Baseboard

The baseboard molding and baseboard heat has been installed.

8 paws, 140 lbs

I went to walk Cooper and Otis. Both leashes were in my left hand as I opened the garage door.

The door opened. Coop began to bark and both dogs charged outside. I looked over and saw the coyote in the front yard.

Imagine 8 paws and 140 lbs of muscle tearing down the driveway with me acting as an anchor.
The coyote took off running. I hoped Otis would not snap another leash. Coop is not terribly strong, but Otis is built like a linebacker.

Once the coyote was out of sight, the dogs lost some of their enthusiasm in the chase. All I can say is it is a good thing I had my running shoes on.

Closets

The new closet doors have been installed.

Adding the additional closet has doubled our storage space.

Hooded Merganser

Jeff said, "We have a Merganser on our pond." I said, "A what ?"

It turns out that the contractor Steve, who is a hunter, had noticed the Merganser swimming on the pond. We have not been able to get a photo of this shy creature.

The white markings around the duck's eye show it to be a Hooded Merganser.

Photo by ODNR:

Windows

The window trim has been installed for all the windows.

Our yard III

The Easter Lily was planted in the garden after it flowered last year .The sunflower sprouted from a seed that the birds and squirrels missed.

Crown

The crown molding has been installed.

Previously, the crown was only in the formal living room and dining room and did not have much detail. The new crown is taller and more intricate. The crown will now run thru all rooms and the hallways, except the kitchen.

Our yard II

Some more photos from our home. The construction crew and dumpsters have kept the deer and woodchuck away and allowed my lilies to thrive.

Primed

After 7 gallons of primer and 14 hours of  labor, the entire downstairs has been primed. For anyone who is wondering if I help paint, the answer is YES.

The crown molding can now be installed.

Marley's

We went to Marley's restaurant in Wilton for the first time. I had heard a lot of good things about this restaurant and was excited to try it.

On the positive side, Marley's has a varied menu and the food (when finally served) was tasty.

On the negative side, the service was TERRIBLE. I had made a reservation and the restaurant was half empty, so we were seated promptly. We placed our drink and dinner order and the wait began. The drinks were delivered and the waiter disappeared. The waiter did not stop by to ask if we wanted additional drinks or to explain why after 45 minutes, our meals were not yet served. Diners who arrived after us ate and left, while the 4 of us waited for our dinner. We flagged down the waiter and were told that cooking chicken and steak took a LONG time and that is why we were waiting.

Note: How is that a plausible explanation, when another couple arrived after us, ordered the same things and were served in 15 minutes ?

I believe that our order was misplaced or forgotten. After an hour wait, dinner was served. We did not order coffee or dessert. I think we are all afraid that  it might take another hour for this to arrive.

The saving grace was that we were out with our Westport family and enjoyed lively conversation while we waited.

Surgery Update

Good news! Otis will NOT need chemo or radiation treatment.The biopsy showed clean margins (no cancer cells) at the tumor's edge. So, there will be no need for follow up treatment.


Dr Duffy said that we need to continue to check Otis for new lumps. If we find any new tumors, they would need to be biopsied.

Otis should have a long life ahead of him.

Columns

As mentioned before,there is a post and beam which divided our living/dining room. We decided to "hide" the post by building a half wall and wrapping the post in a column.

This is the result.

I think that the formal living room is now a more elegant area.

Fresh Balls

Our Westport family came to see our construction project and brought a bag of tennis balls with them.

Cooper grabbed a ball and raced upstairs. I knew Coop would put the ball in his hiding spot, so that Otis could not destroy it.

Cooper came downstairs a few moments later, grabbed Oti's ball and raced upstairs. Oti was too interested in our visitors to object.

Surgery update: Still playing phone tag with the vet about the staging of the tumor. Oti is doing much better and acts like his old self. The only issue is trying to keep him calm - he wants to run outside, but can't due to his stitches.

Prime Time

The sheetrock has been taped and spackled. The walls can now be primed. This will be a task for us to do.

The columns will be installed next.

Wilton Bears

There has been some excitement in town lately about some bear sightings.  Apparently Wilton has had 8 bear sightings this year.  Even one of the local papers had an editorial about the bear activity.

Regular readers of Wilton Diaries will not be surprised as we've had a few suspected bear events over the last couple years.

(photo courtesy of Wilton Patch)

Our yard

Pictures from our yard....

I had planted yellow snap dragons in the middle of the purple petunias. However, the petunias seem to have taken over the pot.

Office Rowing

Some people just have too much time on their hands. And by the way, 4 seat has his hands way to close together.

Surgery - Update

Otis got home around 7:30 pm tonight. Otis is groggy, but keeps pacing back and forth. Oti cannot seem to relax, perhaps it is the drugs in his system or the stress of surgery.

Oti can only eat special Science Diet canned food for a few days. Otis got a very small dinner, which he gobbled up. I know Otis is hungry and thirsty, but the post surgery instructions limit his food and water intake.

The stitches in Oti's side will be removed in 10 days. I am hoping Oti will not try to chew them out.

We did not get to talk with Dr Duffy. I think that if the vet had found something terrible, he would have made sure to contact us.

Surgery

Jeff took Otis to the vet this morning for surgery to remove the cancerous tumor on his side. Dr Duffy performs surgery in the afternoon, so we will not know until late today what the results are. I am hoping that Otis will be able to come home tonight.

Otis was not allowed food or water after midnight. Oti loves to eat and after his morning walk, races to his food bowl. Poor Otis could not understand why his bowl was empty, but Cooper was served breakfast.

Mice in the attic ?

I was upstairs with Cooper and Otis. The electrician was working downstairs. All of a sudden Oti raced to the upstairs crawl space door and began to paw at the door. Oti then cocked his ears and began to paw at the carpet under the radiator.

My first thought was, are there mice in the crawl space ???

I listened closely and heard what Oti did - electrical wire was being threaded thru the wall. The scratching noise must have made Otis think that there was something living in this space.