This is my friend Alessa's dog Scully. She's a doll. Real sweet dog who loves to jump up on you when you walk in the door.
This is Alessa's other dog, Duncan. I took the two of them out to run one day and could not get him to sit still for a photo. So, here he is bringing a tennis ball back for me to throw again...and again...and again... 
Today was windy as heck, but Muffin and Tango managed to get a bit of sun. They don't usually sit this close to each other, so I just had to snap a quick photo. This side of the house doesn't get as much wind, so Muffin, who HATES the wind, likes to sit up against the wall in the sunshine. The spot Tango is in is actually one of Muff's many nests..she tends to follow the sun. (Notice the look she's giving him.)
This is my teddy bear, Fudge Brownie. (Even as a kid, my chocoholic side was quite obvious.) I've had her since the age of 2, so she's now.....um....OK...she's about 37-years-old. My mom and dad had a slightly violent relationship during their marriage, and we (mom and us kids) sometimes spent the night at a hotel. On one of those nights, I forgot whatever doll or stuffed animal I usually hung on to and cried like crazy. So, we stopped at some drug store or some such, and they had a shelf full of these teddy bears with little yellow ribbons around their necks.
Well, all these years later and the yellow ribbon is barely hanging on, the "hands" have had to be folded down and sewn due to holes, fur is missing, the nose is actually the end of a sock that was used to replace it (and it's even stitched), the music box that was inside broke at some point and was removed, there are various stitches all over her....and yet I still hold on to her. I don't have a lot of photos or mementos from my childhood, but I still have Fudge Brownie. The hubby thinks she's kind of creepy, but I still love her. Sometimes, when I've had a bad day or just don't feel good, I still grab her and she helps me relax. (Yeah, I know. I'm 39 and should get over it. But I won't.) :-)
I hope your Christmas, or whatever holiday you observe, is just as perfect and peaceful.
Having been born in St. Paul, Minnesota, I of course like to hear about the Twins (baseball) or the Vikings (football) winning a game. (Doesn't seem to happen as often as I'd like, though.) And my high school mascot was a viking as well, which I thought was kind of cool at the time. Living in North Carolina, there's the Panthers to think about. Although, I can't seem to get into them quite as much. Don't know why. Maybe they just haven't impressed me enough yet.
My husband was born and raised in Georgia, and I lived there off and on for quite a few years growing up. I've actually sat through most of a World Series game when the Atlanta Braves were playing, and I do like to hear about those underdogs winning...when they actually do. Of course, there's a bit of pride when it comes to the University of Georgia's football team, the Bulldogs (the 
I think I may try to learn more about the 
This was on the first night of sitting with them. Looks like Emma is wondering where Mom and Dad are.
Emma and her "shoe." 
"OK, we're tired of pictures now. We're leaving."
Emma has a couple favorite chew toys. Here she is with one that looks like a woman's high heel shoe. She carries it around, plays fetch....and takes it outside where she uses it as an excuse not to come back in. (She seems to forget where she puts it and has to run around the yard looking until she finds it.)
And Gracie is just a little bundle of cuteness. Look at those ears. What a doll. Although she does have a sneaky side. She kept trying to jump up on the couch and snuggle up with me. I have since found out they aren't allowed on the upstairs furniture. Yep, sneaky little thing.
On the cat-front, Muffin disappeared on Saturday afternoon. One minute she was in the yard, the next she was gone. Now, I know cats tend to wander sometimes, but truth is, she doesn't usually. When Sunday morning rolled around and she wasn't waiting for her breakfast, I got really worried. And as the day wore on and still no sign of her....well, my heart was breaking to say the least. 
Would love to see more snow on the ground, but I'm happy with what we have. I love snow. (Did I say that already?) :-)
Muffin, on the other hand, was not a very happy camper. She followed me out into the yard and then sat staring at me with that wonderful glare of hers, alternately lifting each front paw from the cold ground. Told her it was her own fault for following me, but you know how cats are.
The not quite 30 degree weather plus the snow plus the wonderful smell coming from my neighbor's wood stove...What a beautiful day it is.
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that long ago when signs like this were a common thing in the south. My mother was born and raised in this type of environment, and many members of her family are still of this mindset, but thankfully Mom never was. She and I may not have gotten along at times, but because of her I have never felt this type of thing was right. Thanks Mom.
And now we have elected our first African-American president. Yes, we have come a long way, and hopefully the future will remain as bright as it looks right now. 
And Muffin continues to do such odd and interesting things. We had placed these boxes on the porch to throw away. She adopted them. When she wanted to get away from Tango, she'd run into one of the boxes. One day when it was a bit windy and cold, I put one box on top of the other, and Chris pulled a blanket we had on the porch for her part way into it. Viola!! She loves to sneak in there and hide. 
You can go to any search engine and run a search for jack-o-lanterns, and you'd be surprised what you find. There are some people out there with a lot of talent...and a lot of time on their hands obviously.
This is the 'Brown Lady' who haunts 
