Cats and Sinks

For some odd reason, cats like to sit in sinks, curl up and nap in sinks, drink out of sinks. Here we have Marin enjoying this spot on a nice sunny day with Franklin next to her on the warm granite.

Vegas Baby!

Spent Easter weekend in Las Vegas with Toby & Steve. You always see interesting things in Vegas. Here is a nice contrast of a church of some sort in the background with a cab advertising a strip club in front. Ahh, Vegas.

This lovely sight is at the entrance to the Riviera Casino where we went Friday night to a Comedy Club. For some reason no one seems to rub these ladies' heads for luck.

Matt's Best Friend

Sunapee enjoyed watching Amazing Race with Matt last night.

Cliffside Hang Gliding

No, I did not go hang gliding, fun as that would be. But I did see hordes of them one blustery Saturday afternoon when at a dog park with Sunapee. I was heading back from Target and needed to tire out the puppy before he drove me truly nuts over the weekend while Matt was in Tahoe. It was a chilly and very windy day, especially on the coast. I stopped at Fort Funston, a part of the Golden Gate National Parks, which many describe as doggy heaven for its off leash policy, trails, beach access, you name it.

On my approach I noticed the hang gliders and I was wondering where they were coming from. Turns out, the park is heaven for them too, with the high cliff parking lot and windy nature of the coast.

Seeing this was just an added bonus to my errands!

Foods I Wish I Liked

Peppers – red in particular as these appear everywhere

Raw onions – these are a pain to pick out of salads

Eggplant

Mayonnaise - has always been tough to avoid

Whole wheat pasta

Pecans and walnuts - have been ruining good cookies and brownies for decades

Yogurt

Salmon

Yes, I am aware that this makes me a picky eater. Oh, well.

Snow Days in NH

Matt and I started our East Coast Holiday vacation in New Hampshire. We made it to Springfield late Monday (12/22) night, despite a delayed flight which led us to miss the last Dartmouth Coach bus and driving up from Boston in a rental car with a misaligned wheel which caused massive vibrations. After we dropped off the rental car at the Lebanon Municipal Airport, braving the Lebanon traffic, we finally were able to enjoy the snow.


We donned snowshoes for a trek around the woods. We started down the driveway, pausing to take a snapshot of the house in its snowy beauty, then crossed the street to explore beyond the pond.

No groomed paths here.
Red cheeked and cheery!
Just beyond my breath you can just make out the blue lines crisscrossing the maple trees.

After re-crossing the street, we spotted the first evidence of moose tracks, dragging their feet through the high snow.
Just a little ways past those first tracks, and maybe 50 yards from the street, we stumbled upon 4 separate moose beds in the snow.
Heading inside to warm up and have dinner. It was approximately 10 degrees this day.

The house had massive icicles.
Tuesday night, Betsy and Evan arrived. We borrowed 2 more pairs of snow shoes so all 6 of us could go out.
Walking the "Gator Trail"

Stopping for a rest. Trudging through the snow (~20") or so is tiring, particularly for the 1st & 2nd in line. It was about 30 degrees this day, so we all heated up rather quickly.


Dad, Betsy and I plodded on to this spot - the turn off for Royal Arch - which I understand is a cave. We were officially off Lawson land, on the Daniel Webster Pass.

Woodard/Cohen/Gilbert/Monahan Holiday Party

During our visit to New Jersey for the holidays, Toby and Steve hosted a gathering for the extended family. Matt's grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins descended upon Shrewsbury to join the Monahans and us for a festive family party. Steve was sure to get all 20 of us outside to capture the event and here's the best of the bunch - it's not easy to get everyone's eyes open at once, much less having Jack lower his bottle!

Aileen is Styling

Aileen borrowed Matt's sunglasses during our car ride to JFK. Tres chic.

The Furniture Challenge

Matt and I have made the decision to keep Sunapee off of the furniture. He has his bed and his crate and all of the floor for lounging. Naturally, Sunapee would prefer to curl up on the bed, a couch or the ottoman. Today, when Matt was home, Sunapee tested the rule and got comfortable on the bed. Matt told him to get "OFF!" which he did, only to be discovered on the living room couch moments later. Clearly, this is a work in progress.

