Holidays can be hard...

[labblab]

I am really puzzled then. I have consistently been lighting candles with no problem. So I just don't know what is going wrong for you.

[labblab]

"Auld Lang Syne"...

For the sake of old times.

I don't know all the lyrics, but I surely do hum along with the music each and every New Year's Eve -- with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. What a privilege to have shared my life with my loved ones, human and four-legged, physically still present or here with me in spirit alone.

Cheers to the old times, and Cheers to the new times that still await us. May the New Year bring a measure of comfort and peace to all our family.

[Wally P's Mom]

Hello Friends:

The holidays have come and gone. Turning 50 this year, meant that I was due for a colonoscopy which was done 2 days before Christmas. Yes, it fell on the one year anniversary of my dad's passing. But the after effects of the anesthesia got me through Christmas.(Better than booze.) I don't remember much, a blur you would say. (I knew something good would came out of doing that test.) We had the family over on Christmas. My sister brought her invited dogs over for dinner. It took the edge off of missing Fritz (Christmas marked 2 months for Fritz.). Fritz left a gapping whole in my heart and his paw prints left the evidence behind. I miss him.

I had to tell his and Wally's stories this past weekend to convince a small breeder that we were the right parents for her puppy. All the emotions just hit me. As I was making my case for this little guy, all the little things that came rushing back to me about my guys. Plenty of tears were shed as I did this. I think in the end, it was meant that I did this. Remember and not forget, but also welcome and start anew.

At the end of the month, Mark and I are welcoming a new puppy into our home. Everyone says that puppies are a lot of work, but no one that says this ever dealt with the medical issues that I have.

I can never say that I would be completely ready for a pup. But once he is in my arms, I don't think I can ever let him go.

Wish us luck.
Happy New Year and New Beginnings.
Marge

[labblab]

Oh Marge, I wish you luck a thousand times over!!!!!!!

I cannot think of a better way to close our annual holiday thread than to look forward to the arrival of your new baby. By next holiday season, you will have so many adventures to tell us about, and also new rituals to be born alongside your puppy. The circle of love will continue unbroken: from Fritz to Wally P to Little Mister.

Please, please, please begin a new thread for "our" baby on "Everything Else" whenever the mood strikes you. Sending my best wishes to you all!

Marianne

[molly muffin]

A puppy is so exciting. We will want to hear all about it of course. What a journey will be beginning all over again.

[Wally P's Mom]

Thanks friends for the well wishes and everlasting support.

Marge

[Allison]

As the years pass, the holidays become more bittersweet. In the space of only two years, my husband and I have lost three pets. One of them, my Lucy cat, died two years ago in December. Many pets have been lost before this time too who will never be forgotten.

Yet this Christmas, our household was full, alive with our toy poodle and three cats. They received many gifts. I took many photos. There were many barks and meows. It was good.

May everyone have a blessed 2016!

[Budsters Mom]

Thank you for this beautiful reminder that life and love are a circle meant to go on. There is always more love to share.

Yet this Christmas, our household was full, alive with our toy poodle and three cats. They received many gifts. I took many photos. There were many barks and meows. It was good

[labblab]

Hi guys, and welcome home again!! I am throwing open the door to our holiday house a bit early this year. And this is 100% selfish on my part because I am the first one to plop down at the table to talk. I miss my sweet Peg so much.

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday of all. October is my favorite month, for sure. Crisp mornings, leaves turning, bonfires, apple orchards, pumpkins. And it all leads up to Halloween, a night that still seems magical to me even though I'm definitely not a kid anymore.

Our first Halloween with Peg, I rushed out to buy her a bright orange collar. She didn't do well with costumes at all, but she didn't mind a different collar, and I loved it! Our shiny black dog looking so pretty with her orange collar. Out of all my Halloween decorations, my favorite has always been Peg's collar. Buckling it around her neck has always been the crowning moment of all.

Yesterday I started decorating the house. I tried my best to be cheerful, but I knew what was coming. When I opened the box in the closet with her collar, it was hard. Really hard.

It won't be the same this year without her. And this is just the first of the holidays. Oh my. I miss her so much, and wish with all my heart that she was still here with us. I am grateful to have a place here where I can talk.

Marianne

[spdd]

We certainly know how you feel, at least I do. Here in Canada we didn't make such a big deal with Hallowe'en decorations until these last few years, but in my experience we were always behind a little from you guys when it came to decorations. I went to Florida and saw the lit reindeer for Christmas, long before they were popular here. It took a year or two for me to see them in the stores up here. Anyway... about Hallowe'en, I used to dress Keesh up in an angel costume, he had a halo and wings, specially made for dogs. He'd get soooo excited when the kids came up the driveway if he was outside. He also had to check out the treats to make sure they were safe for the kids.... what a character. Now believe it or not, the scrooge that I've become, I turn off the lights or leave for the night. 15 years of giving out candies and having so much fun, is no longer and it's just something I cannot do anymore, along with other things. Hugs and more hugs going out to you.... even though we were so blessed to have these marvelous creatures in our life, the sadness more times then we like overtakes the smiles when we remember.