Cisco Leaving Us & The Holidays Fast Approaching

Mrs and I have decided that our foster dog, Cisco, will have to go back to the breeder until his next foster comes along, or someone will take him in permanently.  He is a sweet boy, but just not the right fit for our family.  I'm sad to see him go, but it's the right thing to do for his sake.  The sooner he is in a forever home, the better.  We'll be going up early on Sunday to drop him off.

I think it's fair to say that we are not ready for a 4th dog, and may never be.  I need to focus on Harry as I really hope to do some camping and hiking with him in 2014 and beyond.  I have been spending a good deal of time reading and watching reviews on tents that are smaller and more lightweight than our current tent which is huge and decades out of date.  Ours is fine if there are two of us hiking/camping to split the load and for more more space because we will probably have both Harry and Luna with us, but I definitely need something smaller and lighter for the solo trips I'd like to take.

Here is out great old tent from our overnight trip to Mount Greylock State Reservation earlier this year.  This is actually one of the places I would like to go to on a solo trip to get my feet wet with it.  I have not done it yet, and this allows for some backpacking to an established campground, not too far out from support services if needed.  But, I'll wait on any real planning until March or April.  The goal now is to get a good 3-season tent that I can carry fairly easily and that can handle the dog being inside.  I would want floor material to be too thin, which many of the ultralight tents are made with.

Of course there are also the annual trips that Mrs and I make as well, so I expect plan to be going away a lot next year.  I hope so for my sanity's sake.

It's hard to believe we are already through Thanksgiving and moving on to December.  Mrs and I spent Thanksgiving with her dad and step-mom at their place with about 11 or 12 other family and friends.  We had nephew for the night prior as well, so he joined us.  The turkey came from our neighbors who have been raising turkeys for several years now, and have a large gathering to process them the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  I decided to not participate this year for my own personal reasons related to my lifestyle choice and was able to get through the entire meal with no temptation to try any of the bird.  Step-mom was VERY kind and had some things set aside for me to eat without any animal or dairy in them.  I mashed the potatoes and squash, so before I added any of the butter or milk, I set aside in small ceramic bowls what I thought I would eat from those pots.  I was also able to fill my plate with that and other things and came away completely satisfied.  Mrs had put together a small dish of what I call apple crisp so that I would have something to eat for dessert, though I could have done without it.  It's very simple and delicious!  Her homemade applesauce on the bottom topped with a good portion of my homemade granola, baked until hot.

It was a good night and a pleasant visit.