Kurt Elling - Awesome

If I had to choose for my desert island, I would absolutely choose Kurt Elling.

Oh. Did I forget something in that question? I meant, a recording to have on my desert island, along with my wine and cheese and sunglasses, it would be just about anything from Kurt Elling. However, this particular performance is just fantastic. My Foolish Heart, and so much more. He is such an amazing singer. He is just incredible to see live, in concert. I would settle for the recording on my island, but I would kidnap Kurt to have him all to myself.

His band is pretty kick-ass, too.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will be at Spoleto Festival this year. He wasn't there last year, and he had been attending every other year for a while. I know he's bigger now - and nominated for another Grammy Award - but I will be pleased like all get out if he shows up.

If not, maybe this year's Montreal Jazz Festival. I now live just 90 minutes away from this great city to the north.

Warning: the very end of this You Tube video cuts off, but every second of your time is well-spent watching and listening to what's there. Enjoy.

Can Dogs Be Too Cute and Too Funny?

I wonder. I recognize that I come across as a crazy dog lady sometimes, but the moments of sheer joy I get from my dogs are so breathtaking to me. I am overwhelmed with happiness when I watch them interact. Frankly, they don't even have to do that. They can just be like Miller, sixteen and a half years old and still willingly and adorably wanting to run and play with the two year old and the five year old. He's not really interacting with Fred and Homer much, because they kind of leave him in the dust, which he doesn't seem to mind in the least. He seems perfectly happy to still be enjoying the party. So cute.

Today was a great day of dog time for me during my lunch break. I drive 35 minutes home to walk the dogs, feed Miller some lunch, and then spend a little time with them before heading back to the office )35 more minutes on the road, today with wet snow all the way) for our afternoon session. Fred and Homer ended up sitting together on the loveseat in front of the Christmas tree. They were adorable, so I quickly grabbed the camera, and of course, the moment I point it towards them, Homer jumps down. I put the camera down, encouraged Homer back up, and then grabbed the camera again. As I approached the sofa, Homer decided to join me and leaped from the loveseat, right across in front of Fred, and onto the sofa. Oy. I urged him back next to Fred. He seemed content to stay there for the moment, but this is when the Puppy ADD really kicked in: first he looked left, then he grabbed his little green rubber froggy toy, then while he was down that way, he licked his privates, and then scratched his head. He looked out the window. And finally he gazed in the same direction as Fred - sort of - which was the look I was going for. It was at this point that I finally really looked at Fred for the first time in a few minutes. His eyes were becoming slits, and he was leaning against his brother Homer, starting to fall asleep:

I mean, seriously, how freaking cute is that? I think it's SO cute.

The other photos from today's Too Cute to be Believed Photo Shoot:

And this, the close-up that was worth all the trouble:

Am I wrong about the cute?

I Love the Christmas Season

I am not religious and therefore I do not celebrate the season in the way Christians might like. I like the feeling of the season, the thought that we could possibly all get along, even love one another, as the good people that we should all want to be, and try to be. I like the lights and the Christmas music and the holiday concerts. And the holiday parties. I like dressing the boys up in their red and green scarves. And I am loving catching pictures of the boys in front of the tree. I haven't been able to get a good shot of Miller yet in front of the tree, but the little boys make it easy, since they like the back of the loveseat and it sits just in front of the tree.

Merry Christmas, or Happy whatever other holiday you celebrate this time of year.