Daily Photo post #14

This sign gave me a great laugh - I love when you see signs that say "Here in 1900... Jingle Bells was written etc etc" well this one just literally made me laugh out loud as I walked by. Hope you get a giggle too.

Daily Photo post #13

One of my favorite classes of the fair is club team competition. Here is thedescription of the class:
CLUB TEAM COMPETITION - Horses and Ponies, Clubs can have 1 team each! (Horse = 2 horses & 1 pony or 3 horses);
(Pony = 2 ponies & 1 horse or 3 ponies). To be comprised of three exhibitors from the same club.
Will be judged on 80% performance, 20% uniformity of appointments. And every year a few teams go all out on uniformity this year I really liked the fairies....

Daily Photo post #12

2 flat tires in 2 days meant a tow to the car shop :-(.
1 was a replace and one was a repair
$200 later Misty is all good!

Daily Photo post #11

I could NOT pick just one photo so I am calling this "scenes from a county fair"

This first one is two of my favorite people in this world - my husband and the woman who introduced us - the wonderful Ann Lang.

This next one is the tractor that does the hay rides all weekend long - never mind that I have never actually been on one of those hay rides - I still like the tractor.

This one shows my obsession with antique cars lately and I have been just DYING to take this picture - I dreamt it a few days ago and since then haven't had my phone with me anytime I saw a good car for the pic.

And lastly this one I call the calm before the storm - ring one all set up and ready for the show to begin.

I will have more of these on Sunday but sadly the show has been cancelled for tomorrow due to the forecast - it damn well better pour if one of my 3 favorite days of the year is cancelled.

Daily Photo post #10

You know it is bad when you are outside admiring the patch job the town did on your road - you know it's even worse when you are not alone out there admiring. My street (or we street as we call it in my house) had potholes that were literally deeper than 6 inches... And cars were getting damaged, but because we aren't a town road the town is not obligated to fix them but because we pay town taxes we aren't ALLOWED to fix them (or something like that - liability or something) anyway so we have been going for years with hundreds of DEEP potholes on my half mile road and then yesterday I heard a noise that sounded like a big truck turning in my driveway and so I looked out and it was better than a big truck turning in my drive it was a TOWN TRUCK parking in my driveway while they made repairs to the street! I wanted to go hug them... >---I (that is a martini glass) to my new found friends the town truck guys who have made there way up the Joy chain to the level of the trash boys (which is about as good as it gets in my world)

Daily Photo post #9

This face is my FAVORITE copilot - he helps me get everywhere. Okay maybe the GPS gets us places but he makes the drive far more fun!

Daily photo post #8

Today on the treadmill it occured to me how much treadmills (and all gym equipment) have changed in the last few years before it was speed and incline now there is a TV in there! Sorry for the blurry pic I was walking!

Daily Photo post #7

Every morning I run downstairs open the back door and then let Dobby out of his crate so he can RACE for the door to go to the bathroom - this morning Chin-E thought it would be great to go take a little nappy in Dobby's crate while he was out and was shocked when I caught her in the act.

Daily Photo post #6

Sunday mornings at Starbucks. On Sundays Jim and I try to get to Starbucks - this morning we were polar opposites! He was in shorts and tee shirts and I was in jeans and long sleeves. He got iced mocha coffee and I got hot passionfruit tea but as different as we are we enjoyed our time together to sit relax and to connect!

Daily Photo post #5

Dobby's favorite part of ANY week is Puppy socialization at Petco and this week was no different. He found a cutie little lab puppy to play with. THIS is the most clear of all the pictures I took - - they were a whirlwind of speed :-)

He came home and passed out - puppy happiness!

And for those of you who like kitchen-y items here is a give away
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/faq/veganism/ccv-in-a-box/test/door-1/up-a-tree/henry/spiralizer-giveaway/#comment-17416

Daily Photo post #4

Lines lines lines! This was the 3rd of 6 lines for "Deal or no deal" auditions at Foxwoods... It is kind of cheating though because I took this picture yesterday! Jim waited in those lines for 6 hours yesterday to find out that he didn't fit the themes they were auditioning for (they do NOT pre-tell you the themes)
College Student (I am SO happy those days are over)
Pageant contestant (nope not him)
Pregnant (NOPE)
and lastly
NY Yankees fan (And thankyouverymuch my husband is not a Yankees fan - his heart lay in Boston)

BUT they did say they were going to keep his info on file if they ever did a "unique jobs" theme search (storyteller)

Daily Photo post # 3

Growth in all things :-)

I have a CUTE little hydroponic grower (I also have the aerogarden) and I just the other day planted it with lavender and we already have growth! This is the first time I have planted "mini" not next to the aerogarden so it could use those grow lights but I wanted flowers on the windowsill and it worked! I am SOOOOOO excited, not sure what I am supposed to do with the lavender once it grows but I can figure that out later!

Daily Photo post # 2

Whirrrrrllllll
zzzzzzzzzzzz
BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Root canal!

I hate the dentist - I think everyone hates the dentist but I *REALLY* hate the dentist...

Daily phone photo Day 1

So my cousin (in-law) Norman started a photo a day with his iPhone (don't get me started) on his birthday and I love the idea and kept waiting for a "date" to start it but I realize that we aren't guaranteed tomorrow and there is no reason not to start now...

So here is the first of (hopefully) daily photos.
Norman has committed to a year I am doing it a month at a time :-)

Dobby gets tired after a good play - this one was caused by tug o' war.

Ohhhh the things he learns

I understand now why parents of new babies don't have time to visit or chat on the phone (not that I ever didn't understand before but it really has been brought home to me this week)

Dobby has been home I think 11 or 12 days and it is amazing the things he has learned and also how much I have fallen in love with him....

So far he has learned:
How to walk on a leash without pulling or being dragged (He still has to learn heel and all that but puppy classes start soon)
He is MOSTLY housebroken
How to play fetch

So far he has done:
A fashion show
Gone to puppy socialization classes
Gone on a hike through Great Brook Farms State Forest
Seen a horse (didn't phase him in the least)
Gone on numerous car rides (he likes the car)
Walked up and down the road approx 10 buzillion times
Eaten my favorite sandals (PS I am on the lookout for a pair of tall sandals now)
Planned his great escape (or tried to dig under the fence - which amazes me since he has been alone in the dog run for MAYBE 10 minutes total)
Made friends with Chin-E
Learned to avoid Punkin
been boarded overnight
And mostly stolen the hearts of everyone he meets

A sweet little story about him is this:
We were taking him in to be boarded (we had plans we couldn't change and I just don't trust my father not to lose my dog) and while I was giving the vet tech all his information his leash went slack and so I looked over to see an elderly gentleman holding my dog. I got concerned but Jim gave me the back off face so I did but I thought it was a little weird. Finally I handed Dobby over to the tech and was talking to her a moment (my sister works at this vet clinic) and the man said I am here to pick up Mollie to another tech and off they went with a sad face I thought it was weird until they came back with a nice gift bag and I realized that he was picking up his beloved dog's ashes. Moreover he told me that his baby had been a standard poodle too and she had given him the best 15 years of his life and thanked me for letting him get one more poodle hug - he was pretty sure the timing of us all showing up together was Mollie's final gift to him. One more time Dob had made someone's day such a good puppy

Manna? Presents? Whatever I have lilacs...

Last night I needed a walk and Jim needed some medicine... Great combo as far as I was concerned so I went down to the Walgreens pretty late, or at least late for me walking alone. I left around 9:00 and got home around 10:00. And I was just thinking and listening to my iPod and being pretty zen about life. And feeling SO MUCH BETTER by the time I was back on "we street" that I was happy and as I turned the 2nd to last corner (those who have been on my road know what I mean) I saw something bright white ahead and was shocked since there are no lights on this stretch of the road and there was really no moon last night. So I walked towards it and oddly in the middle of the night in the middle of July in the middle of the road was two perfect lilac stems. I picked them up thinking they were silks (they were THAT perfect) but found their fragrance to prove me wrong. I have no idea where they came from or how they got their but I am so happy they did, as I woke up to their beauty this morning and it is already a better day!

