Meet "Paddy the Dog"

I am adding a little section on the side of my blog which will feature the newest member of our family -- Paddy the Dog! Paddy was my grandmother's and he is a little iron dog that looks a lot like the dog that my great grandmother owned (my daughter thinks it was a Boston Terrier, and as she is the foremost authority on dogs, I will go along with that!). Paddy has been in my grandmother's house (and moved around with her in the past 10 years) for as long as I can remember. As a child, I always loved Paddy and loved to play with him. My grandmother turned 88 in October, and for the past couple of years she has been thinking and worrying about who she wants to pass her treasures on to in the family. This is one of my least favorite topics of conversation, but a number of years ago when she wanted to talk about it, I mentioned how much I love Paddy and that I would cherish him and the memories I have of playing with him in her house. My sweet Gram is, thankfully, still with us but she did recently move back into her old home which is now owned by my aunt (her daughter, my dad's only sister). When she moved she cleared out a lot of her things -- downsizing yet again, after having moved into assisted living a few years ago. One day, before Christmas, I brought my girls over to her apartment and we visited and I helped to pack up some of her things. Before I left, she insisted that I took little Paddy with me.

My girls have grown almost as fond of Paddy as I am, and (to the distress of my husband, I am sure!) we all talk about him as though he were a real dog! While I was decorating for Christmas, I decided to take some Christmas ribbon and tie a bow around his neck so that he could feel festive for the holidays. The girls loved this, and as my eldest daughter's birthday approached, she reminded me that I needed to get a "Happy Birthday" ribbon for Paddy. So, there we were, my husband, myself, the girls, and an unsuspecting elderly woman who was slightly amused by the conversation between me and my husband... "Why are you looking for all of this ribbon?" I want to get different ribbon for Paddy to wear for the holidays. "And WHO is Paddy?" My little dog! "Your dog..." You know, PADDY! The little iron dog that Gram gave me! "Right... We're buying holiday ribbon for the iron dog... Ok."

So, Paddy is the newest member of our family, and I will try to take pictures of him so that he can show off his festive seasonal attire!