Christmas Roundup

Welcome to this year's Christmas roundup!

I know it sounds odd, but I'm only just starting to recover from all the fun I had on Christmas day.  That's why it has taken me so long to share the stories of my Christmas frivolities with my loyal readers.

Before I begin, I must first admit that I initially thought that this Christmas wasn't going to be a good one for me.  You see, Christmas Eve was a bit of a disaster.  Here's what happened:

Ma and Pa took me to "the spa."  Now, I know that some humans, when they hear the word spa, think of some relaxing place.  Well not me.  When I hear the word, I know that it can only mean one thing...bath time.  So there I was, unceremoniously thrown in a giant bath tub in Woofer Wash and I'm not ashamed to say that I carried on like I was being killed, after all, I worked long and hard on getting myself nice and stinky and I really didn't want all my hard work to literally go down the drain.  Although I was less than helpful during the washing process, I did eventually allow Ma and Pa to scrub me down with shampoo and conditioner (the conditioner gives my coat a silky smooth shine).  I put my paw down, however, when it came to drying.  I did not want to be dried by that noisy cold air blowing dryer.  Of course, my persistence backfired because when I got home I was so cold that I actually started shivering.  Ma and Sister felt bad for me and decided to see if I would tolerate being dried by the hairdryer.  It turns out that I loved it.  Within a couple of minutes I was nice and warm and dry.

Luckily, the holiday took a turn for the better after that.

I spent Christmas morning trying to steal crumpled up pieces of used wrapping paper as Ma, Pa, and Sister opened their presents.  I had a lot of fun and shredded a number of pieces even though Pa kept trying to hold me back with my leash.  I do feel slightly bad for my humans though; they got a lot of clothes and videos, and stuff for the house out east, but very little food and absolutely no plush toys.  Anyway, when they were done it was my turn.  Sister first let me open the present that Rita, Ralphie, and Brandy gave me (a box of cookies!) and showed me what Karin and Mecki got me (more cookies!).  Then Sister pulled from the bag next to her an oddly shaped package wrapped in Golden Retriever wrapping paper.  "Merry Christmas" she said as she handed me the package.  I gave the package a good shake in my mouth and all of a sudden I felt something soft and fluffy inside.  I rummaged around in the paper and pulled out a plush gingerbread man squeaker toy with some kind of crinkly plastic stuffing.  Now let me tell you, I played with that toy until I collapsed exhausted on the floor and took a nap.

I was awoken from my nap by the sound of someone opening the side door.  I jumped up, grabbed my toy, and found Aunt B standing in the kitchen.  Now, I must take a moment to apologize to Aunt B:  sadly I didn't give her a proper welcome when she came in because, well, my nose was distracted by the yummy smelling chocolate cake in her hands and I rose up on my hind legs in an attempt to get a good sniff.

Me and my moose napping.

With Aunt B present, the party could really begin.  Out came the food (potato chips and dip, prime rib, lasagna, cookies, and cake), I begged for pets (which Aunt B happily gave me because I wasn't drooling that much--I was still so tuckered out from the morning that I just didn't have the strength to drool as excessively as I normally do), and a police chase was viewed from the window (well, Sister, Ma and Aunt B saw it...I couldn't because the windows in the dining room are too high).  Then it was present time.  Just before Ma, Pa, Sister and Aunt B sat down to opened their presents, Pa told me that Santa had left me a couple of presents as well.  From the back room Pa brought out a bag of rawhides.  I jumped up and down and wagged my tail in circles.  After polishing off a rawhide, Pa brought out another toy from Santa:  a stuffed floppy moose.  As with my gingerbread man, I chewed on that toy until I fell asleep.

I've been napping (and, according to Sister, snoring loudly) ever since.   And who wouldn't after all that excitement?