Visit From Christmas Trees Past

A fresh-cut tree with a woodland theme stays fresh with water from a plastic bucket placed in a faux bois flower pot.

Rabbits, though off topic, are good for Christmas too. One year I created a woodland setting inside of a built-in china cabinet. When the glass doors were closed, the woodland creatures appear to be looking over the festive room.

This large bottle brush style tree came from a stationary store. The glittery tree is retro and modern at the same time and requires no ornaments.

Rabbits again! I keep these German candy containers out - almost - year round. They look great with red and green.

I was not always a fan of the feather trees because of the lack of lights. However, I overcame the lack of lighted sparkle by adding all white and silver ornaments to shimmer by day in the natural winter light. By night, they shimmer in the candle light.

This slender artificial tree is a theme tree in the extreme. The tree is plastered with vintage Muppet ornaments and some new ones by Christopher Radko.

Sadie and Jasper Play

Sadie and Jasper Play
Originally uploaded by Chadwick Land

Here is an example of how they are currently interacting with each other. Jasper is nine-weeks-old here.

Two Dachshunds Continue the Bonding Process

Sadie and Jasper watch and protect the top of the stairs.

My two darling dogs, one a puppy going on nine-weeks-old and one an adult going on four-years-old, continue with the ups and downs of becoming a two dog household. They are not best buddies yet but I can hope for that as the end result. Sadie plays with him but is not too rough even when he bites her with his sharp puppy teeth. These teeth snap and close shut like those of a baby alligator.

Jasper the Dachshund Puppy in the Pumpkin Patch

It was windy and cold outside, however, I managed to take a couple of cute shots. He is growing quickly and his older sister, Sadie, is teaching him a thing or two about taking her toys away.

Jasper as Count von Dracula

He wears the smallest vampire costume from the Martha Stewart Pets line available at PetSmart.

The costumes were on sale reduced down to 75% off their original price.

For the sale price of around $4.00, the costume was an inexpensive pet indulgence.

Jasper PLaying with Sadie's Toys

Jasper PLaying with Sadie's Toys
Originally uploaded by Chadwick Land

He prefers her toys over his own. While not surprising, the toy taking does stir up some minor drama between them. They soft toys do a good job of protecting one's hand from his razor-like babby dino teeth.

Halloween Product Pick for 2010

Remote Control Pumpkin Lights

Available from Williams-Sonoma (online and in stores). They are now on sale for $4.99 down from original price of $19.99. The remotes and the timers make these worth having for outside decor or hard to reach in-door decorations. With a push of the remote, you do not have to wrestle with candles or lighting a pumpkin each night. They are also safe and pose no fire risk like candles. The LED lights are surprisingly warm and can either flicker like a candle or cast a constant glow. To keep them from getting wet outside while illuminating your pumpkin or inside the head of a scarecrow, simply put them inside a Ziploc bag and you can protect your high tech, low investment effect.

Honorable mention:

Martha Stewart Pets available at PetSmart has a fun line of Halloween toys for your dog. One toy is actually two different toys because each one is reversible. They are no longer available online but sell in stores for around $5.00 each. Choices are: Ghost/Tombstone, Vampire/Bat, Witch/Cat.

Jasper likes the chewing the witches fleece nose and hair.