The gates are up

The bowls are down

The toys are ready. We are in full puppy mode.

Saturday morning and everyone is still asleep upstairs. The house is quiet except for the gentle whirring of the dryer in the next room. It's chilly again this morning and I am resisting the urge to turn the heat back on. We have had some bizarre weather over the past week. Temps in the eighties. One day our upstairs got so hot that Jim turned the ac on for a short while....IN MARCH! Things are greening up. The daffodils are in full bloom as is the forsythia. The air is fresh and fragrant. As my Daddy used to say..."Spring has sprung, the grass has riz...I wonder where the birdies is?"
These are our last few days with an only dog, and although we are excited to welcome Hazel, I am agonizing about what this will do to my meek and mild Tofu. So, I am making her last few days as an only dog as good as it can get for a dog. Lots of belly rubs and ear scratches. Walks outside in the beautiful weather. Extra chewy treats and yummy people food dinners, like turkey meatballs one night and steak bits with sweet potatoes another. As I write this she is here in the chair with me. Always by my side. My loyal friend. The other night I drove Zach's dinner to him at work and scooped up Tofu for the quick ride. She sat in the passenger seat, so calm and good. Every once in a while she would put her front paws up on the arm rest so that she could see where we were going. The car window was open, but she is too little to stick her head out. Just her eyes can peek over to watch what is passing by. I thought right then that I have been blessed to have been loved by a few dogs in my life (Tinkerbell, Misty, Daisy, Maude) but Tofu is the sweetest of them all, the perfect pup, the perfect fit for us.
My dream is that she and Hazel will become buddies. That after Zach has tired Hazel out with walks and playing she will look to snuggle up with Tofu in her bed. I pray that she will be sweet with Tofu and not be a puppy bully. I couldn't bear it if Tofu goes back to hiding behind Jim's chair.
I just heard the creak of floorboards above me and I want to make breakfast for Jim and Zach, so I have to close for now. Have a great weekend!

I woke up to a sunny day here in Ct. I plan on being 100% homemaker today. The entire house needs a good going over, but I will only tackle the downstairs. That will take the better part of the day. I picked up some beautiful strip steaks at the market and so we will have a hearty meal later on. It will stay light out longer as we turned the clocks back last night. I have a nice long day stretched out before me. Yip!
Yesterday morning we drove out to Branford and had a nice long visit with our pup. It was so hard not to put her in my pocket and take her home. The breeder has decided to keep them for 9 weeks instead of 8. Her vet told her that 8-10 weeks is ideal for puppies to leave the nest, but closer to 10 weeks is better. For their emotional health. I want whatever will make Hazel a happy girl, but Zachary is bitterly disappointed. 3 more weeks. Hazel is living in a little cottage by the sea, she sleeps in a large crate with her brother and sisters in a sunny cluttered kitchen with a view to die for. Her owner is the sweetest lady, who kisses each one on the head as she lifts them out of their crate. Staying there another week can only do her good!
Last night, revved up with puppy excitement, Zachary and I made a trip to Petsmart to get some essentials for our little girl. Zachary bought a crate, treats, and toys. I bought bowls, and toys. I want to get a basket for her toys for the family room. I can't wait to see her drag her toys all around the house. To come home to puppy toys underfoot. Tofu has never had any interest in toys so we cannot wait for puppy playtime. She is already chasing after mini tennis balls! Yesterday the puppies were running and tackling each other and Jim made some comment to the breeder. Hazel stopped in her tracks and sat her little puppy butt right down and watched Jim. She cocked her head to the side the way dogs do when they are really concentrating. Hers sibs just kept on roughhousing. She is very smart, our little Hazelnut.
This is Hazel's backyard. Those are the Thimble islands. She is breathing that salty air 24/7. Lucky girl!

PUPPIES!!!

There's our girl.

The puppies are all fascinated with untying shoelaces. They stick with it until the laces on both shoes are completely untied.

Zach scooped her up and she was content to snuggle for a few minutes...

and then wanted back into the action!

Sweety!

About 4 years ago the sweetest little thing came into our home that has brought us such joy. If you know us, you know that I am speaking about our little white dog, Tofu. Most likely abandoned in Central Park, found and rescued by our son John and then turned over to us one sunny August day. I see a bumper sticker every now and then that has a paw print and the words, “who rescued who”? So true. She enriches our lives in so many ways. She has been with us in happy and not so happy times . I have cried my eyes out into her soft white fur and she has never failed to make me feel better with a nose kiss and tail wag. I believe that she helps Jim’s stress level come down to normal levels and well, I could go on and on. If you have ever been the recipient of a dog’s devotion, you know exactly what I am writing about.
The kids have on and off badgered us for another dog (even John, who does not even live with us) for a few years. Recently we had been talking more and more about getting another dog. Two weeks ago Jim emailed me a picture of a dog bed big enough for several dogs and that opened up the discussion again.
We really wanted to do another rescue, but because Tofu is older and set in her ways we thought it best to look for a puppy so that Tofu could remain “top dog”.
Last week we drove out to Branford to a house on the beach to look at a litter of Morkie puppies. That’s ½ Maltese and ½ Yorkshire terrier. Of course we fell in love with all of them, but Zach chose a chubby female that the breeder had named Hazelnut. I wrote the check and she is ours. She can’t come home for another 4 weeks and honestly none of us feels very patient. We cannot wait to get her home.

