Happy New Year

I didn't upload my pictures to Flickr like I mentioned but I will post a couple here from December 20th. I was feeling a little stuffy that day so I put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in some steaming hot water to help. It felt and smelled wonderful.



I also made gingerbread cookies from Susan Branch's recipe from her book, Autumn, to give to a couple of people as gifts. Initially I wasn't too impressed with the flavor as I like my gingerbread really gingery but I came around and did really like them.




We decided to give ourselves a New Year's gift and have decided to adopt Miss Minnie if PRNE gives us the OK. This is Herself enjoying the snow. She is adorable when she comes (almost literally) flying into the house from outside with what looks like a dusting of confectioner's sugar on her. Frosted Minnie!

Her "Oona" (grandmother) bought her a special pink
sweater for Christmas, which Minnie loves!

Wishing you a 2009 full of light and love.

Bright blessings,

A snowy, snowy day

A snowy day is really an understatement. The ground is under probably two feet of snow since Friday. Minnie, our foster pup, is loving it as does Jack. Poochie on the other hand would prefer for it to stop and melt immediately. His legs are so short as not to provide him much ground clearance - he's kind of a low rider. ;) This means that it doesn't take much of a snowfall for the yucky, cold, wet stuff to be rubbing his undercarriage. Poor Pooch.

I (belatedly) participated in the Flickr Day in the Life event today and snapped a few shots. I'll upload them to Flickr tomorrow and then post one here maybe. Also made some pretty good gingerbread men from a Susan Branch recipe. I was hoping that they'd be more ginger-y but they're good nonetheless. I like my men spicy! ;)

Stay warm and safe.

Relaxing in the snow

It's unbelievable but we are still having snow from the storm that started at around 1pm yesterday and then we are on track to receive another 6-10" of snow tomorrow. But tonight I'm sitting on the couch with two of the pups watching Nicholas Nickleby on TV. Minnie is lying next to me running in her dream. She is the only dog I've known, besides Bear, who barks in her dreams and she sounds just like him when she does.

I wish you all a very happy Winter Solstice. Blessings to you on this longest of nights before the light begins its welcome return.

What a storm!

We had a huge ice storm on Thursday night. Just incredible.




We lost power early on Friday morning but by 6am it had come back on. We have been extremely fortunate to have had power since then with only a brief interruption yesterday morning. Other people, like my parents and I.'s parents, have no power and probably won't have it for several more days.

We had some major damage to the tree in our front yard and lost probably five or six large branches. A couple came to rest on the front of the house but didn't do any damage. We also had a large tree fall across the stream in the backyard, falling just a few inches from my birdfeeders. We've been very lucky throughout. Yesterday morning I took a drive around town and took a few pictures of the amazing damage.

We're goin' to the chapel...

I had a great time with S. and D. on Friday. We started off looking for this tiny church in the woods that D.'s mother had told her about. Sure enough we found it. The door was locked so we couldn't get in but it was amazing to look around. It was hard to tell how old it was because some of the surrounding pieces looked new and others, like this post, looked like they had been there for quite awhile. S. is doing some research, trying to figure out the story behind the little church. After we walked around there we headed into Keene where we ate and shopped. S. showed us an amazing consignment shop, Penelope's. If you're ever in Keene I would recommend stopping in.

We got the first real snow of the season today. It didn't amount to anything but it was pretty while it was falling. I filled up my bird feeders yesterday and so the woods were atwitter this morning with all the birds trying to get their breakfast in the snow.

Tomorrow I'm starting my lunchtime workout so I'm going to get to bed soon so I'm rested for it. I do not like exercising but when I was doing it every day (religiously) I felt great and had more energy. Plus I have a closet full of clothes that I would love to be able to wear again!

Girls's day out

Tomorrow my dear friend S. and I are heading up to Keene, NH to poke around. D., also from work, may join us. Can't wait to spend the day with them exploring. S. lives right outside of Keene and D. right in Keene so they are the local "experts."

Set up for the Bay Colony Dog Show went well. I was going to take a picture of the PRNE booth after I. and I got done setting it up but we were both so tired at that point neither of us had the energy. We had to organize all the boxes of stuff in order to know what we had available to put out on display and that took the most time. Just tons of sweatshirts and t-shirts all colors. I hope that they do well and sell lots!

I'll take some pictures from our grand adventure tomorrow!

Bay Colony Dog Show

Tomorrow I. and I are driving into Boston to set up the Poodle Rescue of N.E. booth at the Bay Colony Dog Show. If you have time over the next few days, please stop by the show!

