Rescuing Trini

There's a lot of snow out there! And the fun thing about blizzards are all the drifts. Trini really really wanted to go outside but we don't think she knew how deep it was. She had to keeping jumping to stay afloat in the snow.

She was trying hard to get back to us and I finally had to walk in two feet of snow to reach her.

Shoveling snow at 2 am...

Hubby had to be at work and like hospitals, NYC radio stations never close. So while he was in the shower, my sister (who ended up staying another day because of the blizzard) and I started shoveling at 2 am. It was cold and dark out there but we were dressed in ski clothes and the snow was pretty fluffy.

Our street hadn't been plowed yet so we shoveled from our driveway out to where some cars had driven down our street.

Harley ran around in the front yard having a ton of fun while we shoveled.

There's hubby, Harley and my little Rav which has better snow clearance than hubby's Honda Civic.

He managed to get it out of the driveway and down our street until he got stuck at the bottom of our street where a snow plow had come through. So we walked down with shovels to clear him out.

After getting him on his way, we decided to clear my sister's car (next in line in the driveway) and move it to the end of the driveway. While we were doing that, another car got stuck at the bottom of our street trying to pull into our street so we walked down and helped this guy get his car out. He wasn't even dressed for blizzard weather! It took about a half hour and he wanted to give us money as a thank you but we figured it was our good deed for the day -- or rather night.

We were inside and eating leftover Christmas dinner by 4 am. Yum!

Hubby called at 5 am to let me know he was almost at work.

Despite all the shoveling, I still love it when it snows!

There's my sister with Harley watching my hubby trying to get the car out of the driveway. Harley had fun playing in the snow whether it was dark or light out!

Cheese, I Just Love Cheese, Really I Do...

It's that most wonderful time of the year...when all sorts of things come into hubby's work and end up in our home...chocolate, pajamas, flip and...cheese???

It started with chocolate at Thanksgiving. A sports chocolate basket arrived at work and hubby snagged some life-size solid chocolate golf balls and a soccer ball -- the soccer ball was a little bigger than a softball. We had to smash the golf balls to eat them and we gave away the soccer ball.

A few weeks later, hubby came home with a Hoodie Footie for me! Pajamagram had started advertising at the radio station so a bunch of people got Hoodie Footies -- hubby didn't want one for himself so I got his "share". I look like a pink Easter rabbit -- it reminds me of A Christmas Story. It is toasty warm! Hubby is probably glad he didn't get one for himself or he may have to wear it at work.

A few days ago, hubby came home and handed me a box saying he didn't know what this thing was. I was so excited -- it was a Flip! I've been wanting a Flip for awhile but haven't been able to justify the cost.

I have to say that one of the oddest things hubby has ever come home with is cheese. No, I don't mean the kind of cheese you get in a gift basket...he walked in the other day with a big box containing a Jarlsburg cheese wheel! I measured it -- it is 13.5" across and it is very very heavy! I've seen these on display at Wegman's but honestly, I thought they were just part of the display. Who would ever need that much cheese all at once? Well, I've since rearranged our Christmas menu to include cheese. And I think it will also make a very lovely Christmas Dinner party favor.

Harley Claus

Harley has been retired for two years now! Since his official retirement from the Seeing Eye as a breeder, he has considered other employment options such as Dogfather and Puppysitter. This holiday season, he's thinking of helping out Santa maybe as an elf or one of the mall Santas.

We took Harley for a walk on Saturday and we were so excited to hear sirens blaring through the neighborhood. No, our little neighborhood wasn't on fire -- Santa is in town! Every year he comes through on his sleigh pulled by a firetruck -- the reindeer are busy.

We rushed home because Harley wanted to show them how good a Santa he can be. So he threw on his Santa suit and we sat outside waiting for Santa to come down our block.

Santa and his entourage stop wherever there are children and they give out candy canes. Normally they just drive by our home and wave at whatever doggy is sitting outside. This time they stopped and took pictures of Harley because he was so handsome in his Santa suit. Harley hasn't gotten a Santa job yet but he says that's okay since he still has a lot of Christmas shopping to do.

I think he looks great in red!

