Countdown to Christmas: 17 days to go

 We could also be counting down to Hannukah!  I went to look it up the other day, since I have Jewish folk among my loved ones... and found that First Night of Hannukah is on Christmas Day for those of us who celebrate on a different calendar!

Sunday morning brought the usual pre-dawn fun for Ember and me, with glow in the dark retrieves off the deck.  It's interesting to watch the light progress, from the first toss where you can practically track the ball like a firework, because of the ambient darkness, to more and more ambient light, less and less visible glow from the ball.

We both love this game.  The mild (for December, for sure) weather makes it more fun, because it's not such a big deal to go out and toss a couple, compared to last week's worst days, when I was having to bundle to go out even for such a short session.

Santa has been shopping for Ember, and discovering that while pricey, some planning has gone into certain toys.  This one is designed for tough chewers.  The furry part is intended to be ripped off to uncover the chew toy inside (the tail is part of the chew toy).

Also, a plus for the beaver toy is that there is no "stuffing" under the fur for her to potentially tear up and ingest.

The duck's fabric is similar to something on a "mustang" horsehead it took Ember a while to tear apart.  We shall see how long this one lasts.

The grunting pig is going to be replaced.  It lasted long enough, and in fact is still intact except for its noisemaker.  I bought a new one in a different color so the hu-mom can tell them apart.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, we are baking a loaf of frozen white bread dough.

Before popping in the oven

Ember earned her "tear-apart" freebie Sunday morning (it's an empty, rinsed out milk jug).  There is a difference between things mom hands you to chew on / destroy and surfing the counter to find them for yourself.

After doing her morning destruction of said approved item, she laid down ready for her nap, and quite willingly entered her kennel for her "naptime cookie".

While she napped, I went to the grocery store, and found the ground ginger (but it had to be the bigger container, the size I normally buy they were still out of stock on), baking powder that wasn't expired (mine at home was past its date, as I discovered making the banana nut bread), flour, and butter for good measure, to take advantage of the sale price.

The frozen bread baked up nicely and made the house smell wonderful!  Shortly after I set it out to cool, Ember got up from her nap.  We had another trip to the dog park, and I once again convinced a stranger to help me get her back into the car after an hour of romping about.  God bless the mothers who raise young men who love dogs.  This particular volunteer had two big dogs of his own.  He dropped them off inside the fence before coming back to help me with Ember.

The timing of the end of Sunday's puppy nap #2 prevented me from joining the kids and foster grandkid at Prehistoric Putt, but the photos from there proved a good time was had by all who were able to make the spontaneous outing!  Since the foster kiddo is going to start having weekend overnights with his birth dad and siblings next weekend, this might be the last weekend that son and DIL have him in residence.

The end goal is reunification of FC's family.  His siblings have already been moved in with their dad, with intensive support from HHS.  The grand-foster-son will be the last to be added, and at first with monitored visits and these overnight stays.  The final placement hearing is in February; it's good to test the waters in advance, and I guess two months' worth of monitored trials is not excessive.

Meanwhile, on this end of town, Ember and I went outside and watched the geese fly over.  She also sat prettily to watch the cable guys working across the street. Then she stared through the slats of the deck to see other dogs walking on leash.  No games.  Just being outside is something Ember likes to do.  Sit and watch the world working around her.

Life is good.  Spark on!