An Accelerated Christmas Present

My husband and I have been talking about getting another dog -- more specifically, another shih tzu. But we'd decided (or at least I'd decided) that we'd wait until the spring or summer when my life was a little bit hectic. Puppies take big chunks of time to housetrain and to acclimate to new surroundings -- time that I don't feel I have right now. So much for the best laid plans...

We picked up Coco (short for Coco Chanel, of course) on Dec 22d and she's settled right in. The ambivalent one (besides me, for a while) is her 3-year-old "older brother" -- our other shih tzu, Twiggy (so named because he's never seen a twig or leaf he didn't want to bring into the house). He's been very gentle -- he seems to understand that the puppy's size merits that -- but he's clearly more subdued, and I think he misses the freedom to roam at will without Coco nipping at his heels and being (he must think), generally a pest. Coco, meanwhile, already thinks she owns the place.

Here's some pix of the new addition, and of Twiggy, who for a 15-lb dog, looks gigantic next to tiny 3-lb Coco.

Coco

We used to think of Twiggy as a small dog, but next to 8-week-old Coco, he seems huge!

Twiggy is spending more time up on his window seat these days...

Susan

I miss my friend Susan, whom I was fortunate to have as a colleague for several years during my tenure at BLF (Big Law Firm). She's extremely bright and highly capable, not to mention stylish, witty, and generous... well, you get the picture. But to me, one of her finest qualities is her silliness. Hands down. What a joy, working as hard as we were, to allow ourselves the luxury of total and abject silliness from time to time.

Naturally, we were judicious. Because we worked in different cities on the East Coast, we usually reserved our alter agos for nights on the road when we found ourselves in the same town at the same time. There's no point in trying to describe our dialogue or exploits. They were what my husband calls a "Be There" experience. And, in fact, they probably weren't funny to anyone but us.

Susan and I were/are particularly silly about our dogs. She was goofy about her dogs before I was, since my dog, Twiggy, didn't join our family until two years ago. I caught up quickly. Susan has two delightful standard poodles and I have an adorable Shih Tzu (this isn't hyperbole, it's the honest truth). Susan's dogs emulate her curly 'do ("coif" as Susan might say). My 'do and Twiggy's look more alike the longer we co-habitate.

Susan's latest car is a bright red MINI Cooper convertible-- if ever a car had her name on it, it's this one (well, actually, it does have her name on it, but that's another story). Those are the two pups with her -- one riding shotgun, the other in the rumble seat. We don't talk very often these days, but getting this photo reminded me of how much I miss her.

Each Day Is a Different One

There's little I enjoy more than looking out the windows of our bright front room toward the mountains in the distance. Usually there's at least one squirrel enjoying the kernels of corn that fall on the deck from the birdfeeders. Sometimes Twiggy, who usually prefers to see the world comfortably from his spot on the kitchen window seat, moseys outside too.

I read this quote on Misty Mawn's blog site this morning. How easy it is, isn't it, to forget something this simple yet so true?

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle." ~ Paulo Coelho