Beautiful inspriation

My new-ish laptop and all the Web's bells and whistles have been distracting me from paper crafting recently. I love paper crafting, particularly card making, and it is my main creative outlet and I feel less myself when I don't devote time to making something. I am also a big fan of Steven Covey's Sharpen the Saw principle and saw it in action today.

I have procrastinated in making my Thanksgiving cards and now it's too late to send them so I have to deliver them on the day itself. I had time today and sat down to make them. The well of creativity was dry so I went to a primary source of my inspiration, The Papertrey Ink gallery, where I found this beautiful card and my muse for the afternoon. I used to visit the gallery regularly, like every day, and did a lot more card making. I joined the PTI RAK group and would make cards for random members. A good New Years resolution - to make time daily for some sort of paper crafting activity. Sharpening the saw.

The approach of winter

2008 has just slipped by. So fast. The current cold snap is lending a feel of winter to the air which is making me think of the end of year that much more. I. and I took a ride up to a beautiful, old cemetery today that my dear friend S. brought me to a couple of weeks ago. It's a very peaceful site, tucked back in the woods. The trees are all bare of their leaves now and the sun was streaming into the area adding light but no warmth at all.

I finally have taken a picture of Minnie. And this is Bear. He has taken to staying downstairs in the basement on occasion instead of following either of us up. He'll stay down there for hours sometimes, just waiting at the bottom of the stairs for one of us to come down and carry him up. I know it's not fear because often he'll run right up behind you. I. thinks, and I agree, that it is because he's a little jealous of the attention Minnie gets and is looking for some of his own. We're not giving in to him because we know that it would start a bad habit. Better to let him sit down there and come up on his own. The white fluffy head at the bottom of the picture belongs to Jack.

Keeping busy

Last weekend I. and I took in the Treasures from Assyria show at the Museum of Fine Arts. Excellent. When we were in London in 2004 we must have seen some of the pieces at the British Museum, their home. The MFA displayed the pieces in a larger area and that really set them off. Amazing reliefs and pieces of intricately carved stone. The pieces of writing were so small and the writing so close together we wondered at how they could have ever been legible. If you have an opportunity to catch the show, I would recommend it. My mom was very kind and agreed to stay over and watch the "kids" so we could spend the night in Boston. I chose a great hotel, if I say so myself, the Hotel Commonwealth. Another thumbs up although I would skip dining in their Great Bay restaurant and stick with Eastern Standard, also at the hotel. The service everywhere was excellent and the room was spectacular. We were right across from the famous Citgo sign.

The weekend before that we took a short walk at Mt. Wachusett and I was able to take some great pictures.

Minnie and all the other pups are doing very well. Minnie is still fighting a yeast infection in her ears and continues to develop her sweet personality. She's taken to sleeping on top of the cushion of the love seat in our front room while I. is on his computer in there.

The plant where I work is shut down next week so I get a week's vacation. I do have several appointments scheduled but am looking forward to the down time. I'm reading C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed. His writing is just beautiful. I look forward to reading other books of his.

Exactly

Picture of little Minnie

There is a picture of Minnie on the PRNE webpage that I linked to in my last post but I wanted to include one here, too. (edited to add: can't find one on this computer. I'll post one soon.) We took her for a walk today. I. bought her a harness a few weeks ago but we wanted to wait until she had her stitches all removed before we tried it on her. Today was the first time we used it. She is not at all used to walking on a leash but she didn't fight it using the harness as much as she did the collar. She whined throughout the entire walk but out of excitement, I think, not fear. She's a funny one, but so sweet.

What's been going on

The fall has passed so quickly. The last time I wrote, it wasn't even Fall and now we're on the back half of October. I.'s done a great job getting the house ready for winter weather and soon enough, it will be here. It seems like with all the rain we had this summer I feel like I haven't had proper time to prepare for the coldness.

Our CSA finished up several weeks ago with more potatoes and a head of cabbage. I have three butternut squash, too. I don't know what I will ever do with three butternut squash. I would definitely sign up for the CSA next season since the produce was excellent.

The biggest news we have is Minnie. We're fostering Minnie through Poodle Rescue of New England. We picked her up on September 21st. She came from a breeder in Connecticut. She had a mammary tumor, hadn't been spayed, and her teeth were in bad shape. Fortunately the tumor was benign and she only lost two teeth during her dental cleaning. You can read more about her and the other dogs that PRNE rescued from this breeder. She's very sweet.

