Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed a wonderful day of rest and relaxation yesterday.

Hope you were all able to enjoy the same.

Oh, happy, happy holidays...

Halfsies

Having an orally-fixated (see: Labrador) dog has certainly taken a 'bite' out of our Christmas tree decorating.

We have a half-decorated tree.

The top half only.

While we're pretty sure Juno wouldn't attack the Christmas tree as much as she used to, we've simply gotten into the habit of decorating our Christmas trees from just the middle up.

With the proverbial glass still full, here's to half-decorated trees everywhere!

Hot Water With Lemon

My latest drink of choice - hot water with lemon.

'Feed a cold, starve a fever'? Well I'm doing it.

I've gone through two lemons since Saturday.

Hopefully it comes with a cure to this hanger-on of a cold I've managed to catch.

And frankly any resulting canker sores will be worth the price of getting rid of this cold!

Christmas Wrapping

I walked by this scene on our dining room table Saturday night, and quietly, happily, remarked at its humble cheerfulness.  I had just been in the midst of this very happy scene for some time, but hadn't quite 'taken in' just how wonderful it was to be doing what I was doing...wrapping up Christmas for our dear friends and family.

And yes, I drink beer while I wrap presents. Don't judge.

Hopefully you had to go back up to the picture to look for the bottle?

Phew.

I hope this scene brings a little holiday sparkle to your busy, maybe cold, dreary Mondays. Oh, and just so you know, Juno's under that table of festivity too - sleeping away...visions of sugarplum rawhides dancing in her head.

We have hit a few roadbumps on our lead-up to Christmas this year, making us more appreciative of what we have, and grateful for what we have gained, while remembering what we have lost, and thriving in the healing company of those around us.

"As [a year] ends, we grieve what has been lost and cherish what has been gained. We measure the rise and fall of our hopes, and...remember. As we enter a new, uncertain season, our destination is unknown, yet we travel against the flames of fear toward the promise of [the] future ahead." - Shirin Neshat

Happy wrapping.

Spreading Joy

We live for the mailbox in December.  Something about heading out into the chilly air and opening the box right on the street is a little magical.  Juno doesn't mind the extra walk either ;)

Seeing a red or green envelope peeking out from the pile of business-sized white envelopes - maybe even with a handwritten address on it - makes us giddy!

We keep our cards in a huge candy jar right in the foyer so we can see the notes and cards and photos on our way to any room.

Thank you to all who have spread joy to us this season! We hope we have returned the favour.

New Arrival

Congratulations to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on the arrival of their beautiful baby!

"Sometimes,' said Pooh, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." - A.A. Milne

Welcome to the world, Lilly.

Nicknames

We have about a thousand different nicknames for Juno. She responds to pretty much anything that comes out of our mouths. Although, we're also pretty sure intonation also has 100% to do with it.

A few of the names you'll hear most around here are Muncher, Junebug, Boogywoogs, Punchkin, and a really strange one that just came out one day and then stuck, Bobodense (pronounced Bobo-densay).

Now comes the tough part - naming her for the book series. Do we stick with something simple like Juno and have it stand on its own? Like Marley, Dora, or Barbie? Or do we drum up something longer and potentially punchier, and maybe also alliterative like Spongebob Squarepants, Thomas the Train, or Lalaloopsy?

We've got the script. We've got our leading lady. She just needs her storybook name.

What do you think? Tell us in the comments.