So now we're onto my favorite time of the year! Christmas time!! For a while, Mommy kept talking about Sydenham (near Kingston, Ontario) and visiting Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons. She was excited about it and nervous that I was coming so she kept trying to prepare me by talking incessantly about it. It not only drove me crazy but it drove Poppa mad! She can be very annoying that way you know, she's very good at obsessing over things. Anyway, On December 22 and 23 she was running around making lists, checking it twice, and packing and repacking my suitcase and her suitcase. What? I have luggage! It's an oval storage unit that snaps on snuggly onto my crate! Why don't you Google it? Pet Cargo 500. Poppa calls my crate the Millenium Falcon. It's Krazzzy like that! Then on December 24 Mommy woke up extra early to get ready although she was not leaving for work like usually. All of a sudden Auntie's friend Carmen was there. She loaded up her car with the luggage and my crate. We swung by Auntie's work to pick her up, and then we headed to Union station. When we got there, Mommy checked our luggage and my crate. Then for about 30 minutes we walked around exploring the station. There were so many delicious smells emanating from the fast food joints. Before I was able to snag a piece of sumthin sumthin Mommy lead me back to the baggage area. Then, she put me in the crate! The audacity of some people! I was nervous at first but I channeled my inner Zen and meditated. Good dogs indeed practice this technique as to not whimper and cry out of separation anxiety. I'm thinking about writing a book, I believe this calm state is natural to me for I have a laid back disposition but my fellow Canines may benefit from my youthful but wise philosophy. Anyway, I digress. I was also happy to learn that I was not the only doggy in there. There was a party of us. We held a doggy choir and indeed I sang a few bars but quickly decided to put my head down and sleep. The train was delayed about 30 minutes so about three and a half hours later, I was sitting in another room full of luggage. Then I heard some familiar voices and then the crate door opened and Mommy and Poppa were there! Mommy kept telling me that I was such a good dog and a good traveller. I told her to please be quiet so that I could ask Poppa how he got there, and what he was doing there! Apparently we were visiting Sydenham and Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons and Poppa had gotten there a day before us. We went out to the car and Grandpa was there waiting for us. We drove for about 20 minutes and then we were at Chateau Gibbons. It is so beautifull! They have lots and lots of land there I was able to run on. In fact, everyday, they took me on the trails through the woods! I got to chase rabbits and sniff animal tracks! In fact, I saw deer and bear tracks! At night I hear coyotes and was very anxious to find them but Mommy said that they wouldn't be too nice to me. Ah well. I had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Gibbons. Everyday they would play chase around game with me. Grandpa Gibbons was very generous by supplying multiple pairs of socks for me to play with. Grandma Gibbons is an excellent cook! How do I know? Mommy couldn't stop stuffing her face for twelve days! Also, I got the crumbs that fell on the floor! My favorite was the banana bread that Grandpa dropped on the floor. Wow, Paradiso! On Christmas day I got to open up presents! Mommy and Poppa bought me a Pedipaw for my nails, three nylabones, two squeaky animals, a dragon and a moose/deer (not sure what it was), P-Nuttier treats, a greenie, and a Santa hat which was so embarassing! Grandma and Grandpa bought me an adorable stuffed dog, and Auntie Deirdre bought me a squeaky rabbit that Poppa hates because it is ugly looking. Speaking of Auntie Deirdre, she came with her husband Rob and my cousins Abby and Graham. Graham didn't bother me so much but Abby is four years old. Kids of her age scare the daylights out of me so my reception of her was not so toasty. She tried to bribe me with treats but when she bent down later on to pet me, I was so startled I snapped at her! I feel so bad now! Mommy kept me on my leash for a few hours that evening while I got used to her. The next morning I had to be leashed again, but by the end of the second day, it was all good. I mostly ignored her because the few times I tried to play with her, eveyone freaked out. Chill people! Just wanted to extend the olive branch! I didn't really see any dogs because Abby's family did not bring their dog Kara, but when morning Mommy and I went for a long walk with Grandma and we ran into a nice dog named Bandit. He was a nice yet skittish dog. Oh! Funny story! Mommy and Poppa blocked up the pipes with my bum wipes! They were flushing it down the toilet even though they shouldn't have. It made all the pipes back up and no one was able to use the toilet, have a shower or do the dishes properly for days! Actually, if someone were to shower, they used the wet/dry vac to remove the water. Toilet sessions didn't seem fun. Mostly the went to the gym to take showers. Hee hee! Mommy blamed me because they were my wipes, but I wasn't the one that flused! Poor Grandpa and Rob had to dig up the septic tank to fix it! Mommy felt terrible but I think they forgave her. One night we went to have dinner at the Burley's in Belleville, they are Poppa's godparents and best friends of Grandma and Grandpa. They had a pool in the backyard and I tried to take a dip but unfortunately it was covered up for the winter. I jumped in anyway and the water came up to my ankles. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there and Mommy had to rescue me. So embarassing!! Whatever, I tasted some dropped floor lasagne that evening. A couple days later Auntie Deirdre et al. left for home in Ottawa. The next week or so I spent relaxing in the sun, playing, watching lotsa tv with the family, bear hunting, and on Saturday ice hockey! Mommy and Poppa against the Grandparents! I was the odd man out so I played defence for both sides for a while before deciding that Mommy and Poppa sucked, so I defected to the other side. Grandpa made a nice ice rink which I helped clear. After that, we cozied up and dreamed by fire of t-bone steaks, and bone marrow. I loved it out there because I never had to be on leash, well, not very much anyway. I really miss them out there, and was pretty resistant when it was time to go back to the VIA station and back to Toronto. I was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa Toronto and Cousin Rufus, but I was depressed because I knew Mommy would go back to work and leave me at home by myself. I'm still getting used to it again but Mommy has been promising that I would go to a farm to play for a week starting Thurday night. Don't know what that is about......