The favicon should be back

Thanks, Sweetie, for pointing out that my favicon had disappeared. Must have happened when I made changes to the layout of the blog. It should be back now!

Remembering today

September 2001 seems like 100 years ago and just yesterday. I remember thinking in the days right after the terrorist attacks that the feeling of communality, so pervasive at the time, would not last. I believe it did not survive long. The country has become fractured, far more than before the attacks, which, I believe, stems from the administration's response to the events of September 11th.

Anyway, today is a day to remember all of the innocent victims - of the September 11th attacks, of the ensuing war and of the terrorist attacks before and after. It is also a day to remember the members of our armed services who have died in the War on Terror (I dislike that term but can't think of another).

I searched for a quote that would sum up how I felt about today, one that captured my feeling of needing to remember everyone who has been affected, but I came up cold. I did find this quote from Mark Twain, which I thought spoke directly to the aftermath of September 11, 2001, specifically the war in Iraq:

Statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.


May we always remember the innocent and the brave and may we never be fooled by cheap lies again.

So close yet so far...

"Women are systematically degraded by receiving the trivial attentions which men think it manly to pay to the sex, when, in fact, men are insultingly supporting their own superiority."
~Mary Wollstonecraft, Writer, A Vindication of the Rights of Women

How naive I was to think that the Hillary Clinton speaking at the DNC on the anniversary of the certification of the ratification of the 19th Amendment meant that women had come so far in such a relatively short period of time. The nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the GOP VP candidate made my heart sink. Not just because I believe her to be unbelievably unqualified to be the VP, let alone President, not just because of her stance on many issues that I care deeply about, not just because of the stunningly supportive response to her nomination and not just because it was a pandering, desperate act of a pandering, desperate man. But because of the focus on her physical appearance. How will women ever be taken seriously while a VP nominee is touted as the "Hottest VP from the Coolest State" by supporters and members of her own party?

Our first anniversary

Today is our first anniversary. One year ago right now, I. and I were married. Our ceremony began at 5pm. I. was waiting for me at the beginning of the aisle and I was waiting to enter from a side room in the church. Right before I stepped out of the side room, I. and I looked at each other and it all became real. We had a great time and have since then. I love you, Sweetie. Happy first anniversary.

And thank you to my sister for the lovely bouquet.

the right to vote

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

- 19th Amendment to the Constitution

While listening to NPR's discussion of the DNC's convention on my drive to work this morning, the commentator mentioned that Hillary Clinton would be addressing the delegates tonight. This is noteworthy not only because of who she is but also because today is the 88th anniversary of the certification of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote.

There are, of course, varied opinions of Hillary Clinton. Regardless of what you think of her, the fact that a (relatively) short 88 years after women were given the right to vote a woman was a serious contender for the Presidency of the United States, is remarkable.

The world has certainly changed for women since 1920 in many ways. In some parts of the world (some very close to home) women are still treated sub-humanly (here, here and here) - there is much farther for us to go. Let us take a minute to celebrate tonight and remember those who got us here - thank you and you and all of you.

Slow progress on my clothespin dolls

Just a beautiful weekend, weather-wise. Perfect today, although they said there might be showers, there is not a cloud in the sky. I'm listening to the low hum of the bugs, a bird chipping and watching the slight breeze blow the browning grass. I can smell the sweet smell of the Japanese beetle trap. Such a lovely late summer day

I've been working on the clothes pin doll kit I ordered from Alicia in March and just today finished the painting work. Next up is the sewing which is not my strength. I originally intended to have them finished for the summer but now it looks like they'll be autumn country girls!

Itchy foot

Not mine (lucky for both me and you), but Jack's. What seems like forever ago now, he started to chew on his feet. Then it was just his left, front foot. I believe the original cause was allergies since foot chewing appears to be a common symptom of allergies (inhalant) in dogs. But it became an obsessive thing for him to do and he managed to get it very raw and painful. My mom took him to the vet and she concurred with the treatment we were using, Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. This helped but he would still chew on it even right after we put cream on it. Then, a miracle happened.

My mom gave us a bottle of Dermacool HC spray that she had used on their dog, Rosie. As soon as we sprayed it on his foot, Jack stopped chewing on it. Like, immediately. Really, immediately. We're still giving him Benadryl twice a day and use the Dermacool as needed but he is much better now. I think that the Dermacool is so soothing that he forgets about his foot for a little while. And then, by not chewing on it, it doesn't hurt him so he doesn't chew on it. It's a circle.

