Damn, that hole was Deep!

It took awhile to crawl out of it!

Do you believe it? I've got a few minutes to get a catch-up post going!

Seriously, I've been more lazy than busy. I just can't seem to get rested up so I can have a life. There've been far too many nights with only three hours of sleep. It's killing whatever waking life I have, which really isn't much!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! I'd like to give y'all my wishes for a wonderful 2008 - I know that many of you had a rough '07, and quite frankly, I'm really glad to leave it behind myself!

I will get to a post about the Nursery very soon, I hope, but for now I'm going to catch you up with Christmas. With pictures, even!!!! Some of 'em aren't very artistic nor qualify for much at all, as for some reason, I managed to wedge myself back in a corner and couldn't get decent shots; those that looked promising got slammed by the light from Lyn's patio window. I'll bet some of the others have good pics, but I've not even seen the kids/grandkids since New Year's Day.

Anyway, for what they're worth, here goes:



Wellll...we're starting off with Thanksgiving, here - I've told you before about the walk the family must take before we can have pie, right? It was COLD Thanksgiving Day, and we were all bundled into coats and scarves and mitties, and it would have been impossible to get undressed to pee if you hadn't thought ahead! Anyway, here's Kirk in his Dr. Zhivago look.



Marsha made a centerpiece for Pam for her table. Luke decided that cornocopia playing, kazoo-style was a necessity.



Lyn collected The Herd elephants till they went out of production. Through the power of eBay, I found her an elephant so she can continue the collection. It got here Christmas Eve day...whew!



I love finding those 'last minute' not-on-the-list presents. While I was out poking around the mall on Christmas Eve, I found Laney a sparkly red purse. Yeah, she's definitely my granddaughter. Her little old pack rat eyes lit right up when she saw the glittery thing!



Each of the little grandbabies got letters of the alphabet spelling out their name to hang on their wall. Didn't catch Laney with hers, however, Luke stayed still long enough to snap a pic.



I made Luke a hat. 'Nuff said.



The gifts I received were few, but wonderful. But it was really hard to top this one from Kirk and Marsha! There I was, back in my corner, opening what I thought were wedding pictures. It only took a moment till I started screaming, then stumbled across all the adult bodies in my way to hug Marsha and Kirk, while the rest of the family wondered what possessed me to go insane.

* * *

Part of the reason blogging took a back burner is due to the commitment I'd made to the Sheltie Rescue. Poor Yama has been so lonely that I offered to foster a Sheltie so there'd be another dog in the house. I believe I've posted about that already. Phoebe is a sweetheart. We know we'll miss her terribly when she goes to her new home, whenever that happens. We got her lab work back and she definitely has thyroid problems. Poor girl weighs in at 42 pounds currently, when she should weigh between 16 and 20 pounds. She has severe problems with her hind legs as a result, and has become very adept at dragging herself along by her front legs till the back ones decide to support her. We're hoping that getting weight off her will fix that problem, but there's a long way to go.

Anyway, here's a picture of our little 'anchor butt'.



And, of course, it never rains unless it pours. Opportunity knocked and I seized it before it got away.

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the family. We brought her home a week ago. Her formal name is "Wil O'Monaghan's Wild Irish Rose", but we call her Hannah.

One of my dream dogs - a Standard Poodle. She's not what I'd ever expected to get...quite honestly I never expected to be able to afford a Standard *ever* with a price usually hovering between $1500 - $2400. Yes, that's dollars. But, the breeder had 6 month old pups she'd not been able to sell, so the price was reduced dramatically. And, since I didn't know any better, I was shocked to find that Poodles come in 'parti-color' like some other breeds. Of course, the AKC and the Poodle Club of America doesn't recognize them for the 'beauty pagent', i.e., the conformation ring. Don't know why...she's beautiful! Oh, the politics of the show ring!

Anyway, the breeder was kind enough to keep her through the holidays. It's been quite a week as we brought her home right in the midst of one of the "terror" times puppies go through. Things are settling down for the most part, though. She had not been groomed when we got her, as she lived in a kennel situation most of the time. She needed her coat. But all the excess had to come off, so I'm already starting to re-hone my grooming skills. Not too bad a job for the first Poodle groom I've done in about 20 years!

These are, of course, before and after pictures.



The snow was thawing at an enormous rate last Saturday; Hannah was terrified of her new surroundings and thus was "fleeing" around the back yard, soaking up mud and moisture. I really hadn't planned on grooming her for a couple of weeks till she settled in, but she was nothing but a sponge, soaking up everything and then bringing it all inside. I can only be a dog person so far! *laughs*

So, onto the grooming table she went. Didn't turn out too badly! She's going to be wonderful...wonderful enough that I am considering some kind of showing again. Probably obedience or agility - she moves like a dream. And, I can show her in conformation in UKC events if there are any around here. We'll see. I don't know if I'm insane enough to start dog show madness again in this lifetime!



And there you have it. On top of that, TW and I have finally found some time to begin collaboration on another book. Phlebotomy classes start again in two weeks. I wonder if they'll let me have computer time in the psych ward? LOL!

It's good to post again. I'll try to post more often.