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November 28, 2006

Greetings one and all, from the plains of West Texas!! After 17+ years of globe-trotting, I am finally enjoying my well-earned golden years in the lap of luxury (or the lap of Grandma), with 24/7 attention, companionship and table scraps! Considering that Grandma is a MUCH better cook than The Noisy One, I have totally come out the winner here.

Do I miss the airports? I must admit that it was always fun to bring a smile to harried travellers as I traipsed merrily along, leading the N.O. through Security, or to her gate (she can never find it, but somehow *I* always know). Sometimes those security agents are very humorless, but I could always break through their serious demeanor as I perched on the table, while shoes were put back on and bag contents were reloaded into ALL those carry-ons! I don't really miss all that dry airplane air (wreaks havoc on a girl's... pelt) and bad airplane food. No decent scraps there, folks.

Do I miss the strange apartments? There are always loads of new smells to investigate, new furniture to negotiate, sometimes 3 or 4 floors of stairs to deal with, 2-3 times a day for my neighborhood "inspections,"... but OH those neighborhoods! From the always-tropical über-modern Houston skyscapes, to the centuries-old historical Paris arrondissements, there has always been lots to explore, sniff, "imprint." Not to mention Vienna, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Chicago, San Francisco, and my other home, New York.

I don't miss having to spend hours alone while Noisy One rehearses, but I'm sure SHE misses my barely containable joy when she finally came home. I'm sure she thought that I was just happy to see her (well, that TOO), but I also knew I would soon get DINNER!! and a WALK!!! You see, nowadays I just nibble all day long, I get patted on the head 5-6 times an hour, I get to charm two people all day long, and am frequently rewarded with Grandma's crumbs which she always seems to "accidentally" drop on the floor whenever I'm around. Plus, I get excursions any time I want. Sometimes I am a free-range Poodle, wandering around the big backyard for as long as I want. Sometimes it's leash-time, traversing the neighborhood with Grandma and Leon. But THEN!!!! -- although I can't hear so well anymore, I sure do know when the car keys come out! YIPPEEEEE a car ride, a car ride, a car ride! Oops. Forgive me. I sort of became a dog there for a moment. Whew. I need my medication.

So while there are many things I DO miss about life on the road, it is pretty sweet here at Golden Greentree Acres. I think the Noisy One is secretly jealous that I got to retire before she did. I know the Opera World misses me madly, because all of the N.O.'s friends always ask after me before they ask how she is!

And I've been awake far too many consecutive minutes, in the time it has taken to write this missive to you. Normally I try to limit my wake time to about 12 minutes at a time, max. I hear the big pillow in front of the fireplace calling my name.... well, I don't actually hear it so much... maybe I'm just reading its lips.

In any case, I wish you all a wonderful winter, with bright holidays and warm cozy evenings, surrounded by people (2-legged and 4-legged) who love you.

Cheers!