Good News and an Impromptu Party

Yesterday, we got a piece of good news: Gregg's PET scan came back clean.

So in order to celebrate, I ran around to all the neighbors that have supported us though Gregg's ordeal and invited them over for a glass of champagne at 5:00. Ray followed me mopily around the house as I did a quick houseclean then when bedtime (about 4:30) rolled around, went to his usual spot on the couch to go to sleep.

But his pillow wasn't there (it was in the wash), and his blanket wasn't there (I had folded up the throws and stashed them out of sight). He stood at the edge of the couch, his head down in sad-dog mode, uncertain what to do. I wanted him asleep so I spread his blanket in it's usual place. Ray immediately crawled up, curled up, and went to bed. As soon as Ray went down, Gregg started putting out food; a cheese board, crackers, nuts, carrots, etc.

At 5:00 sharp, Marva arrived followed immediately by Halle's grandparents, Deborah and Steven. Ray got up off his couch to greet them. I was taking coats when I heard Steven say the dreaded words,

"Um, should Ray be doing that?"

I turned to look. Something was missing off of the cheese board. Ray was headed into the kitchen with a prized mozzarella/prosciutto/basil roll clenched in his teeth. I swiftly grabbed his collar, removed the roll from his mouth, handed it to an outraged Gregg (who quickly took it to the sink and rinsed it off) and clipped a leash onto the dog. Amid much laughter, and "you shoulda seen what Ray did"s, more neighbors arrived.

Steven asked, "So what was it?"

We described the cheese roll.

"Oh, go ahead and put it on out," he said, "It's just a little dog spit." (He is my kind of people). I thought about it briefly but dismissed the idea when I saw the look of horror on Marva's face.

The small party went swimmingly.

After all the guests had left (and after Ray spent quite some time trying to intimidate Steven out of his spot on the couch - "I'm not giving you my spot, Ray. I have dogs, I know the move.") I found Gregg in the kitchen with the mozzarella roll, carefully cutting away the cheese marred by tooth marks.

"Waste not, want not," he said with a grin.

Happy Holidays to all of Ray's loyal followers.

from Ray, Gregg, Jean, Moonie, and Hugo

Christmas Eve exploring.

Ray and Gregg

Ray and Jean

Hear those lonely hound dog blues...

It was about 6 a.m.

BAMBAMBAMBAM.

Ray was in my studio trying to get into the closet again. I had finally caved-in and given him one of his Christmas presents, the shrink-wrapped rib bone, just to keep him out of my room. But now, of course, he thinks that the closet is the Pez dispenser of rib bones. I could hear him give a brief whine then wander down the hall to our bedroom.

SCRATCH; he wanted in.

"Go to bed Ray," said Gregg.

Ray gave a deep sigh. No bone and not allowed to sleep with us. I heard him sadly walk to the futon outside our room where he settled himself in.

Life is so hard for the poor, lonely, blind dog.

Demerit, Demerit, Demerit, Demerit

1. Eating the Christmas ornaments on the lower half of the tree

2. Opening one of the Christmas presents that was meant for ME (from my sister, Kathy)

3. Trying to open one of the Christmas presents tagged for Gregg (it was too flat for him to get a good grip on)

4. Annoying the crap out of me by coming into my studio 10 times a day to BAMBAMBAM the closet door to get at his presents.

On the plus side, Ray made a crying baby smile by licking the bottom of the baby's feet...

I think that cancels out at least three of the above four demerits (he's really going to have to work to cancel out opening one of my Christmas presents)

Well, how was I supposed to know it was an ornament? I AM blind y'know.

So, What's On?

We had just finished dinner. I was sitting on the couch bookended by my cats.

"Where's Ray?" asked my lovely husband, Gregg.

"He upstairs watching Pitbulls and Parolees," I replied.

We had installed a TV in our bedroom the week before. I had given Ray a bath and the damp dog was up on our bed, cozily ensconced under his woolie blanket, drying. The last time I had passed the bedroom, Pitbulls and Parolees was on the TV.

"I think we should block pay-per-view," said Gregg. "I don't want him ordering Dogs Gone Wild when we're not home."

