The Howl-idays are Coming!

Knock! Knock! Is anyone home? Because it’s been almost 2 weeks since your last post!

Yeah, I know. The holidays are just such a busy time! This year especially is hectic since I’m selling my artwork for a (partial) living and, guess what? Custom painted pet portraits are really popular! My Christmas orders were filled by early last week and since then I’ve been taking more for after the holidays.

That’s great! Because, after all, I decided to sell my art on a professional level to achieve just this. But oh my is it overwhelming also!

And, of course, last week was Thanksgiving and the pups’ grandma came for a visit — that is, my mom spent a few days with us.

Babe knows my mom and was thrilled to have her as a visitor and snuggle buddy, but Mom was new to Banjo and when they first met each other, Banjo promptly let out an echoing bark while peeing her pants.

OK, maybe Banjo wasn’t wearing pants. But she did simultaneously bark/howl and pee on the rug. Since it was time for her to go outside for a potty break anyhow, I can’t entirely blame her for the reaction.

While the hubs cleaned up the rug, Banjo slowly got to know her grandma and, in no time, the two were the very closest of friends.

And since I have no photographic evidence of any of this (shame on me!), you’ll have to take my word for it.

Thanksgiving Day came and went with us wandering happily around Manhattan, catching glimpses of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and ending with games and drinks at home with friends, family and the happy pups. (This is our last year in NYC, so we decided to take advantage of its highlights.)

On Black Friday, we opted to forgo the horrors of NYC Christmas shopping and stayed home cooking a turkey feast for 9 (we had friends over as well). The dogs prowled the kitchen, looking for scraps and droppings with little luck.

And while we had our delectable dinner, the dogs had something special as well. Banjo and Pig Dog got to split a can of Merrick Thanksgiving Day Dinner canned food — a real treat! And the next day, they split a can of Turducken.

We don’t often give our dogs canned food. It tends to make their breath smelly and gives them gas that could peel the paint off of the walls, but on Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, they get a special treat. We used to get them canned desserts made by Nutro, but the brand stopped making them, so we’ve moved on to more savory options.

Since this post is woefully lacking in the picture department, I should also add that we took our Christmas card photos for the year.

Using a fuzzy blue blanket pinched in the top of our closet doors (held shut by our repositioned bed), we had a backdrop. And, as luck would have it, we also had a lovely outfit for the pups to wear. The results? You tell me!

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Though we waited as long as we dared, Brooklyn didn’t get snow early enough, so the hubs and I also got all gussied up for the Christmas card pictures and took a few selfies in the park.