“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” – Samuel Butler

It's Monday, January 28, 2019, and, I feel compelled to share the obligatory photo of our little puppy. After two weeks with him, I can report that he obviously came with an attitude because he has pretty much operated on the theory that he is the king and everything here belongs to him, and, we are his subjects. Maybe not that bad, but, we do have some splanin to do to this little Shih Tzu who may prance around because of his scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris. He may actually believe he is royalty of some kind. He is also known as the Chrysanthemum Dog and his lineage can be traced to his Chinese ancestors as far back as 800 BC. I can report he has not really cared for going outside in a cold rain, but, he seemed not to worry about the fellow on the other end of the leash who didn't care for it as well. The information we have read speaks about his stubbornness. The vet who allowed him to lick all over her face also mentioned we would do well to remember he is from a stubborn breed. The fellow on the other end of the leash didn't need to be told. When I say go this way it is an immediate signal for him to go the opposite way. I have to say this in all fairness to him now being a part of our program: We are amazed at how quickly he is learning and we are hoping it will continue. And, for those who have openly wondered about our sanity for getting this puppy, what took you so long to be concerned about our mental wellbeing? Thank you very much.

Our Madi-girl, 9, now living in San Antonio.

Life goes on and things change. Most of you already knew that. For us, we are dealing with some new developments over this past year. Our grandchildren, their spouses, and their children are beginning to scatter some. We've been blessed to have them within the geographic area for all these years and now we have a military wife living in Kansas, and our eldest granddaughter and her family living in San Antonio. This means we no longer see them as often as we used to. I know. Many people have had to deal with this for years. But, this is new to us. We didn't see them all the time, but, typically we saw them on birthdays and other celebrations. Now we depend on social media to keep up with them. The wife does Face Time some and that helps. When I get a photo like the one of our Madi-girl, well, it makes me homesick to see her. I also know all grandkids and great grandkids need as much exposure as possible to their grands and their greats. They do know we love them and we miss them and we pray for them. Maybe that's why she wanted a dog. I'll ask her about that one and get back to you.

I am on my old, old desktop computer this morning. The newer one does not want to wake up. That is not a good way to start the day, if you know what I mean, and, I'm sure plenty of you folks know exactly what I mean. This particular system is so back leveled in terms of its operating software and programs, well, it could be considered stone age in terms of its viability in today's computing world. But, it still functions in an odd sort of way. Adapting. That's what we typically spend our time doing. Adapting. At any rate, I have no idea how this will end up appearing on those who receive it by email, but, we all will find out together. This one has so many alerts flashing about being outdated, it reminds of those Old Person Missing signs out on the freeways. Do all old people who go missing drive a silver Monte Carlo? I will leave it at that for today and try to figure out what's going on with my newer computer. I do hope you have a blessed day and that God will be honored by what we all find ourselves doing. Take care. Amen. ....More later.