Oh, Sunny.... Bummer daaz! It is SO hard to lose a member of the pack. My condolences to you and yours. If it is any consolation, in Jewish** folklore it is considered very prestigious and fortuitous (i.e., a front-of-the-line in Heaven type of thing) to pass on a religious holiday.....not that your dog was Kosher. (Well, who knows; right?)
(**BTW, folks, I was not raised Jewish. I was raised in a community where there were LOTS of kids that were, though. Got along great with them and then -- at the tender age of 48 -- found out I am of Jewish decent via research by Kitty Kelly in her tell-all tome "The Royals"... as I said, "Who knew?" We cousins all joke about it now at family gatherings as it could explain the accountant/engineering/math gene we all have and the particular bump/bent to our prominent noses.)
Okay.... Sorry, folks. That was an unusual tangent. Back to the matter at hand...
I have always found the best way for me to honor a beloved dog is to give another worthy dog a shot at a good home. And when it has not been convenient for me to add to the household pack, I donate to the rescue groups in said pack member's name. Dogs are such good souls and SO good for the soul....nothing like walking through the door after a rat-nasty day and your own little resident pep squad is SO happy to see YOU! They just make the world a bit more all right..... Dogs rock (sez she with a collective of 185 lbs. of canine kids)
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Visited my sister over Christmas who was the recipient of my last mail-order hatching... OMG! Those cute little chicks from May are BIG chickens! And they're laying nice big BSL eggs.
At present I am spending the holidays up in the CA wine country and it is downright SOGGY up here. So much so that my husband and I walked out onto the wooden deck and both did a banana-peel slip on the moss that was growing thereon. Oops. Needless to say, this seasonal slime is NOT something we experience in the desert. Reality check! (We're fine, btw...just more humiliated than anything because after the age of, oh, maybe four you sort of stop expecting to fall down whilst walking.)
BEST BARGAIN ALERT: For those of you that partake and enjoy wine, the DEAL OF THE YEAR is to be found at your local Cost Plus World Market. Hustle ye down there and pick up a bottle or case of the Electric Reindeer Chardonnay. While supplies last it is 50% off as it is considered holiday fare AND if you buy a case they knock off an extra 10% (so in CA all of $2.29/bottle and $27/case...probably a tad higher in NV). This is an extraordinarily fine wine and you will not go wrong serving it to friends, family, bosses. I would rate it in the Top 3 chards I have ever drunk...and from someone semi-residing and sampling for the past three decades in the Napa wine country, *that* is telling. Far better than most $20/bottle chards out there. This is a bona fide steal! (And I am not affiliated with Cost Plus in any way, except that I am duly impressed by this vintage)
Anyway, I am wishing EVERYONE in the Nevada branch of BYC a fantabulous holiday season and safe New Year's Eve. Stay cozy, warm and count your blessings as we do have many. May we all have a prosperous, healthful and happy new year!