Trying to stay up for the Olympics men's basketball final but I'm not sure I'm going to make it. I'm almost asleep now...

Acupuncture

It's been a week since my most recent acupuncture appointment and I'm feeling great. Since 2005 I have been having problems with my sinuses - infections and all that good stuff. After seeing two ENTs and my PCP several times and a couple of Urgent Care Clinic visits I decided to try acupuncture. The MDs didn't offer any treatment suggestions outside of allergy medication (which I already take), antibiotics, and surgery, none of which seems like viable options. A friend recommended an acupuncturist about an hour away and so I set up an appointment.

My first appointment was about a year and a half ago and I go every 2 months or so. I can't tell you how much better I feel. I've switched to an acupuncturist closer to home who I really like and whose treatments are more effective for me. Initially I was combining Traditional Chinese Medicine with acupuncture but now I'm managing my sinus issues with just acupuncture alone. I've really taken note of how much better I feel since my most recent treatment and I think it just makes good sense for me to have a treatment every 6 weeks or so. In addition, during my last appointment I mentioned to my acupuncturist that I was having a lot of pain in one of my leg muscles. She treated that area as well and the pain has decreased remarkably. It is not perfect but much, much better than before the treatment. I can't recommend acupuncture enough.

I'm suffering from an Olympic hang-over tonight, meaning I stayed up too late last night watching the Games. Not late enough to see the incredible win by the men's swimming relay team but too late nonetheless. Oooo, I think basketball might be on TV now - got to run!

Olympics

Wow, has it been great so far! The opening ceremonies were spectacular, both technically and aesthetically. Michael Phelps! The U.S. basketball team (go LeBron from Akron!)! Even the commercials are great. I. and I are watching the U.S. girls gymnastic team now. They're so young but so strong. Loving Natalie Coughlin, too. Best of luck to all!

Jack is having a sleep over at his Oona's tonight. He is a good boy and we miss him when he's at his Oona's but he has such a great time, it's well worth missing him for a couple of days. Here is a picture of our sweet Jack Boy. Sleep tight, Jack.

Hi again

Before I started in my current career track of HR, I was a speech-language pathologist working in long-term care centers. I enjoyed it but when insurance reimbursements changed, it became difficult to stay in the field. This, coupled with some frustration with the field itself, lead me to the change to HR. However, I still do speech therapy work on a per diem (as needed) basis for a national rehab company at some local long-term care facilities.

Today I was doing some work at a LTC center in a large-ish nearby city. It is frustrating to see the impersonal care that the staff sometimes give. This is not particular to this center as I am struck by this fact in many of the facilities I work in. I firmly believe that in order to improve the level of care, one of the first steps necessary is to increase the pay of the caregivers. It is hard, hard work especially when working with residents with dementia, and the low level of pay that the aides and the nurses receive does not begin to match the level of difficulty. Plus, if the pay was increased the required education and skills could also be increased.

I know that I am not the first person to suggest this and I also know that increasing pay would be just the tip of the iceberg. Something needs to be done though and maybe this would be a good first step.

If I'm not making much sense it's because I'm watching an Olympic beach volleyball tournament while blogging. Sorry.

Beautiful day today. The rain has stopped, briefly, and we were able to take everyone for a walk this morning. Happiness all around.

I wish the thunder would go away and a RAK thank you

The dampness continues, now with thunder. Maddie has never been a fan of thunder, fireworks or other loud noises like that. Today is no exception. Although she turned 11 yesterday, Maddie's hearing is as keen as ever and the little rumblings going on now are sending her over the edge barking. This in turn scares Poochie and Bear who are both trying to share the small area underneath my desk as I type this. Bear is not one to share his space willingly so typically the next step in this process is growling from Bear when Poochie gets too close. This freaks Poochie out even more. It's a fun filled day all around when we have storms!

I have to admit that we did not do particularly well eating at home last week, the first week of our CSA. It was a stressful week at work for me. I hate being hungry anyway but when I'm stressed I'm particularly sensitive to hunger and so it was a bad week for cooking at home. I was starving by the time I left work and the thought of cooking just pushed me over the edge. We picked up our second box today and I'm hoping that with being on vacation this coming week, I'll be better about eating up what we got. I did end up using most of the first box except for the strawberries which were not good looking when we picked them up. Plus my mom brought over a tray of beautiful strawberries which were far better looking than the CSA berries and were delicious. I found this berry in the tray from my mom. Looks just like a heart to me! Sorry for the poor lighting, I was taking it at night with just the overhead light in the kitchen for light.

