Xmas Over, Back to Philly

It's just not Christmas morning until you put bows on your dog's head. I also don't feel like it's Christmas until I watch my favorite Xmas movie, the ever-corny White Christmas. Though I've probably seen this musical a hundred times, when Bing Crosby sings "Counting Your Blessings" with Rosemary Clooney, I still get choked up.

I'm back to Philly today for the annual conference. But the good news is that this is the last year I'll have to do this the day after Christmas; next year the conference moves to January. So maybe we can actually go home to Tennessee for Christmas (or get some family up here for a NYC holiday). Also, Alex is driving down to Philly with Bobby on Tuesday for a few nights, so that will be fun. It's always fun riding an elevator in a fancy hotel with good ol' Thunderpaws. We'll drive back on New Year's Eve just in time for the Pratt steam whistles.

Christmas 2009: Done.

What a fun morning we had opening gifts and talking to our families (as you can see, Bobby was exhausted by it all). Last night was the Moretons' annual Cuban Christmas feast, which we were lucky enough to be invited to again. Danny, Leo, Rita, and Gene put out an amazing spread for about twenty people in Danny and Gene's fab Manhattan apartment. And then we open gifts until about 1:00 in the morning! Super fun, and Danny gave us a portable GPS. I can't wait to not get lost anymore.

Chargin'

On the weekend before Christmas, Santa brought to Bobby....snow! Here's a great shot Kizzy took of him, ears a-flappin' charging through the snow. I wish our Tennessee friends and family could visit us here for one of NYC's magical snowstorms. The city quiets down, everything looks clean, there's a peace that settles over everything. Except Bobby, that is. He ramps it up to eleven and goes apeshit.

Best Sledding in NYC

We've got it in Fort Greene! The secret's out on how excellent Fort Greene Park is for winter sledding, so I'm happy to live nearby. I love it when it snows on a weekday and I take Bobby to the park at the usual hour (between 6 and 7 am). We grab some leftover sled detritus--there's usually some cardboard or garbage can lids laying around. And then we go sledding in the park before the sun comes up and we've got the whole park to ourselves. It's an invigorating way to start the day; a little sledding before work! Kizzy photographed this morning's sledding activity while lots of dog folks and kids enjoyed the fresh blanket of snow. Here I am tumbling down the hill with Nancy.

Snow!

Yep, as you no doubt heard NYC got socked with a foot of snow last night/this morning. See the proof in this photo Kizzy took of me and Bobby this morning! This is the pathway in our courtyard; after the snowplows came through it left a very neatly marked path. The rest of the neighborhood was not so easy to navigate; it took me twenty minutes to slog to the park this morning instead of the usual ten. Walking in tall snow is an excellent workout!

Wowee Zowee

I wouldn't want to see their light bill. This is the "main house" on the Dyker Heights light tour. There's usually a dude dressed up as a snowman collecting money in a bucket from all the gawking tourists, I think it's for a children's charity. This movie about the neighborhood is really great, check it out if you can. It usually runs on PBS stations around Christmas.

Inflatable Insanity

Here's another shot from our Dyker Heights night out. One house was covered, I mean covered, in those big inflatable thingamajigs. They weren't all Christmas-themed, either. There was Eeyore, and some big M&Ms, and I think Spongebob was there also. Very odd. What happens to these things during a really windy day? Ssssssss.

Dyker Heights Lights

Last Saturday, Kizzy and I ventured over to the Dyker Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn to see the insanity of the Christmas lights. Here we are posing in front of a giant, scary Santa and his motorized 10-foot tall toy soldiers. If I was a little kid, I'd be having serious nightmares about this humongous, bug-eyed St. Nick, who has been sitting on this family's front lawn for many Christmas seasons. But kudos to the neighborhood; it's holiday decoration oneupsmanship at its finest!