My cup runneth over

If you've been watching the national weather news, you might be thinking I meant to say "my gutters runneth over." They did on Sunday and Monday! Fortunately, we don't flood up here on the hill. We did lose power for a few hours Monday, but it was back on by the time I got home from the airport with my folks. They got diverted to Seattle for awhile when the pilot couldn't safely land in Portland, but they finally made it.

It's my cup of blessings that continues to overflow. There is the pitter-patter of little feet in the house again, and the faint, intoxicating scent of puppy breath on my clothes. Jackson has been an exemplary little citizen. In three days he has only had one accident in the house, and that was when I put Rick and Brian in charge of watching him while I made supper his first night here. (They watched him all right - watched him piddle on the floor!) I know at this age is it mostly a matter of getting him outside at the proper times, but he's still being a very good boy. With all that hair, he doesn't mind being outside until he's done his job, which helps.

The first two nights he was here WERE rough, with all the heartbroken yowling by a lonely pup. Last night at bedtime when the ruckus started, Rick told him no and thumped him on the nose with his finger, and we went to sleep in blessed silence. When he started carrying on around 4:00 a.m., Rick went to the laundry room, popped the door open suddenly and growled "Jackson, no!" Immediate and continued silence reigned until I got up at 7:00. I was fully expecting some clean-up duty after eight hours without a potty break (I took him out in the wee hours the first two nights), but he held it in - incredible!

Yesterday we introduced Jackson to a leash for the first time. He was fine with it - as long as he was playing tug-of-war with it. Today, when we went Christmas-tree-hunting, I put a leash on him again, and he walked surprisingly well on it (in spite of what it looks like below). I am as impressed with this puppy as I hoped to be!
Speaking of Christmas trees, here's the prize we selected and cut at a lot less than a mile from home, in front of my folks. It isn't as tall as the previous ones we've had in this house, which were centered in the 16'-tall space right in front of the deck doors. We decided in the interest of quick access to the yard (for Jackson) to put this year's in the corner of the dining area. I'm not sure when we'll get it decorated, but it's already making a wonderful room freshener!
It is great having my folks here for Brian's birthday and an early Christmas, too. Brian adores his Grandpa - to the extent that the puppy isn't quite as appealing at the moment. That will change when Grandpa leaves; for now I'm getting in lots of puppy time. :-)

I'm also getting in as much knitting as I can. I got the box from Tammy Monday, with yarn for her mother-in-law's shawl (started, above), yarn to start over on the project I lost on the plane, and TWO different colors of Shetland roving plus some chocolate llama to spin! Her generosity has me overwhelmed. I feel like Christmas came early and I have need and desires for nothing more.

That's it for now at . . .