I can't believe it's already Saturday. The week went by in a blur and I misplaced a day somewhere around Wednesday. Gambit seems completely recovered and has been a huge handfull. Potty training is progressing nicely. Most of my time with him is spent keeping him from chewing on the coffee table, other furniture and us or pulling things like shoes, CDs cases, pencils and pillows out of his mouth. I bought him a puppy sampler of Nylabone products and he tore through the first two in no time at all. I've given him the last bone, a more durable chicken flavored one, about a month early on their timeline. I guess he's what they call a "strong chewer." Has anyoned tried those freezable chew toys for teething puppies? Any other suggestions?

The two scaredy cats are around on a regular basis now. One keeps his distance and for some reason the puppy does too. The other one has had a few cute touching noses moments, always from a safe height. As the previous baby of the family, she feels entitled to be the recipient of love and affection and the puppy doesn't quite get that. The oldest cat, Tora, and the puppy have started wrestling together, accompanied by growls, hisses and much thumping. Despite the hisses, the cat doesn't move away and most of the time seems to be the instigator. Tora is much gentler with the puppy than he is in return. I keep hoping Tora will give him a good whack just to show him who's the boss and get him to be a little less nippy in their play. It hasn't happened, yet. The cat must like it. It was the other way around when we had our 110 lb. dog, Burt. The cat would sit on something at head height for the dog and they'd play that way. The cat never seemed to hoold back with whapping with his claws but the dog never closed his jaws too far when snapping back.

There's an interesting article in the LA Times about the battle between Wal-Mart and its foes for churches.