Homer's Happy Christmas 2014

What a fantastic Christmas I had! I received a lot of presents (YAY!); got special treatment from my humans (YAY! YAY!); and ate loads of yummy food (MORE YAYS!).

But there’s one important guest without whom Christmas wouldn’t be the same. I had been really praying that he would show up. No folks, it’s not Santa. It’s someone even better… (drum roll please…)

THE TURKEY GOD!

Hang on. What if he decided not to show up this year? Wouldn’t it be a disaster for Yours truly?

I began to panic. I ran straight to the kitchen. To my relief, my fears were unfounded. The Turkey God had arrived after all!

Here he is, the Turkey God, sitting on the kitchen bench, looking grand and smug. This time he weighed in at an impressive 9KG (I mean impressive compared to last year, when he was only a scrawny 5KG!).

Regular readers will know that every year, without fail, I always worship the Turkey God alone. However, this year was an exception. I’ve recruited a new disciple – my baby sister, Savannah.

The Turkey God, Yours Truly and Little Savannah posing happily for the photographer.

As little Savannah was new to this ‘sacred’ ritual, I gave her a few instructions on what and how we must perform the rites.

Me barking instructions to my little sister.

Once we were ready, we closed our eyes and began to chant fervishly. The chanting got so intense that soon we were in a trance.

I was hoping that, this time around, with my little sister’s and my own combined forces, we could make the Turkey God fell from the bench. Alas, it was wishful thinking on my part. The Turkey God wouldn’t budge. He was too formidable.

Without warning, the Missus interrupted our ‘session’ by whisking the Turkey God away. While he was gone, I decided to take the opportunity to check out my Christmas presents.

Posing next to the Christmas tree, flooded with presents galore.

Here’s me with my presents. They were full of yummy treats!

And check-out all of the Christmas cards that I’ve received from my friends around the world! Thank you very much!

Suddenly, the heavenly aromas emitted by the Turkey God began to waft from the kitchen. Oh my Dog… He had risen!

There he was, displayed on the kitchen bench with his booti-ful tan. For some strange reason, I couldn’t resist licking my lips!

Here I am, waiting patiently for the mighty one to fall miraculously from the bench.

The waiting was too much for me and I soon fell fast asleep! Yikes!

By the time I had awoken, the Turkey God had mysteriously moved. But I still couldn’t get to him…

I thought I was never going to get my teeth stuck into that succulent (I mean ‘holy’) flesh...

…but then I saw some action. Dad was carving into the Turkey God…

Wait a minute. Could my efforts be beginning to pay off?

Ta-da. The Turkey God hadn’t fallen from the bench…but bits of him still ended-up in my bowl!

And here’s Yours Truly enjoying my Christmas lunch. ☺

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas.

Love,
Homer

Homer’s Little Helper

It’s that time of the year again. Christmas is around the corner and the time has come for Yours Truly’s yearly ritual of assembling the family Christmas Tree.

Of course, I am an old-hand at putting the tree up, as you can see from my exploits in Italy here and in Singapore here, here and here…

…but the darn thing doesn’t get any easier as the years go by!

Where the heck do I start?

After more than an hour or so, I’d only managed to complete the first tier. As you can see, I was looking pretty forlorn.

By the time I had got to the damned lights, I was downright despondent!

Suddenly I had a brainwave! Why don’t I get some help from my little sister?

I took Savannah’s answer to mean “Yes Homer, I’d be delighted to help you.”

So, while Savannah got on with sorting out the lights, I ‘retrieved’ the Christmas Tree baubles.

Look at my, ahem, ‘shiny red balls’.

I took my time to sniff and lick my ‘shiny red balls’ before deciding to hang them up on the Christmas Tree. [The Missus: “WHAT?!?”]

As you can see, Savannah did a great job of helping me decorate the Christmas Tree. 

We also had a great time hanging out together.

Look at how she tried to roll over to give me a big hug.

I tried to teach her how to do it. (But we ended up going in different directions!)

Anyway…

We were both so proud of our first joint effort in putting up the Christmas Tree.

I look forward to many more years of having my darling little sister help me out!

Love,

Homer (and little Savannah)

Christmas Card 2014

As you may remember, I’ve always had my very own limited edition Christmas cards made every year. You can read more about all of my previous personalised Christmas cards at the following links:

- Christmas Card 2007

- Christmas Card 2008

- Christmas Card 2009

- Christmas Card 2010

- Christmas Card 2011

- Christmas Card 2012

- Christmas Card 2013

Although we have been very busy, this year will be no exception. The drill is the same – put on a Santa’s hat, smile, pose like a supermodel and simply put up with the very demanding photographer (the Missus).

And here’s the final outcome of my Christmas card. Cool eh?

‘Strike a pose’

And here’s the final outcome of my Christmas card. Cool eh?

If you would like to do a Christmas card exchange with Yours Truly, please e-mail your address details so that I can send one directly to you.

So, what are you waiting for? ;)

Love,

Homer

My Health Report

I’m so sorry that I haven’t kept everyone up-to-date on my health condition, as I promised I would do. (For those of you who were not aware, I have had a couple of scares with cancer issues and with a heart condition).

I am very happy to tell you all that, based upon the reviews from my cardiologist and my oncologist, my health report is excellent. However, I still have to go back for regular check-ups, just to make sure that everything is OK.

So, my friends, thank you very much for your good wishes and for your pawsitive vibes. It’s at times like these, that you appreciate the power of internet. To receive such support from, effectively, complete strangers, has been such an uplifting experience.

