Daddy takes "leaf" of his senses

by Bear

Hi Everyone, It's me Bear. I had a fun weekend even if Daddy didn't.

Saturday morning, Daddy took me outside and brushed me real good. He said I was getting hair all over the place, but I can't help it. You should have seen the pile of fuzzy hair he got off of me. You could have stuffed a dog bed with it.

Then we played a little football and took a long walk. I got to wear my jingle bell collar too.

I love to play football and to walk. Daddy threw it a whole lot of times and I brought it back every time. I guess that's why they call me a retriever.

I'm thinking about using this pose for my football card. I think I look tough and serious here - all business.

Football for Daddy didn't go so well this weekend. The Saints lost to the Redskins and The Chiefs lost to the Chargers. Daddy said some words that Mommy gets on to him about. Daddy says that sometimes other words just don't quite adequately express his feelings so he has to use them.

I just lay there and hope he decides to eat some chips or maybe some cheese and crackers. He always tosses some to me - yum.

After we played, we had to do some work. Daddy said he couldn't stand looking at the leaves all over the place. He says if you let your yard go, you look like white trash. I wonder what that means?

Anyway, he raked up the leaves and put them in 17 big black bags. It took him a long time, because he would stop and talk to the neighbor and his cell phone would ring and he would talk on it.

I like it when Daddy works in the yard, because I lay in the sun and watch. I guess we aren't white trash now, but while Daddy was raking, the leaves kept falling. Daddy said he was fighting a losing battle. He says leaves are like southern snow.

I said, "Why don't you wait until they all fall then pick them all up at once?" Daddy says that "X amount of leaves fall and they all have to be picked up, so at least 17 bags of X won't have to be picked up now."

I hate it when Daddy uses algebra on me. I didn't have that class in obedience school.

Oh well, I guess he knows what he is doing.

Here is one more close up of me. I am giving the camera my serious look.

Oh, I almost forgot. I had a friend come over to play. One of LJ's friends Will, has a Lab / golden retriever mix named Booyah. Booyah is bigger than me, and he is only one. I am almost 5.

We had a lot of fun chasing the rubber duck. I had more exercise than usual so my tongue was really dragging the ground. I hope Booyah comes back, it was fun having another dog to play with.

I guess I better post this so Daddy can take me for my morning walk. Have a nice Christmas if I don't get a chance to write again before then. Don't forget to buy your pets a little treat.

Bye for now,
Bear

A Christmas Podcast

I noticed something about professors when I was in college. At first they seemed real funny and smart; but after taking a few of their courses, they repeated themselves. They would tell the same jokes and make the same points over and over.

I am no better. You can look over my 3 years of 1000 plus posts and themes will emerge. I was going through my archives and found that on December 10, 2005 I titled a post "Comin' atcha." Funny, because on December 13, 2006 I titled a post "Coming atcha," (see below) They both took photos from the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon and turned them into an animated GIF.

I didn't even remember doing it. It is strange that in the span of a year; my memory faded, but with the same stimulation of running a marathon and looking at the photos online, I did the same thing - to the point of titling the post the same.

As I read some of my posts from last December, I came across one I called The Light. I like to read things I wrote that I don't remember. It is interesting.

So this podcast is a repackaging of that post. Here I present it in audio format in my own voice and follow it up with a nice jazz Christmas song by Point of Grace.

I hope you enjoy it.

Until the next time
John Strain

Coming atcha

Maybe I have too much time on my hands or maybe I just shirk other responsibilities, but at least I made an animated gif.

There were 11 photos of me finishing the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon. I stacked them into a Photoshop document and made this little animation.

Very Energizer Bunny-like; don't you think?

Until the next time
John Strain

Football and Mondays

For a lot of my life I have allowed the results of sporting events to color my emotions. How I feel on Monday morning has something to do with how my teams fared on the weekend.

As a Chiefs and Saints fan, I have had to accept feeling lousy a lot. I won't even mention baseball and the Royals. Lately though, the Saints have been showing promise. They are a good story this year.

True die-hard football fans can begin to imagine how folks in New Orleans and the region must feel. In the past, the Saints made an art form out of blowing football games, but this year with 35 out of 54 players brand new, there is a different attitude on the team and it is yielding better results.

Beating the Cowboys in Dallas in a nationally televised game is not something the old Saints would have done. 9 and 4 is currently the second seed in the NFC with 3 games to go. Whatever happens, the Saints have given this area a real lift. Many of the players are doing things to help the community along with their football contribution.

It is a familiar story. They have assembled a group of people who want to win more than they want self-promotion. Their interviews are characterized with humility and giving others the credit.

So I may have a knot in my stomach because of the Chiefs, but the Saints are doing all they can to untie it and make me feel good.

Have a nice Monday folks - even you folks in Dallas. You have a good team and who knows where they will wind up.

Until the next time
John Strain

Another Weekend

I really look forward to the end of the week. There are a lot of things I like about my job, but it's a job and no way would I be doing it if I were independently wealthy.

I would do something productive, but I wouldn't be taking the amount of poop I have had to take lately.

On a chilly note, Jack Frost is back in town and we are looking at the low 20's for the AM run and dog walk. I have been in worse, but try 65 degrees one day and 20 the next. When it gets cold and stays cold, you get used to it. This up and down stuff keeps you freezing your arse off in the 40's.

That reminds me. After I finished the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon last week and rested a bit, I got up and ambled toward the Port o Pottys. On my way, I walked by a pretty young college age girl sitting on the ground. I looked at her and said, "For some reason I'm walking funny." She smiled in what I thought was acknowledgement, but then replied, "Wuss." It kind of turned me on.

That's a marathon crowd for you. Complaining is not tolerated; even if it is in jest.

Speaking of marathons, I am signed up for 4 more. One in January and 3 back to back in February. The big one will be the 43.5 mile run from Kansas City to Lawrence, Kansas in April.

Have fun this weekend kiddies. I suppose most of us will be attending Christmas parties and buying presents. I also plan to squeeze in a little football.

Until the next time
John Strain