Puppy-Sitting, and Pumpkin Dip

A lot has happened since my last blogpost.

The Red Sox won the world series!!!

 Here's a picture I took of Clyde and Gus, during the final inning.  They knew I was getting excited.

Clyde was getting excited, too.  He's such a party animal.  Gus was just very concerned.

Here's a picture I took after the final out was made.

Mr. Terrific raised his arm in triumph, quite a display of emotion for him.  Clyde is off partying somewhere.

Gus is still very, very concerned.  It was way past his bedtime and he just wanted to call it a night.

Meet Georgia.  She's an 11-week-old Silky Terrier.  

She belongs to my friend, Maureen.  Maureen needed a puppy-sitter for a short period of time last week, and I volunteered.

Clyde volunteered, too.  Gus happened to be at the groomers that day, so it was up to me and Clyde to entertain Georgia.

I wasn't sure how to go about letting Clyde and Georgia play, so I decided to separate them at first.  I leaned a gate against a doorway, with an opening at one end that was only big enough for Georgia to fit through.  I figured it would be her call whether she wanted to play with the big old behemoth staring at her from the other side of the gate.

Ladies and Gentleman!  On the far side of the gate, at a robust weight of 68 pounds--CLYYYYDE!!!

 And on this side, tipping the scales at THREE WHOLE POUNDS, Georgia!!

And that is how they stayed for a few minutes, Clyde on his side of the gate, watching Georgia as she ran back and forth on her side of the gate, barking up a storm.

Due to laziness, or perhaps because of a desire to make himself smaller and thus less of an imposing figure, Clyde decided to drop his bones to the floor.

I vote that he was just being lazy.

At that point, Georgia quite boldly walked through the gate.

And proceeded to explore the fluffy giant, Clyde.

This is my favorite picture.  Not long after I took this picture, Georgia got a little too friendly and Clyde got spooked and ran away.  I was laughing so hard at my 'fraidy-dog I forgot to take pictures.

But he quickly came back and settled himself down so that their game could continue, with Georgia pouncing and exploring and Clyde barely moving a muscle.  Except for his furiously wagging tail, that is.

Georgia finished off the play date by attacking her squeaky hedgehog toy.

Enough, already!  Here she is, begging me to stop taking pictures.

Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Wraps and Baseball Really Does Make Everything Better

I refuse to get on my elliptical machine unless I have something good to watch while I torture myself  exercise.  It is just so gosh-darn boring any other way.

When I couldn't get my ipad to stream a video earlier this week, I went to plan B. Plan B is to read a book while riding my recumbent bike, since reading while standing on the elliptical--a stationary-yet-moving piece of equipment--requires more coordination than I possess.  I love, love, love to read so I was excited to have an excuse not to get on the elliptical (I usually force myself to use the elliptical instead of the bike because I get a much better--read SWEATY--workout).   Sitting and peddling on a bike while enjoying a good story is not such a great workout, but it is so much more enjoyable.

There was a minor problem, however.

This is the book that I have been reading lately.

And by lately, I mean approximately for the last month.  Or even longer, if you go back about 7 years to the last time I tried to read Life of Pi.  And now I digress.

I'm not a quitter.  I hate to start something and not finish it.  I can only remember giving up on one other book, ever.  It was around 25 years ago, Mr. Terrific bought me Stephen King's It, because It was over 1000 pages long.  I read books quickly, and if I'm reading a really good book I start wishing that the book were longer.  Mr. Terrific thought he was doing me a favor by buying me a really long book.

Except I didn't like the book.  After about 600 pages, I decided that I had read enough about children being terrorized by a clown.

Which is more than I can tell you about Life of Pi. The last time I attempted to read this book,  I read over 100 pages and I can not tell you what I read.  I gave up, even though it was on the best seller list, even though a friend of mine (whose opinion I totally respect and trust) told me it was a fabulous book.  I mean, 100 pages was a serious effort, right?  And for me to not even be able to remember what I read--I feel bad saying this--I felt like I was just wasting my time, and all because I was being stubborn and didn't want to quit.

