The number of days until Christmas are narrowing and the fur is flying, if you will. That's what Dorothy is running around blurting out at every opportunity. That Red Dorothy is such a jokester. The Chow Nation, Bob Barker Venerated Elder is pretty keyed up this year because they are the feature of the 2005 Bellemaison Christmas card. There was much talk and ado as the photographer arrived early this morning to photo us all in our natural habitat. Pete wanted the sofa shot, our natural habitat most Saturday mornings and Dorothy said that Silvie's natural habitat is breakfast dish but in the end, Cleo picked the site and insisted that Uncle Bob get a new coat. What Cleo wants, he gets because every agrees he's the nicest Chow. So the Chow Nation got the nod after all this time. They say it will be the best card yet. Uncle Bob says it's important to remember that he's the main dog.

We have our tree--bit the bullet and went to the Less For More Garden center up the street where they flocked it and delivered it for slightly less than the GDP of a Third World Country. Gonna do the Grandma Jo Tree, the one covered with cardinals, that's now featured on Martha Stewart's Christmas magazine, ten full years after I debuted it here at Bellemaison. We at Bellemaison wait for one and all. And are futilely trying to figure out how we can amortize the cost of this tree, deaccelerated, over ten years.

I showed those children that used to live here. You know, the naughty ones, that are going to get big lumps of coal in their stockings because they leave their mother alone so much? Yeah, those guys. Santa doesn't care how good looking children are; he wants to know if they are nice to their mother. The net/net. Anyway, I showed them. I bought all new Christmas stockings. Yup. Got myself to TJ Maxx on a Friday night and got me all snowmen Christmas stockings. And one teddy bear stocking for Pete who had everyone call him Teddy in the first grade because there was another Pete and he didn't want to be Peter. And since he looks like a teddy bear....Silvie beat the crap out of him for that stupid move. Anyway, all new stockings. And they are fine. And so are we. We like the snow. We like the light of a sunny day this time of year. We like the cold and the crunch of footsteps at our door. And we like hanging around with each other, cooking up surprises in anticipation of what lies around the corner.

It IS the most wonderful time of the year.




JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA