Tubas and Tree!

Hi, everyone!

We had a really pretty full moon this month!  The moon’s orbit was closer to earth than usual, so the moon looked really big when it rose! 

Then the town came around again to pick up my new leaf pile!  The town crew took their lunch break and left their big equipment parked right on my leaf pile, so I got a chance to make friends with the pile scraper and the leaf loader.

The very next day, we had even more leaves fall!  Grandpa said we would clean them up again, but he had something else to do first.  One of the kitchen window panes was cloudy because the seal had failed, so Grandpa replaced it.  Since this was the second one he’s done this fall, Grandma and I knew just how to help.  I got to work the crank mechanism so Grandpa could attach the new window pane to it.  The new window is nice and clear!

After Grandpa and Grandma replaced the window, they cleaned up the leaves again.  This time I think almost all the leaves are really down!  Grandpa wasn’t sure the town would come pick up leaf piles again, so we put them in paper bags, instead!  This time, the back yard stayed clear after we cleaned up the leaves!  It’s supposed to start snowing, so Grandpa said it was definitely time to put out the snow gauge!

Last Saturday was Tuba Christmas!  That’s one of my favorite holiday traditions!  Just like last year, Tuba Christmas was in the Eastman Theater.  I got to sit in the very front row of the balcony, so I was practically right under the great chandelier!  There were 184 tuba and baritone players, including Santa Claus!    Lots of the baritones and tubas had Christmas decorations.  I really liked the googly-eyed moose baritone and the Santa’s helper tuba.

When the concert started, the carols were very pretty!  I liked all of them!  After the concert, I made friends with Santa and a tuba with Christmas lights.

This week has been snowy and cold enough that the snow is staying on the ground!  When we spent the night at the bay, I was happy to have a blanket to keep warm!  I was glad we had already put up the deer fence around the rhododendron!  There’s snow in Fairport, too!

Grandma and I have started making the Ground Hog Day cookies and putting them in the freezer.  I helped frost the peanut butter bars and pack them away with the frosty apricot bars, the caramel crunch bars and the salted nut bars.  The storage box in the freezer is getting full and heavy!

Today the temperature was cold enough for me to take a snow bath!  Grandma helped me roll in the snow then dried me off with a towel before my fur could get too wet.  Then Grandma used the hair dryer to warm me back up and brushed my fur and mane.  I feel like a new lion!

This afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa and I got our Christmas tree!  We went to a different tree farm this year and brought our tree home in the Forester.  Grandpa had to measure the inside of the Forester first to make sure there would be room!  I helped Grandpa trim the trunk of the tree so it would start taking up water again, then we put the tree in the stand.  I helped water the tree, too.  We use a mixture of water and lemon soda to keep the tree fresh.  We’re letting the tree rest for tonight, but tomorrow we’ll start decorating it!

Love,

Lion-san