With much love,

Homer

A Sad Loss

Hi folks,

Some sad news from Homer’s household.

Having battled cancer for almost 2 years, the Missus’ mother (my grandmother in Singapore) has, unfortunately, succumbed to the disease.

She passed away, peacefully, on 25 September 2014.

I am doing all I can to console the Missus.

Love,

Homer

Heart Concerns

Last night, my humans had to rush me to the hospital. Apparently I wasn’t feeling too well. I couldn’t stand up properly and I was feeling lethargic. At the hospital, the vets ran the necessary tests and found that my heart rate was very low.

I will be hospitalised for two nights. This coming Friday, the Missus and I will head to Bangkok to seek consultation with a cardiologist. I really hope they will be able to find out the actual cause of my erratic heartbeat so that we can proceed with proper treatment.

Wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted.

Love,

Homer

Savannah

Woof everyone! I have something to tell you all.

I would like to announce the arrival of my beautiful little baby sister, Savannah Rosemary Beadling.

Anna (for short) was born on 18 August 2014.

We are all doing very well. Here's a picture of my little darling sister.

"Hi! My name is Savannah!"

I am now officially a big brother! Woo hoo!

Something is 'Brewing'

As you know, a couple of significant events have taken place in my life over the past few months. First of all, there was my move from Singapore to Thailand and some of the adventures in my new home. Secondly, I have had some major health issues to deal with.

But there has been one other development which I haven’t mentioned yet. Something strange has been going on.

First of all, some new furniture has been arriving.

Like this…

…and this.

Then, I have noticed some new clothes hanging around…

Surely they don’t expect this to fit me???

Finally, there have been a lot of interesting toys showing up, but they don’t appear to be for me!

Who are these for, if not for me?

Well, if I can’t have those toys, nobody is going to have mine. Hmmph!

My ‘Precious’…

But the thing I’ve noticed most, is that the Missus seems to be ‘changing’.

Don’t tell her, but the Missus appears to be putting on a bit of weight.

What could this all mean…?

Latest Update On My Tumour

Woof folks.

In a previous post, I told you that I had undergone surgery to remove a tumour on my front left paw. The earlier cytology on an aspirate sample suggested that it was a Round Cell Tumour.

Well, the results of the biopsy on the nodule itself revealed that it was, in fact, a Grade 2 Mast Cell Tumour. Of course my humans have been very concerned. After all, we lived through around ten months of surgery, chemotherapy and general ‘unpleasantness’ when I was battling through three other Mast Cell Tumours only last year.

Anyway, since the surgery, I have had various blood analyses, ultrasound scans, x-rays and other examinations to check whether the cancer was still a problem. Fortunately, up till now, everything appears to be clear. We are still monitoring the situation and it might be that chemotherapy or radiotherapy might be necessary/prudent.

I’ll keep you all informed on developments.

Love,

Homer

My Pool Paradise

Woof folks!

Remember a short while ago when I told you about my new home in Pattaya, and the fact that it comes with its own swimming pool? Well, before I went for surgery to remove my tumour, my humans decided to take me for my first ‘dip’.

It had been a couple of years since I was last in a swimming pool. That was when I was staying in Singapore. So, you can imagine how nerve-wracking it was for me to ‘take the plunge’ after so long!

Let me tell you how my day unfolded...

Here’s Dad with the ‘Ball of Tennis’. He was explaining that we would be going for a swim and giving me words of encouragement, trying to build up my confidence.

Before I knew it, Dad had gone into the water.

After a while, he gently guided me down the steps and into the pool.

Once I was in the water, everything started to ‘click’…

…I was swimming again! Yay!

Of course, I am an excellent swimmer! After all, I spent a lot of time swimming when I was living in Holland (Hoek van Holland Beach) and Italy (Lake Garda and Lake Como)!

Before long I had worked out how to get into the pool all by myself. It was easy peasy!

Me and Dad spent ages having races to see who could get to the ‘Ball of Tennis’ first…

At first, Dad had the upper hand.

But then I started winning all of the races!

So Dad, being a sore loser, decided to cheat by constantly pulling the ball away from me. Bah!

In the end, I was just too fast for him. Once I’d got the ‘Ball of Tennis’ in my mouth, I would speed off like a torpedo!

Then it was a race back to the corner of the pool where the stairs are. Boy I was paddling very hard!

Here I am, frantically climbing out before Dad got to me!

‘Pant’, ‘Pant’, ‘Pant’. You know, I’m not getting any younger and mastering the pool stairs was no easy task.

Here I am, hanging on for dear life to the side of the pool…

…catching a breather during the exertions!

But I was soon off swimming again…

Look at me, all ‘goofy’ with my tongue hanging out.

I eventually got the hang of getting out of the pool.

In fact, I was literally ‘flying’ out!

With…

…or without the ‘Ball of Tennis’.

Phew! Just time for a quick dry out…

…And to check where Dad was!

Before plunging back in again.

I had such a fantastic time frolicking around with Dad.

We hung out by the side of the pool…

…we played a lot of silly games…

…we chased each other…

…and we laughed and laughed. We just had such a great time together!

Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with a couple of candid shots of Yours Truly. Enjoy.

Here I am striking the obligatory pose for the camera. (To be honest, I was really checking out my booti-ful reflection in the water!).

And here I am just swimming. Don’t I have an adorable expression on my face?

As I said earlier, all-in-all I had such fantastic day with my Dad. I can’t wait for our next ‘swim-day’!

Love,
Homer