A Crunch of Leaves

We have a dog whom I both love and hate. She was a Dumb Friends League find and immediately took to my husband - even before we'd left the place. So why, you might ask, did we imagine we were getting the dog for our daughter? That would come along the lines of stupidity. But she both makes me laugh and makes me cringe, depending on her behavior at the moment.

When Daisy is sleeping, I really love her. When she is growling because my daughter wants to pet her and she's a crouchy old codger, I sorta hate her. When she is outside chasing the Frisbees my husband throws for her every day on her "run", it's love. When she's gassy and/or puking, hate. Joyfully, crunching the leaves that have freshly fallen from the autumn trees, then circling back to hear the noise again, love her. Eating the dirty tissue someone left on the coffee table, hate her. Excitedly jumping around when it's time to walk our daughter to school, love her (it's cute). Barking her head off at someone across the street, hate her.

You get the picture. It's a back and forth thing. But what can you do? She's family. So we love her overall - well, my husband loves her all the time - and we wish she were a little better behaved.

Now the two cats, well, that's a whole different story....

Hunkering Down

One of the things I like best when the weather turns colder is to hunker down in the house, hot chocolate a-plenty, fleece blankets to wrap up in, a good movie or book and watching the world outside change. Every so often, a nice, deep breath in the cold makes the day just right. I hope when the first 'real' snowstorm comes, it's on my day off so I can sleep in and then follow the path above. Can you tell I like this time of year???