Updated to the Puppy Update

The dust has finally settled on the new puppy's name, and it is.... drum roll please... wait for it, wait for it!!!!



James.

As in, "Hey, James..."

James is settling in just fine, and our adventure over to Pennsylvania went very smoothly. Henry and I didn't get home until nearly 10pm, but there was no whining or complaining by anybody (man nor beast) about the long car ride. We plopped James in between us in the front seat and he pretty much slept there non stop for the entire ride. No going #1 or even #2 the several times we stopped to let him try. He almost went into a state of suspended animation for the whole ride, not a peep or a drop out of him. When we finally got home, he ate and drank (see my earlier blog post) and then passed out.

What a cutie this guy is. Very calm and mellow so far. But inquisitive too. You can tell that the world is big and he is smart and it's just a matter of time until he soaks up enough know-how to really cause trouble. he watches and sniffs and enjoys chasing the kids as they run through the house. It's going to be interesting, because when the kids were old enough to play with dogs, rudy and kermit were too old to play with kids. now the mix is right. kids and puppies and play, well, they go together like bread and butter!

Food and Drink

FOOD


DRINK

Prince Jimmy Carter Sparkle Pony!

So this is the sweet little babyface Henry and I are traveling to pick up tomorrow morning!!!! We are flying to Philadelphia and renting a car. Then we're driving an hour and a half west of the city to Denver, PA where our newest member of the family will be waiting!

Jimmy Carter is about 12 weeks old, Bichon Frise, and one lucky pup!

After we pick him up, we are driving back to New Hampshire, dropping the rental car at the airport and finally heading home. It will be a long day, but quite an adventure, I'm sure.

And a couple pictures from Kermit's sweet start

Here are some pictures

of Kermit's burial...

Life, and how it goes on.

I haven't written all week. No real reason. It's lonely here without Kerm, and we were lucky to have his company for as long as we did. You know I loved that dog, I know you loved that dog. What more is there to say? :-( I can tell you that the pace of life slowed on Monday long enough to give him a peaceful and respectful exit -- He had more people at his funeral than a lot of people, I'm sure. And he gets to be down at the farm, near Rudy and other well loved dogs of our friends and neighbors. Henry handed him down to Jeff, who placed him in the hole, and we all said something nice about what a great dog he was.

Monday night I felt sort of giddy almost. Relieved to have it over with and to find that even though a dear dog has died, the world continues to spin. But still lonely. It was odd to have one less person(ality) to care for in the house. No one to let out, no one to carry downstairs, etc. So we went out to eat.

We went to Chilis, and I tell you, that place was conspiring against me. You know those oddball cigarette disposal unit thingies they have outside public places? Like where one can deposit their smoke before going in, and it falls down a tube and down into the bottom of the thing. One of these:



Anyways. I noticed that it was still smoking as we walked by, and I blanched. At work, we have to walk past one of these to get in the building and sometime someone won't put out their smoke before dropping it in and it'll smoke and cook up this completely repulsive smell. SO. NASTY.

They seated us near the kitchen, which was normally okay. But every once in awhile I'd get this super strong whiff of that ashtray stink. It turned out that we were in the path of the giant swirl of air that would blow in from the entrance to the restaraunt whenever the outside doors opened. So it would billow towards us every time someone came in the place. I bitched and bitched to my table mates about it and theorized on where the smell could be coming from. (I hadn't made the connection yet -- was thinking more about how maybe it was some sort of dishwasher on his break, propped up on a milk crate, making plans for the night on his cell phone, etc.)

So, as I was waiting for my burger to be re-cooked (I ordered well done, received medium rare), the dishwasher came rushing through the restaraunt carrying the still smoking ashtray! Through the restaraunt! so nasty. So, so nasty. I couldn't believe it. And I didn't even go into the fact my burger was raw and our server was dead behind the eyes.

Recent Wildlife

Here is an owl that was hanging out for a few days over Jeff's birthday weekend. He would hang out on a fence post over at the white farmhouse across the road. Our neighbor thinks he/she was watching for mice.




And here are some deer that I spotted in the backyard a couple days ago. Long winter makes for daring wildlife...