Quail Goes to School

It's a sad day in our home -- Quail left this morning and now the house seems very quiet. We do have Harley, but he is five and half years old. We are officially puppyless and will be puppyless for awhile :-(.

Quail's last PuppyPALS meeting was this past Monday. Also returning to the Seeing Eye this week from our club are Ophelia and Quail's sister, Quote.

Our tradition has always been to take one last walk at Roosevelt Park before our pup is picked up but it was very cold so we went for a walk in our neighborhood instead. We did take some last photos together because I realized that there aren't very many pictures of me and Quail. Quail is a lapdog and if you sit on the floor, she will cuddle up on your lap.

And there's our girl -- all grown up and ready for school. As for me, I guess I'm growing up too -- now I don't start crying until the van leaves.

We're hoping to hear great things from our girl.

Quail's Phone Call

It's a sad day in our home. I came home to a message on our answering machine that Quail was on the next training schedule. So now I am waiting for a phone call to set up Quail's return date to The Seeing Eye.

She's been our feistiest puppy of the five we've raised but we still adore her. We think she's our tiniest puppy -- she seems smaller than Anita but it's hard to compare.

The puppy picture of her was taken when she first arrived in our home in August 2009. And the all grown up photo was taken in October at the 4H Open House.

We'll miss her so much!

Peace, Love, Drool...Woofstock 2010

In October, The Seeing Eye held its first Woofstock event for puppies and puppyraisers. It was at Duke Island Park in Somerset.

Besides training events, there were photo ops so of course Quail had to take her picture in the bus. She even got a tattoo spray painted into her fur -- don't worry, it brushed out.

One of the fun things about Seeing Eye events is running into littermates. Of course we saw Quote since she had actually stayed over at our home the night before and we brought her to Woofstock -- that's Quote and Quail with the hippie dog. We also ran into two of their brothers -- Quartz and Quantum but I can't remember which brother is in the picture with Quail and Quote!

Some people juggle geese...

Wow -- it's been awhile since I blogged. November was a really busy month for me but it really isn't anything bloggable beyond having a very busy Creative Memories business and being under the weather for a little bit. My last entry was on the Marine Corps Marathon so I thought I'd start up with another "race entry".

As an older sister, you worry about who your younger sisters hang around with -- are they nice people? Are they party people? Do they have a good influence? Well my youngest sister who just ran the Marine Corps Marathon on Halloween seems to have fallen in with a crowd of "maniacs" -- Marathon Maniacs.

A week after running the Marine Corps Marathon, my youngest sister flew to New Hampshire to run the Manchester City Marathon with a bunch of her running friends, some of whom were aiming for the goal of running a marathon in all 50 states. For one of her running friends, the Manchester City Marathon was her 50th state -- what an accomplishment!

My sister didn't even realize that by running two marathons within a 16 day time frame, it put her in the lowest level of Marathon Maniacs. She is now a Bronze Level Marathon Maniac.

When I heard that she ran the Manchester City Marathon (I thought she was just going to cheer since she hurt her knee running the Marine Corps Marathon), I called her all sorts of names like stupidhead and wackadoodle. But I have to admit that I am proud of her and her accomplishment even though I don't understand this odd hobby of hers.

But some people think that knitting is an odd hobby and hey, some people juggle geese :-)

Trick or Treating for 26.2 miles

It's October and time for another day of cheering at the Marine Corps Marathon. This time it was on Halloween and I was armed with my purple witch hat and a very large Snoopy doghouse balloon that I was not happy about...nobody consulted me about the balloon and I couldn't see how it would fit on a crowded metro.

We were up at 3 am and in Virginia at the pre-marathon suite by 5 am. There were lots of anxious runners! It was still pretty chilly out when we walked over to where they would be starting the marathon.

My other sister, her friend and my nephew met up with me at Mile 10. Isn't Baby Nephew adorable in his lion costume? He was very interested in watching everyone run by.

There are always costumes at the marathon but there were more this year although still not as many as I expected. Our original plan was to wear costumes on the sidelines but in the end, all I had was my purple witch hat.

