Anxious

The first floor of our home is almost bare. Rugs have been rolled up and moved out as has the furniture.

With each  item that leaves the house, Cooper and Otis grow more anxious. Considering their background, this is not surprising. Coop's family moved away and left him chained in the yard with no food or water. Oti's family had a foreclosure and he was dropped at the pound.

I try to give the dogs extra treats and hugs to reassure them that we are not abandoning them. However, they both look at me with doubtful eyes. Their life experience has taught them that nothing lasts forever.

Now, when I head out of a room, both dogs are on my heels. If I go outside, Coop begins to bark an anxious and desperate call.

Can you hear me now?

I was in the office, spending another night on the phone with Japan, when Coop wandered in. Otis was downstairs with Jeff.

Coop stretched out near my chair. Every few minutes, I would hear thump, thump, thump. Coop was wagging his tail and demanding to be petted. I leaned over gave him a pat and everything was quiet. 10 minutes later, thump, thump, thump.  This went on for an hour.

I looked at Coop, stretched out and content, wanting affection and thought time really can heal some wounds.

Thief

Every afternoon, after Carol walks Cooper and Otis, they get a snack. I left 4 milkbones and Carol's check on the counter and headed upstairs to get ready for work.

When it was time to leave, I noticed that Oti did not race downstairs as he usually does. I entered the kitchen and saw that Carol's check was damp and the treats were gone!

I then noticed Oti in the hallway, with his head hung down. It was obvious who stole the milkbones. I guess I should be thankful that he didn't eat the check too.

Getting ready

Work on the house should begin next week. Furniture is being moved, photos and breakables are being boxed up.

After construction completes in 6 weeks, the real fun will start for Jeff and I. We are going to do all the painting ourselves!

I like onions too

It seems that Oti also has an attraction to onions.

Cooper and Otis were on the back deck soaking up the sunshine. When I looked out, I saw Oti's head in the onion planter. Unlike Cooper who likes to dig, Oti was eating the dirt!

I yelled at Oti to stop before he got sick. I sighed, prayed for patience and laughed when Oti wandered over with dirt all over his face.

Foxes, Foxes Everywhere

Jeff took Coop and Otis out in the back yard and I heard them both begin to bark. Next came a sound like a cat yipping but louder and sharper.

Jeff came in and said the fox was near the shed and when the dogs began to bark, the fox barked back and then ran off.

A few hours later, the dogs began to howl at the door. I yelled at Coop and Oti to be quiet, but they did not stop. I looked out and did not see anything on the front lawn. However, near the pond was the fox, just sitting and enjoying the scenery.

At night, I can hear the fox barking in the woods that border our yard. I wonder if the fox den is nearby.

Finally

Three years ago we planted a tree peony. I was so excited at that time, with visions of our little peony becoming a large tree loaded with flowers.

Unfortunately, the peony has struggled and never flowered. Jeff built a snow cover to protect this fragile tree during the winter, but even that did not help.

This spring, the peony produced a lot of leaves and one single flower. I kept my fingers crossed and made sure Coop and Oti did not get close to it.

Finally, the bud opened and the flower is beautiful. I hope it is not 3 years before we see another one.

Entrysets

Now that we are getting a new front door, we need a new lockset. We looked at Klaff's which carries Baldwin, but did not find anything we loved.

We saw an Emtek lockset that we both liked. After 20 years of brass hardware, we are changing to oiled bronze. I think this will be a better match with the existing exterior lights.

Watching

Every morning when I leave for work, Otis races upstairs and watches out the bedroom window. All I can see is the top of his head as I drive off.

Sweet Rocket

Thanks to Dot F, our mystery plant has been identified. It is Sweet Rocket (Hesperis Matronalis).

This plant supposedly has a very sweet fragrance,  but I did not notice it. I will have to give it a sniff tomorrow.

Part II - What is it?

The plant/weed in our garden has started to flower. I think it is phlox.

Entry Doors

I have always wanted a wooden front door. However, several contractors said a wood door is not the best option, if the door will be exposed to direct sun. Also, when it is extremely cold outside and warm inside, this can stress the door.

Steel doors were recommended. However, we already have one that I hate so I refused to consider this.

Fiberglass is another option. I have seen fiberglass doors at Home Depot and they did not impress me. I was told that there are much nicer fiberglass doors, so off we went to WindowRama.

Walking in, I saw a Jeld-wen fiberglass mahogany entry door. This door was gorgeous and I thought, I could live with that. When I heard the price was $5K, I realized this was too pricey.

It turns out that mahogany doors are the most expensive. Doesn't that figure !

We found this door by Therma-Tru that we liked and will provide more light into the foyer.

