Winter puppy love

My boyfriend’s father’s dog recently had puppies. The result has been that I constantly hint to him, beg him and cajole him about taking one in. My efforts haven’t persuaded him that my excitement about the puppies will last longer than a week (he’s probably right) but out of the kindness of his very generous heart, my boyfriend has taken me multiple times to go see them, even though his father lives an hour away and we have no other real reason to go there so often. I have thus had the chance to see them grow from being tiny soft blobs that could fit into my hand to fluffy, cuddly fur balls that love climbing into our laps and chewing on my boyfriend’s shoes.

Here they only a week after being born

And here they are at six weeks old.

 

 

My boyfriend’s father’s house is not very big and so he has literally had a houseful of puppies. They are now getting big enough to climb onto furniture which means they are making a mess everywhere and are quite the handful. The last time we went, he had covered as much of the floor with cardboard as he could to keep it from getting messy all of the time.

We are not going to be able to go see the puppies again before they are given away but they have still been a cheerful pastime during the dark days of November.

Finding ways to keep the November blues is important here when we are already down to six hours of daylight and even then have constant clouds and rain. Some other cheer-me-ups so far this year:

1.     Going out for tea and cake. Sitting over a cup of hot anything somehow makes the darkness friendlier. My recent favorite has been milky oolong tea (no idea what it is but it is delicious with cake).

2.     Having mini celebrations at home. Between Friendsgiving, Pikkujoulu (Finnish Christmas parties, literally translates to “little Christmas”), Finnish Independence Day,  graduations, and learning how to make dumplings, we’re finding whatever excuse we can.

3.     Cooking food at home. Now that I cook for two on most nights, I’ve started finding something rather relaxing about cooking evening meals. We put on music while chopping onions and tomatoes and the process goes even faster.

4.     The Christmas market just opened up and so on weekends the old town square is full of stalls selling things that seem all the more appealing when lit up by Christmas lights. There’s something grand about it though since the city’s large Christmas tree is just across the street standing in front of the cathedral.

5.     This song has been an obsession. And this one. I listen to them both almost everyday, sometimes on repeat.