Flattened by the Retreiver

Having recently divested myself of 70+ pounds of golden retriever sprawled across my lap while precariously balancing in the a chair in the office, I can finally reach the keyboard. I think the retriever was trying to get up so that he could paw James until he got a response, but that didn't work. I am the only one whom the dogs get away with walking (or climbing) all over, so pawing James in the middle of Sunday afternoon TextTwist just gets us both in trouble.

I'm sure a nap is in the offing for the retriever (if we are ever blessed with another one, I'm going to name it Suburban Sprawl), but I am trying to work my way back into the good graces of my spouse so that we can finish putting up the Christmas tree.

We did get to look at lights last night, which was fun and inspiring. So many of our neighbors go to great lengths to decorate their houses and lawns in honor of the season. I have to say that the Bethlehem cutout display was impressive (wise men, shepherds, and the Holy Family all cut out of white board and then lit with red and green spots). It was simple display, but reverent in a way that some of the more Vegas displays are not. Another family put an entire neighborhood on their front lawn, surrounding a church in which the nativity was represented.

My favorite lights are the LEDs, with their cool lights that efface themselves into the night, leaving the outlines and glow intact. We still haven't put up our lights, but we're working on the Christmas decorations in the house. This year the season has crept up on us in dribs and drabs, with less of the insistence of, say, a retriever trying to crawl into the lap. Hopefully, we will find the effort to meet the season halfway.