Just Wait

Ray has found the closet where I stash the Christmas presents.

On more than one occasion, I have found him wandering down the upstairs hallway with one of the new stuffed toys dangling out of his mouth. But ever since I bought him a rib bone shrink-wrapped in plastic, I have had to make sure to monitor the closet very closely. I never realized how much I was in and out of my (studio) closet until I had to make sure that the door was closed every single time. I've made many mistakes and each time have had to chase the dog down the hall or down the stairs with the bone in his mouth. I tried putting the bone on a shelf instead of in a bag on the floor but, as usual, Ray's reach surprised me. And every time I take a present away from him, I tell him the same thing, "Ray, you're just going to have to wait until Christmas like everyone else."

Now, sometimes when I pass the room with the closet, I'll see Ray standing in front of it, his head down, his forehead resting on the door. Waiting.

Only ten more days. (sigh)

Puppie Pix

The Basset Hound puppy was back at the park yesterday. I wish I could have gotten a photo of his amazing ears while they were "at rest" but he moves too much.

Memphis at rest

Demerit

It was a little after 7:30 in the morning. I was on the phone with my BFF discussing where and when we would meet for lunch. The part of my brain that listens for unusual noises heard one. I turned to look and saw my dog at the Christmas tree. His back feet were firmly planted, his neck outstretched. Between his jaws was a string of Christmas lights. He was pulling with all his might trying to get them off of the tree. I gave an outraged howl and pried his teeth from the string, silently thanking the powers that be that the lights weren't plugged in. Ray's teeth had flattened one of the light sockets and the little glass bulb had been ejected and was laying on the carpet.

The entire string of 100 lights was ruined.

Santa was not happy.

That's a Wrap!

I gathered my wrapping materials and headed downstairs. I placed everything on the floor, went to get the packing tape and shipping boxes and returned to do some Christmas wrapping. I cut an appropriate-sized piece of festive wrap and then watched as my roll of paper was carried away. I retrieved my paper, reached for a roll of glittified ribbon, unrolled a nice, long piece, put the roll aside, then watched the ribbon was carried away. I retrieved my roll and decorated the package with the length of ribbon.

I finished wrapping. There was glitter everywhere, including Ray's snout, feet, and back. He takes decorating for Christmas to a whole new level.

Sunday Morning Bliss

I realize I post a lot of photos of Ray sleeping, but truthfully he does move around quite a bit during the day. Here he is taking a Sunday morning nap previous to his Sunday morning walk (which takes place AFTER my second cup of coffee.) He was shivering, so I threw the blanket, that I use to keep dog hair off of the couch, on top of him. He wasn't laying on it anyway (sigh, why do I even bother). AND, YES, I DO KNOW MY DOG IS SPOILED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Ray's thought bubble, "I love Sundays."

Christmas is Coming

Nothing is happening. Ray is trying to be on his best behavior because Christmas is coming.

I'm sure the following acts have been scribbled in Santa's notebook.

On the Good side:

• We got caught in a downpour while walking around a different lake than our usual, and at the end of the walk, while I dried Ray off with multiple towels, he tried to lick my fleecey sweatshirt dry with his tongue. (Santa likes helpful dogs)
• While we were walking around the block, Ray found a big, half-empty bag of Candy Corn, picked it up in his teeth and carried it awhile then dropped it in front of someone else's house. (Santa likes dogs that share)
• Ray took a shine to a Basset Hound puppy at the dog park. The little dog's ears were so long that he kept tripping over them and had so much extra skin that he could have fit a dog of Ray's size into it. (Santa likes kind dogs)

Ray with his friend the Basset puppy and the Basset's sister puppy, a Labrador Retriever

On the demerit side:

• Ray continues his fascination with shoes
• Ray starts whining at 2:00 o'clock for his afternoon walk. (The time change and the early darkness has really screwed up his schedule)
• Ray has been caught multiple times with his nose in my morning coffee

Good or Bad (depends on the interpretation):

• Ray continues his efforts to 'woo' Hugo. Hugo considers this a bad thing. Ray's interpretation is slightly different