Random Days of Christmas: Day 14

Day 14: You Need a New Sofa When...

The greyhounds prefer to rearrange the cushions so they are actually being eaten by them.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 13

Day 13: Reindog

Seka is a certified therapy dog. Most of the time we go to the nursing home alone, but we've recently become active with a local therapy dog group in Dublin - which is about an hour away from us. When Seka was younger she loved going to the nursing home and didn't really like visiting with kids. As she has aged, she doesn't like the nursing home so much and prefers to hang with the youngsters. Maybe she thinks I'm going to leave her at the old folks home. Or maybe it's because kids are sticky and taste better than nursing home food.

We were a part of Santa and his reindogs visits this year and of course, Seka made the best reindeer of all. In fact, maybe a little too good. A few of the residents thought she was a real reindeer.

These antlers were given to us years ago and she wears them like a champ for about 30 minutes. The bell collar - not so much. I do have to admit, from far away she looks rather real.

Happy Holidays to each of you!!!

Random Days of Christmas: Day 12

Day 12: Ornamental Objects

I have always felt like holding a Christmas ornament is like holding a memory in your hand. One of my favorite parts of Christmas growing up was the trip to the Hallmark store where my sister and I could select one ornament each that would represent "us" for that year. Whether it was Miss Piggy or a cheerleading bunny (both of which I still have and hang on my tree), those ornaments represented an interest at that point in our lives. One year I picked a penguin on a block of ice. I have no idea what that was supposed to represent for 1982.

Our tree holds many of my childhood ornaments as well as those from our many travels. I have a shell from Aruba, the Golden Gate Bridge, Hawaiian flip flops, and of course numerous Red Sox ornaments (thanks to Kev's students).

Of course our babies are all depicted on our tree as well. I cry a little each time I hang Boo Radley and Nomie's ornaments on our tree. Laugh as I hang Sam's ornament - one that I got in 1985 - as it is a bit cross eyed, just like she is. Clyde has a saddle, complete with stirrups. Good greyhound ornaments are harder to find. Seka's ornament looks just like her. Roxy, is depicted in pewter.

Our collection grows every year. I'm always on the lookout for new animal oriented ornaments in the hopes that one day we can have an entire tree dedicated to our babies.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 11

Day 11: Opening Presents Takes Practice

Roxy is becoming a pro...

Random Days of Christmas: Day 10

Day 10: Dear God, Make Me a Cat, So I Can Get Out of Here

We have had a lot of work done to our home in the last month an a half. New roof. New hot water heater. Fixing of leaky pipes (3 of them). Merry Christmas!

All of these required the dogs to be stowed away so they can be out of the way of the men as they went back and forth to their truck for whatever they needed. Sometimes they got stuck up stairs with an ex-pen blocking the stairs. Other times we all spent the day in the basement together. The girls didn't mind either of these options.

But for quick visits (an hour or less), I just shut them in our bedroom. Within 10 minutes of being stuck behind a closed door, Seka began devising a plan to shrink herself and escape. Despite the fact she is less than small boned - she has a super tiny head!

Random Days of Christmas: Day 9

Day 9: Attack Cat on Duty

We don't have a garage door at our house. At first I thought that I'd miss being able to close my cars in a safe little compartment each night. Kev continues to remind me that we live out in the country and to stop being paranoid.

Now I really don't think twice about it and in fact it becomes handy when the holidays come around and all of my online shopping is delivered. Nothing gets wet or damp. And as I discovered a couple of days ago, it allows our attack cat to guard the packages until one of us arrives.

At 15, Walter does not mess around. I've seen him chase dogs four times his size out of our garage and send them screeching in fear. Other cats and night critters do not dare step foot in our garage without paying a high price. I am convinced he is really a small wolverine.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 8

Day 8: My Greyhound Snores Louder than Your Honor Student

This has been happening for quite some time. We'll be watching tv and suddenly we hear the rumblings of a growling bear. The tv is instantly muted so we can decide where the attack will come from and I begin to mentally review all of the survival skills I've learned by watching When Animals Attack and then we realize it is just Roxy napping.

Can greyhounds have sleep apnea?

Random Days of Christmas: Day 7

Day 7: Greyhound Mayhem

We stopped crating the girls about a year ago. It started out leaving them out for about 10 minutes at a time, earning their trust little by little. On days when I'm on the road for work and Kev is out of the house for long periods of time, they still get some crate time just to keep Roxy in check.

