I hope everyone had a good holiday. Unlike most years, Rachel and I actually dressed up and went out to celebrate. It is the first time since our wedding since she has worn a dress! She looked wonderful in it. She will probably post the pictures we took on her site.

On more than one occasion, our beagles have caught a squirrel. Yesterday, we let the dogs out to go the bathroom. I looked out a minute later and Kara and Kelly were playing tug-of-war with a squirrel. I put my coat on and rushed outside to break them up. Kelly had a couple of puncture wounds on either side of her nose. Rachel and I could not tell if the squirrel bit her or if it was another dog. At any rate, we brought them inside. We tried to clean Kelly's wounds, but she would not let us. Instead of continuing to struggle with her, we just took her to the veterinarian.

During a routine checkup, our veterinarian noticed that Kara's teeth needed cleaning. As all three dogs have the same routine, we are not quite sure why her teeth were significantly worse than the other two dogs. At any rate, we had the vet do a full cleaning.

Rachel dropped off Kara at the vet on Monday and picked her up yesterday afternoon. Kara seemed a bit lethargic at first (understandably considering the anesthesia and drugs she was given). But, she seems back to normal. It will take a few days before she is back to her normal routine.

Last night, shortly after letting the dogs out, Rachel and I heard the now familiar whimpering of an injured squirrel. We surmise that it fell out of one of the trees. The dogs only further injured the squirrel.

We herded the dogs away from the squirrel and back into the house. The squirrel was still breathing, so we were not sure if it would make it or not. Moving closer startled the squirrel. The poor creature tried to squeeze between fence posts probably injuring it further. We left it alone, hoping that it would be able to recover overnight.

When I got home this evening, I let the dogs outside to go the bathroom. Meanwhile, I started my dinner preparations. A few minutes later, I looked outside to see Kelly "playing" with a squirrel. I quickly brought the dogs inside. The squirrel was unfortunately on its last leg. After disposing of the squirrel, I went inside to look at the security cameras.

Rachel found some pizza in our back yard. Apparently, the people who live behind us were throwing pizza over into our yard. Our dogs, of course, find the food, eat it, and get sick. I have been tempted to throw the waste back over the fence.

Normally I enjoy having large trees in my yard. Of course, when the leaves start to fall, then I do not like them as much. Leaves, however, are not quite as bad as acorns. True, the acorns are smaller than the oak leaves. But, when a leaf hits the roof or awning, it does not make quite the same impact as a falling acorn. Similarly, when leaves hit me on the head, it is only a minor distraction. An acorn, landing squarely on the head, is quite different.

I thought that I would post some links to that people have been asking me about it. The first is a link to the final Harry Potter book. The deluxe edition is also available.

The second is a link to the digital picture frame I have on my desk. The picture frame holds about sixty pictures, but it can take memory sticks. Several of my coworkers have commented about it.

We had an exciting day today. Or rather Rachel and the dogs did (I was at work). The dogs did not want to come inside. When Rachel went out to retrieve them, she noticed that Kara was bleeding around her face. It was difficult to see the source of the wound, so Rachel took her to the veterinarian. The vet got her cleaned up. There is a small scratch on her eye. She does not seem to be in pain. We have to apply ointment to her eye for the next week or so. The vet thinks that she should be fine.

Tagline for today: "Four years ago... no, it was yesterday." - Steven Wright

As it has been more than a week since my last entry, I figured that I was due. Rachel is still healing from her ankle surgery, but she is improving. She has graduated from an air cast to a brace and moved from crutches, to a cane, to nothing. She still has a month or so of physical therapy to go. Yet, she is making good progress each day. I know that she has been getting cabin fever and she is anxious to get back to work.