The Perfect Gift

Jeff and I went Christmas shopping at PetCo. We left the store with  a bag full of  treats and toys for Cooper  and Otis. We purchased a stuffed toy with a squeaker that we knew Cooper would love. The stuffed toy was large and hung out the top of the bag.

When we got home, Cooper saw the stuffed toy. Cooper began to whine. I told Coop that he needed to wait for Xmas to get this special toy.

I placed the gifts on the guest bed and went downstairs. Five minutes later, I heard a distinctive squeak coming from upstairs. Coop was at the top of the stairs, chewing on his new toy. I grabbed the toy and the PetCo bag and put everything into the top of the closet.

Coop kept wandering into the guest room, searching for his toy. I guess dogs really are like kids who can't wait for Santa to arrive with gifts.

Old Drugs

I read that the Wilton police station had a drug drop off box. In this box, you place prescription drugs that have expired or are no longer needed. The drugs are incinerated and kept out of  a landfill or water supply.

While at my Mom's house, I found several expired prescriptions. I stopped at the police station and disposed of the medications.

What a great idea! I am sure that there are many people who will take advantage of this service.

QUACK

At 6:30 am on Sunday, I heard ducks quacking on the pond. Otis jumped off the bed, raced to the window and began to whine. Otis ran to the different windows, wanting to get to the ducks.

Luckily, Cooper was exhausted from the previous day's activities and did not get up. At 7:00, it was obvious that Otis was not going to go back to sleep.

When we took Coop & Otis out, the ducks swam to the edge of the pond. For a moment, I wondered if this might be Maddy and Paddy. As we walked the dogs, we reminisced about how Danny loved to stalk our previous mallards.

Later in the morning, Jeff was outside and the ducks again swam towards him.We threw out some corn and bread. The ducks came over to eat. I am not sure where these ducks are from or why they chose to stop at our home for breakfast, but it was fun to see them.

I Smell You

I was walking Otis on the long lead in our backyard. Although the deck lights were on, the woods were engulfed in darkness. Otis was walking slowly with his nose to the ground. Otis stopped and lifted his head. I listened but heard only silence.

Otis suddenly raced forward, 5 feet of leash unwound, and my arm jerked as I began to be pulled forward. It was then that I heard hoof beats and saw the white tail of a deer racing away from Otis. Otis tried to follow the deer, but I was the anchor that weighed him down.

2 days later, I could barely lift my arm. Proving once again, that Otis is in much better shape than I am.

Turkey for dessert

This all white meat turkey was a sweet way to end Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We wish all our family and friends a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Although we will not be sharing dinner at the same table, you are in our thoughts and our hearts.

Thanksgiving Week

If all the Black Friday ads did not enforce that Thanksgiving is this week, a Sunday morning trip to the grocery store quickly reminded me. I headed to Stop & Shop at 8:00 am, expecting to see an empty parking lot.

When I arrived, the parking lot was more than half full and there were few grocery carts available. I checked my watch again and yes, it really was 8:00! I think that most people were shopping early to try and avoid the crowds.

I can't imagine what the grocery store would be like at noon.

Redirection of Christmas

While attending mass at St Luke's we heard about the Redirection of Christmas. Redirection is where you purchase Christmas gifts for a needy family.

We will be providing gifts for a family of four. We were given their wish list and will be shopping and wrapping their presents. All gifts are returned to St Luke's for distribution.

I am excited to be spreading Xmas cheer. 

No More Finlandia

I went to the deli counter at Stop & Shop and ordered Finlandia  Swiss cheese. Finlandia is my favorite type of Swiss.

The deli clerk told me, "We don't sell Finlandia any more. You can buy it prepackaged in the cheese aisle." I was silent, but thought to myself that prepackaged is not nearly as good as fresh sliced.

I asked what type of Swiss was available. The clerk said Boars Head or Stop & Shop. I ordered the Boars Head Swiss. It was ok, but not in the same league as Finlandia..

I am wondering why Finlandia was dropped by Stop & Shop. Maybe I need to start a write in campaign to bring it back

Confetti

The leaves were falling like confetti. Cooper stepped into my Mom's yard and his jaw dropped. His whole body began to quiver. I could see Coop wondering do I chase the leaves on the right or the left ?

Eventually Coop tired himself out and  stretched out in the sun, watching the leaves float down to earth. The thump, thump, thump of Coop's tail revealed his complete happiness.

Otis is much more relaxed. Oti wanted to be where ever Jeff was.

Still Waiting

There are still 16,000 people without electricity in CT. Some towns have 20% of the residents without power.

I don't think that I could last 9 days without lights or heat.

Favorite Things

Cooper loves to soak up the sun and chase shadows.

Still Waiting

There are still 160,000 people in Connecticut without power.

It has been one week since the snow storm struck. I know that CL&P workers are doing their best, but it seems that the electrical repairs are taking an incredibly long time. There are many angry and frustrated people currently in the dark.

I realize just how lucky we were to not have lost power.

Handsome

Sometimes I forget how beautiful Otis is.

670,000

There are still 670,000 people in CT without power. When I go to sleep at night with my electric blanket warming the bed, I am thankful that we still have electricity.

A Man, A Chainsaw, & A Snow Blower

When we arrived home on Saturday evening, we discovered that our driveway was blocked by a fallen tree. Jeff and I walked to the house. A few minutes later, I heard the whine of a chain saw.

Jeff cut up the tree and dragged it out of the way. He then  cleared our elderly neighbor's driveway. Once the driveway was passable, he drove the Lexus up to the house.

Sunday morning found Jeff snow blowing the driveway. What would I do without him!

There are 800,000 people in CT without electricity. 80% of Wilton is without power. It is estimated that power will not be restored until Wed evening or later.

Happy Halloween! It is hard to believe we are talking about snow storm damage in Oct. We are lucky to still have our electricity.

St. Augustine

Our Westport family was selected to receive the St. Augustine Medal of Service for St. Luke's parish. We wanted to attend this special ceremony and headed to Bridgeport in the lightly falling snow.  When we arrived in Bridgeport, the snow was falling heavily and a few inches had accumulated on the ground.

St. Augustine's Cathedral is beautiful with  arched ceilings, an immense pipe organ and stained glass windows. Bishop Lori presided over the ceremony, honoring lay people for their commitment and special works for the church.After the ceremony there was a reception with sandwiches, fruit and eclairs.

We made a mistake and took the Merritt Parkway back to Wilton. We were briefly delayed (10 minutes) for a rollover accident and thought we were very lucky. 10 minutes later we were stopped dead for 80 minutes. Tree limbs were all over the road and there were several accidents. As we waited in traffic, we heard that 50% of Wilton was without power.

2 hours after leaving Bridgeport, we arrived home to find that a tree had fallen across our driveway. We have a very long driveway and slogging through 4 inches of snow and slush in high heels was challenging. The low hanging tree limbs make me think that we will soon be without power.

The Governor is predicting that by tomorrow morning, 550,000 people in CT will be without power.

Giving Back

The other day we posted photos of Otis and Coop playing.  Coop looked like he was being terrorized by his much bigger brother. These photos show Coop on the attack.

Joyful

I love this photo of Coop. He seems so happy. Cooper loves to run in my Mom's fenced yard chasing the falling leaves.

Ellis Island

After visiting the Statue of Liberty we went to Ellis Island.

The museum at Ellis Island is very large. We did not have enough time to tour the entire  building. There is an interesting movie which describes the immigrants journey and what they encountered once they arrived at Ellis Island.

 If you are planning to visit Ellis Island, you should allow several hours to tour the facility. There are no security checkpoints within the museum, so once you get off the ferry you are free to wander everywhere.