Andersen Window

The new Andersen window has been installed in the bathroom.

Today was a great day to replace the old window - sunny and fairly warm - about 65 degrees. After yesterday's rain and wind, we weren't sure what to expect.

The old window (top picture) came out very easily. In fact, it is a little scary how few nails were holding it in place.

The new window is very close in size to the original, which made leveling it very easy.

The longest part of the process was replacing all the siding.

Del Frisco's

We had dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in NYC tonight.

The food was fantastic. The company was even better. Our friend, Wendy, was visiting from NC and it was great to have a chance to catch up.

Del Frisco's is a large restaurant, near Radio City, nicely decorated with a beautiful bar.

We all ordered the ribeye steak. I was tempted by the Alaskan King Crab legs, but thought that if we were at a steakhouse, I should get a steak. Jeff ordered onion rings as an appetizer and a huge plateful was delivered to the table. The steak was fantastic - cooked perfectly, but the portions were so large, I ended up taking half home.

We all had dessert, which for me is the best part of the meal. The waitress recommended the chocolate souffle, which was great. The 6 layer lemon cake was also good.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a great steak while in New York. A quick poll showed that overall we rated this higher than Keen's Steakhouse. The ambiance at Del Frisco's was better and the menu was more diverse.

Danny's Day

Today is Danny's birthday. We adopted him two years ago.

I still wonder why this sweet, beautiful dog was taken from us so soon. I guess there are some things you never understand.

Happy Birthday, Danny. We miss you - always, always.

Exhaust Fan

The new bathroom exhaust fan has been installed. This is the first step in the bathroom reconstruction.

Installing this fan should have been simple enough, except that our ceiling is made with 2x8s, not the standard 2x10s. This means that the standard exhaust fan is just too big to fit in this small space.

When we bought the fan, we did not realize that one size does NOT fit all. Jeff found out that there was a problem when he went to install the fan. Worse than the hour drive to White's was finding out that they did not have the size we needed in stock!

A few days later we got a call - the fan had arrived.

Once nice feature about this Panasonic fan is that it also has a night light. This is great for guests who are unfamiliar with the layout of the house and could have a tough time finding their way at night.

Saving Summer

I have never had much luck with fuchsias. The last 2 years I bought big baskets from Stew Leonard's, but they quickly died. The first year was due too much sun. The second year was too much shade.

This year I decided to just buy a small plant for $3, and pot it myself. Since the woodchuck comes onto the deck, I made sure that the plant was high enough up, so it could not be eaten.

All summer long, I fertilized and watered and was rewarded with beautiful blooms. The hummingbirds would often be seen feeding at the flowers.

When I heard that we were getting our first frost, I knew that the fuchsia would soon be dead. I decided to try and save a little bit of summer and moved the plant inside.

I don't know if the plant will survive. I have been reading that fuchsias are picky and do not do well indoors. I still think it is worth a try. Seeing these delicate flowers reminds me of warm spring days spent outside soaking up the sun with Danny.

Meeting the Family

We went to Long Island for our niece's birthday and Cooper had his first chance to meet our family.

The party was at my Mom's house which has a fenced yard. Cooper loved the chance to be off leash. I was amazed to see how fast he can run. It was such a beautiful day, we even had a chance to play fetch.

Cooper was a great guest. I was a little nervous about Cooper meeting so many strangers, but he wanted to shake hands with everyone.

While we enjoyed dinner, Cooper curled up under the table. Our nieces brought some special Petco cookies that Cooper thoroughly enjoyed.

An attempt to lick the left over birthday cake was thwarted. If you have ever had an Audrey's cake, you can't blame Cooper for wanting some.

By the end of the evening all of the camera flashes were starting to bother Coop.

Cooper curled up and slept on the drive home (a first). It was a long but happy day for all of us.

Voting

Some of you may find this funny....

Helicopter

Cooper is a tail wagger, if he is happy or excited he wags his tail.

The other day I heard a thump-thump-thump and looked into the living room. Cooper was laying down, chewing on a piece of rawhide and wagging his tail like crazy. His tail was wagging so hard that his rear end nearly lifted off the ground. It reminded me of a helicopter getting ready for take off.

To see Cooper having so much fun made me smile. I often wonder if Coop has had many joyful moments in his life.

Bath Time

We are going to Long Island this weekend. Since it will be the first time Cooper meets the family, we decided he should look (and smell) his best.

Off to the dog wash we went. We were the first people there and had our choice of bays. We chose one with a super dryer.

Cooper was very good during the bath, he didn't try to jump down or run off. Of course once the water was off, he gave a big shake making sure Jeff and I also got wet.

You can see how beautiful he looks now.

57.5

Cooper now weighs 57.5 pounds. Every ounce of weight is pure muscle.

It is amazing how quickly he flies up the stairs - more like he is one, not five.