But, as you can see, Roxy got bored while we were at dinner the other night and decided that the newspaper can be recycled much easier when pre-shredded and my Red Sox visor looks way better with teeth marks.

You know the holidays are stressful. Ripping something to shreds (or beating up your sister) makes you feel better.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 6

Day 6: Oh, the Greyhound and the Kitty Can Be Friends

Emma is 14 years old and continues to grow more stubborn every day. She may lack a tail, but she has a lot of attitude and isn't afraid to show it. Lately, Emma has decided that Roxy is her personal heating pad. No matter where Roxy beds down, Emma is right behind waiting to make her nest cuddled up right next to her.

At first there were some grumbles on Roxy's part. She doesn't like anyone in her face - that includes me and certainly not a kitty. But for some reason she has decided that Emma isn't too much of a bother and I think she actually likes the added warmth the little fur ball provides.

As you can see, humans have been officially removed from the sofa and all is right in the world.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 5

Day 5: Sam Loves Dry Cleaning Bags

Kevin has exactly 58 dress shirts in his closet. They are all different colors and patterns and he never wears the same shirt twice. After he gets home from school, he places the used shirt into the dry cleaning pile that he takes to our friends at Love Your Clothes Dry Cleaning once every 3 months. This always freaks them out that we have 58 pieces of clothing to be cleaned at once. We pick up every shirt he owns three days later and the cycle starts all over again.

When removing 20 or so dry cleaning bags before putting the shirts in the closet, it never fails that Sam buries herself in the bags as deep as she possibly can. I have to work my way into her little kitten fort to be sure she has a hole to breath out of. I guess the dry cleaning chemicals are like cat nip to her. She is a Siamese so there's really no explaining her behavior.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 4

Day 4: 2 Broke Girls Love Greyhounds

If you've not checked out the new CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, you're missing out on one of the funniest shows on television right now. If you like tongue-in-cheek humor, double entendre, and genuine characters this show is for you.

I was pretty psyched last Monday night when the two main characters go into a jewelry store and the set was decorated with a huge picture of a greyhound in a diamond collar. Greyhounds show up in the elevator scene too.

I mean if you have a golden retriever, you can't get excited when you see one used on TV or in a movie - right? When greyhounds appear on the screen, I like to think some greyhound-lover is working on that show or movie and went the extra mile to give us greyhound owners a secret shout out.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 3

Day 3: Seka and the Sunshine Band

We had a huge tree removed from the front of our house in early fall. We really like the way it opens up the front of the house. The animals love the way the sun shines right in on them 90 percent of the day. Seka has taken advantage of these day-long sun spots more so than any of the others.

As you can see, she's into contortion to make sure she suns all sides of herself evenly. When she is done baking herself her fur feels like it could be 100 degrees. What is it about these black and sunning themselves until they cook?

Random Days of Christmas: Day 2

Day 2: Trent Reznor Rocks
Oscar-winning composer, Trent Reznor raises money for greyhound rescue auctioning off Nine Inch Nails memorabilia on Ebay. That's right, Trent Reznor, has greyhounds and uses his fame and the cult-like following of his band to give back to greyhounds. If you follow him on twitter (@trent_reznor) he often posts pictures of his dogs and encourages his followers to adopt a greyhound.

I will admit that I was never a Nine Inch Nails fan. I mean the scary kid who smoked dope and wore all black to school sported a NIN t-shirt frequently. To be fair this was my only reference and I didn't really fit the NIN demographic. But his work on The Social Network (for which he won an Oscar for best original score) and his lates work on Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (out next week), is exceptional.

So, follow Trent Reznor on twitter and support his work for greyhound rescue. Maybe when he wins his Oscar in 2012 he will give greyhounds a shout out in his acceptance speech.

Random Days of Christmas - Day 1

I've been MIA. I know it. Getting into the Christmas spirit is a lot of work - decorating, baking, shopping, eating... and I've neglected my blog. It's not for lack of topics. I have plenty. So in an effort to make up for lost time I present to you the Random Days of Christmas 2011. All random. All the time.


Day 1: Roxy Takes a Shower

I walked into our bathroom a few days ago and found Roxy standing inside. Maybe she wondered in there to lick the floor? Maybe she couldn't figure out how to turn around? Maybe she was hinting that I really need to clean the shower door? I can't be sure the reason. All I know is she had to be picked up and turned around to escape the glass box. Silly pony.