Canine Candy Cane

For Christmas, Isaac got a giant rawhide candy cane.

He wasn't quite sure how to go about chewing it up at first.

But he quickly figured it out.

Best and Worst of 2014

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Well, not really.  2014 was neither the best nor the worst year of my life.  I've had much better, but I've also lived through much worse.

The Best Things in 2014

1.  Having a really good, solid relationship with Isaac.
2.  Making new friends and reconnecting with old friends.
3.  Getting a better handle on my rather precarious finances.
4.  Getting a better handle on managing my pain, especially in the second half of the year.
5.  Spending a lot of time hiking with Isaac.
6.  Canning some local organic produce over the summer.
7.  Getting a great tutoring job.
8.  Volunteering at a nursing home with Isaac.
9.  Getting to do a little traveling.
10.  Reconnecting with my spirituality.

The Worst Things in 2014

1.  Losing Cayenne.
2.  Being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and struggling with severe pain, especially in the first part of the year.
3.  Weird dental/gum problems.
4.  Losing a really nice writing gig (the company simply doesn't exist anymore).
5.  Dealing with some serious fatigue and low energy.
6.  Dealing with some access disputes and related accessibility issues (and this is on the top of  my list of things to deal with in the new year, so get ready to hear lots about it!).
7.  Dealing with a lot of ridiculous pain-in-the-butt issues related to my benefits.
8.  Not being able to do things I really wanted to do due to my health/disability.

And how neat is it that I could only think of eight things to put on the "worst" list, not 10?

Looking Forward in the New Year

I thought about making a list of New Year's Resolutions or goals or something.  But I decided to just make a list of things I'm looking forward to in the new year, instead.

1.  Camping with Isaac - yes, we plan to go camping this summer.  I just bought a tent!
2.  Some upcoming writing projects.
3.  Increasing my Etsy business.
4.  Possibly volunteering with The Trevor Project.
5.  Canning a lot more of my own food next summer.
6.  Foraging for/gathering wild food next summer and fall, including black raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, elderberries and black walnuts.
7.  Continuing to get more connected with my spirituality and celebrating sabbats.
8.  Doing a little traveling - I am hoping to go to Mammoth Cave and we'll see where else.
9.  Doing a lot of training with Isaac.
10.  Doing a lot of hiking with Isaac.

All in a Day's Work

Today at Chipotle: one customer asked if Isaac was a therapy dog, a little kid wanted to know why there was a dog in the restaurant and why he was wearing a vest, and another customer shouted from across the restaurant "Hey Doggie!"

Then at Meijer: the greeter bent over nearly double to look Isaac in the eyes and greet him by wishing him a good day, a little kid literally jumped up and down while shouting "Mom! Mom! Mom! Look look look! See the doggie! See him!", a little girl about three turned around to look at Isaac and waved at him as she and her mom walked past, an elderly lady almost ran into another customer because she was so busy looking at Isaac and not looking at where she was going, and I lost count of the people that went "Awwww" when they saw him.

Leave It

Isaac, demonstrating "Leave It" with the words spelled out in kibble.