Danny's first snow

Danny got his first exposure to snow when we ventured north to Herkimer, NY for the holidays. The unusually warm Connecticut Winter hasn't brought any snow to Wilton which has been fine with us. I don't think Danny has ever seen snow because the first time he hit the snow he danced around and started running in circles. He just ran and ran and ran and loves the snow.

Ready for guests

We finally got a new bed for the master bedroom and our old bed is now in guest room 2 (pictured). The new bed is a Queen, which means there is room for Danny. About 2 am , he starts panting and then he jumps off the bed. I think it gets too hot for him - especially with a new electric blanket.

Danny's first Christmas

Danny took Christmas in stride with no problems. That's saying a lot considering we went from a household of 3 to a household of 9 over the long weekend. He was always appreciated the extra hands for petting and he and Uncle Mark bonded over their afternoon naps. Sure, he slept about 6 hours straight today after our guests left, so I think it may take him a couple days to recover.

Guest room II finally done

The guest room is finally done. This room was in the worst condition of all the rooms we've worked on so far. We rewired the light switch and put a ceiling fan (Hunter, of course) with two switches; one for the light, one for the fan. We also ran a light switch along the closet wall so the light would turn on with a switch instead of a pull string. Then we put up wire shelving in the walk-in closet to double the storage space. Last, but not least, we painted. To add to the complications, Valerie took a spill and banged up her hand so she couldn't help much with the painting, but took over all other household duties so I would have time to paint. Such a sweetheart. We'll finish it off with a bed next week, but this week's guests will hit the air mattress with sleeping bags.

The price of everyday low prices

Could not believe that WalMart charged me $.03 for a gift card. Not the 3D Pirates of the Carribean Hologram card, the plain jane smiley face piece of plastic.

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Getting ready for Santa

I am not sure if Santa is guided by the stars or a GPS, but these inflatables should help him find his way to our house this Christmas.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Could this face be anymore pathetic? It's like he pulled my sleigh to whoville with a cut off branch strapped to his head. Actually, he just came in from playing with a tennis ball for 30 minutes, so he can be a little tired. I tried placing a Santa hat on his head for the picture, but he thought the pom-pom on the end was something he should play with. Maybe for next year...

When we took him for his walk this morning (6:00 am, for those wondering) his nose was on DEFCON 3. He spotted five deer in the neighbor's yard a split second before we did and Valerie barely escaped with her arm intact.

The deer hopped across the street to another neighbor's yard, and Danny was sniffing like crazy. He was so distracted, he almost forgot to do his business. Well, almost is kind of a strong word since he always finds the most inopportune time to do his business. On the way back home, the deer found their way into our yard and we watched them hop the stone wall between our yard and the neighbor's just as the sun was peeking out behind the trees.

A worthy reward for getting up at "oh dawn thirty" (as my southern friend used to say).

It seems like a great majority of my posts about the dog gravitate towards poop somehow. Is anyone else disturbed by this?

Valerie's new ride

Here's an update to December to remember.

A December to Remember

I HATE car shopping…. finding a car that you like is easy enough, but the negotiation is always difficult and I am not a haggler. Usually, Jeff ends up handling the purchasing of a car.

That is why I am EXTREMELY happy with our latest car purchase. We ended up purchasing an RX-350 at Lexus of Westport. The entire buying process took 2 hours and 2 emails. We went to Lexus on a Saturday, took a long test drive (about 2 hours) and received a quote for the car. I later sent two emails to the sales agent and the car was ours.

It took more time to learn all the features of the car than it did to come to agreement on price and delivery date.

Before you leave the showroom with your new car, the sales agent presents you with a dozen roses.

All I can say is Wow – what great customer service!