It's the holiday season

Our holiday week started quietly at home.  I spent Monday morning cleaning and finishing up some gift wrapping.  I had a list of to-do's but nothing too crazy, so it was a nice, peaceful, productive morning.  

We had a Winter Weather Advisory calling for some freezing drizzle and snow moving into the area during the afternoon, so I was glad that the weather stayed clear for my drive out to the vet's office for Smokey's check-up.  He loves his visits to the vet because he gets lots of love and attention.  During his appointment he received another red-light therapy on his shoulder wound to help with the healing.  Dr. Gretchen was really pleased with how well he is healing, so we are continuing to apply a cream to his wound daily and keeping it covered with a t-shirt as it heals.  He'll go back after the holidays for another check-up.  I'm really impressed with how noticeable the healing has been over the last few days.  I'm hopeful that we'll only have one or two more appointments before he is cleared for adoptions.  

After his appointment, I had some errands to run, and luckily, the bad weather hadn't yet arrived.  So off I went to make a couple of gift card purchases, a quick stop at Aldi, a gas station stop to fill-up the car, and a few other stops along the way.  I had hoped the drizzle would hold off long enough for me to get the dogs out for a quick walk, but it started to rain just before my final stop.  With the freezing temperatures and rain, I decided it was safest just to head home and settle in for the night.  The dogs had dinner in their brain games and I finished putting gifts under the tree and a few other things before we settled in for the night.  It was a peaceful evening.

We were up early on Christmas Eve, ready to start our preparations for our evening festivities.  There were still a few things I wanted to do around the house, including another good vacuuming, dusting, and some laundry.   I prepped a bunch of Kongs for the freezer, and then I started the food prep for the night.   Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was 5pm.  The food prep was finished, dinner was in the crockpot, the dishes were washed, and all other preparations for the evening were finished.  

All of the hard work throughout the day left the dogs neglected for a lot of the day.  I know that they knew something exciting was going to happen, and they were ready for it.  While we waited for Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona to arrive, I took them out for a quick adventure, and then we came back home and waited for our guests.

When they arrived, the dogs were so excited to see everyone!  Mina was extra crazy, Peaches immediately climbed into Tyler's lap, and Smokey was trying to get pets from everyone.  When things calmed down a bit, we ate dinner and then turned on Rudolf to watch with Fiona until we were ready to open gifts.  

Once we started opening gifts, Fiona decided that she wanted to give Peaches all of the wrapping paper.  Fiona loved opening her gifts, and Mina, Peaches, and Smokey were so excited to open their gifts too.  They all loved their kangaroo tails from Nicol, which kept them happy and busy for quite awhile.  And while they were busy, we played games and enjoyed just being together.

The night went way too quickly, and it was soon time for them to go home.  But before they did, I somehow got lucky and Fiona sat nicely for a couple of pictures.  

She really loves the girls and Smokey, and she wanted nothing more than to stay longer and snuggle with Peaches.  There were lots of tears when she was told it was time to go, heartbreaking for her grandma, but I know she had a great night and I am so glad that I have some really wonderful memories made with her.  It was a lovely evening.

After they left, I stayed up with the dogs, enjoying the tree and the peacefulness of the night.  

We slept in a bit on Christmas morning.  Once we were up and they ate breakfast, I made the dogs sit in front of the tree for a couple of pictures and then let them open a couple of gifts.  

Then we sat down together and just enjoyed some good snuggles and the quiet of Christmas morning.

I always hate when the peaceful Christmas morning must end so that I can get ready to make the hour drive to my parents for the rest of our Christmas festivities.  Those quiet Christmas morning snuggles are one of my favorite parts of the holiday.

After arriving at my parents, I spent some time visiting with them while we waited for my brother and his family to arrive.  Finally they got there, and we sat down to Christmas lunch.  

Afterward, we opened gifts, and then visited.  It was nice to get to visit with all of the kids.  It is rare that I ever see them all together anymore.  

After several hours at my parents, I made the drive home, got the dogs loaded into the car, and headed out to Holt for a walk through the park.  It was a mild evening, and it was nice to get out and stretch our legs.  We enjoyed the fresh air, exercise, and pretty lights.  

On the way home, we drove around some of the neighborhoods in Holt listening to Christmas music and enjoying the Christmas lights.  When we got home, I fed the dogs dinner, and heated up the bacon wrapped pineapple and goat cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped dates left over from Christmas eve for myself.  Then I sat down and watched a Christmas movie while enjoying the Christmas Tree.  It was the perfect end to my day.

On Thursday morning, I spent a little time doing some clean up from Christmas Eve.  It was a mild day, so the dogs spent a good amount of time outside, and we spent a fair amount of time quietly enjoying the day.  We took a lovely mid-afternoon walk around the neighborhood.   Then I got ready to head out to meet with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona for our final Christmas event of the season.

I met them at their house and then we made the short drive to the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo.  I've wanted to attend this event for years, so I was so excited to finally get a chance to go.  

Fiona loved seeing all of the light displays and I was grateful for mild temperatures.  

The light displays are all well done and it was a really nice event.  Fiona especially loved the ornaments that you could walk inside.  