We saw runners carrying flags, two barefoot runners, and a runner with one prosthetic leg. And we also saw these guys in fatigues carrying packs with extra limbs on the back. The one was missing an arm and it made me wonder if the others might also be missing legs. Every year there we see more and more wounded soldiers.

After Mile 10 we headed for Dunkin' Donuts. My sister called when she was at Mile 12 and had some very not nice words to say when she heard we were at Dunkin' Donuts getting breakfast. We thought we had timed it right but we missed her at Mile 16. I was afraid I wouldn't catch her at Mile 22 either so I went straight to Mile 26 where I saw her run by just before the little hill up to the Iwo Jima Memorial -- only .2 more miles to go!!!

It was packed at the finish but we always have time for a picture. A very nice Marine took it for us. She didn't do as well as she had hoped and she had doubts she would be able to run the New Hampshire marathon the following weekend, but still, what an accomplishment! I'm so proud of her!

Boo!

Nope, we didn't carve this pumpkin. My very crafty friend, JY, did and she gave it to Quail and Harley -- their consolation prize for not getting any Halloween candy! And no, they don't get to eat the pumpkin.

Quote Visits

Quote came to visit a few weeks ago and she stayed for two nights. Feeding time was fun/interesting -- two hands, three bowls and three ravenous dogs!

She had more fun this time playing with Harley and her sister, Quail. The last time she stayed over, she basically kept to herself.
The first night of her visit, she whined a lot! But the second night, she went right to bed like a good girl.
It was fun having the 2 Q's together!

Trick or Treat!

We dressed up for Quail's puppy meeting. Don't we make cute devils? Quail is the first puppy we've had for two Halloweens.

Last year we were purple witches. It's amazing how much she's grown!

Quail Goes Back to Princeton

Wow -- it seems like awhile ago that Quail went on her first outing as a Seeing Eye Puppy to Princeton via the Princeton Dinky. It was almost exactly one year later when we went on the same outing this year except look at her now!

She's full-grown even though she is on the small side for a lab.

It was a beautiful day for a day trip and even more fun with dogs and ice cream!

Harley for Hire

Remember when Harley applied for a job as dogfather?

Well, my sister needed someone to watch my nephew for a few days so Harley volunteered for yet another job. Of course, I had to go along as well since feeding, changing diapers and picking up my nephew are difficult things for Harley to do. But Harley is a very good supervisor and I just did whatever he told me to do -- he said I did a good job too!

Despite Harley's puppysitting skills, there was still the occasional faceplant. And there was the night of thunderstorms where Harley and my nephew traded places and my nephew puppysat Harley instead :-)
Even though he had fun, he decided that he'll stick to retired life.

Yum Yum Yum!

Cooler weather = MALLOMARS!

I was very good and only bought one box despite the really beautiful display at the grocery store. But a few days later, a friend of mine gave me THREE boxes for my birthday! She said it was for last year and for this year -- she tried to get some last year but didn't realize they don't sell Mallomars in August. Left on my own, I can eat a box in two days!

66 Pairs of Socks!

I've been busy knitting socks -- of course! I've finished 67 pairs although I only have pictures of 66 of them :-) Pairs 68 through 70 are on knitting needles waiting to be finished.

My Mod Quad Socks are pair #62.

Unless you knit socks, you probably wouldn't realize that these socks are not traditional sock structure. They were fun to knit but they didn't fit :-( Just a teeny bit on the small side so they will be for someone with smaller feet than me. I already have yarn picked out to knit another pair for me that will hopefully fit.

I've been on a quest to knit little footie socks to wear in the summer. Of course I didn't start these until August but hey, at least they are ready for next summer.

I think I have mentioned Knitalongs before. This fall I joined in the Super Sock Scarefest. A new sock pattern is published every few weeks and points are given for speed and other things. I only knit one sock pattern from the Scarefest so far because I've been knitting a lot of other things. I wasn't sure I was going to knit anything at all but the first pattern was named Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've been instant streaming Buffy from Netflix so I had to knit these socks.

Classic Car Night

The last Tuesday night of the month during the summer is Classic Car Night in our neighborhood. Despite the fact that it is less than one block away from our home, we usually forget. If our windows were open, we would probably hear the music but since it's been so hot this summer, our windows have been closed.

