What Bow Did Over Thanksgiving Break

Bow's favorite thing at the Thanksgiving dinner is the sparkling red grape juice.

His second favorite thing is the cranberry sauce.

His third favorite thing this year was the apple pie. He had so many servings of these delicacies that he hardly touched the turkey or the stuffing. But he did like the sweet potatoes, too. We had so much going on, though, that I did not take that many pictures of Bow eating.

A day or two before the guests began to arrive, we had an internet outage, so Bow and I got very engrossed in a book I ordered about Monarchs and Milkweed.

The first of our guests to arrive was my Sword. There was much jubilation!

My mother arrived shortly after. She really admired my old gnarled oak tree, so I took a photo of her in front of it.

That evening, we had the most beautiful sunset.

I love that old oak tree, but it died this year, and people say it must be chopped down. I am hoping to find some other way. But I am glad it was still here this year for my mother to pose with.

Besides all that was going on, Bow and I continued to work on the trailer for the release of Audible Vacuum County.

The trailer was published late on Thanksgiving day. I sent a link to Sword a few days later, and she sent me back this screenshot.

I am glad that videos of Bow grooming me are doing so well, but I would also like people to pay attention to the book trailers. By the way, Bow helps me to edit all my videos. In the one embedded below, you can see how he grooms me, and then he attends to the process of rendering the video.

Bow is involved with everything I do, and he is not as unsophisticated as some people assume. He knows he is being filmed, and he cooperates with the entire process. He is a bit of a ham.

Bow dislikes clothes, but he even agreed to put on the Vacuum County T-shirt this morning, when I told him it was for a good cause.  Here's the back side.

No, he doesn't have any pants on, but he did put on the shirt all by himself. By the way, Bow and I wear the same size of shirt. It's a women's medium. But that shirt comes in many other sizes.

If you would like to make a contribution to Project Bow this year, consider buying a T-shirt or one of the books I have published. 

Books and Shirts

There is also a chance to win a free T-shirt, if you follow the link below:

http://artshirtdesigns.com/2017/11/24/seven-trivia-questions-to-win-a-vacuum-county-t-shirt-of-your-choice/

Thanksgiving was great. But this is Cyber Monday. Even Bow understands. Let the buying begin!

Bow's Thanksgiving 2015

Bow sips of sparkling grape juice

Bow enjoyed his Thanksgiving feast yesterday.

Bow's main Thanksgiving courses prepared by Grandma

As usual, Bow's grandmother is visiting us for Thanksgiving this year, and it is largely due to her culinary skills that we had such great food to eat.

The only thing not made by Grandma was the pumpkin pie, which we ordered from  a local church group

The only thing not made by my mother was the pumpkin pie, which we bought from a local church group. Bow's dessert consisted of  slice of pumpking pie and  a mincemeat cookie baked by Grandma.

Bow's dessert

Bow chose all the sweet things to eat first. He started with the cranberry sauce, which is his favorite.

He ate the pie and mincemeat cookie so fast that it was hard to capture a good shot.

The turkey leg met with limited success. Then it was on to the stuffing, which he ate more slowly.

I made a short montage of key moments in Bow's Thanksgiving feast this year. It has been increasingly difficult for me to upload longer sequences, so this is a good way to compress time and show all the fine eating.

I hope you enjoyed the film and that your Thanksgiving was just as magical.

A Visit from Grandma

My mother is visiting here this week, and Bow is enjoying the time with his Grandma. She brought him a gift, consisting of crackers from Israel, dried figs, assorted nuts and peanuts. When Bow asks for one of these treats he spells out "מתנה מסבתא" or "gift from Grandma." Even though he knows the names of the individual treats, he refers to them collectively that way.

Bow likes to talk with my mother, to look deeply into her eyes, to make faces at one another and to chase.

When they are done chasing for a while, Bow settles down for another session of face to face communing.

Bow likes to look at my mother's house shoes, and he is fascinated by everything she has, including her watch, which she showed him. Sometimes my mother and I start to talk about other things, and then Bow listens, and when I ask him if he has anything more to say, he spells:

תני לסבתא לשחק

"Let Grandma play."

And then they play some more.

Bow has had many people in his life over the years. He remembers them all. But there is a core of closer people who keep coming back, year in, year out. Those are the people that Bow can trust. They are family. 

Let Grandma Live Here

My mother was recently here for a three day visit. Bow, as usual, was thrilled to have her come, enjoyed the special treats she gave him and the dishes she made, and generally was happy in her company.

There are times when Bow was the focus of attention, and my mother spoke directly with him and to him, but there were other times when Bow was content to listen to the grown ups talk, and one topic my mother spoke about is her interest in secure housing for seniors with an independent lifestyles. She brought some postcard ads that she received from such places, and she even showed Bow what she was talking about. 

Yesterday, when the time to leave was drawing close, my mother said casually that she would love to invite Bow to come with her, but I said Bow could not come, because he has to stay here.

"Yes. Of course," my mother said to Bow. "You have a very strong house here. It is very secure. It keeps you safe."

Bow, who had been mostly silent, listening to the conversation, took my hand suddenly, brought me to the glass and spelled: תני לסבתא לגור פה.

"Let Grandma live here," he was saying.

"What here in the cage?" she asked. He indicated yes. It was a nice idea, but hard to reply to. 

When we didn't immediately respond to this proposal, he repeated it again verbatim. And later, he just wrote: תני לסבתא להשאר

"Let Grandma stay."

My mother told Bow she had to go home now, but that she would be back for Thanksgiving. He accepted this, and when the airport shuttle came to pick her up, he stood watching through the door until the van drove off.

Hanging out with Grandma

Bow and my mother have a pleasant, easy going relationship. When he was very small, she sometimes babysat both my children, and she visits us regularly, about twice a year. When she is not here, Bow hears her voice on the phone, and sometimes he sees her on Skype. Because she has not been a stranger all these years, it does not take Bow long to accept her after he has not seen her for a while.

These days, all their interactions take place through the glass, but it is still a very close relationship between grandmother and grandson.

A Card from Grandma

Yesterday Lawrence came in to sit with Bow, and I went to pick up the mail. Among other things, there was an envelope addressed to Bow.

When I came back for lunch, I let Bow open the envelope. Inside was a card.

Bow and I read the card. He examined it from every angle.

Then, when Lawrence came after lunch to relieve me, I showed the card to Lawrence and explained that Bow's grandmother had sent it. I told Lawrence I'd be really happy if Bow could tell him what Bow's grandmother had written to him in Hebrew. (Lawrence does not know Hebrew.)

After I had gone, Lawrence asked Bow what was in the card from grandma. At first, Bow was reluctant to answer. He even tried spelling nonsense words. But eventually, he did tell Lawrence that Grandma had said "hello". 

I was hoping for a verbatim translation, which would have been: "Bow, hello, from Grandma." But the answer he gave is pretty close.

Here is the video of the conversation between Lawrence and Bow: