Well, the inlaws are away and the weekend went pretty well. Ouch. The grandparents enjoyed the grandkids, the brother and sister in law--ouch--were right jolly, and the Longhorns won (Gig 'Em...NOT!). So we're cruising towards Christmas with a full head of steam. Ouch.

You're probably wondering why all the expressions of pain. Well, his name is Rupert, he weighs about fifteen pounds, and he loves to chew on any exposed flesh below the knee. Rupert joined our family on Sunday. He is a chocolate lab with gray-green eyes. His dad is the biggest lab I've ever seen. Rupert is going to be enormous. He's six weeks old, and as thoroughly puppy as they come. The three youngest kids are still a little terrified of him. But they're warming up to him. He is doing very well with potty training. Well, pretty well. But that's the beauty of having tile floors.

I completely underestimated the amount of work Rupert would take. When he's not following me around, I'm following him around. He's afraid I will (a) leave and never return, or (b) find some fun without him. I'm afraid he will (a) urinate or (b) defecate. But we're learning to deal with our fears, he and I. Linda brought home a couple of dog books that every dog owner should read. One is on canine/human communication, and the other is a general doggie HOW-TO manual. It's all good.

Not much to transmit on the disease front. I'm going in this week for a study visit and a clinic. I haven't had any big changes in the last three months. But everything kind of gradually crept along. My swallowing is a little worse, my speech is a little worse, and I'm moving a little slower. I honestly think that the Dallas trip took a few days to recover from, and even then, I can't claim that I'm unchanged from before the visit. That notwithstanding, I'm looking forward to doing again soon after the new year, Rupert permitting, of course. Keep your eyes on the neuro research being published. Things are moving along briskly.

Stay tuned, SBTSBC (same bat time...)