On with the season!

A few days ago mother nature so gently nudged me into realizing it was in fact November in Edmonton, random snow falls and all:


At first I was down. And cold.

Then I remembered three things ... namely Puff:

Skipper:
and Rose:

About three Christmases ago I was downtown for an office Christmas dinner, but my fear of arriving late when I do not know how long it will take me to get someplace new left me with many minutes to spare before I was to run into anyone else. So I decided to engage in some window shopping. I had only enough money in my pocket for my meal that eve, so no treasures were to be coming home with me at all.

Then I sensed someone staring out from a shelving unit cluttered with some of most ghastly and tacky Christmas decorations imaginable. Six coal briquette eyes burrowing holes in me, begging me to release them from their low-rent neighbours:

The best I can do, I promised as I cuddled them in my arms before placing them carefully back in their unfortunate circumstance, is come back later in the week to set them free.

All the way back to the restaurant, Puff's pleading (yes, I had already named him by then) resonated in my head. Back on the restaurant's doorstep, my watch revealed 20 minutes remained before I was expected to appear at dinner. I knew it was a sign. That eve, dinner would be put on my credit card and I would be undertaking a festive rescue.

Welcome back out, my cheerily rotund friends. I just wish it was holiday season year-round.