Holiday Preps

The Holiday preparations have officially started at the "L." household! :) Last year, we waited until the last possible moment and then got hit with a monster snow storm so the lights never went up outside. This year, my nagging worked and we produced a very disorganized and amateurish display of colorful lights tangled in the branches of our dying tree. Oh, the joys of the season.

Nova was there to ensure the quality of our work.

 

And behold, the glamorous results :

Freezing Fog

The view from our backyard last week.

Quiet

I know I've been slacking in the blog department recently. I'd like to say "I've had so much going on!" but that's not even an excuse. There really isn't that much happening... well... that much worth writing about. Life is just trucking along - business as usual.

But what have I been doing with all my free time? I haven't had that much, seriously. I've been keeping up with other online and offline projects. New job requires me to sit in front of a computer for most of the day so when I get home, I just want to sit there and turn off my brain.

I've been learning a lot about my surroundings, about myself and about my family within the past months since Mom passed away. I'm still taking it all in and most times, not really in the mood to share. I've been a bit more introvert than usual and I think it's a good thing.

I find lately I've been longing for silence. I find myself needing "quiet time" during the day - either when I get home from work or at night after dinner. I want to turn off the TV, unplug everything and just sit there with a cup of tea or a book. I've never had this longing before and it's really strange. I've just been rushed through so many emotions, I want a couple minutes to allow my mind to sit still.

I am not so much looking forward to the holidays this year. I'm going to be visiting my Dad and family mid-December and returning to Saskatchewan just in time to spend Christmas day with Js, Jack and Nova - a Christmas we didn't get to celebrate together last year. I know we made the right decision with regards to my trip home but I'm still struggling with knowing that my Dad will wake up by himself Christmas day.

Dog vs Mat

I was quietly preparing dinner (zapping some left over lasagna I slaved over the day before) and I heard a weird noise coming from the side door. Kinda like a "hacking" noise but I knew Jacko was upstairs. "Shite! The dog's about to puke and she's asking for the door!" *runs paper towel in hand*

I slammed on the breaks before I got too close when I saw what was really going on. We'd given Nova the end of a raw-hide in the morning so we could play video games - yes, we're horrible pet owners. My precious, brilliant dog had decided she wanted to bury it somewhere in the house. After searching high and low, she decided behind the side door was the best option. She could then cover it with the mat.

The noise I heard was her trying to push the little mat around with her nose... front paws solidly planted on it. So there she was, pushing with all her might and holding it down in place blinded by her determination. I stood there, laughing and waiting to see what she would do next. In my defense, I didn't know how bad it was at this point - it was just horribly cute. After a while she figured it out (!!) and started scratching and nudging the mat in place. Eventually she had done it, the little raw-hide was (almost) entirely hidden under a giant pile of mat.

She looks over at me with so much pride and happiness like she was saying : Look Ma, no one will ever find it now! Tell me I'm a good girl! I look a bit closer and notice something is a bit off on her face and the mat and floor are covered in streaks of... what is this? Blood?! Nova rug-burned her nose. Like, bleeding and all. She worked so hard she never felt a thing but now she has a little bald spot on the top of her nose, it's kinda scabbing and a bit gross but healing.

Nova : 0
Mat : 1