Giving Thanks

After a week of vacation, Monday it was back to the daily grind.  I was thankful, though, that it was going to be a short work week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  

While temperatures had cooled from the previous week, Monday was still fairly mild.  After an exhausting first day back at work, we needed to get out to stretch our legs.  I had a little shopping to do at Frandor, so I loaded everyone in the car and headed that way.  

I made a quick trip in to JoAnn Fabrics, then got the dogs out for a trip into Petco.  Before going into the store, we took a nice walk around Frandor.  It was a great walk because there were so many new smells and things for the dogs to explore.  After our walk, we made our visit to Petco, then I put the dogs into the car so I could make a quick trip into Kroger.  I picked up dinner and made the drive home.  It had been a successful outing and everyone settled in for a quiet night.

Temperatures fell overnight, bringing much colder temperatures to Lansing on Tuesday.   The dogs spent some time outside during my workday, but with the cold they weren't able to to spend as much time as usual, so after work, we were ready for some fun.

This time of year I love walking around downtown and the Capitol grounds to enjoy all of the holiday beauty.  So off we went.

I couldnt resist trying to get some pictures of the dogs with the State Christmas Tree.  Mina was a super star and sat so nicely for pictures.  I was awfully proud of her.  I was always thankful that I was able to get Peaches to sit long enough for a couple of pictures too.  Smokey just wasn't cooperating!

After several pictures we needed to get moving to warm up and find a way out of the wind, so off we went.  We had a great walk around downtown.  We hadn't taken a walk around downtown in quite awhile, so it was really nice to be down there again.

As we walked back to the car, I had to stop for some more pictures of the giant ornaments on Washington Ave.  I love the view from down the street. 

The dogs didn't really want to cooperate for any more pictures, so after a couple of quick shots, I settled for pictures without them.

And as we crossed the street at Capitol Ave, I was excited to get some pictures without any traffic in my way.  I really just can't get enough of the Capitol Building with the Christmas Tree.  I'm so glad we made this trip downtown.  I can't wait to go back and see it again, maybe with snow on the ground.

On Wednesday, I only worked a half day so that I could spend the afternoon volunteering at the shelter.   I'm thankful that Ameriprise gives all of it's employees 8 paid hours each year to volunteer,  and I wanted to take advantage of some of my time to get some dogs out of the shelter for a walk before the long holiday weekend. 

First I took the sweet old hound, Rob Roy.  He was pretty excited for his walk.  We had a nice easy walk and I was happy it wasn't too cold.

Next, I walked Cider.  He is a very sweet boy who ended up going into a foster home for the Holiday weekend after our walk.

Finally, I got Ogo out for a nice 2 mile walk.  He thoroughly enjoyed his time out of the shelter and I was happy I could spend this time with him.  I love this boy.  

After 4 hours at the shelter and 5 1/2 miles of walking, it was time to head home.  On the way, I stopped at the Christmas Tree lot down the road to pick up my tree.  

When I got home, the dogs were ready to go after spending a quiet afternoon at home.  I decided to get them out for a special trip, so we headed off for a trip to Home Depot.  We walked the aisles, looked at the Holiday decorations, and got stopped about 100 times so the employees could pet the dogs.  They loved it!  We added a couple of laps around the parking lot before we left, and I'm so grateful that my sweet pups are able to settle in for a quiet evening after such a brief adventure.   

Before the night ended, my tree was in the stand and fully lit.  It was the perfect end to my Wednesday. 

Thursday morning I was excited to start our morning by joining the Turkey Trot downtown.  After an early breakfast, the dogs headed back to bed and had a lazy start to their morning.  While I was putting on my shoes and getting ready to leave, they were still in the bedroom.  Smokey was the first to come join me.  At 8:43am, I found Mina sound asleep, all snuggled under the covers.  I dragged her out of bed, and by 9:10 we were at the starting line!

I like to start at the very back of the pack to avoid the crowds, but Peaches was having none of that this year.  We sped along passing lots of people and dogs along the way and finished in 52.27 minutes. 

As we walked back to the car, I made them stop for a picture and I was appreciative of the nice lady who offered to take my picture with them.  What great start to our day.

Once we got home, I started working on my side dish contributions for Thanksgiving dinner.  While I worked on food prep, the dogs spent a little time outside, ate their lunch in the snuffle mats, and then settled in for a nap.  Finally, it was time for me to head to Nicol's house, so the dogs all got a special Thanksgiving Kong and settled in for their day at home.

We had a great time a Nicol's house for Thanksgiving.  My parents joined us and Fiona was so entertaining.   We watched the Lions beat the Bears, I got to take Picasso for a nice walk, and we had way more food than we needed.  It was a delicious meal and a nice time with family.  

We awoke to snow on Friday and I decided that a lazy day was in order.  The dogs got to eat lunch in one of their brain games, they all got a stuffed bone to keep them busy for a bit, and we enjoyed a peaceful day.

By mid-afternoon,  I knew we all needed some fresh air, so we made the trip to Padgett Park so that they could run and Mina could play fetch.

We had the whole park to ourselves and everyone enjoyed sniffing and running until they got cold and were ready to leave. 

On the way home from the park, we made a stop at Preuss Pets, and I took each dog into the store for a visit.  They all got to explore the store, got lots of love from the employees, and got a special treat.

Peaches loved her visit most of all, and she especially loved hanging out with her favorite employee and watching the ferrets.

Saturday morning I was up early so I could help spring Ogo from the shelter and start him on his journey to his foster home with ISR in Illinois.   The roads were snowy, but overall not terrible, and my travels from Mason to Kalamazoo went smoothly.  

I made it home in time to watch the Michigan vs. Ohio State football game.  The dogs spent a little time outside, but with temperatures in the mid 20s, they didn't stay out long.  They had lunch in their brain games again, and then all napped nicely during the game.  

After the game ended, we headed out for a quick visit to Padgett Park on the last day of the season.  With the cold temperatures, we didn't stay long, but everyone was able to run and explore.  We made it home shortly after sunset, all had dinner, and have had a nice evening.  

We have a full Sunday planned, so I'll have to share that fun next week.  

It is so hard to believe that we've have reached the end of November and will wake up to the final month of the year.  How can it already be December?   I'm certainly thankful that for the last month and the time that I have had to rest, relax, and recharge.  The next month will be fun, but also busy and full of fun Holiday activities.  I look forward to them all.