Christmas, Part One

I'm finally sitting down to post some pictures from Christmas, but in the interest of your (my) attention span, I'm going to divide it up. This is the first installment. . . Christmas with the Ruddy Family!

Everyone got into the spirit of Christmas. . . even the dogs!Patrick tries on the antlersThis was a unique Christmas for our family. We had the opportunity to meet Erik & Patrick's dad and brother who came from Tennessee to spend the holiday!
Back (L to R): Mike, Debra, Patrick
Front (L to R): Michael, Jr., Christel, Erik

We spent Christmas Eve chatting and eating all sorts of delicious food that Debra prepared. Mmm... renzas.... Also went to a lovely candlelight service and later got a chance to see Laurence and Bonnie and their family which was so much fun! Christmas morning we spent together opening gifts and drinking (or in my case spilling) coffee and then went to Christmas mass with Hazel. Erik and I had to head back after lunch as he had to work that night.

Christmas CrownsErik with his childhood stuffed animal (a tiger who had all his hair picked off!!) The Michaels sent books of The Chicagoan, for which Arthur Ruddy (Erik's grandfather) did interior artwork and several magazine covers! Erik was excited to discover that Mike's hobby is geneology/history. He brought a CD for each of the boys with all sorts of family history and also has a website with all kinds of information. Right up Erik's alley! We were also excited to learn that Michael plays WoW, and online game that Erik & I have been enjoying with Ben! Santa was good to everyone . . .The Ruddy BoysIt was a great Christmas and so fun to start to get know Mike & Michael!

Busy Week!

I know everyone is busy getting ready for the holidays, and so are we, but that's not all that's keeping us busy this week.

On Sunday we got to see Laura and the kids (friends in Bakersfield). It's been too, too long and it was lots of fun to catch up over dinner. The girls had fun meeting the pets and kept the cats busy with toys until we went outside to try the hammock and foosball table. It was great to see them!On Monday, Noelle came for a visit. We had grand plans to get all sorts of Christmas stuff done--lights up on the house, cookie frosting, making krumkake, getting the tree. . . It didn't quite happen that way. On Tuesday afternoon, Ben called to see if we all wanted to go skiing on Wednesday because Pei had just been able to switch her work schedule. It was too late for Erik take a vacation day, but we decided that Noelle & I would go. This is how Wednesday went:

3:30am Alarm apparently goes off
3:45am Noelle comes in to wake me up and tells me that I've hit snooze twice and she's tired of hearing my alarm
4:25am We load up the car and leave for Pasadena. As we get close to the Grapevine we see signs that CHP are escorting vehicles along a nearby route and decide again that we probably can't stay until the hill closes as we'd like to be back through before it gets totally dark. Ha.
6:30am Arrive at Ben & Pei's EXACTLY on time. Noelle meets cats and gets quick tour apartment . . . then we watch them search for their ski/snowboarding gear ;-)
7:30am Leave for Summit
8:something Stop to grab breakfast and coffee. . . instead get something akin to dirty dishwater
9:something Start to run into snow; stop at "Chains Required" sign to apply said chainsAfter this the time becomes a bit fuzzy. . . we drove slower and slower in heavier and heavier snow until we finally came into Big Bear Lake--only a few miles to the hill!

. . . except the road to the hill is closed. Snow is plowed up against it actually--seemingly no intention of re-opening it soon. We grumble a bit because now we have to drive around the lake to get to the other access road (and could have come a different way if we'd known). In the meantime, more snow. We can't really see the lake though we're driving right alongside it. It's pretty though!

Traffic is heavier and slower now as everyone is re-routed and joins traffic from the other route. But we're moving. And then we weren't. At all. For a long time. And then we can finally see why. A delivery truck (...uh huh) is sitting in the road, blocking both lanes. Apparently he started to slip as he went up the hill. Then the driver walked by our car, calling out to someone behind him, "I'm not moving! I'll just slide. No, I'm not moving!" Riiiiiight. . .

So Ben gets out to see what he can see. There are cars in the ditch on both sides of the road all around the jam--people who tried to pass and people who tried to turn around without enough room. We help push a couple out and then get turned around ourselves, deciding that it was time to give up and head back.

We don't get very far. Because people further back in the line, apparently believing that the long line in front of them were just taking a little driving break, started passing them. So now there are two solid lanes of traffic stopped and facing the same direction. Smaaaaart. We hop out to help push a car who lost one of their chains, and Ben goes to see how far back the stupidity goes. We tell as many people as we can what's going on ahead so they can turn around and not cause more problems. . . and the majority reply with something like, "But. . . we want to board!" Uh huh. Good luck with that. Ben is helping folks merge into the correct lane at this point, finally making enough room that the 4x4 in front can make a path mostly on the road and traffic can start moving. Now the responses are more like, "But look! Traffic is moving now!" Yes, yes it was . . . and clearly not because THE SMART ONES WERE TURNING AROUND, THEREBY MAKING MORE ROOM IN THE STUPID LINE!

We stopped several times on the way out to help folks push out of the ditch, and had folks stop to help us out once as well when one of our chains came off. We did have one scary moment just when we were almost out of the snow. We'd gotten down to a low enough elevation that there was very little snow piled up on the sides of the road when we hit a patch of snow/slush/ice and spun in a very slow circle through our lane, through the oncoming lane and into a guard rail. Freaky, but we were able to drive away and think that the dent from the guard rail will be able to be popped back out. Thank heavens for guard rails!

