What if ... ?

Happy "Boxing Day" :-)

Merry Christmas Day!

Christmas Blessings of Hope, Compassion, and Peace to All

Christmas Eve

Hard to believe it is already Dec 24th and "Santa " is on the way. Before we had the Coca Cola image of the jolly fat man in the red suit, there was a similar image in Holda, a "Teutonic goddess, depicted as a gorgeous blond in a flowing red and white gown". I like the image of strong women, much like myself, who do magical things, but mostly spread a lot of love and joy.

May you have a good night.

Where ever DID I put that gown ....

Dogs With Blogs

Happy Winter!

and Happy Solstice. I'll be glad to see the days get a little brighter. I think it's great how people gather around this time of year and find different ways to celebrate "light".

A Man Called John

Don't you sometimes wonder what Elizabeth and Miriam thought about their sons? John and Jesus both went out to the desert before they started teaching. I think John was out there for a longer time because he was eating locusts and wild honey and is always pictured as being somewhat disheveled when he came into town to preach and baptize. Poor Elizabeth must have been so embarrassed. I wonder what the neighbours said. What's worse, John said nasty things about the religious leaders and called them a "brood of vipers" because they talked a lot of religion, but didn't have compassion or concern for the poor people .

John dunked a lot of people in water, something called baptism. It was to show that a person had repented. I asked my human what "repentance" was, and if it was edible. She said it's like me getting scared and running away, but then stopping, turning around, and running back into her open arms. I can relate to that. So sometimes even humans get on the wrong path and need to turn back to Love.

Sometimes tho, I'm so darned scared that I tend to keep running. Maybe that's what happened to the religious leaders in John's day. They were afraid of losing power, or money, or image, or something else as superficial. I can tell you for sure, fear is a powerful prison. So getting past it is glorious freedom. I'm growing into that .... little by little.

YIKES!

All of a sudden, from the big box by my bed, a booming voice started yowling. I got so scared I near jumped out of my fur.

My human forgot that if she played the old Christmas records on the old stereo, the speakers are by my bed. She is very contrite, and I think this will be good for a few extra treats for me .... as soon as I stop shaking.

Goings On Around Here

My human has been busy with Christmas luncheons and things. She keeps muttering about cleaning the house, but doesn't seem to be really DOING anything today. I don't mind. My bed smells of me and that is just fine.

Last night she and auntie Dorothy drove out to see some of the Christmas lights. I stayed at home where it was warm and cozy. Hopefully the "extreme" house will get on YouTube and I can see it there.

Tonight there is a candle-light vigil in support of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This is part of the 350.org campaign. There will be lots of people and it's also quite cold, so I'll just keep the "home-fires" burning and let my human take care of that for me.

If you are getting the idea that it's cold here, that's correct! I'll be glad when the promised snow comes and it warms up. My human has the shovel ready.

Just Be-ing

Sometimes what people expect of us isn't who we are. My human used to sometimes wish for a "normal" dog, especially during my "run away and hide" phase. Fortunately, I taught her to accept me "as is" and she is a good student. Of course, I do the same for her!

Holiday Treats

It's not actually Christmas yet, but I wanted to prepare you for some disappointment if your humans don't give you all the treats you beg for. Our friend, Dr. Nancy Kay, wrote an article about things more serious healthwise than an upset tummy. It's called:

Avoiding Pancreatitis During the Holidays

...... With the holidays once again upon us, I thought I’d toss this information out into cyberspace as a timely reminder to avoid overindulging our dogs!

"Overindulging", How is that possible? Anyway, the article is at:

http://speakingforspot.com/blog/?p=633

I'm a STAR!

My human was interviewed by Happy Tails Books .... all about me of course .... including a picture of my gorgeous self. I feel quite famous! Feel free to toss flowers, or better, food!

Wake Up!

WAKE UP!
Ohhhh, go away! Don't bother me! I'm sleeping!

Don't you hate it when enthusiastic humans, or canines, and especially cats, intrude on your peaceful rest? Here it is a nice drizzly, gray day when my bed is so warm and cozy, and until a minute ago, quiet. Now my human is excited about something called "Advent". Since she already woke me up, I might as well find out what it's about.

Christians call the four weeks before Christmas, "Advent". It's a time of expectation and awareness for the coming of the light after a dark cold winter, which is why I prefer to stay in my cozy bed .... "dark", "cold" ... why can't my human understand that?

I guess sleep and avoidance are common in our society. When things aren't at their best, hiding is one response. Advent tells us to hope, that the light will return. In the Christian tradition, the Light is Jesus of Nazareth, and the coming of God's Kingdom. It's a time of love and peace when even cats and dogs won't fight but will cooperate together. (I already practice that part.)

