Happy Winter Solstice

Mom says today is the shortest day of the year. I think that means that there is less sun which means less time to play outside. We are also having an unusually cold December here in Furrginia. I am a hot blooded doggy even with my short coat but I know dad and particularly mom are complaining about the cold. My swimming pond is frozen over which makes me sad too. Dad was going to take pictures of the special eclipse last night but the 20 degree temperature (not counting the wind chill) changed his mind. He CLAIMED it was too cloudy but mom and I know better.

Mom and I decided it would be fun to participate in the Winter Solstice gift swap that The Portugese Water Dog Blog sponsored. Mom and I sent a gift all the way to England and we got a package from the Portugese Water Dogs themselves ten days or more ago now. Mom would not let me open the package because she said we had to wait for the Winter Solstice. Well, today is the day so we opened the package. Drum roll please!

Mom and I love the presents! There was a whole family of knit doggies. Of course, not as many doggies as there are over the Portugese Water Dog Blog house, but still a mom, dad and baby dog. Here is a better close up picture of just the dogs:

Mom says I can't play with them because she likes them. But I think they are fun to look at too!

I am really excited about the other present. It might be hard to see in the picture but these are dog biscuit cookie cutters. The best part is they come with a recipe and thankfully for me what mom said was an "easy" recipe because otherwise they would never get made (just saying mom).

So short days or not, I am thinking this Winter Solstice thing can't be but so bad. Mom also suggested I share with you an article that tells you everything you would ever want to know about the Winter Solstice. It's by Richard Cohen and was in Sunday's New York Times.

I know Sue and her whole family of dogs are celebrating a double early Christmas and Winter Solstice because Morgan's pathology report came back with great news after a lump was removed from her neck turned out to be benign! And, be sure and check out this blog post from them because it has lots of pictures from Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas. Williamsburg is right down the road from where we live!

My Present from Shawnee

Yesterday my mom got to meet Shawnee and her mom while she was on the way from the Shorty Awards in New York City. Shawnee wrote a great blog about it and since she was there, you should read that for the details.

In addition to sending me some good smells (thanks for pointing out the shoe Shawnee that was a good one) and doggy hair on mom's clothes, Shawnee sent me the neatest gift. It is a green gecko just like that little guy on the TV commercials only better - this one has two squeakers and stretches real good in the middle. As Shawnee pointed out, it is a good toy for me because it doesn't have much stuffing in it. All of you that read my bloggie should know my history with stuffed animals!

Usually even the ones without stuffing are not safe. While we were on vacation I got one of those and I just ate it piece by piece. So far so good - it's almost 24 hours and the gecko is doing great. He may be missing one of his paws but otherwise he is perfectly healthy and I have been playing with him a lot. So great toy choice Shawnee!

This is when mom first gave me the present bag

Notice I put my face all the way in the bag - I could smell Shawnee's whole family

Next I will go through my routine for testing my new toys:

It squeaks real good

It's fun throwing it in the air

I like testing my toys from all angles, especially upside down
Shawnee's mom gave my mom good advice on how to fix my eye here but
she left this one cause it matches the gecko!

The final test is the nommy level. For this test I have a video. Mom now realizes this was when I was working on eating the poor gecko's paw. I didn't quite get it before the end of the video.

My two favoritest toys right now - Gecko and my bone

This is my Buttons imitation - using my toy as a pillow!

All I can say is Shawnee gives really good presents! Her mom also gave me something called a supplement. Mom says it will make my coat even more handsome. Dad was a little worried about the "sustained energy level" aspect.