Living

From our house to yours – wishing you a Thanksgiving Day just the way you want it to be, whether it be seated around the dining room table with family and friends feasting on a meal you have lovingly prepared, or taking your favorite walk in the woods with your canines by your side.  We all have our special things to be thankful for.  Enjoy!

Annie keeps me laughing!  She’s a shy, sweet little girl on one hand, and a laugh-out-loud little comic on the other. This girl has a mind of her own.  She’s made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t like spending time on the grooming table.  She REALLY hates having a bath, and prefers her fur clipped short in a puppy clip.

I can’t help but comply with Annie’s wishes.  She’s such a little imp.  In fact, we’ve taken to calling her Tinker Bell, Tink for short.  Once sporting her puppy clip, she almost appears flying in the air as she lopes around the circumference of the back field behind the house.  A huge smile on her face.  Her eyes glowing.

Over the past couple of months, her puppy coat got out of hand, and little Tink was masquerading as a sheep.  She was a salt-and-pepper ball of fluff all over.  Other than her Setter shaped head and trademark tail,  it was hard to believe there was an English Setter existing inside all that fur!  The time was long overdue, the little sheep needed to return to being an English Setter!

When Annie and I were out for a walk right after her puppy click , a neighbor down the road asked me how old my new puppy was.  Annie, now seven years old, the eldest canine in our threesome, will forever be young – in appearance and attitude.  Love your spunk, Tink!

Treats used to train your dog need to capture his undivided attention.  In training class, I use cooked sirloin steak cut into tiny pieces.  King tends to get distracted by the other dogs in class and wants to socialize, but as soon as I bring out my power treats, he’s all eyes on me.

At home, though, it’s the carrots the dogs come to attention for.  Every night – it’s become a ritual, my husband brings out the bag of baby carrots to snack on.  Off the furniture, or wherever they’re lounging at the time, they come Sit at attention, poker straight, seemingly trying to outdo one another in the straightest Sit.  I can’t help but laugh at this.  They are so serious.  Into a Down, they are sometimes asked to do, before the carrot treat is given (they must work for it).  They’re eating well, and exercising good manners all the time.

Autumn in New England.  Our dogs’ favorite time of year.  Especially for Annie and Lily.  This pair of English Setters would spend the entire day outside in their meditative state, gazing out to the fields and woods beyond.  The temperatures are cool, the air crisp, the sky robin’s egg blue, and the squirrels and other woodland creatures are scurrying about gathering nuts for the winter.

When let out the side door, this pair of Sporting Dogs quietly and ever-so-slowly heads out to the middle of the field, or atop the wooded hill.  Often stopping, frozen on point, having spotted a creature in the distance.

I have been trying to capture some of this elegant canine behavior on my camera, but each time I grab my camera and tiptoe outside, the spell is broken by my scented presence, and off they go.  Today, iPhone in hand, I took this photo of Annie and Lily through the window, so not to disturb.  If only we humans could be so relaxed.  After four hours, Annie came to the door and asked to come in.  Lily remained outside for another hour on her own.

The car is all packed.  The kayak mounted.  Ready for our 6:00 departure tomorrow morning.  Sisters’ Week begins!  We’ll beat the hoards of traffic bound for Maine’s Vacationland, arriving in Portland, Maine, by 9:30 AM.  Our first stop, always, whenever we head to Maine is the Standard Baking Company located at 75 Commercial Street down by the Old Port.  This IS the BEST BAKERY we’ve ever found.  Everything is made fresh, from scratch, daily.  Matt, the owner, from Massachusetts himself, is always happy to see us.  You’ll never get a stale bake good at this place.  I love most everything in the case.  If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say the almond croissant (not baked every day!), second the fruit buckle.  After our snack, we usually take a stroll along the Harbor Walk and check out the shops along Commercial Street.  Before departing the city, we grab lunch at either Duck Fat, 43 Middle Street (runs parallel to Commercial) or The Lobster Company, on Commercial Street, for THE BEST lobster roll ever!  Fortified, we head west toward Sebago.

We’re both looking forward to NO Wifi….  lots and lots of kayaking, reading, writing, and hiking.  This is our 6th year heading to this wonderful 1900’s primitive lakehouse on the sandy shores of a quiet cove on Big Sebago for what we call Sisters’ Week.  Each special day ends with a glass of wine as we sit on the beach watching the sunset over The Dingley Islands to the west.  Total relaxation!  So lucky to have my wonderful sister with whom to enjoy these great pleasures.

Birthdays are BIG in our house – for all family members, human and canine.  Annabelle is very excited to be celebrating her 7th birthday today.  In dog years, that puts her at being a Senior.  Annabelle, aka Tinkerbelle, certainly doesn’t look or act like a Senior.  She takes after her great grandma Trudy in her youthful appearance, excellent health, and most of all her independent spirit.  Annabelle, like Trudy, likes things on her own terms.  Just of late, her desire to shave off all her unnecessary fur – for her, a liberating feeling.

The way she out-runs her junior partners Lily and King, so reminds me of Trudy leaping around the perimeter of the hayfield at the age of 13 years with the speed of a leopard.  Yes, like great grandma Trudy, she’s choosy about what she eats, too.  Annabelle is basically a vegetarian.  Her choice for a birthday party treat?  A bowl of organic broccoli – above all, her favorite treat.  Now, this is where she differs from great grandma who enjoyed Magnolia (recipe from the famed NYC bakery by that name) cupcakes for her birthday.  That bit of sugar on her special day didn’t seem to do Trudy any harm, having lived to 16 years, 2 months of age, the longest living dog I ever had.

