This is what happens when you wake up at 7am on a Saturday...

You blow through all your normal Saturday distraction so fast that you realize you have time for a blog update.
Here is the reason for the 7am wake up:

She is a temporary house guest. Mike and I have agreed to foster Echo with the understanding that we'll take her to a shelter (or interested persons) when we leave for Christmas Break in two-ish weeks. The previous foster parents were having a hard time meeting her needs so we offered to take her. Temporarily - we are NOT keeping her! Several people have already reminded me I said the same thing about both Wretched and Moe, but this time I really mean it.

Actually, I've been so proud of Moe lately that I've had a growing desire to adopt another dog (see video). Luckily, fostering Echo has reminded me of how fun raising a puppy can be. Just in case the sarcasm didn't come across, let me elaborate: She definitely cuter and smarter than Moe was at her age, but she gnaws on everything and wakes up 4 or 5 times a night. Plus there's the whole house training thing. We're having more success with Echo than we did with Moe, but it's still annoying. And smelly.
Yes, I know, having a baby will be worse. Doesn't mean I can't complain about it :-)

Here's a video of Moe and 5-year-old Delayna. Recently we've been letting Moe out without attaching her chain and she's been really good about staying in the backyard. This afternoon I let Moe out and looked out the window just in time to see Delayna bringing Moe back to tie her up! Their relationship shouldn't be surprising, but I didn't think Moe would submit without Mike or I there.



So of course I wanted to see what else Delayna could do...


As you can see, we still don't have any snow and there's only a thin layer of ice on the lake. Some people are worrying that the ice road won't be traversable in time for Christmas so we might have to fly out ($$$!!!!) Hopefully those people are wrong.

Mike is at the Arena today with one of the two kids' hockey teams he coaches with two other teachers. And before long I'll be joining him because the co-ed teams needs motivation! The girls are reluctant to participate so Mike offered to bring me along to the practices. Obviously these girls are unaware of my mad skills: My ability to fall on my behind are unparalleled! Honestly, I think an elephant on stilts would look more graceful on the ice than I will. But it's all for the kids, right?!
I'll let Mike fill you in on all the details when he gets back. I should probably take out the puppy.

Happy first week of December!
Jill