I love this photo of Danica dancing with her Grandfather. It was taken at the Elk’s Lodge in Lancaster while we were down there for the Thanksgiving week-end. Kristi and her family joined us for a Friday night prime rib dinner and much to our surprise and delight there was a live band playing. The twins were mezermerized, sat quietly through dinner, and were rewarded with an opportunity to roam the dance floor. That was when Bob took Danica’s little hands and led her in a first dance.

Looking at this picture, I think of all the dance partners who will twirl our Danica around on many festive dance floors. Experience tells me some will be more adept than others and the process of sorting frogs from princes might be long and tedious.

So I dream that on some far future day, she will dance the wedding waltz with one special man. I pray that as she gazes lovingly into his eyes, she will see shining there the same strength of character, integrity, and love that gleamed in her Papa Bob’s eyes long ago when he took her little hands, led her to the dance floor, and this magical moment was caught forever in the flash of my camera

Yesterday we drove over to Porterville to see the puppies, their parents, and to meet Thomas R. who bred them. We set out loaded with excellent directions from Thomas, our GPS for back-up, and Bob’s Map-quest print out. We took a winding road that curved along the Kern River, drove on through Bakersfield , and arrived in Porterville nearly an hour earlier than we thought we would.

Thomas is the kind of man that makes you feel right at home. It was a pleasure to meet and talk with him. We actually rendezvoused at his son’s home . Thomas had arrived just moments before us so the dogs were still crated when we pulled up in front of the house. When he opened Lilah and Rambo’s crates to show them to us, it was apparent that they were exuberant, happy, and very loved companions. Lilah of course, was anxious about being separated from her puppies, which is easy to understand. It was obvious she was doing a great job of mothering and wanted nothing to spoil her effort.

And then it was time to meet the puppies. Thomas took them from their crate and handed one to me and one to Bob. Tiny paws wrapped around my finger and clear midnight blue eyes looked up into mine. I was hooked. I look over at Bob and the white ball of fur he held was busily licking his hand and trying to suck on his finger. He was thrilled with this show of affection. It was instant love for both of us and although the little ones are only a month old, there was no doubt that the decision to take both was the right one for us.

Thomas took this photo of us with the puppies. We met members of his family, made a deposit on our Lucky and LuAnn and left counting the days until they reach eight weeks of age and we can bring them home.

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and since Thomas had taken the photo with my camera, I kept turning the camera on to look at the photo. So much so that I realized if I didn’t stop I was going to wear the camera out.

The trip back from Porterville was easy. We avoided the curvy Kern River road, shared the driving , and listened to Christmas Carols. We were back in Ridgecrest by 3 in the afternoon. I immediately downloaded the photo, e-mailed it to Thomas and made an 8×10 for our photo display screen in the living room.

The 8 x 10 is right next to one of our Grand babies on their 1st birthday. This is meaningful because the puppies were born within 24 hours of Eric and Danica’s celebration. At least now I will be able to keep track of birth dates. LuAnn and Lucky will always be one year younger than the twins.

Thank goodness it is the holiday season and Bob and I will have lots to keep us busy. It will help make the next four weeks go quickly.

Thanksgiving day is over and what a lovely Turkey Day it was. Bob and I drove the RV down to Lancaster on Wednesday so that I would be ready to help Kristi with preparations for dinner early the next day. Her mother-in-law Joan, already had the turkey in the oven when I arrived around ten. Then after greeting the twins and Linda, Kristi and I set out to make the green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes, and the creamed onions. I was delighted to work shoulder to shoulder with her in her kitchen. Moments like these are what make for sweet holiday memories.

The twins were everywhere. Running with a sipper cup, trading it for a bottle, climbing onto a toy fire truck, escaping to the living room, trying the stairs. Complete balls of exuberant energy that never seemed to slow down. So different from the tranquil Thanksgiving last year when they were three weeks old. Last year, we held them, burped them, and admired the beauty of their sleep.

My daughter and I, in a moment of holiday madness, decided to hit the stores at four in the morning on Friday. I really didn’t believe she would wake up for this event so I told her to call me when she left the house to pick me up. Imagine my surprise when the cell phone rang at 3:30 AM. I woke from a sound sleep in the RV, dressed in the dim light, and was ready to go when a chagrined Kristi arrived. (She had been pulled over by the CHP for speeding and received a mild lecture from the officer.)

