If you glanced at my full website, then you may have noticed that I was in a Halloween mood lately. While Randy and I lived at the 12th Street house, we had several "ghostly" experiences. I realized that I had never written up any of those stories and what better place to do that than on my own website. LOL

Since it's the time of year to think about what we are thankful for, I've come up with a short list.

Things that I am thankful for this year:

• I am thankful that Jodi and I survived pneumonia this past March. Jodi was very, very ill and, of course, for me, pneumonia is much more dangerous than the average person.
• I am very thankful that I did not have to put Eightball to sleep. I've lost too many dogs over the last couple of years and don't know if I could have handled losing another one so soon.
• As always, I am incredibly thankful for the wonderful people here who I can call my friends!! Without them I would have already gone crazy or just given up.
• And although I haven't had him very long, I am thankful for my newest baby, Joxer. (I'm still a little unsure about just how thankful I am since he's been quite a handful. LOL)

Well, old man Winter is finally rearing his ugly head. Although it has only been flurries, it still counts as SNOW! They aren't predicting any accumulation to speak of, but after the incredibly warm weather that we have had this Fall, it is a sobering reminder of what January and February hold for us here in Ohio.

But the biggest weight on my mind today isn't the weather or even my upcoming dental procedures. It is Eightball. She has been handling her back problems fairly well; but now seems to be having other "old age" problems. Even though I have been feeding the dogs Fit-n-Trim lately, she has put on a lot of extra weight and now she is starting to suffer from more problems than just her back. Her breathing has gotten worse within the last couple of days, and both of her eyes have turned quite red. Jodi and I discussed this and although we would like to wait until after Christmas, I'm not certain that is going to be possible. Since she was originally Richard's dog, I've called and asked him to stop by tonight so I can get his feelings on the matter. By the end of this week, I may have to make that appointment with the vet yet again this year. Although, I was hoping to stave off the inevitable, it seems that Eightball's time here is winding down. (continued next month)