ordinarychronicles | Home and heart...?

...T-BONE! That is what my mom has decided to call the adorable Bullmastiff puppy that greeted me when I finally reached home. She calls him this because of a steak shaped marking on his chest. I have always adored the breed, especially the puppies, and this inquisitive and hungry little guy is no exception. He and Opal are constantly playing together, and it's the most adorable thing ever. He follows her around, bats at her legs with his giant paws, and occasionally gnaws on her in a delightfully comical manner. Here's a picture:

It made the whole Christmas with the extended family thing much easier. I had a genuinely good time. I made snickerdoodle cookies and pumpkin mousse with ice cream (which was DELICIOUS), and I got to see my cousin Brenda. She used to babysit me all the time when I was little, and I've missed her a lot since she got married. Her husband is a conservative military man, and I have had a hard time getting along with him ever since he refused to get her ice cream at a family gathering because he was "watching her weight". She was pregnant at the time. Yeah. Fortunately, he was actually kinda nice this time, and their three sons were adorable and kept running up and petting the puppies. When they weren't doing that, they were playing with some Lord of the Rings action figures I had from a long time ago. Everyone who came to our house was very courteous and kind to one another, but neither the L family or the M family (see last entry) attended at all. The cheerful and comfortable festivities were sort of overshadowed by that, and I caught whispers of conversation about the issue all through the evening.