You make me smile

I love this picture, because Coop and Oti look happy.

Why the smiles and rapt attention? Because they know there is a treat in my hand.

Contractor

I am always concerned about hiring a contractor to work on the house. You never know how good a tradesman will be. You can check references, but the contractor does not include unhappy customers on this list.

One of Jeff's associates owns a woodworking and construction company. Steve told Jeff he would usually not consider a project like ours. His preference is for custom cabinetry and woodworking. However, with a slow economy and a payroll to meet, Steve is willing to bid on the project.

I asked Jeff if hiring a friend was a good idea. Will you still be friends when the project is finished ? Jeff said he prefers to have someone he trusts work in our home. I can't argue with that.

Amazing Dunk

A new door ?

Pulling into the driveway, I looked at our home and tried to imagine it with new windows. I saw two things that made me wince.

1 - The stairs and stoop are an eyesore. Replacing them is an extremely expensive and time consuming project. Not much we can do about this one.

2 - Our 40 year old metal door. This door is ugly and has low energy efficiency. No light comes thru the door which makes the foyer dark.

When Jeff got home, I suggested replacing the door. We are currently discussing adding this item to our renovation.

Onion Lover

You may recall that last week Cooper dug out our onion planter. After that, I refused to let Coop back outside, to protect the bulbs.

It was another beautiful day and Coop sat crying by the back door. I looked into his big sad eyes and relented. As I opened the door, I said you better not dig! I think Coop stuck out his marble tongue as he raced out.

I checked on him 5 minutes later and once again, there were onions and dirt everywhere. I cleaned up the mess and blocked his access to the onion pot. I then went back inside.

I looked out and he was now digging in ANOTHER flower pot. I called Cooper inside and vowed "never again"!

What Price Publicity

Rick Green of the Hartford Courant brings up a very interesting case where a blogger refused to provide content to the Washington Post for free.

More windows ?

Jeff has never liked the sliding door in our dining room. Yesterday, he said, if we are replacing the windows on this side of the house, let's replace the sliding door.

After thinking about this proposal, we have decided to remove the door and have a window installed.

It seems our small project is taking on a life of its own.

Gardenia

My gardenia is finally flowering. This is a small miracle. Ever since I received the plant at Easter, it has been losing leaves.

I read that gardenias are fussy. They like sun, but not direct sun. They should be kept moist but not wet and prefer acidic soil. It seems that quite often these plants do not thrive in a home. I'm trying, but am not sure what the outcome will be.

Windows ?

When we bought our house we had hoped to do a major renovation. Unfortunately, our beer budget and champagne tastes did not allow this to happen. Our desire to update our home has not diminished.

Jeff and I have been talking about replacing the first floor front windows. As you can see, they are original (40 years old!) and do not match. Even worse, the windows are not energy efficient.

We agreed that replacing the front windows would help with curb appeal and heating costs. I then started thinking, if we are going to put in a new front window in the living room, won't that make the side windows look worse ?

This is a rhetorical question, since the old sliders could not possibly look worse than they currently do.

Now, we are hoping to replace the 2 front and 2 side windows.

What is this ?

This plant is growing in our garden. I am not sure if it is a weed or some kind of flower. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment.

I was going to remove this plant, but then I thought, what if it is not a weed ?

Jeff's Mom thought it might be bee balm. Jeff's Dad was philosophical and said let it flower. If it is a weed, then pull it out.

She Loves Me

Jeff's parents spent the weekend with us. We went to see She Loves Me at the Westport Playhouse. This was our first trip to the Playhouse. The theater was beautiful and Jeff could fit comfortably in the seats (a rarity).

The musical comedy was excellent. I was not familiar with any of the songs, but the story was sweet and the old fashioned romance left me teary eyed. The show has been extended for a week. I would recommend attending if you can.

A wonderful dinner followed at the exclusive 5 star Francis Inn.

Onions

Cooper loves to sit on the deck on sunny days, so I let him out while I ate lunch.

15 minutes later, I called Coop back inside and saw dirt everywhere. It seems that Coop had decided it would be fun to dig all the dirt out of a planter. Onion bulbs with their green stalks torn off were scattered about.

I wondered how one small dog could do so much damage, so quickly. Coop showed no remorse for his crime.

Now when Coop whines to go out, I say no and he looks at me with sad eyes. Obviously, Coop has forgotten what he did or perhaps he remembers and wants to do it again!

Office Chair

After 15 years, our old office chair finally died. When I saw a washer on the floor, under the chair, I knew we were in trouble. When the chair would not raise/lower, it was taken to the trash.

