My girls Piper, Willow, and Teddy

We are getting pretty good at making our own fun around here. Friends have a pond that we’ve made use of throughout the winter for a skate and a little shinny. We followed our most recent outing with a stop at Dairy Queen where we dropped 70 bucks on ice cream (some people couldn’t decide between a Blizzard and a Peanut Buster Parfait, so ordered both.) On the way home from the DQ, we ordered pizza… Keep in mind that there were only 4 of us.

The alarming number of ‘Lego’ purchases on the Visa bill leads me to believe that Matt too is finding ways to entertain himself during the lockdown. Much like me with my antiques, he likes to justify it as ‘an investment.

LeBron is our family dog. He’s an 8 year old Shug? Pug Tzu? At any rate, he’s a cross between a Pug and a Shih Tzu.

He’s been gaining Covid weight with the rest of us and is ready in the spring for a healthier approach to nutrition and exercise.

As an older dog, the potential shock to his system from removing Haagen Dazs from his diet is a risk he isn’t willing to take. Therefore, we are focusing on physical activity.

The cold weather has meant fewer squirrels to chase and almost no sessions of fetch in the backyard. Gyms are closed, Pilates canceled, and Aquafit classes have been suspended for the foreseeable future. We’ve been forced to resort to the dreaded ‘nightly walk’.

My little brother Eric consoling LeBron over his Covid weight gain.

Past efforts have led to embarrassing scenes early in the process — fits of temper as walk time approaches, wrestling matches to put on the leash, and reluctant ass-dragging down the sidewalk.

And the dog’s not happy about it either.

Tina