“January is the month for dreaming.”
The morning was hectic. The dogs had a scuffle on Friday. Nala was unscathed, but Henry had an ear bite. I didn’t notice until Saturday. I washed his ear and put an antibiotic on it, but it wasn’t much better today so off we went to the emergency vet. He was checked, prodded and evaluated. We left with three medications, poor Henry in a cone and a mortgage for my house so I could pay the bill. Nala didn’t recognize Henry at first, but after she did, she tried to chew on the cone.
Today’s trip to the vet reminded me of a vet trip with Duke, the boxer we had for most of my childhood. Duke was a fierce dog. He was protective of us all, but mostly of us kids. The dog down the street and Duke did not get long. They ended up having a tremendous fight which had both dogs grabbing and biting each other’s neck. It also included rolling on the grass. When the fight ended, Duke had a huge bite on his neck. My mother wanted to take him to the vet’s. My father said it would heal naturally. The next day my father left for Maine, where he was working during the week. My mother took Duke to the vet’s where his injury was cleaned and sewn. He was given a shot and sent home with medication. By the time my father got home late Friday, Duke’s injury looked great and was healing. He took one look at Duke’s neck and said to my mother, “See, I told you nature would heal it.” She never said another word. My poor father had been duped yet again.
Sadly, I had decided I put Christmas away today except for the tree which would come down after Little Christmas. I had a plan. First I’d bring up every bin then decide what should go where. I’ll put the whats away and label the bins. I had done this years ago but got willy-nilly about the where’s for the what’s except for the tree ornaments. They have their own bins with tissue paper and small boxes. Each, especially the glass ornaments, is carefully wrapped and put away. I love my ornaments.
When I was a kid and back to school after Christmas, I’d get home one afternoon and find the living room had lost its magic. The tree was gone. The chair and TV had been moved back into place. The tree’s corner was dark. It was just a living room again. I never saw the tree being take down. My mother removed all the lights and ornaments while we were in school. I remember the tree was tossed sideways on the tops of the trash bins. Its icicles used to hang straight down. They blew in the wind. The tree was gone on trash day.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
January 5, 2025 at 4:55 pm
Those emergency vet trips are right up there with round the world luxury cruises. Rocky has a couple of issues that have to be addressed. I’m not looking forward to the cost.
My door wreath is the only Christmas decoration I have. It’s on the outside front door and gets sun all day. It’s top layer of boughs is turning brown and the batteries in the light string are fading. I guess it will have to come down tomorrow. The light string will be packed away and the wreath will be hung over by the bird water bowl. I leave it up there for months because every so often it will still put forth that balsam smell even though it’s all brown and dead. It’s nice to catch a whiff of Christmas in the heat of summer.
January 5, 2025 at 9:26 pm
Hi Caryn,
It was $260.00 just to walk in the door. Everything else is on top of that. Had I decided to wait until tomorrow I would have saved around $75 to $100, but his ear looked awful.
My downstairs is filled with Christmas. The dining room and living room have the most including each room has a tree. It took 3 days to decorate the house. I had a deadline then but not now so I can take my time.
My tree aroma fills the living room.
January 5, 2025 at 9:16 pm
Hi Kat,
This morning the wind has been blowing from the northwest all day at 20 MPH with gusts to 37 MPH. The temperature was chilly all day and just dropped below freezing. In the morning, the forecast low is 22°. Brrr!
What is little Christmas? This is one holiday I’ve never heard of before.
I remember our dogs needing medical treatment the Vet putting them in one of those cones. They don’t like it. I wouldn’t like it either. 🙂
Since the holidays are over, we’re stuck with January and February. Dark and usually gray even while the sun shines. I hate February because I have to come up with some kind of Valentine’s Day gift. My better half is back on a low carbohydrate menu, so no chocolate. She’s always told me that everyone gets flowers, she doesn’t want that either. It’s a guilt trip, made up holiday ridiculously designed to punish the male sex. 😦 Or, at least make us miserable. At least by March it’s starting to get a little warmer.
January 5, 2025 at 9:38 pm
Hi Bob,
Your cold is colder than mine. We will be at 25° tonight. Tomorrow will go to the teens at night.
Little Christmas is January 6th. It is also called twelfth night, the last day of Christmas in the song (the first day being Christmas itself) or the Feast of the Magi, the day when the three kings, the Magi, arrived in Bethlehem and gave their gifts to the baby. It is officially the last day of Christmas celebrations.
No, I wouldn’t like it either. I took the cone off because I felt bad for Henry. Now he is settled and even sleeping on the couch. He seems a bit better already.
Find something to do as a gift for Valentine’s Day. Surprises like that trump chocolates and roses. Chocolates get eaten and roses die. You always remember fun surprises and adventures.
January 5, 2025 at 9:30 pm
Kat, I just came across this video, I thought you might like it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx_oGwNKWUs
January 5, 2025 at 9:51 pm
You were absolutely correct. I loved that video. I have always been a train fan. In Europe I have taken wonderful trains to amazing places. In Ghana I often took the train and once even took an overnight train, a single room first class but hardly expensive
January 5, 2025 at 10:38 pm
We’ve lived in Grapevine for four years and never took the train to the stockyards in Ft. Worth. Maybe, they have a Valentine’s Day trip.
January 5, 2025 at 11:13 pm
That is a great idea!!!