Eric's Christmas present

Eric was nestled snugly by the wood stove. He looked so cute, Deb went over to pet him, and to her surprise, discovered that he had brought us a Christmas present - a honkin' big "horse cookie", almost as big as Eric himself. Unfortunately, Deb discovered the present by stepping in it. To my surprise, she did not voice regret at having destroyed Eric's thoughtful present, but rather another, darker emotion, whose expression I cannot repeat in this family-oriented forum. Let's just say she deterred Eric from repeating this act of generosity.

Christmas is for the dogs

We gave Eric an Eric-sized Jolly Ball, and Fin a tuggable soccer ball for Christmas. We also gave Eric a little bone and Fin a big bone. They know which toys are theirs, and each wants the other's. Fin looks like he's chewing gum with the little-bitty Jolly Ball, so I took it from him and returned it to Eric, where it is scaled appropriately. They still chew each other's bones, but, you know the old saying, bones are fungible ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fungible ).