Maggie over the weekend

Kermit, today

Here is a picture of sweet Kermit I just took a minute ago. See the yellowish tint to his ear as the sun shines through it? That's the anemia. Poor guy! I'm home today and the goal will be to have a nice ceremony for him at the farm late this afternoon. I'm waiting to hear back from his terrific vet, Dr. Kalb. But I'm hoping to get a (final) appointment for him later today, and Matt has assured me he'll be able to dig the hole with his tractor any time I say so. So. :-(

UPDATE: Jeff and I will be taking Kermit in at 2:30pm

Things about Kermit

Have you heard the news that Kermit mostlikely has liver cancer? I know. I can hardly believe it myself. He's at the vet right now, getting squared away for x-rays to see how extensive things are.

Here are some notes I typed up for Jeff to bring to the vet this morning:

It appears he threw up last night, at least twice. once was the contents of his stomach, another was mostly yellow bile. also, yesterday evening, he was outside pooping and was startled mid-poop by a black shadowy animal (fox? cat?) and took off barking at him a little bit. after that, he took the longest time trying to pinch off his poop. kept trying to pinch and pinch and sort of waddling around.
so I picked him up and took a look and he had a large gumball sized poop mid sphincter! it was like a ball of poop stuck on the inside. I ended up working it out for him (nevermind how) and then clipping away the hair around the outside area that wasn't helping matters.

Poor guy! I mention it because in hindsight, it seemed as if he didn't have the power to push it out and finish the job! maybe I didn't wait long enough, but it was cold and he was obviously exhausted!

I'll keep you posted. We are talking about a highly prized individual, and I know you care about him, too.

More Birthday Fun

Jeff's Birthday Party

I think this is the video where Jeff has just blown out his candles. OMG the party was so fun! How many different ways to say it?! What a great time we had last night! I highly recommend ordering chinese food and sushi for a party, holy cow. It was so easy! And we had sweet rum cocktails with pineapple and cherry fruit garnish, with little cocktail umbrellas - FUN! We danced and sang and laughed and ate and drank and everything! VERY GOOD TIMES. Thank you for coming, those dear readers of mine who were there for Jeff's birthday. So crazy that he's 40. A very special shout out to Lanie and Cassidy and Nora who made a whirlwind trip down for the party and then back to Maine the next morning. It is always so great to see you and to know and share the history we all have together. I love it. And thanks again Cassidy, for watching all the kids so we adults could amble down to the farm to dance in the nightclub - Can I get a whoop whoop?! (woop woop)...

"Mom, when is your voice coming back?"

Maggie was asking that all weekend. I caught a bug at work and ended up losing my voice this weekend (and continuing today). Henry had a Destination Imagination Competition this weekend in Swanzey, and so she and I drove out there Saturday morning. (Jeff and Henry had left much earlier that day to make it in time for registration.) There was a driving rainstorm on our way home, and she was her normal chatty self. I couldn't seem to get it through her head that I was not able to project my voice over the sound of the rain on the roof and the whoosh of the driving, etc. Ugh. Wore me out!

Henry made me so proud on Saturday. What a great kid he is, made me so proud to watch him pitching in and going for it the whole 7 minutes they did their piece in front of the judges. everybody had stage fright and was sort of thrilled and panicked all at the same time. (which is what is so wonderful about competitions for kids, I think.) this girl reading her part too fast, that girl forgetting her lines, props falling over, etc. henry was just this great friendly force up there amongst it all, whispering lines to whoever needed them, using a strong voice to deliver his own lines (with a very convincing confidence I might add) and clod hopping around in his boots and ill fitting clothes, rushing through all the scenes and clutching at the props, etc. and the big puffy hair he's sporting these days. TOO MUCH.

I have pictures I will try to post later today...

I went to work this morning, but now I'm home. I don't feel so lousy, but my voice is still wrecked and my cough is very tickly and terrible sounding. We've had to add a couple more cubes to the tiny little bat cave we work in, and it already feels like we're packed in like sardines in there. Nobody wants their neighbor hacking and snorting next to them. YUCKO. I'll remove myself from the equation today and lay on my couch with my skin and bones for dog Kermit and read my book, thank you.

Hey hey hey we have a birthday coming up on Saturday! Lordy Lordy, guess who's turning 40?!!! I'll give you a hint:

More Videos!

Here's Maggie on the way to Arizona

This is also very precious

Maggie being seranaded in Arizona

I think this is such a treasure to have.

Some treats from Arizona!

PEACE QUOTE

What you do for yourself-any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself-will affect how you experience your world. In fact, it will transform how you experience the world. What you do for yourself, you're doing for others, and what you do for others, you're doing for yourself.
- Pema Chodron

Any way you slice it/ anyway, you slice it.