The Blaze II

More pictures from The Blaze:

The Blaze

We went to the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) on Saturday evening. The weather was perfect - cool but not cold. The leaves have started changing, so the drive up the Merritt Pkwy to Croton-on-Hudson was very enjoyable.

We learned about the Blaze when we visited Kykuit in Sept.

Each October, 4,000 hand carved and illuminated pumpkins are placed along the Manor's grounds. This is an AWESOME sight and we had a lot of fun.

The pumpkins are not just carved as scary Halloween faces, but also fish, dinosaurs, celtic knots and snakes.

I would highly recommend visiting the Blaze. Tickets sell out VERY quickly, so you need to order them well in advance. We bought our tickets in early Sept.

Since so many people attend the Blaze, bring your big bag of patience and be prepared to wait in line to see everything. The wait is definitely worth the carvings you will see.

Punctured

Cooper does not have a soft mouth, which means that the tennis balls he plays with end up punctured.

Once this happens, the balls lose their bounce.

I am not sure how many balls we have already gone through.

The good news is that at least Cooper is learning to play fetch.

Teeth

Once a week I try to brush Cooper's teeth.

I say TRY because Cooper hates to get his teeth brushed. Even chicken flavored toothpaste cannot make him like this experience.

When I begin to brush his teeth, Cooper keeps moving his head or tries to chew on the brush. I think more toothpaste ends up on his lips than on his teeth.

I'm sure that no one ever took the time to brush Cooper's teeth before, so I am hoping in time he will learn to tolerate this.

Lexus

The Lexus is almost 2 years old and it is time for the 10K mile service.

I called Lexus service and scheduled for the car to be picked up at the house.

At 7:00 pm, someone arrived at the door with a set of keys to a different RX-350. They drove off in Lexi and returned the next evening.

Not having to drive to Fairfield to drop the car off was great. Not having to drive back to pick it up was even better.

I have to say that this is one of the nice features of owning a Lexus.

As I was ooohing over how good the car looks after being completely detailed, Jeff burst my bubble with "You realize that having someone provide this service is why an oil change costs $200".

Bailout Bill

I'd like to extend my congratulations to Joe Courtney, the only member of the Connecticut Delegation to vote against the "Bailout Bill". While the rest of our esteemed politicians followed the lead of the head ringleader Christopher Dodd and voted to saddle the American Taxpayer with another trillion dollar obligation, Joe Courtney had the courage to say No.

No, Chris Shays, the people that leveraged their investments 30 to 1 don't deserve a bailout.

No, Chris Murphy, the people that financed a million dollar home on a $2,000/month income don't deserve to be bailed out.

No Joe Lieberman, the banks that approved people for "Liar Loans" don't deserve to get bailed out.

Yes, Joe Courtney voted that responsible people make responsible decisions.

The 18^th century German Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel once said “We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.”

I hope people learn from the atrocities that our delegation has burdened the American Taxpayer with and send Jimmy Himes to Washington for a fresh start.

And that was hard for me to say, I'm a life-long Republican.

Morning Walk

As we were walking Cooper at 6:15 am, Jeff said isn't it amazing how often you overlook the beauty that is all around.

Fall

Neighborhood scenes from our morning walks with Cooper:

Cabinets

I love the Internet! We need to buy a new vanity for the bathroom and have been to several stores, but did not see exactly what we wanted. After a while, all the vanities looked the same.

So, for the last 2 weeks I have been searching on line for a vanity. I knew two manufacturers that had good reviews, so I focused on their products. I was able to find specs on door styles, vanity and linen closet sizes, stains, options, etc. I also knew we wanted a Toto toilet, so researched those too.

This afternoon we went to White's Plumbing and in two hours had ordered everything - vanity, bathroom fan, toilet, sink, fixtures, etc. I expected that the faucet and shower fixtures would take a long time to choose, but we saw a great set by Jado and knew that was the one.

I thought of buying some of the items on line for a lower price, but since we were already there, we decided to just get everything at the same time. Jeff's credit card was smoking when we left the store.

Unfortunately, it will be 4 weeks until these items are delivered, so Jeff will have a little break before construction on the bath begins.

Stuck

When the alarm went off this morning, there was no Cooper racing around the bed.

The bedroom door was closed, so I knew he had to be somewhere close by. I looked in the bathroom and then the closet - no Cooper.

I finally noticed Cooper's nose sticking out from under the dust ruffle. I called for him to come out, but he was stuck. Jeff had to lift the bed, so Cooper could crawl out.

It did rain and thunder during the night, so I think Cooper tried to hide under the bed. Danny used to be storm phobic and would try to get behind furniture, but he was too big to fit.

Cooper is about 20 pounds lighter than Danny and has a smaller frame, so he can squeeze in some very small spaces.