2-ish pm We arrive back in Pasadena, stop for a couple frozen pizzas, and head to the apartment where Ben built a lovely fire. Ben & Pei then got stuck with two house guests because the grapevine (the highway through Tejon Pass, back to Bakersfield) was closed due to snow, along with all alternate routes. So we settled in and watched movies, ate yummy chinese food, had a cat fashion show, and SLEPT. The highways didn't re-open until the next afternoon, so we didn't get back to Bakersfield until 5pm--but we did finally get here! An unscheduled adventure, but good to be with Ben & Pei! :-D

Next week we'll be in Santa Maria for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Patrick & Debra, and meeting the boys' father and half-brother, and on Friday night family will start arriving here!

Safe travels and a happy, happy Christmas to all!!

Quickie ;-)

They were lying back to back, sound asleep. . . until I picked up the camera, of course. :-/ Cats are so much easier to photograph in cute, sleeping poses--they just ignore you! How cute is THIS?!?!What Thomas thinks about having his picture taken when those camera-holding hands could be petting or playing. . .Yep, it's another short, pet-filled post. . . but not much else has been going on. We've taken turns being sick and I think are both finally well. Erik's cough is lingering a little, but he's HUMAN again. ;-) I need to get inspired to decorate and bake now--all of a sudden Christmas is veddy, veddy close! We've been chipping away at our To Do list, peppering those in between times with old Rankin Bass Christmas movies and other holiday classics. Fun!! I did shop for baking and holiday baskets today, so time to get cookin'!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's so different not to be in Sturgeon Bay for Thanksgiving; it's always been my favorite family holiday. And it still is! We had a very fun family holiday out here again this year. Noelle and Andy came down late Wednesday night. . . and after Erik came home and slept for a bit on Thursday morning, we all drove up to Santa Maria for Thanksgiving with Patrick, Debra and Mark (otherwise known as Wilson, the fence neighbor).Chuckie & OliviaDid someone say TREATS?!?! (Josh) Did someone say TURKEY?!?! :-D
The feast!Fun with cloth napkins!Happy, happy thanksgiving--I'm so thankful for you!!!
~cmr

Peace?

Granted, it's only been a couple of days. . . but you count hours rather than days when you're worrying whether or not the pets are ever going to settle down and get along. We're breathing a sigh of relief as things settle down some and there is a glimmer that eventually Rosie may actually befriend a boy or three. See the snuggling? :-D She was chasing Sam around this morning in play, but every time he caught her and started to play she panicked--hissing, spitting, growling, ears flattened . . . and when I picked him up, she pouted because I took away her plaything!! As soon as he got down, she was after him again. The poor guy didn't know whether to play or go hide!

Life is never dull! :-)

Little Rosie

Just a quick post . . . I'm sick, Erik's starting to feel sick, the pets have been spatting . . . but we have a new introduction to make! :-)

This is Rosie. According to our vet visit today, she weighs just over 4 lbs. Apparently Sam has grown more than I thought--she feels like a feather next to him!

Unlike the new pup, this transition bodes to be a little rockier--though I'm happy to say there have been improvements since last night! These aren't the best pictures, but give you some idea of her coloring. Her right eye always shoots a little funky as she has some scar tissue (likely from catching a claw to the eye from a sibling?) She looks like a crabby little puss, but she purrs loud enough to wake the dead and loves to snuggle.I picked up Rosie yesterday afternoon and she slept on my chest while I napped for hours (did I mention I was sick?) She's glad to be home and loved--just seems like she wishes she were the only one! The dogs were a bit over-curious which didn't get them off on the right foot, but you can see how meek Pippin is today--he's afraid of getting in trouble and is treating her with kid gloves!

Play Time!

Yep . . . it's a gratuitous post ignoring any real or imagined transitional difficulties and highlighting Brotherly Love and Playful Spirits. ;-) Hey--Noelle asked for more puppy pictures!

Actually (not to jinx things) so far things are going really smoothly! The dogs are still working out the pecking order, but mostly they're just buds. They play and play and play and sleep and sleep and sleep and wake up and play some more. The cat watches and walks deliberately close to show that he's not afraid or going to hide . . . or lounges under the tree observing the world at large . . . or perches at the top of the cat tree with his head resting on the edge watching the dogs play or sleep below. Erik, who was feeling a little leary about another dog, is completely in love. :-) And here's the sleepy pup. . . Erik thinks he grew last night! He does look lanky in the picture, but he's still a Floppy, Clumsy Puppy! No word yet on our newest kitty--hopefully this week! :-)

New Addition(s)

What a lot has happened since my last post! The long and the short of it is . . . we have two new members of the family. The cat will be picked up after her vet appointment and you'll meet her another day; today I want to introduce you to Thomas. :-)He is a three month old Golden Retriever mix and sweet as can be. He sat in the car like an angel on the way home and then got a bath immediately upon arrival--he was one STINKY puppy!! I don't know what he'd rolled in . . . I don't want to know! Pippin and Sam gave him a thorough looking over and then they all went to check out the yard. Thomas played with Pippin until he was worn out--then started to lean against me like, "Please can I take a nap now?"The cat watched the goings on from his favorite spot under the pine tree.Pippin is ecstatic to have a new buddy! He has no idea that Thomas is going to get Bigger. ;-)Sleepy, sleepy puppy after so many new things. . .