Happy New Year 2012 - with a Bang!

I can hardly believe that we actually have a New Year's adventure to share already! We rang the New Year in with new friends from St. Mark's church. We'd been very touched to be welcomed in so readily and had enjoyed good food, good conversation, party games, party poppers and had sung merrily together and hugged everyone in the room as the clock struck midnight before a firework display reminded us of our petrified pooch cowering in her crate back at home. We said our thank yous and farewells and headed for the homestead, leaving the revellers to dance the night away. That's when our New Year began! On our return our thoughts tuned more and more into Sally and we wanted to let her sit by our feet for a while as we savoured a little Bower family time around the fire with hot drinks and hugs all round. First things first. I put the kettle on and cut slabs of Christmas cake, Joseph set up the room, lights on, fire in, Tony let Sally out in the garden before we all gathered together to unwind. The unwinding didn't happen! Tony went out in the garden with Sally to keep an eye on her but just as they were returning down the garden path - BANG BANG BANG! Fireworks set off in almost every direction. Sally went berserk! She also bolted. Somehow she found a slim gap between the six foot high fencing posts and she was gone. We could hear her shrill barks for a good 15 minutes (as I am sure could all our neighbours half a mile around)! We called her, Tony walked round the streets but we could not find her. Meanwhile I sat in our cozy lounge concentrating on keeping my stress levels down - not easy. Finally and freakily Sally's barking suddenly stopped followed by the banging of a car door! Only one thing for it... Phone the police... again! Tony circumnavigated the streets one last time before giving up and coming to bed at around 2am, thoughts violently tumbling around our minds of Sally's almost definite abduction and horrific demise. Finally we got some restless and fitful sleep - not a good start to a year for a woman recovering from a heart attack! It was around 3 am that Tony sat bolt upright and woke me saying he'd heard 3 barks. He shot out of bed and ran downstairs. He opened the back door, shouted 'Sally' and sure enough she came trotting straight back in and headed directly for her bed as if the last few hours had been a figment of our New Year's imaginations! Bless her. Happy New Year. God bless you richly in 2012. I wonder what adventures lay ahead?