The family band howls at midnight

Tonight, we broke out Dad's birthday present—Beatles Rock Band.

Now, Dad's birthday is in September, but because of his crazy schedule, he hasn't really been home long enough to make the trip to the basement to play the game. So tonight, after filling up on our traditional Thanksgiving lunch of White Castles (seriously) and a traditional dinner of all the fixings at my Me-Ma and Pe-Pa's house, the five of us headed to the basement. (Donnie and Stephen, being military, are away from us this Thanksgiving, boo hiss!)

We played and played. Dad loved it.

Then, as we were really hitting our groove (Dad was singing), Jennie started—quietly, stealthily—to howl.

The music was so loud that we didn't hear her at first.

But Layla did.

Did you know that Layla, being pack animal, and the cousin of the wolf, howls when her people howl to her? (I suppose it's embarrassing that we figured it out. But it's great fun to get her howling. When I was a little kid and didn't yet have a dog but wanted one so bad, I used to sit out in our tree house and bark and howl. The dogs in the neighborhood would answer me, and I thought that was so cool.)

Anyway.

We're singing and playing our hearts out.

And Layla started howling.

Background vocals from the dog!

And we started laughing.

And laughing.

I had tears coming down my cheeks.

We could barely see the screen, but valiantly, the show went on!

We finished the song in fine fashion, still laughing and wiping our eyes.

Layla wagged her tail, and Jennie giggled.

(I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings!)

ARG

The Cats are in overtime.

Too busy to post.

(In advance, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!! I cannot way to eat OYSTER STUFFING!)

Edited to Add: Pulled it out in overtime. Phew. Sweating bullets over here.

Home!

Let the partying begin! We are home and fed and ready for Beatles Rock Band.

Layla did ok in the car. She didn't like the crate at first, but she settled down (that might have been the benadryl). Every once in awhile she would whine, but she was much better than she had been in the past.

My parents got new floors. They're wood floors and they look really nice. I'm waiting for Layla to start running and fal lon her face, but she's been ok so far.

I'm looking forward to a weekend with my family. It's too bad that my brothers can't be with use this year (both are military and are at their respective bases). Hal and I are in charge of spoon bread for Thursday; we have all the ingredients and we just need to cook!

(I have determined that NaBloPoMo has just taught me that I'm very boring.)

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving? (Or, if you are in a Thanksgiving-less place, what are you doing this week?)

So a scared dog walks into a car...

In September of 2008, we experienced a hurricane.

I know that sounds odd, since we live in Indiana.

But when Hurricane Ike ripped through Texas, it sent storms and wind all the way up through Indiana and Kentucky.

That weekend, we were home at my parents' house in Kentucky. We had to drive back to Indiana through the Hurricane.

Debris scattered the roads. We passed many places where there was no electricity.

But the worst of it for us happened about 20 minutes away from home.

On the interstate, the wind whipped part of my weatherstripping off the top of my car. As we drove, it flung down on the roof of the car with load and repeating BANGS. We stopped as soon as we could, at a gas station that looked like it was the only place around with power. We bought electrical tape and borrowed a pair of scissors and taped the weatherstripping back to the top of my car. The electrical tape is there to this day.

The damage was done, though.

Oh, no, not damage to my car.

Damage to Layla.

The weatherstripping was too loud, the wind was too loud, the drive was slow and tense because of the debris.

Our dog that normally slept the whole way home has been nervous in the car since then.

Panting. And more recently, trying to dig in the seat to get underneath something. Getting off the seat to it on the floor of the backseat.

We finally decided we needed to do something.

My cousin, our vet, suggested we get her a crate for the car so she can feel enclosed and safer.

We went to look at crates.

They are $80. So we decided to try something else.

Hence, the trial of the dog seat belt.

The dog seat belt is a harness that you put on your animal. The harness has a loop on it, and the seat belt to the car goes through the loop and clicks in, leaving the dog seat belted into the car.

On the box, the large dog sits patiently. Almost like a human, a big smile on his face.

Stop and consider this for a minute. We were going to attempt to put a seat belt on our dog. Because dogs just seem like they would like something like that. On our dog. I shake my head at our foolishness.

We slipped the harness on Layla in the parking lot of the pet store. We wanted to try the contraption out on our short drive in town before we take her out of town. Surely she would like not slipping around when the car makes turns and stops.

Not so!

Layla. Hated. The. Seat Belt.

First she wriggled right out of the harness. And looked at us with a smile. We put it on tighter and buckled her in. Hal even sat in the back with her.

More panting and general dog stress and anxiety.

So Hal found and purchased a $20 soft carrier that folds up and has loops so the seat belts can buckle the carrier into the car.

Layla did not like the idea of the carrier at first. It looked suspiciously like a crate. We don't use a crate here anymore, and while she always liked her crate and will go into it with no problems, I don't think she wanted to show too much enthusiasm.

So I crawled in the crate.

(I didn't fit.) This became apparent when I tried to crawl OUT of the crate and got my butt stuck. I had to wriggle out like a demented snake.)

My silly crate tricks did the job and she doesn't mind it.

But the big test will be tomorrow.

Safe Crate vs. Dangerous Car.

I can't wait to see who comes out on top

Sunday Snapshot: Alaska at Night

Oldies but goodies! Here we experience Alaska at 11 p.m. from our boat on our honeymoon. Notice the sun is finally setting. Alaska is so unbelievably beautiful. I recommend anyone to go there.

This is a series that Hal may have taken. Regardless, I want to print them out and hang them somewhere. I'll get around to that. We've only been married for 3 and a half years.

Six Word Saturday: Work

Work all day, Thankgiving to play!

(Seriously, I have dug myself into a hole of procrastination and I've spent about eight hours trying to put a dent in it. I have done some substantial work. I still have A LOT more to do. I'm hoping to get enough done that I'll be able to relax during the break. Which means I'll be working pretty much constantly until we leave on Tuesday.)

Bad Haiku Friday: In honor of New Moon

Twilight is horrid
Vampires do not sparkle
Bella is a twit