return

We got back yesterday evening. There was snow over all of upstate New York, and a light covering here, just enough to turn the lawns white. Very pretty.

We had a lovely time in New Jersey - saw lots of family (some people several times, which was a real treat), ate, drank, hung out, told stories. The large gathering was also a little bittersweet, as we won't all be together again any time soon. With my mom spending the winter in Florida, two nephews and a niece living in the western US, and my sister touring universities with another niece, there isn't a lot of family visiting on the horizon. All the more reason to enjoy it when it's possible.

Cody is the perfect traveler - easy-going, well behaved and always up for a road trip. That's a little bittersweet, too, of course, since traveling with her is made possible by Buster's absence. Although Buster was extremely well behaved, his anxiety and aggression issues made traveling with him impractical. And even without those issues, I'm not about to invite myself to someone's home with two dogs. But one quiet dog, without her playmate, is no trouble to anyone. She was a big hit, everyone really enjoyed her. So it was great to have her with us, but also tinged with a little sadness. As the cliche goes: such is life.

I was only able to briefly skim comments while I was gone, so I'll be reading through them more thoroughly today. I look forward to catching up with y'all. Check out our sweet Canadian Cody.

canadian cody 002

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