After only five minutes of tug-of-war with Parker, I had to throw in the towel. Or, what was left of it, anyway:

My idea of a down-stay:

What does he smell with that nose, I wonder?

Parker is jumping for joy at the weather:

Quick: who's cuter? OK, no real contest here. He's also better looking than I am:

Parker had a well-needed bath today, complete with an unfortunately sweet-smelling shampoo and a bandanna that even Parker thinks looks silly:

The overnight low temperature in Chicago has dropped below freezing every night since January 12th. This is the longest stretch of below-freezing nights in at least seven years. It's getting really quite old.

That is all.

Parker's new crate actually has more than double the area of his old crate. He has enough room to flop on his side and to turn around comfortably. Plus, he has his favorite crusty old bedspread to sleep on: