New Year's Resolution

It’s been a while since we checked in. You can see what one of my New Year’s resolutions is. A holiday recap: On Halloween, Elizabeth dressed as a secret agent and Michael as Naruto (if you don’t know this character, your manga credentials need brushing up): Josie pretended to be a bat and came along for trick-or-treating. She was a bit of a trial. She’s not used to walking out at night, nor to meeting great crowds of humans in our neighborhood, all of whom smell of candy and odd plastics. For Thanksgiving, she came with us to the family feast in Connecticut, and spent much of the day camping outside the house, waiting for treats to come her way. Alice flew in from Little Rock to join us as well. While Peter and the kids went off for an extended TG celebration in Bridgehampton with the rest of his family, Alice stayed here with me and Josie. We spent the weekend cooking up our family’s Thanksgiving favorites: pumpkin pie, cornbread dressing, a kosher turkey breast, baked pumpkin drizzled with honey and toasted pecans, and other delicacies. We took Josie on daily romps and chases through a nearby field and fed her the occasional tidbit. St. Nicholas’ Day passed by with little canine acknowledgement, though the kids received their gifts from a pretend fourth-century bishop by that name at church school.

Josie is now 10 + months old, and a whole new dog in terms of whether she wants to obey (she doesn’t), her agility, strength, and stamina. She can pull all 155 pounds of me across the floor on her chew rag (the remains of her first crate liner). We spent much of Christmas vacation together with her. We devoted the week to family time, mending parts of the house that needed mending—plaster cracking off ceilings, doors that wouldn’t shut, pictures that needed hanging—and romping her around the school grounds or taking her on longer walks than usual. Until after Christmas she more or less ignored the tree and the presents. In the beginning we did a lot of stamping on and yelling at the tree skirt a la Sarah to scare Josie away from it (she seemed merely puzzled by all the noise). Recently, though, she’s found the tree useful for hiding behind when she snagged a forbidden sock or slipper, and has begun nibbling at the ornaments despite all the Bitter Apple sprayed on them. The tree’s days are numbered.

We also spent much of the vacation following Alice’s progress. My parents drove up from Houston to Little Rock the weekend before Christmas to help her finish packing up her house. They joined her for the drive to Decatur, Georgia, and helped oversee the movers as they unpacked the moving van. It’s a ten-hour drive from Little Rock to Decatur. Alice had two cats, long accustomed to roaming their neighborhood, in the backseat. They yowled so much, despite sedatives, that she began to consider leaving them road-side—but fortunately they all survived the journey intact, perhaps, except for nerves.

Josie’s aggression levels are on the rise, which is putting one of our cats in danger. Cinder has persisted in her policy of non-violence towards the dog, which means that Josie has begun stepping on her and snapping at her, instead of backing away in fear, the way she does with Jack, who has slapped her on many an occasion. Since Cinder won’t protect herself, even when stepped on, I’ve called the Invisible Fence people to see whether she can be fitted with a collar that would set off Josie’s shock collar.

We are giving some thought to getting a new car—or at least a newer used car--as our old Quest is really on its last wheels. It coughs and sputters so much of a morning, rainy or not, that it is hardly reliable. Josie is a consideration, though. Although we’d like to shift out of minivans, we need room for two kids, an occasional grandmother or other guest, and the two of us, as well as a 65-pound canine. As for whether the car should be new—what about those muddy paws—and not just the dog’s—the kids’ wiping of feet is a little sketchy… Unfortunately, we test-drove a Highlander Hybrid over the vacation. It was freakishly quiet, and delightfully responsive, great turn of speed, correcting all deliberate mistakes, and deceptively light in feel. Maybe it’s time to start buying lottery tickets….