We did manage to make it to the one in August. We walked around, had some Italian ices and took pictures of H&Q in front of their favorite cars. Don't they look thrilled?

Beach Memories

At the end of August we went for a drive down to Cattus Island Park in Toms River. There was an environmental/nature center there so we had to stop for a photo op. Harley learned what an egret is and that while he is our leggy boy, he still isn't as tall as an egret.

It was hot in the sun but the dogs still had fun because there was water to swim in! Harley went to Sandy Hook as a puppy but he never swam in the ocean before and I think the waves startled him at first.

Harley and Quail had a fun day...until we came home and gave them baths! :-)

A Tiny Houseguest

What do you think of our new living room area rug? It doesn't match our living room decor but it sure brightens up the room.

We bought the squishy foam flooring since Baby Nephew was coming to visit for a week.

Harley and Quail were very good with Baby Nephew. Quail thought he was tasty and Harley just pretended Baby Nephew didn't exist.

Welcome Casey!

No, we didn't get another puppy.

Remember Bosco? Well, Bosco got a new baby sister and her name is Casey. We brought Harley and Quail over to meet her...and to tire her out :-)

In Harley's typical fashion, he ignored the cute little puppy. However, Quail had a lot of fun running around with Casey and Casey had fun chasing Quail. These pictures were taken mid-August -- she's a lot bigger now.

Isn't she adorable?

Arnold & Adora

Every year we go to Seeing Eye Family Day. It's a Seeing Eye puppy-less day -- we're invited, Quail is not. There are demos, videos and things to buy. We watched an adorable video of puppies at the Breeding Center and spent lots of money buying Seeing Eye stuff including an umbrella.

One of the other highlights is the photo room where there are pictures of puppies, litters and parents! We found pictures of Arnold and Adora -- Quail's parents. We also saw lots of Harley's former girlfriends on the retiring parents' board.

A walk in the woods...

The end of another vacation :-(

Our summer vacations in Vermont always seem to fly right by. Next thing we knew, our car was packed and we were heading back home.

We drove home a different way than the way we came up. Back in the winter when hubby had gone up to Vermont to ski for a weekend, he and his ski buddy were surprised to discover that the bridge from New York to Vermont over Lake Champlain was missing. Apparently at some point it was decided that the bridge was unsafe so it was blown up. Too bad they didn't realize it until they got there.

Now you can take a very short car ferry ride until the bridge is rebuilt.

I thought it was funny that our GPS seemed to think we were driving on water. I don't know what it usually does for car ferries since we haven't been on one in a long time.

Another visit with Riley

Riley lives at The Millbrook Inn where we have been vacationing for the last few years.

I really wanted a picture of all three lined up in a row but this was the best I could do.

After a morning romp, Riley usually sits on the patio with us while we have breakfast. Here he is looking up at me with his head on my lap while Quail rests her head on her personal Harley pillow. It's tough being a dog, isn't it?

Up On the Mountain

We like to take our puppies to different places. Gusto rode the tram to the top of Jay Peak. Harley went canoeing when he came to Vermont as a Seeing Eye puppy. Anita rode the gondola to the top of Stowe (Mount Mansfield). Ava also went to the top of Jay Peak.

This year we went back to Stowe. It would be the first gondola ride for Harley and Quail.

Thankfully the gondola ride is free for dogs. It was a bit chilly at the top. We were hoping to get lunch up there but the restaurant wanted us to tie H&Q to the stairway rail outside which we didn't want to do. We walked around for a little bit and took pictures -- it's always interesting to see naked ski runs :-). You can hike to the top of Mount Mansfield but it is a lot of climbing and dogs can't really make it to the top from where the gondola lets you off.
While we waited for the gondola down, H&Q posed for pictures with a moose. One of the Stowe employees commented that our dogs behaved better for pictures than some children he's seen :-).
So we learned that Harley does not like gondolas. He was nervous on the way up and on my lap on the way down. Quail didn't care at all -- which is a good thing. Poor Harley -- he's become a bit of a nervous doggy!