All I have to say is......

Post-Christmas Report

Joe and I spent Christmas Day down at his parents' farm - something we haven't been able to do since 2002!

Great food, lots of kids, and total chaos! Exactly what Christmas should be like :)

I took a break from all the activity and snapped a few pics from around the farm.

This is Farm Cat enjoying the holiday decorations:
And Mom still dresses up the geese out front:
And she has real geese as well!
But they had no interest in posing for a picture. Unlike the chickens, who were happy to stand still for a quick snap:
And finally, Max's daddy:
By the time we got home, we had about 4 inches of snow. And by this morning, we had another 4! Time to put the Snow Blower on the Christmas List for next year.

A Clean Dog Is A Happy Dog!

Today was Holiday Bath Time! Nothing like a clean-smelling dog to lure Santa down the chimney, right Max?
Haha - ok, so maybe this is not his favorite holiday activity. He looks like a big wet rat! Hard to believe that under all that fluffiness is a fairly small dog!

After he gets out of the tub, he shakes about 6 zillion times and gets everything soaked....
....and then he is happy again! Smile, Max!
Good boy.

Mall Madness!

Being back in Minnesota has one really big advantage - access to the Mall of America! So, today we took a few hours and did some final Christmas shopping.

Part of the fun of the mall is the holiday displays. They had these huge honkin' ornaments in one area:
I told Joe we need to figure out a way to get these, or make these, as they would be cool out in the front yard, or hanging from the entryway. Yes, he thinks I am nuts.
They also had alot of lights and wreaths, which added to the festive spirit.
The local high schools provided live entertainment in the rotunda.
After 2 1/2 hours, we were all "malled out". Big shoppers, we are not.....

Fog Freeze

Here's a new one for us - fog freeze! It was foggy this morning, and the cold temps caused a really cool effect on the trees. It looked like they were iced, but it was really the frozen fog.


Max has decided to venture outside the areas in the yard I have shoveled for him and Spike...
He knows there is a bunny that has been wandering down from the hill and checking out his turf.

Extraordinary Treats

Nothing is ever ordinary when you live with Joe - not only is he sweet and wonderful, he's incredibly talented and artistic.

A plate of cookies looks like this:
... and a bowl of ice cream looks like this:Everything is just amazing and extraordinary. And yes, I do know how lucky I am :)

36 Takes Later....

This is the best one we got of them together:
The hats are sitting in front of them because after spending 20 minutes trying to get them on, I gave up. Neither one was cooperative, especially Max.

I got Spike long enough for this, but only because he is so old:
He looks like Scrooge the Dog. Clearly not happy....

Max turned much happier when the hats went back into the closet......

Why We Don't Do Doggie Holiday Cards

Oh yeah...this is why we don't try to do holiday pet cards....

Take 1:
Max, keep your tongue in your mouth please.....

Take 2:


MAX! What the hell is that look?!

Take 3:
Spike! No tongue! MAX! Look at me for crying out loud!

Take 4:

Oh fer gawd's sake....LOOK AT ME!

Take 5:
Don't you DARE give me attitude, Max. You will LIKE this!

Bah, whatever. Ho flippin' ho....we should have gotten a bunny.....

Snowy Saturday Indeed!

The weather folks said the snow wouldn't start till about Noon....but by 9:00 am, it was alreay going:
When we got home from running errands around 12:00, we already had about 4-5 inches:
We let the dogs out, and Max tried to catch snowflakes....
Spike just tried to find a place to pee.....
I don't think we'll get the 8-10 inches we were hoping for, but we did get enough to satisfy us for now. And I am guessing it is here to stay until March.