But quit I did, I was happy to stop reading it and never gave it another thought...until the movie that was based on the book won a few Oscars at this year's academy awards.  I didn't see the movie, but I started thinking to myself, hmmmm...maybe I should give that book another go.

So about a month ago, I started reading Life of Pi AGAIN.  And since the only time of day that I can really find time to read is when I get into bed--and since I am on the verge of total exhaustion at that late hour--if there is nothing to spark my interest (read: if something is boring), I fall asleep really quickly.

I don't have a lot to show for the last month or so that I have been attempting to read this book.  Every night,  my eyes immediately just start rolling around inside of my head, anywhere from one word to a few paragraphs into it, which leaves me stuck on page 23.  That's right.  23 pages, in an entire month.  I would usually expect to read 3 or 4 books in a month.  But I'm stuck.  And I do mean stuck.

This is the page that I have been stuck on for the last week or so.  I get into bed, open the book to the page that I have dog-eared (don't judge me) to mark my place, and I ponder why pi=3.14159265 (I can't help it, my math-geekiness always expands it and yes I am jealous of everyone who has memorized more of these randomly-distributed digits than I have), visions of circles and their ratios of circumference to diameter cloud my thinking and then I realize that this tiny little equation is the only thing I have read in this book that I can relate to!!! 

 And then I close the book and turn out the light and lie there thinking that reading before bed is no fun.

Okay, back to the non-streaming ipad and working out on the bike instead of the elliptical...

So the last thing I want to read while working out is Life of Pi, especially when I could be reading something I enjoy.  I decided I would just go ahead and read something else while I exercised.

This is where Baseball Makes Everything Better comes in.

The Bird.  If you are a baseball fan, and you grew up in the '70's, surely you remember him?  I unabashedly admit that I really, really love the game of baseball and I always have...and I bought this book because even though I have always been a die-hard Red Sox fan there is no way that any baseball fan who ever saw Mark Fidrych pitch could not help but like him, and I certainly liked him.  He was so much fun to watch, and he played like he was having a blast: talking to himself, running around to congratulate his teammates, getting down on his hands and knees to smooth the dirt on the pitcher's mound.  

I bought this book a few months ago, and I gave it to Mr. Terrific because I thought he would enjoy reading it, but I am the one who is enjoying it.  I'm enjoying it so much that I have decided I will not ever waste one more second on any book that I'm not enjoying...and I'm probably going to have to remind myself to come back and read this blogpost if I ever get it in my head again that I really should give Life of Pi another try! 

Rum Punch

Mother's Day was perfect.  Both Sean and Caitie had their finals during the week before.  Sean came home Friday night, Caitie arrived on Saturday, and that's all I needed for Mother's Day.

And then my baseball team surprised me after our game that afternoon.

It was a perfect day.

I've really enjoyed the past week, having everyone under the same roof is the best thing in the world.

Today, Caitie and Sean both began working their internships.  Exciting for both of them.

I don't think I've mentioned that Caitie's internship is in New York City?  Uh, yes.  She moved into her place yesterday.  Sigh.

It's been her dream for a while, to spend the summer in New York City, before she graduates college.  For the last few years, I have mixed feelings with every milestone, and this was no different.  So, so happy for her, so sad that she won't be here for the summer.  

And then the worries set in.  I couldn't turn them off.  Where will she live?  How will she get to work?  How will she find her way around?  Who will help her if she has any questions?  And my racing mind answered every one of those questions with it's a city that she's never been to and she doesn't know anyone there.  

First, we tackled the housing quandary.  Where to stay?  Thankfully, her school sent us a few links to places where past interns had stayed.  

Mr. Terrific went to the first site and told me, "Hey, I like this one.  An apartment building that only rents rooms to single women who are working, interning or studying in NYC.  Includes maid service and two meals a day."  He told me the name of the apartment and I googled it.

When the results popped up, the only thing I saw was HELL'S KITCHEN.  And I swear, it was bright red letters, font size about 50 point.  I kid you not.  It's all I could see.  

