It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I am in the New York for the day and the city is getting ready to light the tree at Rockefeller Center. The weather really isn't cooperating today. It is all sorts of wet rainyness and it makes shopping in between meetings a bit of a drag, as I am rather drippy when walking into the stores.
But the windows at Saks are up and quite sweet this year. A dream sequence of a little girl, where she not only flies through air with balloons, but rides on a elephant, dives underwater, and catches the tentacle of an octopus, which turns out to be a merry-go-round!


And all the policemen are lining up at St. Patrick's Cathedral to close 5th Avenue for the tree lighting. Getting final instructions as some clear the streets and redirect traffic. Fun times in the rain.

Still, I am humming Christmas carols to myself and that will make this afternoon's meeting so much merrier and bright.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

I see that your beauty regiment of staying out of the sun is working: you look marvelous!

Have a wonderful day!

Brushing Teeth

Stirling, being a dog, has some kickin' dog breath and dirty teeth. So, I have to brush her teeth. Brando helped me. I have a long double-ended toothbrush and I use childern's paste: doesn't foam as much. I picked a natural one too and in a regular flavor. This dog toothpaste that tastes like chicken or beef doesn't do much to help the breath. Instead, Burt's Bee Orange flavoring adds a touch of citrus--a much nicer odor.

I am not sure how much Stirling likes her teeth brush; she tolerates me doing it. But at least her breathe is better! Now, if I could just get her to floss....

De Plane! De Plane!

Friday was spent at the Udvar-Hazy Center down near Dulles. It is the annex of the Air & Space Museum that is several airplane hangers long/wide and has planes and helicopters from all times of flight. Perfect for a day after turkey and a car full of boys.

It was quite busy-- lots of people had the same idea as us.

Roger, that.

Brando loved it. He even loved more once he got the toy plane. He made engine noises all the way home from Dulles, and I think, all the way home to Kentucky.

His own Genie...

Yes, that is a monkey with a tail. Otherwise, Brando would be up in the helicopters and planes!

Chloe knows that's right: we have to contain the bubba.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The story of Thanksgiving in photos

And Now: Nap Time

One doesn't even have to have driven 10 hours over night through the foggy mountains of West Virgina to need a quick nap. One could have been tucked up in the bed, fast asleep, and only woken up upon arrival of in-laws at 5:15 in the morning. Or, one could possibly just want to snuggle down with the irresistible cuteness that is one's nephew.

Dog Walking

Hai. I'm helping. I am walking the little dog. She is just my size. We are going to the park. Wanna join us?

(YEA!!! Mom & Dad, Caroline/Darren/Chloe/Brando arrived safely at 5:15 am, having left Louisville at 7:45 pm. Driving overnight gives the kids a chance to sleep though makes the parents *quite* sleeping the next day. A lazy day of recovery is all that is needed in order to then celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow!)

T-day Preps Have Started

I have started food preping for the big feast on Thursday. Some of my family will be driving (10 hours! overnight!! from KY) to join in the celebration. We will having the usual: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pretzel jello salad (don't pretend that you don't know what that is or just how delicious it sounds regardless of the unappealing name), and of course, the cranberry sauce.

I make a tangerine-cranberry compote that is cuts the tartness of the berry with the sweetness of the tangerines. It is delicious and the best way to eat cranberries.

A bag of cranberries, 2 cups of tangerine juice (freshly squeezed), tangerine zest, and a bit of sugar, simmered together to make a syrup, and then cooled to room temp. Don't tell Will that there might be a bit of ground ginger in there.... or cinnamon too... ;)

The Patient is Healing

Stirling had to go to the vet today. It was for her yearly check-up and jabs, but over the weekend she developed a crazy limp. She was favoring her right front paw: holding it up off the floor, limping, walking on 3 legs, and licking it a lot. The vet said that she was healthy and the paw was fine, as far as she could tell. The doctor thought that perhaps Stirling bruised or strained her foot and that it would heal on its own. However, the licking of the paw had to stop as there was now some irritation of the foot pad, if not an infection already. So, 2 antibiotics, blood draw, and an e-collar later, we can leave the vet. And she is remarkably much improved today-- hardly any limping.

We got a follow up phone call: all the tests came back clear. We have a very healthy and happy dog. And don't you fret, she didn't have to wear the e-collar for long, especially since she fogs it up with her breathing!

Stirling's Other Look

In case Stirling doesn't want to show off the clan colors on her collar, she could show off her adopted nationality....

And who knew that 1. shopping for dog collars could be so fun and 2. that dog collars are rather pricey for the amount of material you get.

Argyle Addict

While straightening up my clothes closet and putting clean laundry away, and I notice that I have a problem. With Argyle.

I have at least 5 sweaters, one sweater vest, several pairs of socks, and one scarf of argyle. I am putting an argyle austerity program into my life. No more argyle until these are ruined by too much wear. No more. I think I will be able to resist.... though there is a really cute sweater on sale here ... and here... ACK! Must stop looking. I think I can control the argyle urge, but ask me to also give up my love of stripes.

Officially A Cunningham

Stirling became a Cunningham officially today: she is even wearing the modern Cunningham tartan!

It is amazing what you can find on the interwebs! At Heelan' Hounds you can special order collars, leashes, handkerchiefs, coats, and kilt-coats....

Anyway, doesn't being a Cunningham looked good on her?

Window Painting

Much to our surprise (chagrin, amazement, irritation), we noticed that the outside of the new dormer was not painted when it was built last November. We thought it had, but the builder used treated white wood-- not painted. And that treatment was flaking off. So, with the possible last few days¨ of warmth and sun, Will and I scraped, chaulked, and painted the dormer.


It was a gloriously warm autumn day, so the primer and chaulk dried quickly, we were able to get a coat of exterior paint on within the same day. Back-breaking work, as we hung out the windows, twisted all around us to reach all the corners of the dormer. Thank goodness I have been doing pilates for months now! It came in handy with this home improvement.


Painting the dormer then inspired Will to tackle some of the windows lower down that were in desperate need of attention: the basement window, the back of the tv room, one outside our former bedroom, and some on the front of the house. Basically, the ones that face the most weather, be it wind, rain, or sun.

We certainly feel good to have this bit of work done before the cold weather sets in. But, now, I need to stretch my back into child's pose for a few hours to counteract the back-bending of the dormer painting (sound of grunting as I bend forward...)

Romp in the Woods

We borrowed Biscuit again and took Luna to Battery Kemble for a Veteran's Day Romp in the Woods. Biscuit and Luna tried to grab and run with a stick... still attached to the tree. Stirling mauled Biscuit on the path. All three of them ended up in the creek multiple times.



We were there for about two hours. Biscuit was absolutely filthy upon her return. Stirling's hair was crimping from being wet. And Luna, well, she was just exhausted.

Finally.

Luna-r Visit

We are watching Luna, a 6 or 7 month old Vishala puppy, for a week while her parents take a trip out west. We know them from the 5:30 pm group at the dog park. Stirling does romp with her at the park, but when Biscuit arrives, Stirling has eyes for no other dog. So, it is nice to have Luna here and have Stirling play with another dog. We have taking them for romps in the woods, runs around the Cathedral, and the usual ruckus at the dog park.

And all the playing that they have been doing leads to lots of sleeping.




It is different having a puppy in the house vs. a 6-year old dog. Luna is into everything and underfoot always--not to mention the worst walker, as she must check out everything and every sound (though it is also very cute). So, we have decided that we will always try to adopt adult dogs. In the meantime, as I am writing this, I am watching Luna stick her entire back foot in her mouth in an attempt to clean her paw. A puppy is quite entertaining.