In pre-historic times, winter was a very difficult time for Aboriginal people in the northern latitudes. The growing season had ended and the people had to live off of stored food and whatever animals they could catch. Would the sun ever return? or would they be left in permanent darkness and extreme cold.

Some days it feels like this, even in the summer. People seem to be intent on finding new and better ways to kill each other. Money and "Profit" are the false gods that promise happiness, at least to those humans who have control and power. Some people even pray to Jesus to help them to "the top" so they can worship these false gods and trample on their neighbour. How weird is that?

Many centuries ago there was a Hebrew prophet named Jeremiah. He lived in a time of great turmoil and violence. He promised a time of restoration when people would do what was upright and just, when they would care more about the whole "pack" and it's needs, instead of their own selfish desires.

It's nice to know that is a possibility, and there are lots of people who today live, shining their light in the world.

Oh hey! The sun just came out! Nice!

Beliefs

I saw the strangest thing on the news last night. There is something in NYC called Macys' Thanksgiving Day Parade which is a big deal for some humans. What I saw on the tellie was a man in a red suit enthroned in the air and followed by big balloons that said: "Believe". But it didn't tell me what to believe.

Here in British Columbia there are ads with people saying they believe, and wearing shirts that are printed with the 2010 Olympic logo and the words: "I Believe". But what they believe in, it doesn't say.

I wonder if the man in the red suit, or the people telling me they "believe" know? It seems that something so important would be clearer.

Rainy Daze and Books

It is, of course, raining. It'll probably rain for the next few months, with an odd clear day here and there to allow us to dry out our webbed feet. But since it's raining, my human got busy and made me some sweet potato chips. They'll be cool tomorrow just in time for a morning treat.

It's also weather for cuddling up with a warm human and a good book. I like dog stories best, especially ones that have a happy ending. A lady named Kyla has started a whole series of books about dogs like me that needed someone to rescue them and give them a good home. What a good way to make people more aware of puppy mills and rescue groups and adopting angels.

So Kyla is adding her voice to raise awareness by publishing "Happy Tails Books". Get out your Kleenex and read some of the stories. They'll warm your heart during the cold winter days ... might even change your life. Who knows ........

Communication

My human went to a party last night with the folks from my rescue group. She brought home a humongous biscuit for me ... which was a nice thought but I couldn't get my teeth into it. So I sat, and looked at her, and finally had a little whine session to get her attention. (She still needs lessons in dog-speak) I could have broken it into smaller pieces if I had an opposing thumb, but I don't, which is one of the reasons why God gave us doGs, humans. Anyway, I'm not complaining. She also got a magazine with people-food dog treat recipes which I'm hoping she'll get busy on today.

There was a whole table at the dinner with my photo and name on it. How famous can one dog get?

I'll post some photos when I get them.

More Storms

The storms we are having are bringing back memories of "the big storms" of 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/y888vqq

I wasn't here then but my human told me they were without power for days, some for weeks. People got together to help clean up the mud in the lower areas. My new town is good at helping other folks and pulling together in an emergency. I always have enough dog food to get through an emergency.

There was a little snow this morning. Nalle was supposed to have surgery but his vet got stuck on the other side of the mountain due to road closure caused by an accident. I'll bet Nalle's glad to put the surgery off for awhile!

Night Storms

Something hit our front porch during the night and woke even my human who was all snug in bed. The wind sounded like a jet engine and the trees were doing a crazy dance. Meanwhile it was raining - so I just stayed in bed where it was warm and dry.

http://tinyurl.com/yzsmlms

Now the sky is going black again and the wind is picking up. I'm sure glad my human is here to take care of things so I can stay in bed and catch up on my rest.

Thank You!

A Big THANK YOU to everyone who voted for my heros at fureverafter small dog rescue!

Feel free to pass the word along to your friends, but of course, do not spam. Just use the handy link to the right ----->

Favourite Shelter Time Again

Each year, Care2 has voting for our favourite shelter, and of course, mine is my heros at Furever After. Hope you will join me and give them your vote too.

Contest closed Dec 16th

"Saint" Daisy

Daisy Elizabeth, the LabX I'm named after, died seven years ago today. From what I hear, she was a gentle, and loving dog (much like myself I might add!). I feel very privileged to bear her name, even if it's without the "saint" designation. To celebrate Daisy's life, my human bought me a special treat at the Market this morning. And she bought a nice local chicken - which is what got Daisy "jailed" at the SPCA so many years ago. She and her brother were killing the neighbours' chickens and retrieving them. My human lives in the city so she didn't have that temptation, but she thought that if Daisy's human allowed her, a Labrador Retriever, to run loose, and the chickens were allowed to run loose by their human, heck ... wasn't Daisy's fault if she "sinned". You can read more about Daisy's life with my human at her website which is linked above.