This is the last morning post. It's 6:40 and the girls...wait...I just heard a *thunk* on the office floor...hold on...it's Mattie with her blue turtle-butterfly-insect thing. Okay, back to typing. The girls just had their breakfast and treats and we all hung out on the back patio for a while. Mattie can get a little jealous when Bear comes up next to me and starts pushing her nose into my arm for some loving. I start petting Bear and Mattie wedges herself between us pretty fast. Now she's got her deflated bank robber toy and wants to play.

I was finally able to put up some of the pics I've been taking. Not too many. I've been trying to get the girls playing at night; their like little kids. Bear will come prancing in, dive headfirst...oh wait...they BOTH just came into the office. Too funny. Anyway...she'll put her face into the chair, rub and bark, then go after Mattie and then Mattie starts playing with Bear, then they run all over the place and then...it...stops. Just like that. Oh, their doing it now. I'm hearing Bear barking. Busy morning with these crazy girls. I better go and give them both some pure undivided attention.

Good morning and Merry Christmas. I just finished walking the dogs. It's 7:10 in the morning here and still a little dark. There's a chill and a breeze out but not too bad. No snow. Mattie is tuckered out (in fact she's on her side on the floor right now) and Bear is really feeling the Holiday spirit. She's playing with the mat in front of the fireplace as I type this, and has been turning in her "scratch my ears forever and let me nuzzle up against you with my nose" coupon. They both had their Christmas breakfast, with several treats, and I'll be heading out for the morning in about forty-five minutes. All is peaceful in this doggie world.

Ah, the miracle of Christmas eve. Many will gather with friends and family to reflect and appreciate all that has come their way; some eat sugar cookies, warm from the oven and decorated with frosting by eager little hands, others might drink cinnamon egg nog or nibble on snickerdoodles or homemade breads. And us, you ask? Well, we'll be thawing one dead, frozen mouse to feed a snake...and taking pictures of it all. So there.

UPDATE: Bearmatt Daily is back online!
It's late in the eve on Saturday, December 23rd, as this special Holiday edition begins. Updates might be a bit slower this time around, but as the family enjoys some holiday fun in Vegas, on this end we hope to put up a few pics and dish all the latest sizzling news about the girls.

The night did start with a misstep. Good neighbor Gene put in some extra time after his afternoon visit. At first everything was normal. I came by, fed the dogs after 3:00, waited an hour or so for "digestion", played with Mattie, let them out, brought them in and took off after 4:30. The dogs were inside when I left. I came back after 8:00 and the dogs were, mysteriously, outside...huh? Was this some sort of spooky Taylor magic? (By the way, a Lance Burton link has been added) I called up Gene to make sure he was the one behind this perplexing illusion...and thank goodness he was. "I didn't think I saw your rig there after 3:30...then 8:00 came around and I just thought I should let them out..." A little confusion and some overlap but all is fine. Well, all but Bear. Bear was being a little stubborn outside tonight. "Come in Bear...come on...Bear!? Come inside...it's past 11:00 at night for crying out loud!" She didn't budge. It was nice out. She probably wouldn't mind hanging out there all night...I think she was listening in on some holiday party going on next door. I finally had to Alpha-dog-up and corral her inside. But, mostly we all just hung out inside, played, watched tv, and stared at fake little snowmen. You gotta wonder.