Cats by the Christmas tree lights

Gotta know when to hold 'em . . .

Tonight we had little gambling fun. The game is called Left-Center-Right, and it's simple as can be but lots of fun. Everybody comes to the table with 3 dollars, which fly--as the name implies--to the left, to the right, to the center, until some lucky soul walks away with the pot:



Tonight that lucky soul was Mike:

Sassy loves her mom

Merry Christmas!

I didn't get many pictures today, but here are a few worth sharing.

Sarah made this amazing FSU/UR sign for the man cave:



And this beautiful Dr. Who bulletin board for Annabelle:



Those goofy, back-lit kids:



Fred with a lap of puppies:



Mike and Ginger share a Christmas nap:

Christmas Eve scenes

Look who I found at Whole Foods today:



Two dogs in a one-dog bed:



Taking a picture of taking a picture:



Our looming tree:



Ginger guards the stockings:



And to all a good night!

How to grow a stocking

My Grandma Grace made Christmas stockings for all of her great-grandchildren, so one of the first things I thought when I heard my cousin Terri was expecting was: "Oh, no! What about the stocking?" Fortunately, my mom found the pattern in the bench to Grandma's sewing table. Unfortunately, I procrastinated on getting started until the eleventh hour. When Annabelle was home for Thanksgiving, she and I went to Michaels and found the same yarn Grandma had used for the others, and I got to work. I was determined to get this stocking done by Christmas!

December 5:



December 6 (If you look at the bottom, you can see Annabelle's stocking, which I referred to quite often.):



December 7:



December 10:



December 14:



December 17:



December 19:



I handed the stocking over to UPS on Friday, and today Terri sent me a picture to show me that it had made it:



I think Grandma would be pleased!

Annabelle, meet Sassy!

Sassy, meet Annabelle!

It's another puppy party!

Mike, Sarah, and Sassy are here for Christmas. Let the puppy escapades begin!

Hey, squirrel, that's not for you!

Seen in Old Town Alexandria

"Here's lookin' at you!"

Snow day!

Not a good day to go out:



But a good day for getting the tree finished:

I scream, you scream

The Christmas tree at Union Station is decorated by Norway with ornaments featuring the tortured soul from the painting "The Scream":



My kind of ornament!

Do you think I could potty train this cat?

Such form! Such concentration!

These cats love their dad!

Canine sleepover

For the past week and a half, we have been playing host to Ginger's friend Scout while Scout's people are out of town. Scout is an old lady--she celebrated her 14th birthday with us!--so things were pretty tranquil. These dogs put the "sleep" in "sleepover":

Reunions and football

Fred marched in the DeLand Veterans Day parade this morning with some of his fellow Stetson ROTC alums:



Then at lunch, we met up with his sophomore-year roommate, Eric:



After lunch we headed over to the stadium for our first ever Stetson football game. I borrowed a spiffy green hat from my mom in honor of the occasion:



Hatters for the win!

Fred has gone to the dogs

Fred arrived in Florida this morning to attend Stetson homecoming and his 30th reunion. The dogs are enjoying his company:

Ginger's buddy Buddy

Ginger and Buddy had a tense few minutes when we first got to town, but they have become the best of chums now:

Yum!

Make this cake:



But instead of plums, use peaches. And when you eat it, drown it in cream. You won't regret it. Trust me.

DeLand rainbow