Just also wanted to show you a picture of the largest scallop I have ever seen. We had dinner at a local restaurant, one of the nicest in the area I think. Besides being perfectly done and delicious, the scallops were huge! I apologize again for the picture quality. Not sure what I was doing wrong here but you can get the general idea.

Tomorrow we take Poochie to the vet for a check on his thyroid levels and then Wednesday Bear gets his teeth clean. Good to get these all out of the way while we're off for the week.

One last picture - the latest RAK card I received from Carrie in MD. Thank you so much for the beautiful RAK BAK. :) I haven't inked up the frog image from the Pond Life set yet and Carrie's card has given me the inspiration to just do it!

Whew, that feels better

Yesterday I dusted my house and cleaned out about 20 pounds of pollen. Yellow dust was everywhere. Tonight, I can finally sit at my desk and not get covered with the stuff. It feels so good, like taking a hot shower after a hard day.

Damp today. When I lived in Kentucky the humidity had weight it was so heavy some times. Here in MA more often it is this dampness. I far prefer the humidity of Kentucky because although it was sticky it was hot and somehow this made it feel not damp. And that makes all the difference. Looks like this weather will be around for at least tomorrow. We all may sprout mold if it lasts too long.

The first CSA box

Today, we picked up our first box from the CSA we joined. We now have a refrigerator full of vegetables and a couple of pots of annuals. The first box included a head of lettuce (we chose red leaf lettuce), a bunch of radishes, a bunch of beets (looking for a recipe for them now), some arugula, spinach and chard. We'll be eating at home this week for sure!

As with last weekend, this weekend flew by again. I needed to deadhead my rose bushes and weeded a little bit. I. replaced some of the wire fence we have tied to our backyard fence. The land back there is not entirely level so the wire fence prevents some small doggies from crawling under the regular fence. Alex was able to walk right between the fence slats so the previous wire fence ran the length of the regular fence. Now it just spans the last two sections, where the gap between the ground and regular fence is.

I finished Water for Elephants :
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
After reading the first few pages I was in love with the book. However, the further I got into it the less I liked it. I couldn't connect with the narrator and became frustrated with his cowardice. However, I have to say that the ending was a complete and pleasant surprise. I'll definitely read more of her books.


View all my reviews.

It's hard to type with only one hand and with Pogo on my lap pawing at me for pets, I'll sign off for now. Have a great night.

A full weekend

It's already Sunday night and I feel like the weekend didn't even get a chance to get started. We were busy seeing friends, visiting for Father's Day and cleaning. And here we are at the start of another week already. So quick.

I found out at work on Friday afternoon that Tim Russert had passed away suddenly. I didn't watch him enough to say that I was familiar with him but I have been moved by the number of blog posts I have read, fondly remembering him. The most touching in my opinion is Liz's. She is a beautiful writer on any topic and her post on Mr. Russert's passing is no exception. Thank you, Liz.

Happy Birthday Buddy

Today is Bear's 10th birthday. I don't have digital photos of him when we brought him home from the pet store but he was a very cute ball of apricot fluff. When we bought him he was four months old which is old for a pet store dog and I feel blessed that we found him. He is a sweet, good dog. Scared of most everything except dogs three or four times his size, but we all have our quirks. This is a picture of him enjoying his birthday hamburger. He's not a cake kind of dog, he much prefers meat so that was what he got. I apologize for the photo quality; he was moving very fast to make sure he didn't lose out on any of the burger! Happy Birthday, Bear. We all love you very much.

It's been in the 90's here since Saturday - our first official heat wave. We've all been standing in front of a fan waiting for the heat to break. Honestly, I don't mind it too much. The heat is draining (I'm exhausted now and haven't done anything except walk outside to take pictures) but it feels like summer. Isn't this what I was waiting for when it was snowing in January? And just to remind myself what that looked like...
This was taken on December 31st. Not quite 6 months ago. How quickly things change.

Yesterday was my last day as a blond. Now I'm back to my regular color. Not my natural color, mind you, but I'm no longer fair haired. I don't miss it though. It was fun to be blond but really it washed me out since I am so fair skinned. It's a little too red for my liking right now but I know that in time it will fade. Red does that.

My roses have gone crazy! The heat and the rain we had last week have lead to a bumper crop of blooms as I'd hoped. Take a look! Enjoy.