While these ornaments and a few other displays are set up for pictures, Fiona had no interest in having her picture taken.  She really just wanted to walk inside of them.

She waited patiently in several lines until it was her turn and she was so excited when she could walk inside each one.  It was such a fun time.  

After we got back to their house, Fiona showed me some of the fun gifts she had gotten for Christmas, and then it was time for me to head home.  She was once again sad to see me go, but I promised to come back for another visit soon.  The dogs were pretty happy to see me when I got home and we enjoyed another night of snuggles in front of the Christmas tree.

On Friday morning, I was ready to get out for some fun with the dogs.  Mid-morning we hit the road and headed out onto some dirt backroads for a little geocaching fun.  While the rain hadn't started when we left, I knew it was on its way, so I wanted to take advantage of the mild temperatures while I could.

We stopped in the tiny town of Middleton for lunch at the Middleton diner and enjoyed their lunch buffet.  It was a delicious lunch followed by a walk around town with the dogs.  Then we headed out for some more geocaching.

As we drove around, the rain started and the roads were getting muddy, but I didn't let that stop me from doing a more geocaching.  Along the way, I found chicken eggs for sale on the side of the road for $1 a dozen and I saw lots of farmland.  As I picked up a final cache, I looked up and saw this old building and tree, which I thought made a really pretty picture.

We started our drive home in the rain, but as we got closer to Lansing, I decided we'd make a visit to Preuss Pets.  Each dog got out for an individual visit into the store and a walk around the block.  They all loved their visit to Preuss.  

Finally, we made one final stop at the Capitol Grounds for another quick walk to burn a little more energy before heading home.  It had been a good day enjoying some time doing something fun.

 

Saturday's forecast called for temperatures to reach the low 50s, so I knew we had to take advantage of it.  We were up early and the dogs spent some time outside.  We had a couple of quiet hours while they enjoyed a Kong and took a late morning nap while I did some reading, then I fed them lunch, and we headed out to meet with our friend Chuck who had recently gotten a deer.  He was going to be in town and had brought some meat for Peaches.  

All of my dogs have always loved Chuck, and I really appreciate that not only did he bring us some meat that was taking up space in his freezer, but he also took the time while cleaning his deer to take some extra meat he wouldn't normally bother with, cut it into one inch cubes, and saved it for Peaches.  The cooler full of meat he brought to me will keep Peaches fed for a while, and there is a good variety, including venison, pork, salmon and some other fish, and even some squirrel.  That will be a first for Peaches. 

After meeting with Chuck, we headed to East Lansing and took a long walk on Campus.  It was such a great day to be out and we thoroughly enjoyed our walk.  We haven't been out for a long walk in awhile so this was much needed.  After a couple of trips outside to play, we had dinner, and then enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

I had hoped our Sunday morning would start with a little adventure so that the dogs could burn some energy before I had to head out to a family Christmas party with my mom's family.  The rain had other plans for us.  So instead I snuggled with Peaches and played fetch with Mina while Smokey chewed on something while laying nearby.

While I know that Christmas has come and gone, I feel like the week between Christmas and New Year is the best part of the Christmas season.  I love this time of year, and this week is a definite highlight since there are festivities, lights, good food, and the best part, I have the whole week off to enjoy however I want.  I'm doing my best to rest and relax, but also to get out and enjoy some fun activities with the dogs.  It sure is flying by though!  In just a couple of days, we will reach the end of 2024 and welcome 2025, the holiday season will end, and we'll be back to the grind of life.  But for now, I'm going to enjoy this quiet, peaceful, restful time to it's fullest.

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season, too.  Be sure to take some time to rest, relax, and recharge.  Thanks for following along on our adventures this year.

Holiday adventures

It's only been a few days since I last wrote, so we start this Sunday morning with what's been happening since Wednesday.  

Wednesday was my final day of work for 2024, and I ended my workday at noon so that I could take advantage of the final 4 hours of paid volunteer time I had remaining for the year.  I made the drive out to the shelter to walk some shelter dogs immediately after I finished my work day, and I was joined by another volunteer to walk as many dogs as we could.  When I arrived, I found that there were only 4 dogs available to walk, Edna-pictured above-and Mike went out with us first and enjoyed a nice walk.  Then we returned to the shelter to get Tuck and Roll, two 5-month old lab mix puppies, out for their walk.  When we got back I spent a little more time at the shelter doing some odds and ends.  I also spent some time that afternoon doing some stuff for ISR.  It was a great afternoon of volunteer fun.

Then, I headed home to get the dogs so we could make the trip to Farmington Hills.  We had plans that night to attend the Wayne County Lightfest, a drive-thru light show, with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona.  I have visited this drive-thru since 2020, and the dogs have visited with me every year, with the exception of last year when we took Fiona for the first time.  This year, Fiona really wanted Mina and Peaches to join us so, of course, I brought them along.  

We arrived at Nicol's house, and I got the dogs out for a quick walk and then headed inside for a bit while we waited for Tyler to get home from work.  Then we all loaded up into Nicol's car to head out to see the lights.  The dogs were cozy in the back of the car, the Christmas music was playing, and Fiona was excited to be on our way to see the lights.  When we arrived, she sat on my lap as we drove through enjoying the lights, and while I didn't get any good pictures of the lights, I did get one picture. It was a nice display and Fiona was excited that the dogs were looking at the lights with her.  

