It has been a hectic few weeks:  a trip to Tucson for my father’s birthday, hosting Christmas here at the house, my mother in the hospital.  But the most dramatic development is in the headline and the picture; we have a new dog.  We purchased her just before Christmas, from a northern CA breeder, meeting him at a park in Sacramento.  She demands attention more or less whenever she is not asleep, and now that my wife Masami is back to teaching school, I have been giving the dog a lot of attention.  Throwing the ball, walking her time after time.  So I am not making much progress on Mr. Chase,  although I am working on him every day, and we are getting close to a contract with Simon & Schuster.