I need to add a disclaimer right now, I mean absolutely no disrespect or disdain toward anyone who lives in Hell's Kitchen.  But as a mom, looking for a place for her daughter to live, surely you can understand why I would not want my daughter living in a place called hell?   And though I imagine that hell is generally an extremely hot place, I can't help but think that the kitchen--a room with an oven--might be the hottest spot in hell?  It could be a misnomer, but I just couldn't get past it.

The next place on the list was in the Flatiron District. The word "flatiron" conjured up images in my mind of steaks and hairstyling tools, and with "Hell's Kitchen" still tattooed on my brain my racing thoughts quickly drew corollaries between steaks/kitchen and hairstyling/heat/hell, but it did not make me feel like I needed to breathe from a brown paper bag lest I pass out from anxiety.  After a quick google of "Flatiron District" I learned that the name comes from the Flatiron building and that the district was previously called the Toy District, and before that the Photo District.......all names I can live with.  

Whew.  Found a place for Caitie to live that's not hell!

Busy Time

So much going on over the last few weeks.  I've been waaaaaaaaay busy!!

Remember the bed I made last month for my niece's dog, Milo?

I think he likes it.

Doesn't he look comfortable?

Too bad he roots for the wrong team.  I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan, and I wish he had better taste!

 I bought this framed print at an auction.  I love the simple rose print, matted with sage-colored silk.  The gold frame, not so much...........

So I painted the frame.

Then I got busy in my kitchen and dining room.  I did the semi-annual decor switch.  I like red in the fall and winter, and plum in the spring and summer.

So into the attic went the red valances.......

.........and the red rugs.

And up went the plum-colored valances (in the dining room),

cornices (in the kitchen),

and rugs.  This is the dining room rug,

and these throw rugs are in the kitchen.  And then I switched the dishes.  And the pictures on the wall.    

And the towels, potholders, napkins, placemats and dog dishes.  Yes, dog dishes.  Out with the red, in with the plum.  For six months.  Then I'll switch back.  

I started thinking that it's been several years since I sewed those valances, so maybe it's time for a change, time to freshen up the look and sew something new..........and then I stopped and gave myself a reality check.  Maybe next year.

I've also been spending lots of time at the ball field!  Evenings spent coaching a team of 13 to 15-year old boys (we are currently in second place in our 10-team league), 

and afternoons watching Erin pitch for her high school softball team.

And then it was time for the Senior prom (that's Sean in the middle, behind his date in the pink and white dress).  

Yes, Senior prom and then.........

his graduation!

And this past weekend, a graduation party for Sean.  Which means that for the last month, I've been frantically trying to get my garden in shape for the party.

 Filling the planters on the front steps......

 and on the deck..........

 and by the back door........

and by the driveway..........

 and then hoping that I can keep them healthy and thriving!

 The hanging baskets..........

at the front door.......

 the boxes on the deck..........

 the window boxes,

 newly installed for this year.........

wondering if I planted the right flowers for the amount of sun and shade that they will receive?

And in the midst of my preparations, goofing around with my camera, taking pictures of the perennials that are currently in bloom!

 The clematis......

 dianthus.......

and my favorite peonies.

And a new favorite, in my deck boxes.  I don't even know what this flower is called, but I love the way it's starting to trail down the sides of the containers.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Now that spring is officially here, official spring activities abound.

Like softball!  Pre-game pep talk on the mound.  That's my baby with the red cleats.  I'd post a better picture of my pitcher-baby, but she has forbidden me.

And baseball!  I coach a town baseball team of 13- to 15-year-old boys.  We had our first practice this week and I have to tell you that by the end of the practice my face hurt from smiling so much.

Today's practice was cancelled due to the rain.  I made a double batch of Orange Creamsicle Cookies, I was planning on bringing them for the boys to munch on after practice.  I'll have to bring them to tomorrow's practice instead!

This is one of the many recipes that I have pinned on Pinterest.  The picture looked so good, I just had to try it.  I'm happy to say, they taste as good as they look!  You can see the original recipe from Baked Perfection by clicking here.