Gold

The New Venetian Gold granite counter top has been installed!

The rectangular sink was the impetus for the rectangle theme on the floor and shower wall.

Party of Eight

When I get home from work, Cooper is usually standing at the door with his tail wagging. When I got home tonight, there was no Cooper. When I looked around, I saw that Coop was curled up asleep on his bed.

I hoped Coop was not sick. I noticed that when we walked down the road, he seemed a little stiff.

It turns out that Coop had spent the afternoon with Molly, Mable and five other dogs. I have a feeling that all 8 dogs were probably tired after their afternoon play date.

Remembering Danny

It has been one year since Danny passed away and my heart still aches from the loss of this special dog. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Danny. Danny was a beautiful, smart and gentle dog who was easy to love.

Sometimes when I am in the house or yard, I find myself looking for Danny in his favorite places. I know that Silverback (woodchuck) would not be so smug, if Danny were still guarding the yard.

The bush that we planted in Danny's memory is growing big and strong. I look forward to seeing it flower in the fall.

When we adopted Coop, I thought that perhaps we were trying to replace Danny. However, I know that will never happen. My always, always boy will forever be in my heart.

We miss you Danny.

In or Out

The weather has been beautiful, so we leave the front and back doors open when we are home. Cooper loves to look out. He will spend all Saturday watching out the front or back door.

As you can imagine with the birds, chipmunks, woodchuck, etc running around, there is always something to catch Coop's eye. If there is anything of real interest occurring, Coop signals us with a bark.

When I let Coop out onto the back deck, he will run around, but once he spots us inside, he wants to come in. Of course, after a few minutes inside, he decides that being out is more fun.

After a few rounds of in/out, I get tired and say to Coop - "Enough - IN or OUT" ? At that point, he is usually hot and stretched out in the living room under the ceiling fan.

Window Treatments

The blind and valance have been installed in the upstairs bathroom.

The granite installer came to the house and created a template for the vanity counter top. The granite should be cut and installed in 1-2 weeks.

New Bling

If it is June, then it is time to register Cooper for his Wilton dog license.

Cooper now has a shiny new tag to wear on his collar.

Edible Arrangements

You know that birthday season is starting when presents arrive at the door!

I received this beautiful fruit from Edible Arrangements. The arrangement is not only pretty to look at, but the fruit tastes delicious.

What a great gift from my LI family.

Hummer's Here

I spotted the first hummingbird at our feeder. Another unofficial sign that summer is here.

Photo from Birds & Blooms Magazine

Cabinets

The Bertch cabinets have finally been installed!

The wood is cherry and the style is Hudson.

The bathroom seems much smaller now that the cabinetry is in place.

Painted

Thanks to Jeff's hard work for the last 2 days, the bathroom is now primed and painted.

The ceiling, walls, and trim have all been painted. The wall color is Antique Beige.

Lean

All of the walks and playtime have made Coop lean and strong.

It amazes me that he has so little fat on his body. Coop's chest is broad and you can see his muscles flex when he walks. Coop is evolving into a more beautiful and outgoing dog.

I study Coop for signs that the cancer is impacting him, but he has never seemed healthier. Let's hope it stays that way!

Red

When the Country Curtains catalog arrived in the mail, I knew it was the perfect time to pick the bathroom blind and valance.

We packed up two 12x12 travertine tiles, glass tile and paint samples and drove to Westport. There were 6 curtains that I thought might be a good match.

The sales people at Country Curtains were great. They did not blink an eye as we walked in with all our samples and laid them out on a bed. Several customers stopped and commented that bringing samples was the only way to make the right choice.

Some of the curtains were on display, but several were not. The sales woman brought out the missing curtains and that is when I realized that our glass tile is (surprise) NOT red. Upon close inspection, the glass contains shades of burgundy from almost red to almost purple.

We looked at fire engine red, cherry red and berkshire plaid plus several other colors before selecting one that seemed to be the best option. Of course, the colors in the valance did not match the blind that I originally selected, so we had to find another one.

I hope that when the shade and valance are hung they will help unify the bath.

Favorite Places

As I said before, Cooper loves to lay under the kitchen table.

As you can see, when he stretches out, there isn't much room for us two footed creatures.

PS - Doesn't Coop look very fluffy ?

Window Trim

The molding around the window has been installed.

We are hoping that the sheetrock will be completed this week, so we can paint.

Scope Creep

As a Project Manager, one of the most important things to avoid is scope creep. This is when you state that a project will contain item A and then it grows to include items B and C. It seems this phenomenon is NOT limited to software projects....

This weekend Jeff cleaned off the mildew that was under the front overhang. This took several hours and the house now looks great.

When Jeff came back in, he said, "We need to replace the front lights".

It seems that after several hours of close contact with the tarnished and paint spotted lights (bottom picture), he could no longer bear it.

Off we went to Lowes. The new lights are installed (top pictures) and looked fantastic.

Wanna Dance ?

Who would have thought Coop could ever be SO happy and carefree ?

Shedding

After Cooper spent a week in the kennel, he needed a bath.

I thought that during the bath, a lot of Coop's loose hair would come out and reduce his shedding.

Unfortunately, it seems the bath had the opposite effect. Ever since bath day, I have been brushing Coop and getting one or two handfuls of hair. On the positive side, Coop's coat is unbelievably soft and shiny.

In this photo Coop's coat is still damp. When he stands in the sunshine and the light reflects off his coat, I can understand why Coop was originally named Copper.

Chincoteague

Having read the book Misty of Chincoteague as a child, I always wanted to see the wild ponies at Chincoteague,VA. Since this is only 2 hours from VA Beach, it was the perfect time to visit.

The ponies were beautiful, but we underestimated the size and quantity of mosquitoes we would encounter on our hike to see them.

The Wildlife Refuge was amazing. There are eagles nesting there and you can see into the nest via tv camera.

Unfortunately, we arrived at the lighthouse to late to walk up to the top.

Another Cooper

While visiting Williamsburg, we met another cooper. This cooper is a maker of barrels and containers. We learned a lot of interesting things, but I think our Cooper is cuter!

Williamsburg was a lot of fun. We picked a good time of year to visit because it was not very crowded.

The Governor's Palace was beautiful. At the silversmith, I learned that since there were no banks, people saved their silver coinage and turned it into bowls & flatware. Engraving the pieces ensured that they could be recognized, if ever stolen.

The gardens were in full bloom and beautiful.

Shower Complete

The tile in the shower and on the floor has been completed.

The grout can be installed on both of these tomorrow.

It has taken a long time for the tile to be installed, but I am pleased with the result. I wanted the shower wall to be a focal point and I think it is.