'twas the night before christmas

"It's not going in the yard, Russ. It's going in the living room."

cozied up for the Christmas eve movie

under the mistletoe :)

Lulu loves Christmas morning!

The Last (dog) Day of Summer

Lulu and Bailey got to take a trip to the farm last weekend to visit cousins and family... and other animals of all sorts. Lulu's pretty lazy when it's hot out and loves the cool floor of the air-conditioned kitchen. But, when horses, cats, and other dogs are around, along with men wearing boots smelling of all kinds of great odors and blue jeans occasionally used as a napkin, wiped with mayo or meat or something sweet, she can't contain her excitement. Sniffing and tail-wagging non-stop, she literally cannot keep still. No time for napping or resting in this kind of doggy heaven. After running circles around the horses on a long ride, she decided that their water trough was the perfect place to cool off. Bailey thought so too, but isn't quite as acrobatic as Lulu.

Oh, Lulu. It's been a great summer, but we're ready for the cool crisp fall days ahead- tomorrow! And then it's back to seeking out any patch of sun, inside or out, to cozy up in for a nice nap.

Winter Woods

I'm a warm weather girl no doubt, and this winter has certainly got me looking forward to spring- just a few months from now, right? But, I'm up for a hike any time of year. I especially like not having to worry about running into anything creepy or crawly this time of year. However, it seems as if the stillness of the woods in winter is so much more than hibernating creatures. It's such a modest season, not dramatic or showy, like fall and spring, or overly excited with a kind of nervous energy, like summer. The winter woods are calm and quite, stripped to the bare bones. There is a powerful beauty here; it is as if the woods are telling us to slow down and take a closer look, beyond the obvious vibrant fall leaves and delicate spring flowers. Subtle is the word I'm looking for in all of my musing, truly I am a Romantic at heart. So, back to the hike, I love the textures and pops of color and interesting curves and jagged edges that I found crunching through the leaves on this still December day.