Good house keeping

Good house keeping

Celebrating Charlie Day

Charles Barkley turned 13 this week, 12 of those as my housemate. He's still every bit the Charles. Why, just last evening he valiantly and awkwardly rose to Lucy's defense as we were all walking along a greenbelt. However, I'm proud that he went through the whole renovation without incident with any of the workers. The only thing 13 about him are is lanky hips, but he keeps on trucking as best an old dog can. He's a loyal friend to all that earn their way into his inner circle, he self-appointedly keeps us safe, he keeps Lucy entertained (and keeps the deep recesses of her ears clean), he doesn't fetch. Happy birthday bud!

Oh Christmas tree

Cutting down your Christmas tree in TX means being able to do it in a t-shirt. We did this last weekend out near Elgin. It was everything you could ask for. A hay ride, a donkey, trees, toy trains, cider and helper kids with tree allergies wheezing through the day.

Here are our stockings hung by the hallway with care.


It's not easy to see any detail well in this picture, let alone the little owl on top of the tree. We have a lot of screech owls and an occasional barred owl in our hood, so we topped our tree with a tribute.