Happy New Year!

I may be one of the very few this year who is not anxious to see the end of 2009. I know for many this has been a miserable and even sad year. I do understand that. But for me it was one of the happiest years I have had in a long time.

It all began on February 5, 2009 when the lady from the Yorkie Rescue rang my door bell and when I opened the door this little dog walked cautiously into my home and my heart. From that moment on the year was fun for Mr. Pop and me. We traveled with Martini and he was a champ at everything we asked of him. He left in his wake a lot of smiling strangers wherever he went. He knows what best behavior is and proves it at all times.

So in just a bit over a month we will celebrate one year of experiencing Martini and all the fun he has brought into this house. We’ve been so fortunate in so many ways.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May 2010 bring you as many wonderful memories as I have of 2009.

Happy New Year from all of us at the Pop nest.

Are death panels coming or are they already here?

This weekend I learned that a middle-aged gentleman who lives down the street recently had a massive heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital where he received a triple bypass and flat lined twice during the operation. He was told by his doctor that he desperately needed a heart transplant. That will not happen and here’s why. The gentleman does not have health insurance and that prevents him from being placed on the wait list for a new heart.

Sure, just being placed on the list does not guarantee he would receive a heart but not being placed on the list guarantees that he won’t.

Death panels? Sorry Ms Palin, they are already here.

A Holiday Toast

Here’s to a wonderful holiday time for everyone. We hope Santa treats you sweetly.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at the Pop home.

I Think I Lied to You

This week I told you there was no gift that could make Mr. Pop or me happier than we were after making the donations we made last weekend. Okay, I might have lied.

Monday one of the ladies who works at Mr. Pop’s lab placed a little envelope on Mr. Pop’s desk addressed to both of us. Inside was a card of acknowledgement from the local Humane Society. The card acknowledged that a monetary donation had been made to the Humane Society by the lady and it was done in Martini’s honor. His little name was engraved right there on the card. The feeling we had when we read that card might have surpassed our good feelings of the weekend and together the feelings were overwhelmingly warm and wonderful.

Giving Until it Feels Good

Yesterday we took two new dog beds and a bag of new Christmas toys to the local no-kill shelter for the dogs and cats there to have something new to play with for Christmas.

The warm feeling we got after doing that, seems it may last forever.

Today Mr. Pop is carrying several bags of groceries to our local food pantry.

Add that feeling to the feeling we got yesterday and rest assured, we will have a very Merry Christmas. There is no gift that either of us could get that would make us any happier than we are right now.

Good People doing Good Things

Today is the day the staff at Mr. Pop’s lab takes the food and gifts to the family they adopted for the holidays. They have all sorts of wonderful and tasty things for the couple, their little girl and little baby. The family speaks no English so the one person at the lab who speaks fluent Spanish and English will be there to help the family and the people from the lab communicate.

The people who work at the lab are some of the best people in the world. And to prove it a little more, one of the girls who works at the lab and her boyfriend found a very skinny very sad dog walking down a country road. They brought the dog home and have been caring for him these last few days. The best part is, they have decided to keep the dog. This lucky canine will have a warm and loving home for Christmas.

What to Think About?

I don’t know what to think about the healthcare bill. I don’t know what to think of the daily polls I see on teevee. I don’t know what to think of the noise I hear coming from all the cable news channels. Since I don’t know what to think of these things I have decided what I’m going to do. For the next couple of weeks, I’m not going to think of them at all.

Mr. Pop has finally completed a series of business trips he recently found on his agenda and now he is safely back at home for the holidays. The weather forecast suggests we will have some cooler if not cold temperatures next week. Martini goes to the groomer Saturday so he will be looking all spiffy for the holidays. In other words, I would like to spend the next couple of weeks thinking about how fortunate I am to have so many nice things to look forward to and let the rest of the world spin on by.

Our Very Own Grinch

Joe Lieberman seems bound and determined to want to be America’s Grinch on steroids. Not only is he willing to steal healthcare from so many Americans, he’s also willing to make a total ass of himself as he does it. I suggest something smellier than coal in his stocking this year. You’re a cruel one, Mr. Lieberman.

Is it over already?

