No, We Did Not Stage This Picture.

I've taken to wearing the robe Mike got me the Christmas we were going to move down here almost constantly. We keep the house at a moderate 68, but since it's an old house I'm pretty sure it's only 68 in the dining room where the thermostat is. I've been pulling the robe on each morning and each evening immediately upon returning from work since about November. It's cozy. It keeps me from complaining (too much) about being cold. It makes me feel at home.

As much as I've been enjoying my robe lately, I decided that Mike might actually enjoy one of his own, though he never expressed any interest in one. I found an excellent deal for a mid-length fleece robe and slippers at Old Navy before Christmas and scooped them up in a flash. And I must say, one of my gifts has never gone over as well as this robe (and consequently slippers). Mike, who had been a dig-in-the-laundry-to-find-that-old-baggy-fleece-sweatshirt kind of guy, has taken to the way of the robe like a fish in water. He even said it was the best gift he never knew he wanted. (Yay, I'm not very good at giving gifts, so this is a total victory for me) He gets into his robe after work even before I do!

Well, now that we're a family of robe wearers and Nibbler thinks she is just as human as we are, she had to get in on the action too.

No, I'm not one of THOSE people, who bought my dog a Snuggie. We're old-school in this house, and don't tend to spend money when we can find an equivalent at home.

If you've met Nibbler, you're probably thinking this is a stage picture with one of bribing her with treats and holding her still, but really this is the real Nibbler. The Nibbler behind the excitement of meeting you or of finally seeing you again. The Nibbler that jumps up and makes you think that we need the Dog Whisperer. This is the real Nibbler.

The sweet, cuddly puppy, who will just lay next to her mom or dad on the couch for hours at a time. Who will quietly follow her mom around the house, curling into a ball at her feet when her mom settles in at the sewing machine or computer or sits next to the stove (in between peek up at the counter) waiting for some sort of food scrap to be dropped while dinner is being made.

Now you might be saying, well Nibbler certainly Nibbler didn't put the blanket on herself. And, well yes, you would be correct. You see Nibbler has what seems to be a chronic staph infection that causes her to be very itchy. And to ease the itch Nibbler scratches her face on the rugs (not that big of a deal) and she schnarfs (as we call it when she bites at herself because that's the noise she makes when she does it) her belly. There's no getting around this. We've done several rounds of antibiotics (but it always comes back), we've tried telling her No, startling her, yelling at her to stop in desperation. Nothing gets her to stop when she's really itchy. Nothing except covering to access to the area - like covering her with a blanket, pillow, bag of yarn...

So that's how Nibbler was caught in a robe of her own. This picture was actually taken on the day after Christmas. We had just gotten back from being out of town and the house was freezing as we had turned down the heat because we were going to gone for several days. So we were all very cold, and since her mom and dad were all snuggly in their robes, Nibbler wanted in on the action and actually walked around like this for a while. And as I sit here typing, she's curled up on the couch next to me wrapped up in her blanket, keeping my feet warm.