Jingle Bells ...

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Where have all the weeks and days gone? The time seems to be one big blur. However, some things stand out in my memory, like watching the grandkids dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock" and other Christmas songs.

My grandson, Bubba, at 4 1/2 is really looking forward to Christmas. I remember when he asked, "How many more days to Christmas?" and I answered, "21" and he said, "I can't wait that long." Well, somehow those days just zipped past.

Our big Date Palm Tree out in the front yard is sporting Christmas lights. At the base of the tree are three  deer sporting more lights. Then in the bushes next to the front porch my husband added a string of Florida lights: flashing pink flamingos and green palm trees. This is what a Florida Christmas looks like.

Today has been sunny and in the 60s. Now at 11:00 pm it's dropped to 47 degrees. Tomorrow we're expecting the beginning of several days of rain. This is the storm that has deluged southern California with floods and mud-slides and is now dropping lots of snow in Colorado. I'd love to have a white Christmas, the snowy kind, but instead I'll settle for white sandy beaches.

My mom and brother live in Georgia. They're expecting real snow for Christmas. Too bad I can't spend at least part of Christmas day there playing in the snow. However, instead I'll be here in Florida and watching the grandkids excitedly opening their many Christmas presents.

This is going to be a fun Christmas with the twins not quite two and with Bubba still believing in Santa Claus. Tomorrow I'm supposed to help bake chocolate chip cookies for Santa. Last year we baked sugar cookies on Christmas Eve, but Bubba likes chocolate chip the best and thinks that Santa will feel the same way.

Last weekend my grandson and I discussed what we wanted Santa to bring us for Christmas. He wants "Kung Zhu Pets" and the fighting arena and other accessories. He also wants some DS games. I said I wanted a puppy and asked if he thought Santa would bring me one. "Nah," he said, "Santa will tell you, you have to wait." Yep, I think he's right.

Well, I check Petfinder.com every few days to see what puppies are up for adoption in our area. There's been some really cute ones, little Lab mixes, but I've not been quick enough to get one of them. With the Christmas rush, puppies are getting adopted right and left. I guess that's a good thing that they're finding new homes so quickly. On the other hand, those cute little puppies under the Christmas trees will soon be half-grown puppies wildly tearing things apart. So that's when those little cuties will be transported back to the animal shelters in hopes of being re-adopted. I like to think that at least some of them will get to stay in their Christmas homes.

I'll miss my dogs, Maggie and Nikki, this Christmas morning. Maggie always helped with opening the presents. She never bothered the wrapped packages under the tree, but waited patiently to assist when the time arrived to open them. Nikki, on the other hand, would patiently wait for Maggie to open the dog toys. Then Nik would collect all of them just for herself. Maggie and Shani would knowingly look on. They always knew that Nikki would want all the toys.

This year we only have Shani. She's a real sweetie, so I'm glad she's still with us. Come February she'll be nine years old, but don't tell her that. Shani still thinks she's just a puppy. Well, Shani's favorite part of Christmas is keeping guard duty in front of the stove so that no one steals our turkey. She drools now and then, leaving drops of drool on the floor. Obviously, turkey is one of Shani's favorite foods.

Guess I'd better get some sleep. Christmas Eve is almost here. That'll be a big day with the grandkids. We'll bake those cookies, listen to Christmas songs, and read old favorites like The Night Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Christmas morning will be even more fun. The twins are getting baby dolls, strollers, dolls beds and a whole lot more. I can just see their blue eyes lighting up. Bubba is getting what he hoped Santa would bring him and then some. I'm sure they'll be three very happy little kids on Christmas morning.

As Santa says, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Where the wind blows ...

My thoughts lately are pretty much going the way of the winds ... every which way. I haven't been able to sit with my laptop and write, because Nikki is no longer at my side. She was my shadow and followed me everywhere. So when I'd sit down in my favorite chair, or snuggle onto the couch, Nik would be at my feet or right next to me. Her blindness didn't stop her from being a part of my everyday life. She'd sit patiently and listen as I read my blog posts out loud, always my first audience and always approving of every word. So how can I write without Nikki there?

Shani is trying to pick up the duties Nikki left behind. She comes to my side for a few minutes of petting, but she has naps to take in her favorite spots and those aren't anywhere near my computer. As for listening to me reading my blog posts out loud, well, she gives me a funny look and goes off to a quieter place to sleep. Shani prefers to sleep belly up and without a care in the world. She only goes on duty every now and then, looking out the front windows to make sure we're not "under attack" from squirrels, the black cat across the street or neighborhood dogs out for a leisurely walk.