That's our girl, belly up, big yawn.

Love at first sight

Snuggly

Puppy love!

Hello

I made two small silly New Years resolutions back in January. Really silly, but do-able. I am still having some sleep issues and so one night before bed I took a warm bath and it really helped me stay asleep all night. So my first resolution was to take more baths. I thought jazzing up my tub area would entice me so I filled a basket with bath goodies and flameless candle, piled some fluffy white towels in the corner, bought a beautiful soap dish. Fail. I have not taken one bath since I made my plan. Every week I scrub the tub and tile and all that I am cleaning is dust. Boo.
My second resolution was to learn to bake and decorate cupcakes. For fun and giving, because we really cannot eat them in this house. I know that I am a few years behind the cupcake revolution but I have always been intimidated. Last year when the kids gave me my awesome mixer, all I could think of was cupcakes. A few weeks ago someone at work brought in some leftover cupcakes that she made for a bake sale. Boxed mix, canned frosting, and everyone went nuts. People love cupcakes, even sub par cupcakes. Last weekend I sifted through all of my cupcake files on my computer and chose the easiest recipe from Magnolia Bakery in NYC. Vanilla, vanilla. Guess what...I actually made a delicious homemade cupcake. I think that the frosting method can make or break the finished product so I followed this technique and came pretty close frostingcupcakes Next week I will try chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and use a pastry bag for the frosting. Yikes! Silly and fun. Today I will dust and clean out the bathtub again in the hope that a bath is in my near future.
It is snowing (finally) here this morning in Ct and so I planned yesterday to make a healthy big breakfast for Jim and Zach. Whole wheat blueberry pancakes and turkey sausage. It's 8:00 so I better get going. Have a great weekend!

A few weeks ago Jim, Kate and I traveled to Massachusetts to welcome our new great nephew Max to the family. His parents live less than 3 hours from us and so we were able to make the trip in 1 day. Oh how I wish that we lived closer to all of the kids so that we could see all of the new babies when they are only a day or two old.

Jim could not wait to hold this precious bundle and was quite reluctant to let us have a turn.

Uncle Jim and big brother Alex share a moment.

My turn. Yip!

So sweet.

What's a big brother to do watching the baby get all of the attention? Stand behind Kate and poke her in the back until she remembered him too!

Okay, that's better.

What a great day! Welcome to the family Max!

The Complete Season

Today is New Years Eve. It is cold and rainy here in Connecticut. Jim and I are sitting on the couch in the living room enjoying the last moments by the tree. He is reading and I am typing my message to you. We woke up to the news that very soon we will have another great nephew (he may already be here as I type this). Soon Jim and I will head out to do our usual Saturday morning errands, but for now I am really enjoying our quiet time together.
Here are the Christmas pictures...everything from the whole month of December. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season. Time together, time with friends and family...it was over much to quickly. I deliberately did not take any pictures Christmas day. I feel like people get tired of me always doing that. Of course now I regret that decision. Oh well. Here are the pics minus the actual day :(

Jim, Zach and I spent a day at the Cape with my Mom. Got to see Debbie and Mike and my nieces too. It was a fun day!

Beautiful hand blown glass ornament given to me this year by my sweet friend Nancy.

We spent a day in Boston with the kids and then met up with Jim's sister Lorraine and part of their family. It was my birthday and I cannot think of a better gift to me than a day like this. It was great!

After dinner cannoli.

Yup, a city garbage can was our table. John and Cassie assured us this was "city" thing to do.

Jim gave me tickets to a holiday house tour in Woodbury for my birthday. We spent one Saturday meandering through some beautiful homes a few weeks ago. So much fun and the perfect way to have some Christmas fun!

This was the home of composer Leroy Anderson. He wrote this Christmas song clickhere

We make an annual drive by this house on Ash Road every year on Christmas Eve.

Hello Hobbes! John and Cassie's cat all decked out for their Christmas card.

Finally, Christmas Eve. Come right in.

That's my Daddy's sled there by the door.

If you sent us a picture card this year...this is where you will find it. We miss you all, especially at Christmas time!

Christmas morning, before anyone was up.

The only picture I allowed myself. Tofu in her Christmas jammies (Thanks Debbie!!!!XO) and a happy Jim.