After we finished the drive-thru, we stopped for dinner at Del Taco.  When we got back into the car after dinner, Fiona was very happily greeted by both Mina and Smokey with lots of doggy kisses.  When we got back to the house, I headed inside to watch the Grinch and read a Christmas book with her before I headed home.  It was such a fun night.

I had originally planned to head North for the weekend, and the plan was to leave Thursday morning, but a variety of factors led me to change my plans and just stay home for the weekend instead.  A snow storm was making it's way into the area, expected to arrive sometime that afternoon, and I had a list of things I wanted to get done.  We spent the morning of trying to be productive at home, but I knew I needed to get the dogs out for a little adventure before the snow arrived.  So I looked at the radar, and decided to make the drive to Albion so that we could finish our 100 miles on the North Country Trail for the year.  

When we arrived in Albion, I texted Vanessa to see if she was there and able to join us, and she was, so we picked her up and made the short drive to Victory Park for our walk.  We completed 1.85 miles on the trail and officially completed our Hike 100 challenge for 2024.  It is crazy to think that we've been doing this hiking challenge since 2016.  That's a lot of miles, and a lot of adventures, over the years.  I can't wait to do it all over in 2025.

On the way home from our hike, we made a quick stop in Parma so I could check out the Parma Antique Mall.  I bought a couple of cute ornaments and a book, then got in the car to head home.  On the way home, the snow began to fall.  I made a stop at the taco truck for dinner before they closed for the 2024 season, and there was a light layer of snow on the driveway when we arrived at home.  It was so pretty.

We woke on Friday morning to about 4 inches of snow on the ground.  It was so pretty, especially on the trees.  We had a a good day at home, getting some things checked off my to-do list, but the dogs were growing impatient, so I knew I had to get them out for some fun.  I had to run a couple of errands, so I shoveled the driveway, loaded the dogs into the car, and headed out to get more done.  After a few stops, we drove across town for a visit to Preuss Pets.

Each dog got an individual trip into the store to explore, visit with their favorite Preuss employee, and visit the small critters.  Then they each got a walk around the block before they got back into the car so that the next dog could get out.  Mina is always last, and she helps me pick out a few goodies to buy before we leave.

I also enjoy checking out the small critters and I loved this little tree frog and it's cute toes! 

On the drive home from Preuss, I decided to stop for a quick walk around the Capitol grounds.  We haven't spent nearly enough time downtown this holiday season, but it was so could that I knew we couldn't take a long walk.  We had the whole Capitol grounds to ourselves, which I found strange on the Friday before Christmas, but it was nice.  We had a peaceful walk and everyone was happy to be out getting in some sniffs.  

I can never get enough pictures of our beautiful Capitol Building, especially at the holidays.  

And I also just love the look of the snowy tree with Christmas lights.  

Winter arrived in the early hours of Saturday and we woke to frigid temperatures and sunny skies.  Winter really is here now.  We did a few things around the house, then I went out to make a couple of final holiday shopping stops, including the Holt Farmer's market for a trip to our favorite dog treat lady.

We got home and I was rushing around to finish up a couple of things when Vanessa arrived for our afternoon adventure.  We were heading to Kalamazoo for some winter fun and we were all excited for the fun!  We stopped for donuts at Sweetwater's Donut Mill, then started our geocaching fun.  We took a short walk down a lovely little trail for one of our first caches and then spent the afternoon driving around and picking up caches along the way.

Finally we headed toward downtown Kalamazoo to visit Candy Cane Lane.  This is one of my favorite holiday light displays and it just makes me happy.

We walked around the park and I took a few pictures, including one with the candy canes.  

Then we walked down to Kalamazoo Mall and made the walk here, enjoying the festive lights.

And, of course, we got a picture with the giant Santa before walking back to Candy Cane lane, and then finally headed back to the car.

I was so happy that we were able to make it to Kalamazoo again this year.  I don't think the holidays would be quite complete without this trip.

Next we headed to Battle Creek to take a quick walk and enjoy the Christmas light display there.  I love the light shows that play along to music, and this one in Battle Creek is always a favorite.  It was freezing out, so we didn't stay long, but I was glad we had stopped. 

Then we started to make the drive for home, but we had to make one last stop in Marshall to show Vanessa the Holiday house along the way.  While we were there, we also grabbed dinner, and did one final geocaching adventure, before we made the drive home.  We had had such a wonderful day full of adventures and Christmas spirit.  It was really just what I needed to get me fully ready for Christmas.

Today I have a lot to get done-gift wrapping, cleaning, Christmas Eve food prep, and a couple of quick errands.  I'm hopeful that the dogs will be quiet and allow me to get everything done.  So far it's been a pretty quiet morning, but Smokey is starting to get restless.  It looks like a gorgeous sunny day out, but the current temperature feels like 11 degrees, so maybe we'll head out for a quick adventure before we settle in for a productive day at home.

By the time I write next week, Christmas day will have come and gone, so I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.