Cut my finger this weekend, while quilting. :-( It doesn't hurt at all, but I have a ridiculous white bandage on my left pointer finger, which makes it hard to type a little bit, but not too much.

On Friday night I went out to dinner with Matt and Christine, and that was really, really fun. And after we went over to the farm to visit with Nicole and baby Eli. And then after that, we came home and played DDR on the Wii and then after that, we went to sleep!

Big snowstorm on Saturday that brought several inches. Christine and I had been working feverishly together on a quilt for Nora all morning, having a great time. Then Christine noticed a mistake in production, and I sliced my fingertip about 90 seconds after that, and that was the end of that party.

We went to the local emergency medical center and they put some kind of medical superglue over the cut and sent me on my way. It doesn't even hurt. But I went home and took to the bed and the three toothed skinny dog and the big brother internet feeds anyway.

And then on SUNDAY... I did mostly the same thing. :-) Just kidding, sort of. I finished the cutting job I'd had to abandon, I repaired the mistake in the dozen squares that needed it, and I moved forward on the overall quilt. And I went for groceries. Oh! And Matt and Nicole had me over for dinner! But beyond that, I was pretty much laying around.

Am looking very much forward to my fmaily returning! I wish I had more than a sliced finger to show for all the free time I've enjoyed in their absence. But what can you do.

It's oh, so quiet.

Jeff and the kids are in Arizona, and I am alone with my three toothed skinny dog. I have a feeling it's going to be a long week without them. It's funny how tucking in to my sewing machine for hours on end just isn't as fun when there isn't any responsibility to shirk. When it's just me and the dog, I find myself feeling sort of so so at the sewing machine. I should rally though, don't you worry too much about me.

I will tell you one thing. My first night alone, I ordered up the Big Brother live internet feeds. So it's sort of like the folks on Big Brother are my roomies - fun! Although it's mostly whispering and scheming, and anything super juicy that may happen that I would otherwise miss the chance to see live on the feeds, I could just find the appropriate clip on YouTube.

Got my haircut a couple hours ago! I told Jen, my hair do doer, I want more layers. Borderline shaggy. Saturday I'm getting my eyebrows did.

My girlfriend Christine is coming over tomorrow night and she is going to stay the night, yay! We hope to go out for a couple drinks, then come back and hang out. Stop by if you're in town!

Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick

From Slate.com

Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick

Don't you just hate when some upstart comes along and threatens your best-laid plans? We were struck by how well one of Reese Witherspoon's monologues from the film Election fits the narrative of Campaign 2008.

I find this to be very amusing.

more pics 1

Birthday Girl

Maggie's party

I have such a crush on this guy!

Look at this picture. A total DILF.

OMG it is hard to get here these days

You guys. Where does the time go? Even now, I only have, like, two minutes!

Maggie is having her birthday party this weekend - any chance you can come? It's going to be a My Little Pony party you know - Pinkie Pie, Rainbow something, Sparkly Horsenuts and whoever else there is. Maggie will be the Princess of All That Sparkles and Glows, just like Lily Lightly, etc. ugh.

Turns out there's a my little pony customization web presence - had you any idea? I mean really. HAD YOU ANY IDEA?!

And let's see. My man Barack is making it happen. Newsweek had a great cover story on his lovely wife Michelle that I'm hoping you might seek out and read. I really would prefer her sleeping next to the President than Bill Clinton. Can't lie.

For whatever reason, my Big Brother obsession is mixing with my feverent support of Mr. Obama. Last night I dreamt that I was "going to everyone in the house" trying to convince them not to vote to evict him. Lol. And me and Barack were having a showmance, too! Hotsy Totsy!

Okay. Gotta go. More later. With pictures!

Welcome back Susie!

Oy, where have I been?!!

Okay, here's an update. On Friday we hired our first ever external babysitter! Her name is Jessica and she is terrific. We will definitely be utilizing her services again. Jeff and I were able to go out to dinner with some of my new friends at work, and it was great to be able to introduce him around.

On Saturday night, we had the Flynns and the Fishes over for a little house party. WHAT FUN! Both of those families are right on, and we all had a great time. And my chicken was a hit!

On Sunday, laid low. I began working on a quilt this weekend for a certain somebody, and spent much of the day at my sewing machine. Quite blissful. Also I made good progress on the library book I am reading, entitled "Shattered Dreams" by Irene Spencer. About life in a polygamous marriage. Very interesting. Dian, didn't you read this book also?

