“Aslan! Dear Aslan!” said Lucy, “What is wrong? Can’t you tell us!”

Whenever I visit Trafalgar Square and see the four huge lions that were made from recycled French canons, I always think of Lewis’ Aslan: “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

“Are you ill, dear Aslan?” asked Susan.

“No,” said Aslan, “I am sad and lonely. Lay your hands on my mane so that I can feel you are there and let us walk like that.” And so the girls did what they would never have dared to do without his permission, but what they had longed to do ever since they first saw him—buried their cold hands in the beautiful sea of fur and stroked it and so doing, walked with him.”

—From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.

Johanna’s Mom called this morning to tell me that WordPress had an update and she had downloaded it to Cocoa’s site. I couldn’t resist posting another photo taken in England, of course, just to try all the new controls. Outside of doing what I do every day, playing with this blog is one of my favorite things—well . . . besides spending time with Cocoa Joy!

Our Delta Society group includes Cocoa Joy, Benji, Chic, and BoBo, who belongs to one of Cocoa’s trainers at Dog School 101. In the beginning, I never considered it possible for Cocoa to make it this far in her training. “Oh, me of little faith!” She did great today. She is a natural (a little excited but that’s to be expected for a “first-timer.”)

Poor Cocoa Joy: we had to start off with the gentle leader, but then we just took it off and everything was cool. No jumping up on the residents. No giving “out-of-control” kisses. She just cozied up to the folks and let them pet her. I was so proud of her.

A parting shot. Cocoa’s trainer took this photo before we left. She “borrowed” BoBo’s bandana and put it on Cocoa for a perfect photo.

Finally, the tree is up and Cocoa Joy is thinking about Christmas. Tomorrow’s her big day; we get to go to the nursing home as Delta Society Partners.

I really don’t know if there is a need to comment about these quaint doorways. They are just beautiful on their own. But here is a variation. Let me know what you think. . . .

Tiny doorways that are as old as our country. Amazing.

I love the bicycle that is ready to go and not chained or locked to anything.