Happy Holidays 2023 from George and Olive

 

It has been a while and I have not kept up Olive’s blog over the last year. That is mostly because at age 12 now, Olive is not as active and energetic as she used to be. She has trouble getting into my car, so that I do not take her anywhere if I can help it except to the kennel for daycare and the vet. A plastic folding stair that I had hoped would make it easier for her to get into the car did not quite work out as I had hoped. It is a bit wobbly and I do not think she really trusts it. I will be going to a few pet stores to see what is available after the holidays.

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In October I traveled to England to see cousin’s daughter Lisa graduate with a PhD from Cambridge University. Olive spent that week at Candlewick kennels, where I know she was well taken care of. When I got home and picked her up from the kennel her reaction was one of “you’re here? Okay, let’s go home.” No exuberance at seeing me. It was after we got home that she stuck to me like glue and wouldn’t let me leave her even to go into the next room. It was good to be back home with my dog.

Lisa has not only graduated from Cambridge but is not engaged to an impressive young English man named Chris. I had met him both over in England on previous trips and here when he came to visit Lisa’s family. This trip I met his family and was quite favorably impressed. On a previous visit by Chris to the US he came to my house and met Olive. She seemed to like him and took to him right away. So Chris has passed the “Olive test”. Olive approves of him and so do I.

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This year Olive cooperated for her annual portrait in front of my holiday tree. She doesn’t seem puzzled by the presence of the tree, perhaps because after nearly nine years she is used to it appearing in December.

 

Okay, I posed. Are you happy now?

I had some friends over for a “supper by the tree” a week ago. Olive had a good time and enjoyed the attention she got. Among the presents I got was a border collie dish towel. Olive was given some bags of dog treats, which she will enjoy a few at a time over the next few months. She may be a bit perturbed that she doesn’t get to enjoy HER holiday presents on her schedule (all at once), but too bad. I’m the boss.

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This season our gift to all of the readers of Olive’s blog is a Christmas story involving the clay horse named Pokey, who was Gumby’s pal in those early 60s Claymation films. Everyone remembers Gumby, but this is the only film I have ever seen with Pokey and not Gumby.

Note the old dial telephone and the old TV set. There is also what seems to be a guest appearance by Davey (of Davey and Goliath, a Sunday morning semi-religious morality series that was also a Clokey production). Enjoy!

Happy holidays to everyone from George and Olive.