You Can Quote Me

"One kind word can warm three winter months."
                             ~~~ Japanese Proverb

We Interrupt Christmas........

I hate to interject anything truly "serious" at this jolly time of the year, but the Soapbox calls.

This morning on the Today Show, there was a segment about the BBC's video from last year -- the one that prevented Crufts from being aired...the "expose on pedigreed dogs".  (See it at http://www.today.msnbc.msn.com/)  BBC America is showing that documentary tonight at 7 o'clock CST.  I think it would behoove all of us to watch, make notes and then be prepared to ask questions, make noise, etc.

I also believe that NBC needs to hear from the breeders and supporters of responsibly bred purebred dogs.  For example, I plan to send an email requesting that they actually do on-air interviews (in the interest of FAIR AND OBJECTIVE reporting) with reputable breeders who have years of HANDS ON experience breeding and raising dogs instead of interviewing Ivory Tower professors who probably wouldn't know which end the damn puppy comes out of.  It burns me slap DOWN that no network, no group, no anybody ever wants to hear from the people who actually are involved in the activity being vilified.  Yes, there are crappy breeders......and have been for hundreds of years.  But there are plenty who try very, very hard to breed sound, healthy dogs.  And without good breeders, just where are our liberal, hand-wringing friends going to get their next Lab or Golden or Cocker Spaniel....or whatever breed they have happened to fall head over heels in love with?

And by the way, has it never dawned on any of these yo-yos that one of the reasons it APPEARS that purebred dogs have more health problems is because the purebred community is terribly aware of their breeds and actively watch and test for problems so that they can do whatever they can to eliminate them?  Mixed breed dogs have plenty of health problems, too, only nobody recognizes them for what they are because nobody's looking or keeping track.

And AKC:  oh boy!  They issued a "statement".  Great.  Those boys up there need to get their heads out of their asses and formulate a PLAN that involves going on the offensive instead of constantly playing catchup.  Don't y'all think that Wayne and his minions over at HSUS are going to have a damn FIELD DAY with this?  They'll tie it right in to their "war on puppy mills" that they are ramping up for 2010.  (The latest is their national toll-free hotline to report suspected puppymills.  Somehow they've managed to delude folks into thinking that HSUS has law enforcement powers!)  And of course, to HSUS, anybody that has more than 2 or 3 dogs and breeds more than once a year is a puppymill. 

So, in the battle to keep purebred animals in our lives, if y'all thought 2009 was tough, get ready.  And take your heads out of the sand..........

Sorry.....back to our regularly scheduled festivities.........

O Christmas Tree......

O Christmas tree.......... 

Well, I have finally managed to get the tree up and decorated.  So many things have happened to prevent this, that I am beginning to think I wasn't supposed to have one.  For one thing, my beautifully STRAIGHT tree at the lot somehow began severely listing to one side within minutes of being put in the tree stand.  Repeated attempts to fix this were all for naught.  It's still listing to one side.  Of course, now that I think of it, this could have been from the tree falling over several times while I had it in the garage "drinking" out of a 2-gallon bucket.  I kept trying to prop it up; it kept falling.  Hey, at least it's still nice and green and fragrant.

This is also the first live Christmas tree we've had in almost 30 years.  As I got the lights out that we used several years ago (the others are on the artificial tree in the attic -- the one we've had up for the past, oh, 15 years), I suddenly remembered why I've stored my tree with the lights on it.  I forgot that these old-fashioned lights have to be screwed in the string and THEN you get to string them on the tree.  And those little LIVE branches aren't nearly as strong and supportive as the artifical ones, so you must attach the lights, not merely lay them up in the tree.  Sigh.

Today is the last of Decoration Days.  I'm done.  All in.  Whatever is left undone will have to wait till next year.  There's only one thing left to do:  wrap the presents and get them under the tree.  I do so hope that can be accomplished before December 24th.


CHRISTMAS SNAPS:

Monday Musing

This is what my poor little Knockout rose bush looked like on Saturday morning.  Yep, we got about an inch of the white stuff in Alabama.  It's probably as close as we'll ever get to a White Christmas.  It was very pretty early in the morning and then by noon, it was all gone.

We Southerners are a strange bunch when it comes to snow.  We see it so seldom in any appreciable quantity, that we all become 6 year-olds at the mention of the word, much less the actual product.  And then, after the initial "oh boy....SNOW", we get all panicky and go in to "milk/bread/eggs" survival mode.  I bet Friday at the grocery stores was crazy.  It's really amusing.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be 60 degrees.

You Can Quote Me

"A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together!"
                                                   ~~~~Author Unknown

Deck the Halls, Y'all!

So, I've put on my Elf Hat (if not my Elf Attitude) and begun the process of turning a country farmhouse into Santa's Village.  Ummmmm....maybe not.  But at least it might look a little bit Christmasy.  Here's what's happened so far:

I made this wreath several years ago out of a 20' lead, miniature chew sticks and dog ornaments.  I hope it's going to hold up forever because I don't want to have to do it again.  The Christmas sign came from good old Michael's about 3 years ago -- one of my "newer" Christmas decorations.

And of course, I have to have the Christmas flags outside on the walk.  And you can't play favorites.  They KNOW.

And here we have this year's "crafty thing".  Seems like I just can't make it through a holiday season without trying to make something.  There have been a few times that whatever it was got immediately thrown in the trash, it was so horrible.  I got lucky this year.  This attempt at creating actually turned out to work!  (Thanks a heap, Martha.)

And here we have the BIG EXPENDITURE for the holidays.  (This is what was in the boxes a few days ago.)  Now I know why people spring for the prelighted ones even though they're double the cost.  I think we need more lights, but by the time I got to this, all I wanted was THROUGH!  Obviously needs a little refining.

And, finally, I got to move to the inside of the house.  And scatter a couple of things around as you can see below.  Guess once I get the tree in a few days, I can complete the process.  By that time I should be pretty sick of the whole mess.  More later!

For the Love of a Dog

Today I had the privilege of helping an Airedale rescue boy and his new owner start to build a foundation of trust.  Seems that George is a 3-year old with quite a lot of baggage.  This is his third home in as many years.  A sweet, sweet boy, but with oh so many anxieties and fears.  Fortunately for him, his new owner is committed to working with him and loving him and keeping him.  George's main problem is his fence jumping.  His second main problem is his lack of connection with humans.  For whatever reasons (which we will never really know), he hasn't learned that humans can be fun, trustworthy, caring and hanging out with them can be just as good --sometimes better -- than hanging with canine buds.

I was really surprised when George's owner asked me how much I charged for coming to "consult" with her.  She was even more surprised than me when I laughed and said, "Nothing."  Little could she know that this is for an Airedale debt that I can never repay.  I have been loved by 3 wonderful Airedales so far in my life.  If I can keep one in a home that will love him and protect him until the day he dies, it just goes toward the love loan that was given to me.  On the way home, I looked at the picture of the one closest to my heart that rides in my car stuck on the visor so I can see it if I glance up.  Today was that girl's tribute.  And only a drop in the bucket to what she gave me in her short life.

It will take time for George to see that someone is going to love him no matter what.  But he will see it.  His new owner wants that.  And I told her if she wants that enough, then it can happen.  With a rescue you can't make promises, but I think I'm right.  I hope I am.  For George's sake.  For his owner's.  For mine.