Black Friday shopping was new to me. Palmdale and its large shopping center were bustling with activity when we arrived and searched for a parking place. Once inside, we were overwhelmed with swarms of shoppers, loaded shopping carts and brim-filled shopping bags. There was an insane aroma of shopping frenzy in the air.

We found the Hallmark decorations marked at 50 percent off, chose our favorites, and walked to the front of the store to check out. It was there, much to our astonishment, that we realized the check-out line circled around all of the outside aisles of the store. Purchasing our bargains would take at least two hours. No way would we stand in line for that long! We stashed the boxes of ornaments under a display of men’s Hawaiian shirts and went to the local Denny’s for breakfast. It was only a little after five and Denny’s was filling up quickly with blurry-eyed and shopping exhausted patrons.

To make a long story short, after breakfast, Kristi dropped me back at the RV and headed home to catch a few winks. She called later to tell me that after a few hours sleep, she went back, found our bargains still hidden under the shirts, stood in a line half as long as the early morning one and purchased the ornaments.

There are two statements that remain with me. I remember saying, “This beats getting up to go fishing!” and Kristi saying, “I’d rather pay full price than stand in a line this long.” Worse yet, the two of us plan to do it all again next year. Only next year, we will know what we want to buy, where it is in the store, and we will recruit Joan to go with us and we will all take turns keeping a place in line while the others trudge off to find the bargains.

Bob, by the way, stayed in his warm bed, waking up only long enough to say, “Take a twenty from my billfold to buy Kristi and you a breakfast on me.” Wise, wise man, my beloved husband.

The RV sits outside ready to leave for Lancaster and Thanksgiving with Kristi and the twins. The drive will take about two hours and we will park at the Elks Lodge there and stay long enough to do some early Christmas shopping over the week-end. Meanwhile I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and to leave you with my favorite post. I wrote this a few years back and posted it in 2004. I think it is appropriate to repeat it this year.

A family tree is an imaginary tree on which very special people you love, like or sometimes even just tolerate exist. Sometimes the tree has only those people who are your direct ancestors, like Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles, and Cousins. My family tree has much more. It is my belief that a Divine Power that I call “The Great Horticulturist” helps form our family trees. So many of the branches on my tree are “grafted”. They are not from the original tree, but have a beauty of their own because they are chosen. All my branches are precious and all my branches make my tree beautiful. I like to think that the leaves are all the good memories and times that my family produces. Each fall, these leaves turn bright colors and fall to the ground. All winter they lay on the ground and keep my tree warm and alive. Each spring, new green buds appear and they are the promises of love and splendor that my family brings.

My tree stands in a forest. It is surrounded by other family trees. These are the trees of my friends. Without their love and support, their wisdom and joy, I would be very lonely for they support and care for me in so many wonderful ways.

That is why this Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for all of you that are a part of my Family Tree and part of my forest. May the sun nourish you, the winds bless you, and may we continue to grow in God’s love.

Beautiful, beautiful desert morning and Bob and I had our second cup of coffee on the patio in the back yard and marveled at the blue sky, the warmth of the sun, and the quiet beauty of the roses which are still blooming as if it were early September and not a few days before Thanksgiving.

When we returned from the cruise, I began my puppy search in earnest. The house has been so quiet and empty without our Yorkie. Bob and I decided on a Maltese and I began to correspond with L.A. area breeders. Prices were very high in some cases. For example, I found a wonderful teeny-tiny puppy in Palm Springs. The breeder had the same name as my son, so I thought that was a great sign. However, this puppy would only grow to be at the most 2 pounds. Good grief a guniea pig is close to that weight! The breeder was very protective, as he should be, and wanted a home where someone was there all the time and a home without other animals. We obviously would not qualify. The price was $2,600.00. Even if our home qualified, our budget would not.

So back on line to look for a puppy. I found myself very leary about some of the ads. They sounded very much like puppy mills and not only had many tea-cup size (all the rage here in Southern California.), but many breeds, and mixed-breeds. Finally, I found an ad that seemed reasonable and I have been writing back and forth with a gentleman in a nearby community who has two very young puppies that will be ready to leave their mother right after Christmas. In a moment of delightful insanity, Bob and I decided to take both. Perhaps, it had something to do with their being born on the twins first birthday. So if all goes well, we will be the proud parents of a male and female puppy sometime before the New Year.

I haven’t worked on my photos from the cruise nor have I straightened up the house. All the things that I meant to do last week. I think our warm weather has caused Spring Fever at an inappropriate time. That is all right. I am learning that retirement means it is okay to be without schedule and to simply enjoy each day.