Today the winds are truly blowing every which way. It's chilly enough to need long pants and a sweatshirt, but I'm still wearing my hot-pink, rhinestone dotted, flip-flops. Yep, in Florida you can wear silly flip-flops like that and people actually ask where you got them and tell you they're "cool."

I sat outside today and read on my Kindle, a literary biography of James Fenimore Cooper. I just finished reading his five "Leatherstocking Tales" and decided it was time to learn more about one of our first American authors. I read the books in the order in which they were written/ published: The Pioneers (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Prairie (1827), The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841). However, if you want to follow the life of Natty Bumppo in chronological order, then you need to read them as follows: The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers and then The Prairie. Reading the stories in either order is a wonderful journey.

Reading is the way I escape, the way I bury the sadness of missing my dogs. Maggie passed away a year ago last Saturday, on November 13th, 2009. At 10 years old she led a happy, healthy life until the last few weeks when she was diagnosed with Hemolytic Anemia and Cancer. Less than three weeks after the diagnosis she was gone.

Nikki passed away only a month ago last Sunday, on October 14th, 2010. As I've already said of Nik, she was diabetic for the last 2 1/2 years and had to endure two shots of Vetsulin a day. Though she didn't like the shots, the "treat" afterwards helped to compensate. Her eyesight diminished soon after, due to cataracts. For a year she still had peripheral vision and for about the last six months no vision at all. But a happier, sweeter dog never lived. Up to her last morning on this earth she kept her sweet doggie smile and rotary wagging tail.

So I spend a lot of time reading and a lot of time thinking. My thoughts drift back and forth. Some memories are happy and others are too sad to stay there long. The gray days of fall have settled in with the accompanying winds and rain. Today is gray, gray, gray. But then you don't have to look far to find those wonderful fall colors of golds, oranges and reds. So I went outside and took some photos of the beautiful colors, which I'll add to this blog post.

Tomorrow we may have sunny skies again. Florida has a tendency to do that at this time of year. A few days of dreary wet followed by a day of brilliant sun and cerulean blue skies. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the gray days as they provide a contrast to the awesome days that follow. So for today I'll let my thoughts go the way of the winds.

Happy Halloween!

Newspaper Photo of Me at Age Five

Halloween is hot and muggy here on the Florida Gulf Coast. Shani and I just took a neighborhood walk and checked out all the carved pumpkins on our neighbors' front porches. Most are like us and didn't bother to put out any decorations.

However, we do have candy ready, the kind we like (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers and 3 Musketeers) in case we have some trick-or-treaters. Kinda sad that very few kids trick-or-treat these days. Last year we didn't have any in this neighborhood, but several young families have moved in over the last year, so we have hopes that a few little ghosts and goblins visit our house tonight. We have an old tape of scary sounds that we're going to play by an open window.

The grandkids did their trick-or-treating last night, because they live in a town that forbids trick-or-treating on Sundays. Sheesh! That makes no sense to me. Halloween is on Halloween. But, of course, no one asked my opinion. Well, our grandson was Scooby Doo (his favorite) and the twins a Lady Bug and a Bumble Bee. I'm supposed to have some photos emailed to me.

As a kid growing up in southern California, Halloween was a big deal. Our elementary school always had a Halloween Festival with lots of good treats. Our neighborhoods were filled with kids and we all went out trick-or-treating. Sometimes I was a witch with my long red hair. Other times a cowgirl, complete with cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and a toy holster with six-guns borrowed from my brother.

My next door neighbors and I would run through our neighborhood at full speed. We'd pass by the dark house with the barking dogs who lived under the house. There was one "old lady" who never opened her door, but always left a basket of ruby-red apples on her doorstep. Most neighbors gave us the usual Candy Corn; Wax Lips, Mustaches and Fingers (yeah, that was a big thing back then); Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops and Candy Suckers. The "good places" gave us candy bars. We'd make a second trip back to those houses. The people never complained, just said, "Ah, you kids have been here before."

I remember the very last time I went trick-or-treating. I think I was twelve. Ricky, Debbie and I were cowboy bandits, complete with bandannas pulled over our faces. More than one person said, "You kids are too old to trick-or treat." But they still gave us candy. I believe we enjoyed that particular Halloween more than any other, because that was the last time we went trick-or-treating.

Sometimes my little brother used to trick-or-treat with me. But he usually went off with his own group of friends. I think the very last year he dressed up as a gorilla. Though my mom and brother, who now live together, sometimes have really cool Halloween parties and they and their friends all dress up. Last year mom was a witch with green hair. I don't remember what my brother was for that Halloween.