Sunday night I got a terrible headache, slept fitfully and then decided to stay home from work on Monday. Nice quiet day, with long naps and further progress on both the quilt and the book.

Monday night, Maggie got a terrible headache, slept fitfully and then decided to stay home from school on Tuesday. I stayed with her. She was sort of okay in the morning, but then began to seep profusely from all head holes (except her ears) and was down for the count until sometime this morning.

And today we have the worst sort of weather. Several inches of snow came overnight, and now it's been raining non stop. Ice cold rain that is puddling up everywhere there isn't snow to block its path. yucko.

So that's it, mostly. You didn't miss much with my short break in posting... Oh and Barack Obama is in it to win it! You better believe it! Yes We Can, Indeed.

A couple funny things said by Henry

Thing One:

While discussing what he could bring to school for the Chinese New Years party in his classroom on Thursday:

"I know what I can bring in that's Chinese! Lead Paint!"

Thing Two:

While discussing politics:

"You know what I wanna do? I wanna get a pad of paper and sit and watch Rudy Guilliani give a speech. And then every time he mentions 9/11, I'm gonna make a mark on my paper!"

You're not the only one making sloppy mistakes.

Last night, Jeff ran out of gas. And it was my fault! I'd been driving around on E for awhile, then put the van in to be serviced. (Didn't put gas in the car before the appointment, because why tie up my money in gas when I wouldn't even be able to drive the van for a whole day nearly! Jeesh! Obviously!)

Then Jeff picked up the van and promptly ran out of gas on the way home. (He was who was on the other line when I was on the phone with you, eldest sister.) D'oh! So I had to pack up the kids, throw us all into Jeff's car (the car I'd been using while mine was in the shop) and head out into a very foggy dark night to the rescue.

Getting a gas can and putting gas into it went very smoothly. But then I went around town, in attempt to be able to pull over to the correct side of the highway. Wasting precious minutes. I should've gotten on the highway, then just reversed direction at the exit past where Jeff was. Instead I meandered through Milford and didn't seek out the highway until after I "knew" I passed where Jeff was. Stoopid.

Anyway. Luckily, a cop had stopped by where Jeff was stranded and put a flare behind the van, so that, with the hazards, helped him to be seen by the cars rushing past. (When I talked to Jeff to let him know we were on the way, I heard NPR on the radio and would be willing to bet Jeff had been surfing the internet on his phone before I called. So he wasn't exactly shivering roadside while waiting for me.)

At one point, Maggie admitted that she was scared as we waited for Jeff to get the van running again. This gave me a chance to remember all the times I'd been a kid whose car had been broken down on the highway. I recalled that happening with mom and dad numerous times, once with Nigel, etc. I even told the story about you, Dian, and how you didn't show up and didn't show up, and then finally, showed up. Drenched by the rain, you had to walk all the way home from where your car broke down on 405 -remember?

"This was in the days before cell phones, you see..." I said. Henry was all, "WHOA." sort of funny.

Our trip to New York City

Oh my did we have good times on Wednesday. A very long day, and we are still recovering, but what fun.

On Tuesday night, Jocelyn and Brooke and I drove down to my friends Donna and Neil's place in CT. The plan was to get there late Tuesday, which we did, in great part to an error made by yours truly. I missed something somewhere, and we ended up nearly in Boston before turning around and backtracking. When we stopped for directions to the Mass Pike, the guy who helped us laughed and said, "From here?!" (We were at Alewife, for those in the know.)

But we got there safe and sound, and went to sleep pretty quickly. I remember laughing real hard about something, can't remember what. Oh! We ate like pigs on the way down, voracious, unspeakable quantities of snack crackery. Someone said they could feel their belly laying on the mattress as they were on their side. Someone else said to name their baby Candy, and we all busted up. You might've had to have been there.



Next morning Donna was so gracious and took us to the Norwalk train station, where we boarded a train to New York City! It was great to sit and watch out the window as we got closer and closer to the city. Got out at Grand Central Station and immediately began to shop, spend money, search out places to pee, and soak up the atmosphere. Jocelyn got this great combination tissue box cover/photo display opportunity, where you can have the tissue spout out the photo's nose or mouth or whatever. And I got a tape measure to keep at my sewing table. and Brooke picked up a cute shopping bag.


And water, and energy drinks, and potty breaks and out onto 42nd street I think it is. The day was gorgeous, and the wind on the long avenue blocks was brutal. We began shopping for hats and mittens quickly. But no luck, not until later that is...





