The fountain of good news just keeps flowing. Three - count them - three friends/family members are getting married soon. One wedding is in December, one is in May, and one is TBD. Usually, I'm not a fan of weddings. It's ok, you can admit that you're not a fan either. We all know it. However, for these three, I'm actually very excited about them because of the brides and grooms.

If that weren't enough good news, another set of already-married friends bought a house and are having a house warming this coming weekend. I do not expect to know any of the guests there. And I'm not the world's best schmoozer, but it should be a good time nonetheless. Then, another set of married friends is having a baby in the fall, which will be here before we know it. They are very excited, naturally. Our 7th wedding anniversary is coming up in a few weeks, and my birthday is around the corner as well. Ok, it's kind of far away, but it's not too early to try to decide what I want to do for it.

I need all this good news in my life. I read the Wall Street Journal this morning with my coffee, and it was chalk full of bad news. Oslo; the budget talks break down; Borders bookstore closing; Syria not letting the US and French ambassadors leave the capital; and so on and so on.

It's so nice that my family and friends are safe and healthy. Plus, Renn has a play date in the morning with Paisley, and that'll always put a smile on my face.

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In pretty much every situation, the more puppies the merrier. We got a call asking us if we could puppy sit for a day. Renn's cousin Emma needed some tending so her owners could float the river. Emma is a non-pocket-sized Pocket Beagle. I'm not certain how many pounds she is, but she's bigger than Renn. I read that Pocket Beagles generally are supposed to only be between 7 and 15 pounds. Although Renn and Emma had never met, based on their dispositions, we were pretty sure it would work out. Emma came over around 8pm on Friday and was going to spend Friday night and Saturday with us.

Friday evening was pretty short, and the pups didn't play too much with each other. Emma spent most of the evening walking around smelling everything and then re-smelling it to see if it had changed since the last time she went by. She also enjoyed chewing on Renn's bone. Now, Renn is not too keen on sharing this particular bone. It's the one he carries around with him to each room and takes naps with. But, he was as patient as could be expected. When Emma would lose interest, he would calmly walk over and take the bone back. Luckily, Emma had brought some of her own bones over with her. She wasn't interested in them, but Renn was. So Renn got her treat-bone while Emma chewed on his.



One thing I'd forgotten about puppies (Emma is about 1yr old) is the whining. This should not have been surprising, her owners had warned us that she whines at night in her crate but responds to a stern "hush" or "no". Not to mention that Beagles, in particular, as well as some other breeds tend to get separation anxiety and enjoy being in a pack. Boy, did Emma remind me how puppies can whine! After a full night of whining in her crate (and not responding to hushes or nos), I knew what I had to do.

Walks! Renn and Emma went for about 7 or 8 walks on Saturday. Long walks in the morning, at lunch, and after dinner. Short ones in between. That'll wear a puppy out! They loved it, and so did I. I also loved the napping they did to re-energize for the next time I was going to take them out. Here they are enjoying some cuddle/nap time on the couch while I caught up on So You Think You Can Dance.



And, the walks definitely worked. Emma whined for about 2 minutes when it was time to go to bed. But then the whining completely stopped, and she just slept until her dad came to pick her up around midnight.

By the way, in that second photo if you're wondering if the couch is trying to eat me, you're right. It's one of those that you definitely sink into. Sunday, Renn was in recovery mode from all the walking and excitement that Emma brought. He was a napping-couch dog all day long.

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