Thursday, December 24, 2015

Marley's Chains (and Happy Christmas!)

Happy Christmas Eve! 

We've had a nice lead-up to Christmas here, with a few restful days and some blessedly warm weather! Admittedly it's soggy, and it's reached the point where I need waders to venture into the basement to do laundry, but... warmth! Few things say "Christmas cheer" to me like 70 degree weather!

Speaking of joy...
Well, Finny's not feeling it in these pictures. Poor lamb. But... it's a little funny, from my perspective. Here's the story. Last time my parents were over for dinner we brought Finny into the dining room afterwards, so he could sit with us while we played Bananagrams. And, because we didn't want him to run off to terrorize Emma or anything similar, we tied him by his leash to the doorknob. And just a couple minutes into the game someone glanced over to where Finny had been and noticed that he was Gone. The end of the leash was trailing away under the (still closed) French door leading to the living room. A mystery! Not for long, though. The snap at the end of the leash was chewed clean through, and Finny, friendly soul that he is, was up-to-no-good under the table, by our feet. 

So, remembering the sage advice of the Monks of New Skete, we got him a new, metal chain leash. We only intend it for his good, to allow him to join us at times when he'd otherwise have to be confined to his crate, but Finny hates it. It does weigh a ton, but I think it is the noise it makes, as well as the weight that he dislikes so much. Anyway, if you clip it to his collar he simply sinks to the floor and Does Not Move. It's as though the spirit is entirely sucked out of him. So, the comparison to Marley is not exactly apt, but I did explain to him that he's forged the chain himself, though his various misdeeds (such as grabbing anything and everything off the coffee table and racing around the house with his loot like a thing possessed, or taking every opportunity to sneak into the living room and sample the ornaments hanging on the tree). He only looks at me with the face of utter woe. 


 (Here he's managed to sit up, hoping that I might take off the cruel chain and take him for a nice walk at the park. In the rain. Which I did.)

I'm dying to know whether this is a normal puppy thing, but I'm afraid that if I ask anywhere that doggy people congregate I will be accused of puppy abuse. We are really only leaving it on for very short stretches, hoping that he'll become accustomed to it.

So, in an intermission from puppy tormenting, we went to see The Movie with my parents! The new Star Wars -- #7. And it was fun! I hadn't seen a thing about it before we went -- didn't even realize it had some of the old (but well-preserved!) characters in it. And I'm glad, because I was able to be properly surprised and enjoy the huge joke of the thing. Wow. I remember feelings of wonder, back in 1977 when I saw the first movie, and the next two were fine, but I'm sure I never laughed so much in any of them. The sheer nerve of Mr. Abrams! I got a kick out of it, and I also enjoyed his variations and embellishments. An excellent holiday movie!

And now tomorrow is Christmas. Ed, my darling, noble, brave Ed, went out today in search of a chicken to roast, as I failed to bring one home from Walmart yesterday (they were out) and had floated the idea of "roasting" skinless, boneless chicken breasts for the Christmas feast. Not a brilliant idea, I'll admit, but after going shopping on December 23rd, I knew I couldn't handle going out again on the 24th. But Ed dared, hero that he is. And he brought home the chicken. It is a lovely, plump chicken, and I did manage to gather the ingredients for sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, etc. Plus another coconut cream pie, because the last one I made was Really Good.
But not only did he bring home the chicken -- he also bought these for me...


New reading glasses! I call that a very promising sign for the sort of presents he has wrapped for me!

Wishing you the kind of weather you like best for the holiday, and good food, good books, and plenty of tasty things to eat. And love and joy. Happy Christmas!

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