Merry Christmas

Yesterday, I laughed out loud listening to an NPR episode in which people tell scary stories they were told about kids who tried to catch a peek of Santa.

I laughed, too, reading The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Cale Atkinson.

Publisher’s Summary: Santa has a problem. This kid? Harold? Santa doesn’t think he’s real. He WANTS to believe in Harold–after all, Harold is one of the most magical parts of Christmas. Getting Harold’s letters, eating the cookies he leaves out, feeding his carrots to the reindeer… what would Christmas be without that? But Santa’s just not sure. Some of his friends are telling him they think Harold’s not real. And the Harold that sat on his knee last Christmas looked AWFULLY different. Santa comes up with a plan to find out once and for all if Harold really exists… with hilarious consequences.

This was a fun twist on that time in a child’s life when they start questioning Santa’s existence. Maybe it will help prolong childhood a little longer.

I think I’ll go watch Miracle on 34th Street.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

 

My weekend went to the dogs

It was all about dogs this weekend – mine & others’.

Yesterday Oregon Basset Hound Rescue ran a “Pet photo with Santa” booth at the PetSmart in Salem. There were a lot of small dogs and one very sweet pit bull. I think though, I got my Christmas spirit when a family came in with their shih tzu and their three-year old son. The son thought our Santa was the real deal. The little fellow’s eyes were big and, honest to goodness, they sparkled. He had such a look of awe and respect. He was a little nervous approaching, but Will, our Santa, is dad to two little girls. I got a little weepy. like you do at a Hallmark movie or commercial. It was great.

Today, it was my girls’ turn. We had a 2:00 appointment with Pauline Zonnefeld, who is going a series called “In bed with Rufus”.

I got my jammies on and the girls & I posed in bed. This is not us, just the promotional photo she uses for the project. The girls also got photos taken alone for Pauline’s Good Old Dog Project. I thought Fiona might be too nervous to cooperate, but she was a pro. Lucy is just naturally photogenic and she loves attention. I can hardly wait to see the results.