Fitz & Floyd

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....when the Fitz and Floyd Santas appear around the house.

I bought my first piece of F&F as a gift about 10 years ago, when we were living in NC. I could not resist the beautiful Xmas display at Belk's. Although I gave the first F&F figurine away, I was hooked (some might say addicted).

Trying to find F&F in CT was much tougher than NC. Thankfully Fitz and Floyd now sells most of their Santa figurines on the Internet.

What I love most about F&F is the attention to detail. No matter what angle you view the Santa from, there is always something of interest to see.

There are F&F collections for every season, but that is a story for another day...

Danny's Centerfold

We received an email from Sunshine Golden Retriever Rescue, asking if Danny would like to be a "Retriever of the Month" in their 2008 calendar.

Since we think Danny is the best looking Golden in Wilton (and possibly Westport), we jumped at the chance to participate.

Danny's photo has been sent to SGRR. If he "has the look", Danny will be included in the calendar.

Perhaps Danny's Maine Mom Linda can help sway the SGRR decision in Danny's favor ;)

Danny's Back

Danny is back home!

Our niece did a great job of taking care of Danny. I think Danny may have lost a little weight due to all the walks, which would make his vet happy.

Chimney Rock Park

While in NC we went hiking in Chimney Rock Park.

I thought that by mid-November all the leaves would have fallen, but there was still some good color on the trees.

Asheville, NC

We just returned from a wonderful vacation in Asheville, NC. I have always enjoyed Christmas at Biltmore Estates and I decided that late fall would be a great time to visit.

Asheville has changed a lot since our last visit 10 years ago. There are many restaurants and art galleries in the downtown. The real estate prices have also sky rocketed.

We went to Biltmore twice - first in the evening for the Candlelight Christmas. To me, there is something magical about Biltmore at night. Each room in the house has a uniquely decorated Xmas tree, the fireplaces are crackling, and there are flowers and poinsettias everywhere. There is also live music - a children's choir, a harpist and an organist in different rooms all playing songs of the season.

As you tour the house full of priceless antiques, you can imagine the grand parties that must have been hosted here.

The next day we went back to Biltmore and enjoyed the gardens, winery and farm.

Danny's LI Vacation

Danny is enjoying a 2 week vacation on Long Island.

Our family was nice enough to drive to Wilton to pick Danny up. I wondered if Danny would hesitate to leave his home, but I shouldn't have worried. When the door to the cab of the truck opened, Danny immediately hopped in and never looked back.

I hear that Danny is having a great time on LI. Danny has kids to play with and is getting lots of walks, hugs and kisses.

Danny has learned that the pears which are falling from the trees are not odd shaped tennis balls and they are not used for a game of fetch.

First Fire

We have been in our home for 18 months and never had a fire. This is especially odd when you realize that immediately after moving into the house, we had the chimney cleaned.

Finally, we had our first fire! It took a few hours for the bricks to get warm, but once they did the room was nice and toasty.

Snow in NYC

We spent the day in NY City, catching up with old friends from NC. While there, we saw Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk. The show was great and the snow that we carried home in our pockets made us wish that real snow would soon arrive in CT.

We had dinner at Keen's Steakhouse. If you like beef, this is the place to go. Warning - go hungry, especially if you order the porterhouse for two! I have to say that this was the best steak I have ever had.

It always amazes me that when you meet old friends time and distance melt away and it seems as if you were just together a day earlier.

Home Improvement Tips

Home Improvement Tip #1
If you find yourself applying caulk overhead, wear a hat.

Home Improvement Tip #2
If you forget tip #1, water alone doesn't get caulk out of your hair. You'll have to use liberal amounts of ivory soap and scrub really hard.


Don't ask how I know these things.