Merry Christmas to us!

'Twas the day before Christmas, and early we rose! Scott, Chris, and Hannah on the road, and the snow blows! We drove for 3 hours to pickup our gift - a beautiful yellow puppy - and we didn't land in a drift! (end of poem, such as it was!) We left home at 8 a.m. to drive to Cricket Hollow Farms, in Galva, Illinois. Chris Anderson has a simply wonderful dog breeding (and boarding and training) business there, and we were lucky enough to find her, and our newest family member, Dora!
Here I am, holding Dora for the first time. When Chris's daughter brought Dora out to me, I started to cry, she is just so beautiful! (you can see Chris behind me)

Here is my daughter, Hannah, getting kisses from the lovely Dora. Let me tell you, it takes a LOT to get Hannah out of bed early in the morning, but she bounded out of bed in order to come along to pick up Dora! Here you can see the front room of Chris's business.

Hannah got to have Dora ride in the back seat with her, and took LOTS of pictures on the way home! A little yawn from Dora. By the way, the name has nothing to do with the cartoon character - but was chosen in honor of a favorite great aunt of mine, who was spunky and sweet. So far, our Dora has both qualitites! :)

Chris gave us a little stuffed lamb, sweet with the scent of Dora's 9 brothers and sisters. Here she is, cuddled up next to her little lamb - dreaming about what else Santa might bring to her the next day! For all of us Hudsons, though, we already had our gift - a sweet little girl named Dora. God Bless Us, Every One!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy these images - starting with a view from our front yard, looking across the street, about one month ago. Love that fall color!

Here's another stunning shot - taken from my neighbor's driveway, looking through her garden (I can't take credit for those beautiful marigolds, cosmos, and clematis over her gate), into our backyard. That maple in the background is ours, and it gives us a beautiful view from our family room (just to the right).

There was a great Mary Schmich column in the Chicago Tribune this week, on the theme of Thanksgiving. I tried to include a link, but blogger is fighting me right now. Just go to Chicago Tribune, Mary Schmich, November 21. The column is titled "Even the terrible things seem beautiful to me now."

And who could resist these cuties? These are some of the 3-week old girl pups from our litter - we are schedule to pick up OUR puppy in about one month - just in time for Christmas!

Another problem trying to include a link - type in the following into You Tube to get a real day brightener! I actually applauded after watching this one. Enjoy - and Happy Thanksgiving!

Sound of Music - Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

Why another lab? Part 3

As if there needs to be another reason - here is a very adorable one! This is a picture of a sweet puppy from one of our breeder's previous litters - from the same parents that have been bred for "our" litter, which will produce our puppy in the next month! Get ready to say "oh!" And like Mary Schmich, a Chicago Tribune columnist has said, "There are people who love dogs, and then there are people with no souls." That may be a little bit extreme - but who could resist this adorable bundle of yellow fluff?

Why another lab?

The first and only dog I have ever owned was Maggie, our yellow lab. She was a really nice girl, a friend to all, and an enemy to none. She was very tolerant, as shown in the adorable photo below of my younger daughter, Hannah, about 6 in the picture (she's now 20!). Mags loved to look out the front screen door, surveying the world.

Maggie had been chasing tennis balls in heaven for about 5 or 6 months now.We have reserved another female lab from a very nice breeder, here in Illinois, and should have our puppy in time for a very special Christmas. I'll keep you posted on the puppy's progress, as I get news on the breeder's website!

So - why another lab? Or, why get another dog at all? Because having a dog is better than not having a dog, and having a yellow lab was great. That's why

Hannah and Maggie

Indeed!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good. After all, life is too short to be anything but happy."

~Karl Marx, Composer (1897-1985)

And now, how about some pictures to make you happy?

Scott and I visited a terrific breeder of labradors in Galva, Illinois recently. Her name is Chris Anderson, and the place is called Cricket Hollow Farm. They do a great job with their dogs, and we got to visit some of their already sold puppies! How cute are these?!

We have decided to purchase one, and will get a yellow female from their next litter, sometime this fall. We can't wait!

Love on Four Legs

Last night, our family lost our beautiful yellow lab, Maggie. I often commented that Maggie was like "love on four legs", because she was so good, and loved everybody, and life. She is the only dog I ever had, and I will miss her dreadfully. She has been failing for the past three months or so, having a series of strokes, and losing the ability to enjoy life like she used to. We knew it was the right time, but it is will still be hard for all of us. She has left our house very empty, but still covered in dog hair, and our hearts full of love for her.