Sunapee Underfoot

Sunapee is a people dog. He likes to be wherever the people gather. This can be a challenge when there are multiple people in multiple places. His favorite spot to lounge is in the kitchen, right in front of whatever appliance our counterspace is being used. We had to use all the distraction methods in our arsenal to keep him out of the way when tiling, painting, staining, what have you. The soundtrack for all the work was filled with "Sunapee, come here"/"Sunapee, go away!" He managed to come away with only a few specks of green or white paint.

Post Housework Feast

Finally the time came to clean the paintbrushes, put away the grout and get to the real work of Thanksgiving: eating.
We enjoyed a soup course for one simple reason: we have a lot of soup bowls. I have inherited two sets of china - one from my great aunt Eno and another from my grandmother. Both sets include soup bowls, plus a set of crystal soup bowls from my grandmother's collection. This really left me no choice but to start with the soup course while the turkey finished in the oven.Matt took charge of the turkey this year. Not only did he carve the bird, as you see above, but he made arrangements to have it deep fried. After a night spent in a brine, the bird had a 6:45 am appointment at a bar in Potrero Hill to meet some hot oil. It was quite delicious and took away much of the Thanksgiving dinner stress. How else could we keep painting until 3 pm?

Every few years, Thanksgiving shares the spotlight with my mom's birthday, as it did again this year. To commemorate, her pie earned a candle. Happy Birthday Mom!

Experts Agree

the ideal time to install tile is six months after finishing the rest of a major project. Most also agree the best time to install a kitchen back splash is on a major cooking holiday.

Working Vacation

Just like last year, my parents are on an eleven day California vacation. They started in San Francisco Monday night and drove to SoCal Friday. Also just like last year and as well as Dad's trip in May, Matt and I put them to work. After plying Mom with a spa trip and Dad with a racquetball game, both were assigned tasks. Mom and I went to work refinishing our el cheapo Ikea dining table before painting trim (she the windows installed in March and me the front door).

The before

And the After

My once prized possession

I ran across this photo when transferring the contents of our Ikea desk to my great-grandfather's desk. It is one of only a few showing my "night-night" in its original glorious state. In the 25+ years after this photo, this blanket practically shredded from love and overuse. Yes, I will admit it. I slept with this blanket every night for nearly 27 years. It lost most of its mass and any semblance of shape. Around year 20 it passed the point of being untangled into the rectangle it once was.

On a very sad day in February 2005, I was on a business trip to Phoenix. I came down with bronchitis, mid-audit. I spent the day + night sick in a hotel room and took a 6 am flight back to Boston. When I unpacked, I learned that in my sick state, I had left my night-night in the hotel room. Calls to the hotel staff yielded the sad truth that a blanket in such a state was not lost-and-found-worthy. My night-night was gone.

My mom and sister were very sympathetic. Betsy knows the joys of a night-night (she has 3); my mom had made mine. Betsy mailed me a speck that had landed on her floor during one of my visits that she had saved for posterity. My mom sent a larger section that had separated from the rest years before, anticipating such a point where the large section was either lost or shrank even more. Sadly, neither could replace the original.

I am fully aware that this is not normal - to keep a baby blanket for 25 or 30 years. But I am still saddened by its sudden disappearance. At least now I have Matt and two cats to take its place as I sleep. That is more than a fair trade.

Dinner with a Walrus

We went out to dinner with friends Jennifer and Dean as well as their 3 kids, Quinn, Tycho and Tate, and Dean's parents. The kids are really great and fun to see. I had to snap some photos of Tycho when he used some fries to become a walrus. Luckily, at nearly 3 years old, he didn't stick them in his nose.

I love spending time with this family as Jennifer and Dean are such great parents (and the kids are pretty awesome, too). We try to make note of some of their strategies for the future. 

Sunapee's big day at the vet

Sunapee has survived the big surgery. He lost some, he gained some (a microchip). Most of all, he's confused and tired! The biggest two challenges he's facing with the lampshade are 1) running into things (like the walls, doorways, stairs, coffee table) and 2) limited accessibility of his toys.

The vet visit did confirm that he is, indeed, 60 pounds! And still all-puppy.