Teasels in Jail

Remember how I said I was going to try to pluck some of those teasel sprouts out of the seedhead in our garden and plant them? Well, I did -- I planted three little sprouting seeds. And then all three were promptly pulled up by birds (probably pigeons). So I replanted the two I could find and plucked another new one, and covered the pots with wire for protection. This may be a fruitless experiment, but if we're lucky, we'll have little teasel plants for next year's garden.

I'm writing this post ahead of time because on Sunday morning, when I'd normally post, we'll either be waiting at the airport or in the air on the way to Cairo. Woo hoo! I'll schedule it to go live around the normal time, and I'll be back with you in real time on Monday. (Insha'allah, as they say in North Africa -- "God willing.")

Simone, Olga's dog sitter, came and collected her on Saturday morning as planned. We sent Olga's pink blanket with her, so she'll have some of the comforts of home while we're away.

I also called my mom to wish her Merry Christmas. She sounds like she's in good spirits, and she plans to spend Christmas Eve with my brother and his family.

A week or two ago I mailed Mom a copy of this photo, which was taken when Dave, Olga and I went to the dog pub in early November. She said she has it propped up with her other family photos. Isn't that a good picture? If I had Christmas cards made, I'd have used this image. Consider this my blog card to all of you -- have a wonderful holiday, whatever, whenever and however you celebrate!