Here’s hoping the same longevity for you, Annabelle!  You’re a one-of-a-kind gal, and we love you because you’re YOU!

Poor Annie had to wait a long time for her special spa day.  I’ve been down with a virus since I returned from my trip out West, so Annie waited patiently for her day to arrive.

Annie doesn’t like to spend much time on the grooming table and in the tub keeping a feathered coat smooth and silky.  This girl likes a short puppy haircut.  So, that’s what she got.  Annie’s fur had grown very long.  I had hoped to have her grow back her beautiful feathering, but off it came – and Annie grinned through it all.

Annie always looks youthful, but now with her puppy cut, she not only looks like a young pup, she acts like one, too!  Watching her flit around the back field, like Tinkerbell, herself, she clearly is a much happier girl.

I’ve been flat out on the couch since Friday evening.  Not where I want to be with this gorgeous summer weather we’re experiencing here in western Massachusetts.  I don’t know what hit me.  Friday morning, I went kayaking with a friend.  My first time out this season.  The weather was perfect, blue sky and sunshine.  Not too hot – and no humidity.  We had the lake to ourselves.  We had a great time.

By 3:00 PM , my throat started to clog, and by 6 PM, I had no voice.  Then the rest of it hit:  sore throat, cough, total body ache and joint pain.  So, I’ve been doing what I need to do.  Drink plenty of fluids, and rest, rest, rest.

Dear sweet Annie, Lily, and King have been so terrific.  So perceptive.  They know what I need from them is their special brand of canine comfort.  All three of them have been lying on the floor right up against the couch where I’m resting.  Right there for me to pet them.  They make no demands.  They clearly would rather be with me than outside hunting on their hill.  (Their usual occupation when not fullfilling their therapy dog duties, or out for walks with me.)

There’s nothing like canine comfort.  Therapy dogs begin their work at home!

Annie and I started our walk super early this morning, hoping to escape the forecasted heat of the day.  Humidity had already set in around 75% and we felt as though we had stepped out of a shower as we powered along.  And, ah, yes!  The bugs…  having spent last week in Boulder and San Francisco where not a single bug had hit my skin, I had forgotten that with summer here in western Massachusetts come the pesky bugs working hard to destroy the pleasure of our morning walk.

I couldn’t help it…  my thoughts started drifting back to last Friday.  A trip north of San Francisco to Wine Country, skirting between Napa and Sonoma.  A warm, hot, sunny day –   90 degrees, with zero humidity – and NO BUGS.  It felt so good.  Experiencing summer sans humidity and bugs really is a pleasure.  Ah…  dream on.  We had such fun that day starting at Domaine Carneros in Napa to pick-up Margie and Jay’s wine club bottles and taste new sparkling wines on the terrace (view pictured above).  From there we headed to Sonoma for lunch on an outdoor patio.

Magnificent Moose, Margie and Jay’s English Pointer was with us on our day trip through Wine Country.  In fact, Moose goes practically everywhere with them.  California is a very dog-friendly state.  Our day ended at Ram’s Gate Winery where we all enjoyed a final glass of wine on the patio gazing off in the distance at the rolling hills of grapevines.  Pictured here is Moose pointing at a pair of stuffed pheasants in the winery’s library.  Annie, Lily, and King would have loved those pheasants!  It’s quite something to watch a sporting dog point at a game bird.  They literally freeze in the spot.

My warm, dry memories abruptly took a turn back to the moist, dripping present as Annie and I finished our morning walk.  I quickly opened the front door, Annie heading to her waterbowl and I to the ice water kept in the fridge.  It felt as though we had taken a ten-mile hike straight uphill.

Oh – it’s always great to get away, to be totally removed from the every-day-reality.  So wonderful to spend time with my daughters and precious grandchildren.  And, such terrific places to visit.  The cities of Boulder and San Francisco couldn’t be more different.  Both had perfect weather to make my visit that much more enjoyable.

Boulder is composed of sidewalked neighborhoods with freestanding homes.  The Rocky Mountains can be seen from every direction.  Gorgeous flower gardens grace most front yards.  In fact, many homes don’t have yards of grass as we do here in western Massachusetts, but yards that are naturalized with flowers, shrubs, and trees.  I had a great time strolling my four-month-old granddaughter around the neighborhoods, many included a park with a playground and running/bike trails.

San Francisco, by contrast, is all tall buildings, apartments, and condos.  Shopping areas, like Union Square and Chinatown, abound.  Excitement awaits around every corner, all within a short walk from the famous San Francisco Bay.  My daughter and her husband live in a condo just one block up from the bay, South Beach Area.  A five minute walk brought me down to a quiet section of the Bay where hundreds of boats are docked.  A secluded area, away from the constant swell of tourists that line the streets of the city.

The very different settings and gorgeous weather can be seductive, luring you to stay on.  I ran into several people in my travels who had been captured by the charms of these great areas.  I came here [San Francisco] one October twenty years ago, and never left, saying farewell to cold New England winters forever, said one.

But as the saying goes, There’s no place like home.  Driving North on I-91, I marveled at the rolling hills, lush with greenery, so different from the wide open plains and tall-rising Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and the parched hillsides of drought-ridden California.  I felt myself taking deep breaths, inhaling the cool, fresh air of New England as I approached the Pioneer Valley.  Best of all, when I opened the door of the house, my three faithful canines welcomed me home!