Dec 27 - and then we were nine

... counting Cassie of course !

The Reading Gang arrived at 5pm; an amazing 11 hour trip given travel with three small kids.  Soon the kids were introduced to Cassie and vice-versa.

When David arrived, Cassie went crazy.  Jumping ... Off, Off, OFF !  When the kids arrived, Cassie didn't know what to make of it.  They ran around and she hid behind me !  Eventually they, including Cassie, all settled down, much better than we'd expected.

Perhaps we'll try the gate down for a while ... we'll see.

My back bothered me most of the day and is still there but not as bad as yesterday a.m.  At least I could walk this morning and do normal tasks.

I did get to Britt for Mass; wasn't sure early yesterday if that would be possible and that's not because of the couple of inches of snow, rather because of the back pain.  Before leaving for Britt, I'd made chili and that percolated most of the day and we had a bit for dinner along with lamb, brussels sprouts, broccoli ... rice for the rest :).

Today is T-Day, yes, turkey.  It just plopped on the counter in front of me and will be going into the oven soon, I believe.  Stef is coming up for the day so it will be hopping once everyone is here. 

The temperature has dropped dramatically.  It's 5F right now.  A winter storm warning is in effect with snow starting in Barrie at 8pm, Parry Sound at 10pm and Sudbury at 11pm.  I expect that I'll be asleep before it starts and we'll be fairly snow-bound for the day tomorrow (Tuesday); plow called for Wednesday a.m. would be the order of the day.  I guess that my snow blower will get some work; that will be David's chore, I think !

Our current plan has Kylie and Lauren staying with us as Stef and Aaron head back and I'll take the girls back to Barrie on Saturday.  

I see from Facebook some sad news from our Peoria AZ friends, George and Geri.  Merlin has passed on at 17.5 years old.  He was an amazing character, from our first meeting in NJ through visits here at the cottage, at their place in AZ, at our place in FL and in Kamloops four years ago as I prepped for the Rocky Mountain 1200k. 

He was a funny dude when he was younger.  "Don't look at him" was the admonition from George when I first met Merlin, who had to check me out first.  These little dogs can be quite aggressive and Merlin was no exception, especially with males.  Through our many visits Merlin realized that I was OK and in Kamloops he jumped on my lap.  Of course that might have been because I had a lamb rib for him ... we never told Abby that I was feeding Merlin from the table !

Their other dog, Maya Lynn, is also getting on.  When I first met Merlin, he was an only child.  ML is about the same age as Abby, so she'd be 12 or so right now.  She has had health problems ...I'm sure that she'll be very lonely without Merlin. 

Even though George and Geri knew this was coming soon, it's tough to lose a family member.  The phrase "it's just a dog" comes from people who don't understand.  They'll never know the joy that these little beings can bring into our lives.

I guess that's about it ...