Snow! And It's Still Here

~~Okay. I know the usual comments. "You southerners don't know how to drive on snow." Heard it a thousand times. No, wait. It hasn't snowed a thousand times in my whole life. ; ) All I have to say is, we never have just snow. It always has a layer of ice with it. This time, even some of the northerners I know agree, my area of Georgia got whacked. A twenty-nine car pile-up that was covered on national news is proof. No one is saying we were alarmist this time.
~~I thought I'd share a few photos of the snow. Of course, the boys are in one. ; ) The front walk with its people and puppy tracks is here twice--a week apart. That's right, we still have snow on the ground. At least the temperatures have rebounded into the average range instead of the highs being below the average lows like it was for nearly two weeks. So sit back and enjoy a view from your warm computer.

What's In A Name?

~~What's in a name? I should know. I have to be the world's record holder for an interesting name and multiple nicknames. For the record, my first name--Zan--was my father's fifth grade girlfriend's name. I'm not joking. ; ) He always said she sat by him for about five weeks then moved. The teacher called her Zan and he didn't remember if her name was short for Suzanne or Alexandra. He just liked the name. When my sister was born, Mother named her for a character in a book and Daddy added the middle name. She's Thea Sue. Then I showed up. Daddy named me Zan and Mother added Marie. They were going to call me both names, but my sister, all of three and a half couldn't pronounce it and said, "Jamboree." Mother was worried about that and quickly taught Thea to say Zan by itself. And my first nickname was created. I've since gone back to using both names. Cuts down mail addressed to Mr. Zan.
~~Over the years I have seemed to collect new nicknames often. Things like Messeroo which never made sense to me. I wasn't a messy child. School nicknames included Banana-Nose, Zan-i-mo-mechan-i-mo, Zanzibar and Zanabanana. None of these make any sense either, but I guess you can chalk it up to the source of many of them--my fellow classmates. For the record, the best nickname is still my first. I like Jamboree. ; )
~~Besides being asked if my name is short for another name and where did it come from, I guess asking "What does Zan mean?" has to be a national sport. ; ) It's taken me years to figure out the answer. I've looked in every baby name book I've come across for years. Some mention that Zana is the Russian form of Jane and others might mention that it is a short form of Suzanne or Alexandra, but none of that really satisfied me. After years of searching, I finally found the real answer. In Bruce Lansky's 100,000+ Baby Names, I finally found it. Zan is Italian for clown. When you add Marie, the French form of Mary, you add bitter from Mary's Hebrew origins. So there you have it, the real meaning of my name. I'm a bitter clown. Well, that's about half right--I can be a clown! ; )

Watch Pocket Puppies

~~And they're off! Into the back of the house, standing at the low solarium windows, two puppies watch for the intruders. Barks ring out and we cover our ears. Is it a walker out exercising in the parking lot next door? Or a random squirrel or stray cat? The ever popular errant leaf? This time it's Daddy working in the yard. It certainly doesn't matter to our watch pocket puppies. They are always on patrol. ; )

~~As John said the other day--we thought having two puppies would be good for them, company for each other during long afternoons. They are. But they're also far more than twice the noise and activity of one puppy. All I can say is--Bark On!

Welcome to Christmas Dinner

~~It's almost here. The wait is over. Or the rush if you like to wait till the last minute. Me, I like to have it done so I can rest a little before the end. So, I thought as a Christmas wish, I'd welcome you all to the table. The bow and bell are over the door to the dining room. The buffet is decorated with Christmas mugs and other gifts John and I have received from students over the years. The serving table is decked with poinsettias and crystal as is the dining table. Come Christmas Day, there will be eleven Steadhams around it and we will feast. John's sister-in-law, Rhonda, and I do the bulk of the cooking.
~~The menu this year is country ham, corn casserole, butter pea, sweet potato souffle, cherry salad, fruit salad, rice stir fry, carrot casserole, deviled eggs, and macaroni and cheese. We will dessert on chocolate chess pie and coconut cake.
~~Where ever you are, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ; )

Puppy Mystery Solved

~~For the last two months or so, we have had a mystery on our hands. Max has been coming in from outside and dancing about, stiff-legged. He would scrub his feet over the carpet for about a minute each time we went out. We wracked our brains. Just what was he doing--wiping his feet?
~~Well, the mystery was solved today. John had led the two boys in from a wet, soggy walk. As I stood on the mat just outside the door wiping my feet, Max began his dance. He stared me straight in the eyes and I gasped. All this time, Max has been following momma and daddy's example. He has been wiping his feet. Just like we do! ; ) How's that for a fine solution to a funny habit?

It's Official!

~~It's official! The first printing of An Easter Walk has sold out--in 35 days! How's that for a brisk selling title? John and I are thrilled and amazed. I have already placed the order for the next printing and expect the new copies to be here Christmas week. If you didn't get your copy yet, there will be more soon. I've got several plans to sell the next order. Who knows? Maybe I'll learn to "think big" like my Uncle Ralph admonished today at the family party in Rock Springs. Of course, the family bought the every last copy I had. ; )

~~To order a copy when the next shipment comes in, email me at zanmariess@gmail.com

The Cothes Make the Puppy

~~How cute is this? The boys are all decked out in their new sweaters. It's definitely sweater weather around here early in the mornings. Low thirties and frost means newly clipped Casey and Max are a little on the shivering side. Of course, a treat is always welcome. ; )

~~And speaking of clothes--the boys got into a little mischief this morning during the laundry. While I had my back turned to fold a load, they were raiding the dirty clothes pile for a few choice pieces to make a bed in the sunshine of the solarium. I had to laugh. I'll be more careful next week. ; )

Tag Team Fetch

~~You didn't know fetch was a tag-team event, did you? It is with Casey and Max. When we throw any of the favorite toys--carrot, bone, or floppy--both puppies go running. It doesn't matter which boy gets there first, the other will meet him coming back. Then a wrestling match breaks out that usually results in both puppies with a month full of toy and they bring it back together. Not your usual game of fetch to say the least.

~~It's very hard to get a good photo of the fast moving pups, but we finally did. They are bringing back bone, one of Casey's favorite toys, but it looks like Max has just as good a grip. ; ) There's never a dull moment here with two wonderful puppies like Casey and Max.