Ahhhh the weather

Here in Boston it has been raining for a while - people say 50 days or whatever and it has most people down in the dumps so I thought I would think about the good aspects of the cold rain that we are living with in June...

I still get to go to sleep with my favorite winter blanket - I love cuddling under a warm fluffy blanket at night - it just isn't the same under a sheet and cover in the summer.

The sound of the rain drops on my skylight as I wake up in the morning.

The rain is culling out all of the weakest tomato plants in my garden and leaving me bushes that are sure to do magic things!

And while we are talking about growing things it is making my lawn green green green and a little long but that is even cool because there is this animal - I think it's a groundhog or a gopher or something else I am probably not supposed to want in my back yard that comes to visit every day and he just eats some grass and slowly ambles off and I just love looking out the window trying to find him...


It let Chin-E and I have a nice walk ALL BY OURSELVES on Sunday morning - nobody else wanted to deal with the rain and she and I decided we wouldn't melt with a little rain - though I will admit her leash kind of did and she was dyed a lovely hot pink for the rest of the day.

And lastly -

It will make us appreciate the warm sunny weather all the more.

Do you have any reasons to be grateful for the rain... A prize randomly chosen on Friday to everyone who replies with a good rain reason.

There was a farmer who had a dog...

Okay well I am not a farmer and his name isn't Bingo (B.I.N.G.O.) but I am really excited to say that I am a poodle Mama...

Introducing... Dobby! His pedigreed name will be House Elf (Yes, Jim named him, yes I like it)
He was born May 25th (Memorial Day) I am in love with him, I can NOT wait to see his little eyes. I saw him today but he is still closed eyed! I love love love him...

I have waited a long time for my poodle - no I have waited a long time for my standard poodle. And I had always imagined that it would be a white bitch but tis little chocolate boy has stolen my heart - I was holding a black bitch and Jim was falling for this brown boy and quickly I fell for him too. He is looking forward to being a baby (and shamefully I must admit that I *HAVE* bought him clothes) and I am looking forward to babying him... I am hoping to have a meet and greet the end of July. But alas you all don't want to hear my rambling here are the pictures of the man of the hour!


"I was born yesterday"


My 1 week birthday


So shy...


I have a pretty shoulder


Shhh I am sleeping

Who are you owned by?

(LHI chicas let me know what you think)
((This post may not be your cup of tea but it is just where I am at and I was wondering))

The other day I was talking to a friend after another friend of the family passed away and she told me that "the dead don't own us" and it brought to the front of my mind something that has been lingering in the back of my mind for a while.

The thought had originally run through my head when I took a niece to some restaurant with a drive through (can't remember which one though - this was probably in October... I don't see the nieces much anymore these days) and it said "this location is owner operated" and I thought it sounded like "inspected by # 13" (or whatever) BUT it brought to my thoughts who am I owned and operated by? I think at different points in your life you are "owned" by something and right now I am clearly owned and operated by ed... He gets to decide how my days go at this point in my life. I am certain that it is only temporary and I certainly have a great team of people working with me to make sure it is but for now I am owned by him. I recently wrote an entry in my journal about how much ed is a person, he has opinions and demands. He can decide how I am going to live a day without my okay, and honestly if I were reading this I would disagree with me (and say something to the effect of "you are your own person and you make up your own mind on how to deal with your day") but it is odd and true.

But who owns you? Who decides what your days are going to be like? And if you are your own owner how do you manage that and have you ever been owned by a person place or thing (or circumstance)

The way I see it

At my latest addiction (Starbuck's) yesterday I got a cup of Orange Passionfruit tea with splenda and the comment on the cup was:

There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise. A
mission is something you strive to accomplish - a promise is something
you are compelled to keep. One is individual, the other is shared.
When a mission and a promise are one and the same... that's when
mountains are moved and races are won.

-- Hala Moddelmo
President and CEO
Susan G Komen for the cure

Isn't this a great comment? I love it!

Have a great weekend all!