Kleiner Bruders' first x-mas, and ours too!

It has been, and still is, a great Christmas time. Charity has had, and still is having, a wonderful time. Her brother from Houston has come to visit with his wife and children. She has opportunity to visit with him way too seldom. It is their fist Christmas together in years. Christmas is her favorite of holidays and him being here has made it so much better for her. On Christmas day we all took of to a place near San Angelo to visit with her aunts, uncles and cousins. The kids loved it. Her uncles are firemen and gave the children rides on the firetruck. I would have gone also but there are laws as to who get to drive and sound the sirens and alarms. Damn! Still it was loads of fun. The dog even enjoyed it, except for the fire truck's horn. On the way back we stopped at a store called the fudge pump. No really, you can't make a name like that up. They sold...fudge. Great fudge!
Christmas morning was great as well, all the kids shredding paper to get at the gifts, the dog munching up goodies from his stocking, seeing Charity's face with her family in the same room enjoying themselves. Very nice.
Oh yeah, and the snow! Christmas eve it starting pelting down snow here. While this may not be news worthy to some, it is here in Death Valley...just kidding. It does seldom snow in this part of Texas though and even more rare on Christmas. Easter morning, oh sure, but Christmas, very rare. Kleiner Bruder, aka, my dog, LOVES the snow!!!! I wish all could have seen him. He would run around with his nose in the snow, dig at the snow, roll in it, bit it, and take off in circles. All the while with a smile on his doggy face. Hey, he can smile if he wants to! And he was smiling! My God he has a great time in the snow. The snow is melting away today so he is playing in the withering patches as much as possible.
My favorite part? Watching Charity, the kids, and my beloved meat-headed dog enjoy themselves!

LOOKIT!!!! It's a doggie!

I picked up the dog dog today! Bruno, as he was called by the shelter, is home. He weighs in at a light 74 pounds and could stand to gain at least 15 more. The vet and others ask me what his breed is and I tell them hungry. And boy is he! He is mostly lab, the other part appears to be empty stomach. He is afraid of the psycho kitty Squishy and does not like Drizzt-cat around his food. That could be a mild problem since he thinks all food is his. So far he is well mannered in the house and out. He likes the kiddos and Charity, which is good because I would hate to loose her.... He is still learning what is his and what is not a chew toy. He loves his smoked and basted bones. You can tell by the gnawing noises and shrapnel left behind. He really likes a ride in the X-Terra and the big yard. Did I mention that he loves food also? I think that he will be a great looking animal once I get some weight back on him. He will be a wonderful friend to walk with on this leg of my travels.
As I had mentioned, we went to the ranch/farm where I spent some great times growing up and learning what it was to be a good man. There was a lot of memory triggers that took me back to 6 and 7 years old. The tank I spent summers fishing at, the field I learned to drive a tractor in, where I learned to ride a bike. Lots of memories. Without my grandfather, the place looked hard, desolate, empty. As if it too had passed on. Oh there is still life there, but different. You can see signs of the way it once was, the fallen grandeur of a once-proud land worked by hard hands. You can see the skeletons of greatness. You can feel the emptiness in the wind, a longing to be great again if only it had that spark again. The whole of the place feels hollow. Instead of sadness, I felt acceptance. He would like that, I think.
What I remember most, other than the people, are the smells. The fresh turned earth, food cooking, the dog. I remember the feel of the wind as I stand on the hill or in the fields. That wind that calls to me, draws me to find its source, to go. I can feel the rains of all seasons washing over me, the feeling of being truly cleansed by the soul of the land. I hear the birds, the sheep, the cattle, the tractor and my grandfather calling in the cows to milk. We had only the two Jerseys that we milked, we needed no more than that. I also remember the feel of a warm egg in my hand taken from right under the hens. Now, there is just the wind. But, if you listen closely you can still hear and feel all of these things. I hope someday the place is awakened anew.
How far does the wind carry the past?

Guess what!!!!!!

Guess what, guess what, GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!! I got a dog!!!! First, I must tell you about where I got him from. I got him from Brown County Animal Shelter, which is not the name now but I can't recall what it's called, sorry!. This place is truly awesome!. no, really, it is. It is the CLEANEST shelter I have ever been to, and I have been to a few. OK, a great many shelters. It is where I prefer to get all my mammal companions from shelters as it saves lives. Any way, it is a great place. As I said, it is very clean, even the smell, if there was one, was nice. The animals are in great shape. Healthy and happy. Yes, happy. Well fed and clean and happy. Did I say they were happy? They are so. They do not let the animals go home until they are spayed/neutered, micro-chipped and with there rabies shots. Very cool. They also come with a 30 day pet insurance that covers anything they might have missed an the coverage is up to $750.00. Hey! just found the shelter's name! It is the Corinne T. Smith Animal Center. It is in Brownwood, Texas so give them a check out if looking for a dog, cat, kitten or puppy. They also check for heart worms and give them all the appropriate shots. All of this cost $150.00 for dogs an I believe $75.00 for cats. Now this may sound a bit steep at first, but for all that you and your new pet receive, it is very little indeed. This place is great and I expect that I will be volunteering in the future at the shelter.
The dog is great. His is a mixed breed of considerable size. A beautiful animal. We could have gotten a puppy, or even one of the pure-bred dogs, but I opted for this guy. It would have been hard for a dog of his size to find a home and he is a year old. Most people want puppies. Heck, this one is already broke in!
We went to the ranch this weekend and I had a good time. We watched Sidney play a great game in the 6-man finals. They lost by 8 points but the game was good all the same. There was a lot of relatives that I had not seen in some time, and a few that I had not seen for a while on purpose.... The food was ..grannies food. Always awesome. There was everything. Baked turkey, deep fried turkey, ham, oh the ham!, dressing, and too many other things to list here. I ate, and ate, then ate some more. The only thing fat free might have been the forks. Who cares, it was way too good to consider calories.
I hope to post pictures of the dog soon and am looking forward to our new family member.
Be well everyone!!!