We went shopping at Staples and sat in all their chairs. I thought the prices were a little expensive, so we headed to Costco. Costco had several chairs that were reasonably priced.

I also saw these beautiful Dutch Iris and immediately put them in the cart.

That is why I love Costco - office supplies, food and flowers all in one spot!

Pond Scum

I was walking Otis on the long lead and it was obvious he wanted to run around. I let go of the leash and Oti began to race in circles. Suddenly, Oti headed for the pond and jumped in.

When Oti left the pond he was covered in algae, so I rinsed him off. Jeff arrived home to see Oti and I sitting in the driveway, drying off.

The ice cold water from the hose and being told "Bad Boy" could not dampen the glee in Oti's eyes.

Mr Fox

The other day I mentioned to Jeff that I had not seen the fox in months. I wondered if it was hit by a car or eaten by a coyote.

Yesterday morning, I looked out the window and there was the fox, sitting in our backyard. The fox jumped onto the stone wall and walked along it towards the pond.

When Jeff came in from walking the dogs, he said that Coop and Otis went crazy sniffing and whining when they were out back. I guess we know why.

Almost Made It

Favorite Places

Cooper says, "Find your own sunbeam, this one is ALL mine."

Buzzin

I stopped at my favorite bakery (DiMare) and saw this beautiful cake.

I have never seen a beehive cake before. I couldn't resist buying it.

Since Jeff is allergic to bees, I volunteered to eat them.

Funny if it weren't true

Reformed?

Some of you may remember when Otis destroyed my favorite hat.

The other day I was out on the deck planting some flowers.  The dogs were out with me and Cooper was watching the sun dance in and out of the shadows.  I sat down on the deck as I was filling the pots with dirt when Otis approached me.  He was coming in very tenderly and I thought he was going to give me a kiss.  He paused just before gingerly grabbing the bill of my new baseball cap and ripped it off my head and started to play keep away!  Fortunately, I was able to rescue the hat before it suffered the fate of it's predecessor.

Million Dollar Quartet

We went to see Million Dollar Quartet, which just opened on Broadway. This musical is based upon a true one day recording session of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins at Sun Records.

There is not much of a plot to this musical. It covers a jam session and provides insight into the background of each singer. Million Dollar Quartet is ALL about the music, which was FANTASTIC. If you like these artists, you will really enjoy this play.

People were clapping and singing along with the performers. Jerry Lee's antics had everyone laughing. I learned that Blue Suede Shoes was a Carl Perkins song (I thought it was an Elvis tune!).

If you are looking for 90 minutes of fun, this is the place to go.

Happy Tax Freedom Day!

That's right, the average American Taxpayer (which is only slightly more than half of the population) has been working all year for the government until today.  If you're lucky enough to live in Connecticut or New York, keep plugging away until later in the month.  From CNN Money:

Each state has its own Tax Freedom Day. The day arrived earliest in Alaska and Louisiana -- on March 26 -- because of "modest incomes and low state and local tax burdens," the Tax Foundation said.

Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia celebrated soon after, on March 28, March 29 and March 30, respectively.

Connecticut, the state with the highest per capita income, will be the last to celebrate. Tax Freedom Day won't arrive until April 27, the 117th day of the year.

New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Washington will join Connecticut as the last states to celebrate. In these states, Tax Freedom Day will fall on April 25, April 23, April 19 and April 15, in that order.

The Boss and Her Staff

I leave on Friday mornings and the boss is working at home with her minions.  About thirty minutes later, they're both on the bed waiting for their noon-time milkbone fix.

Tulips

The Easter tulips are now open and look gorgeous. In this extremely warm weather, the blooms will not last for long.

Our yard, too

Spring is in full bloom.

Happy Easter

I heard Otis growling around 2:00 AM. I assumed there was probably a raccoon in the yard and didn’t give it much thought.

When I walked into the kitchen this morning and saw these beautiful flowers, I realized that Otis must have heard the Easter bunny stopping by! I think it is amazing how this rabbit knew my love of tulips. Unfortunately, trying to grow them outdoors is impossible with all the deer.

I have never had a gardenia before. I am hoping that it will thrive or at least survive long enough to flower.

The Easter bunny even left new chew toys for Cooper and Otis.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter filled with chocolate bunnies and Peeps.

Our yard

Scenes from our yard.

Fate

For my birthday in June, we usually go to a Broadway show and then have dinner in NYC. Jeff had not yet ordered tickets. I really didn't know what play I wanted to see.

It seems that fate had something else in mind. I was listening to the radio when I heard an advertisement that the Eagles would be in concert. The Eagles are another concert on my bucket list. When I was growing up my older brothers would play the Eagles records constantly.

