Oh the Joy of Being Warm to Celebrate the New Year

Hey Pals, We're back! We're filled with new experiences and new dog friends we met in pawson to share as soon as our secretary downloads our gazillion photos.

But first things first:

1. Our many many thanks to all of our friends whose cards were waiting for us when we got home last night. It was so much fun seeing your faces and thinking about the love and friendship that connects us all across the globe!

2. Our warmest wishes to everyone as we enter a brand new decade and -- we pray -- a happy new year. Our hearts hold dear the memory of those we lost this past year -- and those memories will stay with us as we leap into the new year, with a "blue moon" (second full moon of the month) to help us celebrate and commemorate.

3. And, oh yes, tomorrow, January 1, is my eighth barkday and I plan to give my mom and dogdad lots of extra kisses and sniffs for making these eight years so exciting!!!

Lots of wirey love to all,

Jake of Florida (happily warm again!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

This just in: it's snowing here in St. Loulis and we're off to our uncle's house to share our Christmas pressies with the family!!!

We promise a longer report (and pictures) about our road trip!!! But for today, Merry Christmas to all, with our profound wishes for love and peace throughout the world!!!

Jake and Just Harry

The Festival of Lights

Tonight is the first of the eight nights of Chanukah. Because Chanukah happens in December, it's gotten mixed up wih Christmas, especially in the US. But it has its own very different meanings and symbols. It celebrates the rededication of the second temple at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. The temple had been despoiled by the Assyrians . When the Maccabees went to rededicate it, they found oil enough to last for just one day, but miraculously it lasted for eight. Thus we celebrate Chanukah by lighting candles -- or oil, as they did in the time of the Maccabees -- in a special menorah, lighting one candle on the first night, two on the second, and so on. The ninth candle holder is used to light the others each night.


So Chanukah is a happy holiday - all about faith, courage, perseverance, and dedication. And light!

And, of course, no Jewish holiday is complete without special foods. For Chanukah, it's anything fried in oil - latkes for some; doughnuts for others. (Check out Axel's blog from December 2007 to see him help his mom make latkes.)


Our Mom is getting ready to light the first candle as soon as Dogdad comes home. But in the meantime, she wanted to show you the different menorahs she's come by over the years
This one has the most memories. It's the most traditional, made of brass and a tin-like metal, with the lions of Judah and the ten commandments. It belonged to Mom's grandparents, who came from Russia. When she sees it, she remembers happy times - the lights ablaze, reflecting the joy in her grandparents' faces as the whole family said the blessings and shared laughter and songs.The next two are more modern versions, the first made from aluminum; the second from hammered pewter and a bit more stylized. We'll be traveling with the second one so we can light the candles while we're away next week.This one is very special because our sister gave it to Mom - it plays a Chanukah song when you wind it up. The base is wood and the branches are metal.And finally, this more elaborate menorah was a gift from Dogdad's brother and his wife to Mom last year. It's porcelain and engraved with the word shalom - peace.

To get the true picture, you have to see these on the eighth night of Chanukah, when all the candles are lit. As the lights flicker, it's easy to imagine all the menorahs lit around the globe for so many hundreds of years. And it's impossible not to rememember the times spent with those who are no longer here but whose faces still dance in the lights.

Making a List, Checking It Twice...

Dogdad asked me something very important this morning. He said, "Jakey, we've been thinking about what you and Just Harry would like for Chanukah and for Christmas. Why don't you make a list for us?" And so I did.

I pondered and pondered; but after I wrote it all down, I told Dogdad, "You'll see we want treats and stuffies and bones and surprises; but what we want most is to be with you and Mom over the holidays!!"

And then I saw Mom making a list too. It was entitled TRIP: Dogs - food, bowls, beds, collars, harnesses, leashes, toys, sweaters, raincoats, comb, furminator, treats, cups, water, Christmas collars, Christmas stockings, vet papers, etc. After reading it, JH and I realized we'll be getting our wish: like last year, we'll be driving to St. Loulis with the folks. Not for another week though -- 'cause we all still have lots to do.

Woof!!!

Jake

Terriers, Squirrels, Flamingos, Cardinals, Camels, Seahorses, Oh My!!!

Since we spend Christmas in St. Loulis with Dogdad's family, we don't do too much in the way of decorating here. Last year, though, Mom found a nifty collapsible metal tree-like thing with branches to hang a few of the diverse ornaments we've collected.

Right up front, two wire fox terriers of course -- and a red sqrrl that's part of a set of fiber animals, including a fox, a mouse, and a skunk (not shown, just in case). Then there are the crazy flamingo tourists (we're in Flori-duh after all).
And these are contrasted with several beautful hand-painted cardinal balls (the birds, not our MVP Albert) and one of the St. Louis Arch.

A few itinerant camels join in the fun -- just two of the 250 -- large and small -- that live here. (Oops, that tail on the left in the second picture below is the fiber skunk after all.).And finally, Mom's latest love, seahorses. The frosted glass seahorse came back from Galveston with us.

We're just lucky there's room for us with all these other creatures floating around.

And just so no body gets confoosed, we'll be back with Mom's menorahs to celebrate Chanukah next week before we leave for Northland.

Jake and Just Harry

A Place at the Table

Today is December 1 so we're all thinking about what's in store for our annual Christmas expedition to St. Loulis later this month. But there are still a few November details to clear up -- such as how we spent Thanksgiving.

I, Just Harry, for one wasn't too sure what was in store for us. From Tuesday on, we kept smelling good things -- and doing our usual kitchen patrol. But -- horrors -- nothing dropped to the floor. Not the vegetables being chopped for roasting. Not the sausage being crumbled or the chestnuts being halved for the stuffing. Not the sweet potatoes being mashed. Not the canned pumpkin for the pie (although we did get a bit of pumpkin later). Not the cranberries or nuts or raisins for the sauce. And not the turkey. Bummer. But we're used to it. I've had a chronic urinary problem for over a year so Cruella is very careful about what I get to snack on. And since we live in an equal opportunity household, Jakey has to follow the same pattern -- except he eats different kibble.

Nevertheless, when Mom set the table and added the placecards for everyone, why there we were!!! Relieved, I decided to watch the dog show until our guests arrived and the festivities began. (Sadly, if you blinked, you missed the WFT best of breed; but lots of our friends got some good airtime -- incuding "the king of the terriers," a smart-looking airedale.)


















So, although I can't report that we were regaled with yummy foods, we did get a place at the table -- and lots of love and scritches. And for that, along with the good wishes of all our friends, we are very thankful.

And now, on to Christmas planning!
Just Harry