Then came the dawn

On the coldest night,

we two sleeping together --

how comfortable!

Samu keredo

futari nuru yo zo

tanomoshiki

Attention-getting

There's no doubt 8" of fresh powder is beautiful under the evening lights, and it's toasty in front of the fireplace. The Christmas tree lights still twinkle. It's also -13, and the wind chill brings it down more. Pup reports fun among the crisp smells, but snowball ice between the toes stops outdoor play fast. Yesterday, he nearly had to be carried in due to ice-up, but we made it back. Finding a fondly-remember frozen tennis ball under the snow is a joyful thing, but I'd hate to have to poop outside in stuff like this. Haven't heard from J&C: likely, they've gone to ground under blankets. Still, the fluffy trees and glistening light on the crystals make each morning attention-getting. Hope you guys in California get to play in the snow! Love, Pop.

Surgical Insertion

It is Monday and it has been snowing again.  Wally really had fun this morning running with his friend Dudley and trying to catch snow balls (the snow really wasn't packing much, so they were at a definite disadvantage).

We had a wonderful weekend with a brief but great visit with Andy and Teresa (A named it a "surgical insertion").  Chris and Jenny were able to join us on Saturday and, though the younger generation continued well into Sunday morning, we really enjoyed spending most of the day with everyone.  T and A brought wedding pictures with them and left many wonderful ones for us.

Now, some people probably think the holidays are over and our tree and decorations should come down, but not me.  We are keeping it all up at least until early February when the Dayton crew comes to spend some time with us.

Got to go now and prepare for some upcoming work in West Virginia.  Hope you are all well.

Love, Linda

The 12th day of Christmas

It's good to see snow, even a bit, on the back deck fence. We had a wonderful Epiphany evening -- the night celebrating the adoration of the Magi by the three wise men -- with friends. They had a candle-lit Christmas tree, a tree picked by hand from a farmer they knew, chosen to support and show the hand-made German ornaments they'd gathered. A great time, comparing Gary's stories of his first tree with my memories of seeing my grandmother's tree in a 4th-floor walkup in Chicago, the parlor doors open wide for the ten minutes the candles were allowed to burn. A bit of German sweets and ice wine didn't hurt, either, nor did the music. Ben called the other evening and told of their plans for the weekend -- dumping old stuff @ Volunteers or someplace, figuring how to get stuff moved to Thousand Oaks, wondering if Pook should go first and the dog stay behind and Ben be the bachelor or what, fun stories you might hear too. Linda and I look forward to seeing A&T and C&J. And I hope the snow stays, as pup: another tryout for his Musher's Secret paw wax to keep clumps from sticking to his feet!

Back from Vermont

Well, we have finally made it back to Columbus from Vermont. We weren't sure yesterday with the crazy rain-snow mix that seemed to reach everywhere on the east coast, but after a cancelled flight and delays, we actually made it in
earlier than we were originally supposed to!

I attached pictures of Chris' favorite part of the trip, one he termed, "one of the best days of fun", with the snowmobile trip. We had a blast, lots of snow, skiing with mom and sister Amy, and plenty of fun with the nieces and nephews. Also, a picture is attached of them in the snow. We are glad to be back home, although I miss my family a ton! And are highly anticipating the arrival and Andy and Teresa this weekend!

Jenny

Wondering how is the new year...

Slow start, but good, to the new year. At this on-the-floor time of pup digesting his breakfast (that's early a.m. ET), it's a moment to wonder how is the new year for kids. JR&T will be coming, luck has it, to visit this weekend -- Andy facing a near-term life of no vacation days termed the weekend free-flight visit a "surgical strike," but sure to be full of fun to simply visit. C&J are in the hinterland, but maybe back in the next day or so, so by then if not before I'll hear how things were in Vermont, maybe see some pictures we can post. And I think they'll show up over the weekend too. B&B&E&L are, most probably, in the midst of balance-home-and-work-while-commute: we heard this past weekend of their success in finding a possible place to live and child-development spot for Pook, and so I wonder how the possible is developing. But just heard a dog whimper, so it must be time to move on to reality. Later, maybe connection to new facts! 

My New Year's Card

I got a wonderful treat to begin the new year -- a card! My bride gave it to me, a great surprise. The day beginning this year was great: snacking on the leftovers from the Vietnamese shrimp salad, watching "Bringing Up Baby" on TCM instead of the Rose Parade, eating muffins from a mix that came from one of our open house guests, visiting fellow dog-walkers in the park (a two-mammal thing, as you'd guess), taking a nap (Gore's repetitive "The Assault on Reason" will help with that) to ready for the Rose Bowl, snacking on baby quiche, going overboard by eating more (the old corned beef from early this week), going to bed with the bride who gave me the card. And as the evening ended, a call from JR&T, telling of a relaxed New Year's Eve -- a 2nd treat! (Linda said in a previous post we'd heard from B&B&E&L about Thousand Oaks, and know we'll hear more after they've had a chance to sleep. And before I wrote this, I re-read T's great prologue to their New Year's, a 1st as bride for her -- and she got halibut & special potatoes & champagne that night! Now, I'm just waiting to hear from C&J about [1] arrival in Boston, [2] trek to Vermont, and [3] stories of family & snow(?)) Happy 2nd of January! Love, Pop.

Happy New Year All

It is mid-afternoon and all is quiet here.  Pop just went to bed to "rest" but will be up to see the Rose Bowl.  It is a beautiful, sunny, clear, cold day here --- just right for starting a fresh new year.

We enjoyed welcoming the New Year with our friends Linda and Jack and Linda's sister Barbara. Mike was excited to have people coming because he had an excuse to get out his John Ash cookbook and try some new dishes on us.  It was a great meal with all new dishes that started with a mushroom soup and included shrimp, pork and chicken (all different dishes) with rice noodles, interesting mushrooms and another type of noodle Mike will have to name.

Then, of course, we had a fire in our back yard fire pit.  It was a beautiful fire, but we failed to get pictures.  Poor Wally wasn't quite sure what was going on and had a tough time staying awake for all of it.  Pop and I managed only because we took a nap earlier!

We had an early New Year's Eve chat with Barbara (and Ben, a bit, but he was driving with no hands-free device) and it sounds like they packed a lot into the day and a half they were in Thousand Oaks.  Got a place to live and a spot for Pook --- wahoo!! What an exciting year 2009 will be for them.

I wish all of you an exciting, healthy, rewarding 2009!  Love you, Mom