of that by most of the photos I look at every day. Adding to our great sorrow is the current state of Ruffin's loss of eyesight. And one small fact that both Ruffin and Bessie now spend a large part of their day hanging out with me tells me they are just as lonely as I am.

We had a very special surprise this week.

Had a wonderful visit here on Tuesday with a very special lady. Theresa Howard and her husband Ray, drove in from Missouri to have Thanksgiving dinner with their family in Cincinnati and they wanted to stop by a see Ruffin. Ruff is one of Theresa's kids, as she calls them, she is the breeder I got him from 11 years ago.

And I think we have answered the big question about what makes Ruff so attracted to women. Someone suggested that Ruffin's memory was imprinted with the scent of the first person who picked him up and handled him. Today I found it went even further than that. Theresa told me she had to lay down in the whelping box to keep the babies warm because the Rottie mother wouldn't do it.

And yes, the minute Ruffin was hugged by Theresa he seemed to be stirred by some very old memory. I saw him react when he first got her scent.

And here is a photo of Theresa's canine family today and that gorgeous Rottweiler is Ruffin's sister. Theresa has plans to return to Cincinnati next year and I asked her to bring Ruffin's sister on her next visit.

For a few days before Thanksgiving the weather had gotten so cold I thought that Winter was coming early. The news from out West that snowfall in Jackson Hole, Wyoming had reached a historical high of 100 inches brought memories of some of our wonderful Winter scenes that our Rottweilers all enjoyed.

While these photos look like they belong on a Christmas card they are not the typical Winter scenes here in Kentucky. I read how people dread winter driving and I combined two very different photos to illustrate the point. The photo on the left is what we usually get for snow and the photo on the right is from Bear Tooth Hwy, Montana. I've never been there and didn't take that photo.

But once in awhile we do have a nasty visit from Mother Nature. I vividly remember the overnight ice storm on February 15, 2007. I stood outside around Midnight after the storm passed and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop except for the loud explosions of tree branches snapping under the weight of the ice.

Ruffin has always enjoyed the snow and the more we got the more he enjoyed it. And while the memories are strong and beautiful I wonder how he will take the new snow this year.

Funny to have to refocus my thoughts on Christmas as the weather outside has gone in the opposite direction. The temperature since Thanksgiving has been in the mid '50s and while we are changing seasons we need to take a look ahead.

Turkey Bird Day is over and we all know what's next. So here's a sample.

“How long do we gotta wear these funny hats?” Bessie asked. And Santa Daddy answered, “Only until Christmas.”

So now I must plan on our 2017 Christmas card.