There was a time as I was growing up and on into my adult life when Christmas decorating began two weeks before Christmas. Today? Not so much.

Yesterday we went to Home Depot and Lowe’s looking for a particular tool. Lowe’s had no more Christmas trees for sale and what little Christmas decorations they had were sort of piled on one aisle. Where the big Christmas display had been a week or so ago there was now a big display of grills and outdoor furniture.

At Home Depot there were a handful of real trees and like Lowe’s, all the Christmas decorations that were left were piled toward the back of the store in one aisle.

So what happened? When did two weeks before Christmas, in stores, appear to be two weeks after Christmas?

What is wrong with Dick Cheney?

Dick Cheney makes the Grinch look like a sweetheart. He has all but called the President a traitor to his country. I don’t know if he’s insanely paranoid, just plain evil or what his diagnosis would be, but I do think he is a danger to the country. He may get so worked up that he says something that could have negative repercussions for our country. Someone needs to tell him for the sake of the country to STFU!

My Fantasy Christmas Gift

I have a fantasy Christmas gift I would like to receive one year. You know those Budweiser Christmas commercials where you see the Clydesdales pulling the big wagon in the beautiful snow covered woods? Well, I want to sit beside the man in charge of he reins as the horses so beautifully pull that wagon along the path. I want to experience that feeling.

Yeah, I know my chances of that happening have a lot in common with pigs flying and hell freezing over but I still wish it were possible.

Damn it!

I wish just for a few months Washington Republicans could act like human beings instead of pains in the butt.

Between the insanity of Glenn Beck and the heartlessness of Republicans along with some Democrats, I am just about ready to become a political recluse. I thought the last eight years were a nightmare and they were, but some in Congress seem to enjoy nightmares so much that they want to keep them around for the next three or eight years.

It’s hard to try to stay informed and not fall into the abyss of political depression. Every time I feel myself getting disgusted and depressed, I just remember that as bad as DC is, it used to be somewhat worse. At least now we have a President who is trying to make things better instead of a President who was hell bent on destroying our country.

Toys are more fun than trees

Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. Martini sat in what appeared to be little dog awe as he observed the activities. He didn’t attempt to touch anything or even get on the tree skirt beneath the tree. But after about twenty minutes he decided this wasn’t going to be much fun for him so he went into the bedroom, chose one of this toys and brought it into the living room begging us to throw it for him.

I guess his rationale was that if decorating a tree wasn’t much fun for him, it certainly couldn’t be much fun for us. He's thoughtful isn't he?

Pick Two

I think we all feel that a lot of the members of the bush administration should probably be in jail right now. Let’s say you can only choose two who you feel certainly qualify for jail time, who would you choose?

My picks would be Rumsfeld and Cheney. I don’t think I need to explain why.

Thunderstorm in December

We are waiting for a big thunderstorm to pass through our area this morning. I will trade anyone one Florida thunderstorm for just a little seasonal snow fall. The storm and the humidity that goes with it just might kill by Christmas buzz a little today.

Thank goodness Martini pays no attention to the sounds of thunder. Maybe he can teach me how he remains so calm and collected. He’s much better at that than I am.

It’s all a big deal

Every bit of Christmas decoration is a big deal when you are only 11 inches tall and weigh eight pounds. Martini is all about investigating all this red and green and gold and sliver stuff. He looks at it but if I say, “Leave it” that’s the last time he touches it. This little dude picks up on commands the first couple of times we begin teaching them to him. We are very fortunate he’s that intelligent.

But so far the biggest surprise was when I took him outside Saturday and he caught sight of Mr. Pop up on the roof putting up the Christmas lights around the eaves. Mr. Pop called to him to get his attention. Martini looked all around before finally looking up at the roof. He just stood there staring not wagging his tail or anything. Then he looked at me and cocked his head as if to say, “ What the hell is he doing up there?”

Are we spoiling this little dog? I don’t think so. We’re just enjoying the hell out of having a new little soul with us and watching him having just as much fun with us as we are having with him.

Okay, we did buy a little Christmas dog stocking for him to hang up. Spoiling no, anthropomorphizing maybe but just a little bit. It’s just so much fun and besides Fred the Cat has had his own stocking for years.