The Eagles broke up as a band in 1980 and reunited in 1994. I remember their reunion tour tickets as being extremely pricey and impossible to get.

I mentioned to Jeff that the Eagles would be in concert and he said."That's interesting". (Note: This is the same response I received when I suggested going to Alaska in December!). I took that as "Full speed ahead"!

It turns out the the Eagles are playing in Gillette Stadium (near Boston), too far for a one day trip. Oh well, I thought, it would have been fun.

I then noticed the concert date - on my birthday weekend! Surely, we were destined to attend this concert. Since I couldn't think of a better gift, I said how about we get a hotel for the night and celebrate my birthday in Massachusetts ? Getting into the spirit of things, Jeff said why not take off on Fri and have a long weekend ?

I went to book seats and saw that general tickets were not on sale, only American Express members could reserve seats in advance. Not having an AmEx, I was momentarily stumped. A quick call to LI (and a promise of a check in the mail) provided the AmEx information I needed.

I purchased the tickets and when I went to print them, received a message that tickets would not be released for 24 hours. 48 hours later, I could still not print my tickets.

I called TicketMaster and spoke to a very nice representative who explained that this concert was going to be a BIG event (68,000 seats) and that ticket scalpers and ticket resellers were trying to purchase too many seats. Until the general public could purchase seats, all tickets were being held and credit card numbers checked to make sure that no one person was buying up blocks of seats.

In a few days, I should have my tickets!

What ?

It was a sunny day, Cooper and Otis were on the deck while Jeff and I ate lunch in the kitchen. Coop was starring at a shadow and barking and pawing at it.

Oti raced over to see what all the excitement was about. Oti stared at the floor for a minute and then looked at Coop with a quizzical expression. Oti seemed to be saying, "What ? What am I missing ?" You could tell that Oti did not see why a shadow would be exciting.

Oti wandered to the door and waited to be let inside. Coop's tail was wagging a mile a minute and he was blissfully happy to be with his shadow friends.

Bon Jovi

We went to the Bon Jovi concert at Mohegan Sun Arena this weekend. When I was a teenager Bon Jovi had their first radio hit. Twenty six years later, I decided it was finally time to see this band.

I thought Bon Jovi would be good - how else can they consistently sell out major stadiums ? However, I was surprised at how EXCELLENT the concert was. For two and a half hours, Bon Jovi played new songs and old favorites.

The crowd was on their feet and the arena rocked. The energy in the 10,000 seat arena was palpable. I wondered what must a concert at the Meadowlands be like ?

Jon Bon Jovi is an fantastic performer. You can tell that he loves to sing and the audience is happy to get swept up in the moment.

As with most concerts there are a lot of video screens to show close ups of the band performing. Bon Jovi also had extensive video clips and graphics displaying during songs.

I thought we would be some of the older fans, but as Bon Jovi said, there were a lot of "cougars" out on Saturday evening. The people sitting near us had traveled from Maine and many had been to multiple concerts.

I am very glad we went to the concert. As we left, I said to Jeff, I would like to see them again someday ;)

Toyota

Maybe, just maybe, it's not always Toyota's fault...

Fan Club

Carol, the dog walker, stopped by the other day with another client Laurie. It seems that Laurie loves big red Goldens and wanted to meet Otis.

Laurie's red Golden, Jake, had passed away. I thought Laurie was now dogless, but she owns 3 yellow Goldens.

Laurie cooks liver for breakfast and salmon for dinner DAILY for her pups. I told Otis not to listen, otherwise he will not eat his IAMS.

Otis loved all the attention, especially the belly rubs. Oti was ready to pack up his toys and race into Laurie's car, until he heard that she also owns 2 cats.

Maybe the grass isn't always greener....

Frogs for Breakfast

When I looked out the window this morning, I saw a hawk sitting on a rock at the pond's edge. The hawk sat unmoving for several minutes and then took off, his wingtips brushing the water.

The hawk landed on another rock and began to eat. I realized that the hawk was having frogs for breakfast!

The hawk must sit close to the water, because the frogs only appear for the briefest instant. They could never be caught if the hawk perched in a tree over the pond.

I am fascinated by these beautiful birds. The hawks are smart, swift, strong, deadly and yet at only 2 pounds surprising fragile. Hawks mate for life. Our pair seem devoted to each other.

One website said hawks are rarely seen in back yards. I smiled, because the hawks spend large portions of the day at our pond. I realize we are lucky to have these unique guests sharing our home.

When I arrived home in the evening, the hawk was again perched at the edge of the pond. I guess frogs make a good dinner too!

Englehardt on Wealthshare Healthcare