A Very Merry Christmas To All!

Love came down at Christmas; love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign.

~~ Christina G. Rossetti, English Poet, 1830 – 1894

Christmas is the day that holds all time together.

~~ Alexander Smith, Scottish Poet and Essayist, 1830 - 1867

And from a child's perspective of what Christmas is really about, we have Linus Van Pelt, from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965):

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

The Holy Family in the stable in Bethlehem by Friedrich Olivier. A single sheet from F. Olivier's picture Bible, circa 1834.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! May your Christmas be filled with much love, peace, happiness, blessings, and cheer! And may the magic of Christmas last with you throughout the year!

On this wondrous day, our hearts are filled with love for all mankind, and all the creatures of Earth. May love and peace reign over the Earth forever and ever.

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Master Francke, Birth of Jesus, circa 1424 (Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany)

Lorenzo Monaco, Nativity, circa 1406-1410 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy)

Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Nativity, circa 1492 (Pinacoteca, Volterra, Italy)

Hugo van der Goes, The Portinani Altarpiece, circa 1475-1476 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy)

Back to me...

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American Poet and Educator, 1807 - 1882

Vintage Russian Christmas.

Vintage Christmas.

Me, living my dream.Vintage Russian Christmas.

I could be living the life of that Russian pup. Christmas dreams do come true! "I believe, I believe, I believe..." I'm just sayin'...

The Dogfather

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

~~ Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (last of the "Five Good Emperors"), Stoic Philosopher, 121 – 180 AD

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Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.

~~ Plato, Classical Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Student of Socrates, Writer of Philosophical Dialogues, and Founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, 424/423 - 348/347 BC

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In a scene reminiscent from the movie, "The Godfather," I found a horse jaw in my bed.

O.K., actually, the horse jaw was found at the front of our driveway. I moved it to my bed for dramatic effect.

Who left this for me, and what are they trying to tell me?

I woofed about this with my Wisepup, Silvius, and he went out to sniff around and pay off some informants. Turns out the horse jaw was left for me by the West Side Furs, a local coyote gang. They mean business. They don't like free roaming dogs wondering around on their turf. And they especially don't like dogs that run away from their homes. I happened to have been both a few weeks ago. I didn't realize, though, that I was encroaching on their territory. I mean, I was aware of their territorial markings but seriously, they are coyotes and I am a dog. And an Alpha Male at that! I think I take precedence.

Silvius informed me further that the West Side Furs are all about respecting the home and I am not to go on a fun adventure run away again. Well, between the West Side Furs and all my amazing friends who left me comments in my last post, I can woof: Message heard loud and clear! Thank you to all my amazing friends who expressed fear about my adventure running away the other week. It was very touching to know that I have so many friends who care about me. I took all of your advice and concern to heart and promise not to put my Pack and my friends through that again. [To my friends Tiger and Cindy, I left a message for you in the comments section of that post.]

I don't like this one bit.

I'm gonna make the West Side Furs an offer they can't refuse.

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~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Pietro Cavallini, The Nativity of Christ, circa 1296-1300 (Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Roma, Italy)

Gentile de Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, circa 1423 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florance, Italy)

Jan Gossaert, The Adoration of the Kings, circa 1510-1515 (The National Gallery, London, England)

Gandolfino da Roreto, Nativity, circa Late 15th - Early 16th Century (The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Back to me...

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Where is the man who has the strength to be true, and to show himself as he is?

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German Writer, Pictorial Artist, Biologist, Theoretical Physicist, Polymath, and the supreme genius of modern German literature, 1749 - 1832

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Poor horse.

[Suka's human, K, here. We really did find this jaw bone at the foot of our driveway a few days after Suka returned from his running away.]

As my Wisepup Silvius and I were sniffing around where the West Side Furs left the horse jaw we suddenly heard them howling nonsense about me. Well, I do not take kindly to taunts so I howled right back at them. If you turn up the volume at the beginning you can faintly hear them.

Did you like the little jig I did at the end? I was pretty proud of myself! West Side Furs, you've been served. I'm just sayin'...

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week -- For My Peeps

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

~~ Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (a.k.a. Michelangelo ), Italian Renaissance Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Poet, and Engineer, 1475 – 1564

Two weeks ago a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week occurred. Not for me, but for my peeps. I went on an adventure. I slipped out of my collar and away from my leash for a week-long adventure. My human, K, said I "ran away." I think that is looking at it a bit too negatively. Regardless, I was gone for a week, from Monday around 12:30 p.m. to Friday about 11 a.m. I guess while I was out exploring and having an X-treme adventure my peeps were scared, sad, upset, and worried. Not a fun time for them. Where was I? What did I do? How did I eat? Why was I limping when I returned? Those are my secrets. My snout is sealed.

I will never respect the leash!

The leash is not my friend!

It was not "running away"! It was an adventure!

O.K. I promise I will do my best to not go on an adventure run away again.

~~ MOMENT OF BEAUTY ~~

Carlo Crivelli, The Annunciation with Saint Emidius, circa 1486 (The National Gallery, London, England)

Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation, circa 1472 - 1475 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florance, Italy)

Back to me...

Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes.

~~ Euripides, One of the three great Greek writers of tragedy (tragedians) of classical Athens, 480 – 406 BC.

See the sunshine gleaming in my eyes? I live for a good adventure!

I know my Pack was very upset and scared the week I was gone. I feel bad they experienced such awful emotions, and had such scary thoughts about what could possibly have happened to me. But freedom is in my blood. I love to roam, I love adventure, and I love exploring. However, I also love my Pack and my home. So what is a dog to do? I need to figure out how to coalesce the two.

On the bright side, when K saw that I had returned home she was beaming with happiness. She lavished me with praise and hugs and ear rubs, and gave me some yummy treats. I felt very special and loved! Then I starting thinking, if I received that much of a warm welcome after only one week away, what type of welcome would I receive after a two-week adventure? I'm just sayin'...