So right around Grand Central Station is mid town Manhattan. You can walk towards Times Square or you can hit Rockefeller Center, or you can do both. We had pizza at Rockefeller Center, then walked to Times Square, and then hit the subway. We wanted to buy some fake handbags on Canal Street, so that's where we went.

Almost as soon as we reached the street, a small Asian woman in a black puffy jacket whispered to Jocelyn, "Coach? Gucci? Prada?" We said yes, and she set off, indicating we should follow. She took us into a tiny backroom storage thing, a hidden door almost, at the mouth of the subway station. A kind of dirty storage room, no frills, but gorgeous bags lining the walls and garbage bags and other modes of transporting goods on the sly littering the floor. The guy was selling the bags for about $30 - $35 a piece, and while we were there another guy (in another black puffy jacket) swept in and dropped off a garbage bag, which carried that mornings stock update. It was a little crazy.

We didn't want to shoot our wad on our first stop of the day, so we decided to keep looking. We just walked up and down the street and popped in to teeny tiny little store fronts, all operated by friendly Asian folks who would usher us into hidden back rooms and storage closets concealed by T-shirt displays and fancy Chinese gowns for sale. Wild.

We ended up getting six bags, and most of those from one guy whose wife works the streets, escorting customers to the tiny stairwell off Canal Street that they rented for $1,500 a month come to find out! He was a great guy, very friendly and informative. Described how the whole thing sort of worked, that there are people with walkie talkies or cell phones, who stand on the street and radio in to say whether the coast is clear of cops, if it's safe to send the customers out the door or not. And how one time customers were inside shopping and there were two cop cars parked outside, on unrelated business. The guy had to keep the customers inside for so long that their families (who had been waiting for them down the street) panicked and called the cops! "The police they sweep in, take all the bags!" the guy said. Here is a picture of Jocelyn and Brooke with this nice fellow.



So we just shopped and shopped all up and down the street, then took the subway back up to Times Square. Found a warm place to sit down and have a few drinks, and that was really restorative. The plan was to meet up with Neil (who works in the city) after he got off work, but he didn't know exactly when that would be. He advised us to walk over to the East Side, find another bar or pub near his office and wait there.

Here are some pictures from our walk to the East Side. By the time we got out of the resteraunt in Times Square (where we were served by Skye, a guy who had moved to the city just six months ago from Cincinnati. He declared it 'exhausting' to live in the city, but seemed happy.) it was evening, so of course I got some great shots for you to enjoy:






From here on out, the evening takes a bit of a hazy turn. Went to another bar, drank and laughed and chummed it up with the waitress and the Irish bartender. The place we went to was called "The Black Sheep", and we were all pretty tipsy when Neil showed up, I won't lie to you. Real good times, however, make no mistake.

Neil threw our drunk asses into a cab and hauled us up to a place called "Cabana", where we had several more rounds of drinks and fantastic dinner and great conversation, etc. etc. etc. Our waitress' name was Anna (cue me bellowing, "HANNAH?!?") and she was terrific. And Neil was a champ, totally up for being the responsible, capable guy who was up for handling the details and knows all the tricks.

Here are some pictures of us hamming it up in Grand Central Station, so silly and tipsy that Neil basically told us to just stand there and wait for him. He returned with tickets for all and herded us onto the train. Got us back nice and safe, around 11:30. When I went downstairs at around 4:30 in the morning to get sick (ahem!) I heard him getting ready for work! That guy is a workhorse, I've said it before, I'll say it again...

The ride home was a little rough. The bright sunlight and the sour tummy and the long day before it, made things difficult. It was great to finally get home and relax. And of course examine all our new treasures, play with Wii (Jocelyn and Brooke have serious Wii envy) and hang out with the kids.

Tonight we were supposed to go to You You's Japanese Bistro in Nashua with a bunch of my friends. But the weather has decided to take a terrible turn. We are in the middle of a freezing rain sleet storm, which forced us to cancel our dinner plans. It sucks how the weather can force you to have to do that once in awhile, but what can you do. We have been having a lot of fun hanging around the house, and Jocelyn's made lasagne, so it's all good. Now we just have to get Jeff home safely! His car is terrible in weather like this and he is currently stuck at work! We're supposed to call him when the plow truck goes down our road, then he'll give the commute a try.

So that's it! The girls go home tomorrow afternoon, and it has been so great to have them here. I always laugh so hard, and I just love to do that. Can't be beat.