Funny thing, nowadays people take pictures of their kids in Halloween costumes. Such was not the case back then. Costumes were always home-made and no one bothered to take a picture of us. We just celebrated the day and had a grand time.

There was one particular Halloween of  importance when I was five years old. A kid named Robbie and I had our pictures taken gazing at a huge carved and candlelit pumpkin. One photo made the cover  and another on the reverse inside page of our local newspaper. I still have that page from the newspaper and take it out every now and then to look at it. I had big eyes, ringlets and chubby cheeks, whic I guess was my costume of that year.

When I was sixteen I dressed up for Halloween, just on a whim. A friend of mine, Craig B., was a hippie and I was a teacher with glasses. We went to a friend's house to show off our costumes, but we didn't trick-or-treat.

Twice in my 20s I dressed up for Halloween. The first time I was a witch with glittered eyelids and long glittery fingernails (my own nails, by the way). I went to a local dance club with a bunch of friends. Everyone was in costume. Another time I was a French Maid and went dancing with a girlfriend of mine. It was when I went back to college and the dance was at the college bar and grill. Diane and I got to dance with every hunky guy there.

The very last time I dressed up for Halloween was in New Orleans. My sister-in-law, Loretta, and my daughter and I were all three witches. My husband was a Sheik. New Orleans is definitely a fun place to party on Halloween.

Well, on our walk this afternoon, Shani wore a Halloween bandanna. I guess that's the only "dressing up" that we're going to do this year. We'll have to wait until dark to see if any trick-or-treaters visit our house. If not, we've got some yummy candy to eat. Of course, we'll put the candy in the freezer and eat a piece of it every now and then.

For those who are flying on their broomsticks tonight, Happy Halloween!

In Loving Memory of Nikki - A Once in a Lifetime Doggie Companion

One of my last photos of Nikki

Yesterday Nikki, my 10 1/2 year old Lab/Chow beloved canine companion passed away. For the last 2 1/2 years she'd been fighting canine diabetes, which required insulin injections twice a day just to keep her alive. Almost overnight she went from 67 lbs to 36 lbs, as the diabetes ate away almost all of her muscles until she looked like a furry bag of bones. Then she developed cataracts and at the last was totally blind. But none of this stopped Nikki. She thought such was the life of all dogs and she maintained a sweet doggie smile and the rotary wag of her tail until the last few hours of her life. At the end she had numerous complications from her diabetes, including failing kidneys and in her last hours she had uncontrollable grand mal seizures. She passed away with me at her side. Nik and I had been inseparable for ten joyous years.

I'm not handling this loss very well, so I'll wait and write more later. In the meantime, you can read more about Nikki in previous posts: "Nikki and the Thunder Monsters," "The Ordeal of Bathing Dogs" and "A Story About Dogs - Parts 1-4." Let me tell you, it's very difficult to lose a very best friend. 

Cooler Weather - A Great Time to Read

Shani & Nikki watching me read Henry James

The beginning of October here on the Florida Panhandle and somebody turned off the heat. I'm talking 50s and 60s, which is pretty chilly for Florida this time of year. Normally it's warm temps through mid November. Shorts, sleeveless-Ts and bare feet kind of weather. Only yesterday morning the weather took a decided dip and it's long pants, socks and sweatshirt weather. A decidedly chilly breeze is blowing, making it too cold to sit out on the patio. I'm hoping this is just for a few days. I'm already wanting the warmer weather back.

On the other hand, cooler weather means lots more time to read. And since I'm a book-aholic, I jump at any chance to snuggle into a comfy chair and read. I'm still making my way through literary classics I missed in years past, or old favorites I want to read again. So right now I'm on a Henry James kick. Back in High School I read the requisite Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller. At 15, when I was sick at home for two months with mono, I read James' Portrait of a Lady. Through the years, that book has remained one of my favorites.

Well, now I've set out to read all of Henry James' novels. In the last few weeks I've read Washington Square, The American, The Europeans, Daisy Miller, Roderick Hudson and Louisa Pallant. This morning I'm going to start The Bostonians. I never realized how much I'd enjoy reading Henry James. His books are addictive, which is saying a lot for an avid reader like me. I can't finish one without delving into the next one minutes later. Maybe if I'd read these books when I was younger I wouldn't have enjoyed them as much? I don't know. I must say these are great reads for this time in my life. His stories are all about character and place. He wrote as if he were painting a picture. So maybe that's why I'm enjoying them so much?

As I said, I'd love to have the warmer weather back. Then I'd sit out on the patio and read Henry James. In the meantime, I'll curl up in my recliner, or lounge on the couch, and enjoy his books just as much as if I was reading them outside.