Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through this house of mine, every dog came to ask me, "Is it 9? Is it 9?"

Of course, they ask that every night. 9 o'clock is when they get their bedtime chews, and they know it. Of course, the dog-alarms start going off up to an hour and a half ahead of time. I say that patience is a virtue, they say to be early is to be on time. The nightly battle of proverbs generally ends in a stalemate when 9 o'clock is finally achieved.

I heard a really funny song on the radio with a little kid saying, "I ain't gettin' nuthin' for Christmas 'cause I ain't been nuthin' but bad." I've been singing this to Queezle (substituting "you" for "I"), but she just laughs at me. She has been pretty good this year, so I guess she'll get something for Christmas after all. She even put on a nice expression while wearing her hat!

For the most part Christmas Eve has been pretty tame, though I was woken up early this morning for a surprise dentist appointment. My mom did take Tom and I out to IHOP afterward, so I guess that was ok. After that it was a good day - got all of my gifts wrapped and talked to various relatives on the phone.

Flash (who gets an automatic "good" card for her Champion Tracker this year) came down to the barn with me like she usually does. She absolutely loves it, and goes zipping down leaving a cloud of snow behind her. Then she roots around in the barn while I get everything done. Afterward I took Queezle for a walk. I picked up a handful of snow, and she leaped up and grabbed it out of my hands! We had a mini snow war, then played hide-and-seek around the shed and one of the cars. She thinks these games are a ton of fun, and always grins and wags her tail joyfully.

But for now, it is 6 minutes to 9, and I have three pairs of eyes looking at me balefully. You would think they never got fed.