The Decorating Frenzy...and Clyde (of course)

 I've found that it's easiest to snap pictures of Clyde while he's sleeping.  When he's awake, he's usually out of the frame by the time I get the shot off.

He's been picking some interesting places to take his naps.  I had a picture of him snuggling with slippers in my previous post; the shoe theme continues....

with Erin's sneakers....

with mine.......

and with Sean's.  I'm glad he doesn't play favorites.

On Thanksgiving, we went to my parents' house in Connecticut.  He managed to find a cozy spot to take his nap.

More Clyde

My painting projects have pretty much come to a standstill.

The roman shades I started to cut remain unsewn.

I have a new puppy that I can't take my eyes off of!

Clyde!!

Just a quick little post........

Clyde is here!!

Puppy Countdown

Erin and I took a ride to Brimfield last weekend to visit the puppies.   We pulled up and were greeted by nine little fluffballs.

 Erin and I both sat on the ground and let them climb all over us.  For an hour.  When it was time to go we had to tear ourselves away!

 I mean, does it get any better than this?

Eenie, meenie, miney, moe..........

Erin held this little guy for about ten minutes.  He snuggled right in and took a little nap.  She decided that he's the one.

But wait!

What about this little guy?  Shouldn't she give him a chance as well?  So she held him and he snuggled and napped in her arms.  And she was certain that he was the one.

All we know for sure is that one of these two will be coming home with us next week, and we can't wait!

Loaded Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

Happy Halloween!

I made these cookies over the weekend.  Thanks to the added moisture from the pumpkin, they are a bit softer than typical oatmeal cookies.

I loaded them up with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, but you could substitute chocolate or butterscotch chips, chopped nuts or raisins.  Whatever you prefer.  Or you could kick up the pumpkin flavor a notch and add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice!

Weekend In Ogunquit

With Caitie home for her fall break a couple of weeks ago, we decided to take off for a few days for a much-needed mini-break.

Okay.  Maybe it wasn't beach weather, but it was still nice to hang out by the ocean.

Bundled up against the autumn chill, we took a walk along the Marginal Way.  Caitie was the only one who had the foresight to bring gloves.  Erin's coffee kept her warm.  I kinda froze.

We marveled at all the daring souls who climbed the boulders to leave stacks of rocks and pebbles.

All libraries should look as charming as this one does.

Wandering down to Perkins Cove.

Apple Cider Sangria

Caitie came home last Friday for her fall break.  We haven't seen her since August!   It was so nice to have her home, if only for six days.  

We went to Ogunquit for the weekend--I'll save that for another post--but when we returned I asked her to let me know if there was anything in particular she would like me to make for her while she was home.  She requested a couple of old favorites, chicken pot pie for dinner on Monday, and broccoli soup with cheddar cheese on Tuesday.

Also, in the spirit of the fall season, she wanted to try some Apple Cider Sangria.  I know I've mentioned my love of "umbrella drinks" in previous posts, but sangria runs a close second.

If I can't have a frozen fruity concoction, I favor frolicking with a full-flavored sangria flooded with fruit.  Repeat that three times.

Then go and make yourself some lovely sangria.

Dogs: Past, Present and Future

Today's post was originally all about my little southern boy.

That's right, Gus is a Georgia boy.  Atlanta, to be precise.

Gus is our first rescue puppy.  And our first non-golden retriever.  

But as I started writing about Gus, I kept making references to Rosie and Gracie, the dogs I had before Gus.     After many editing attempts, trying to keep to the subject of Gus, I decided to just start from the beginning.

We've had two goldens.

First, there was Rosie.  

Why did I get a golden retriever?  I wanted a dog, a big dog.  I didn't care what kind of dog, as long as it was big.

I don't know if Mr. Terrific wanted a dog.  I didn't ask him.  I did know that he liked golden retrievers.  I logically came to the conclusion that getting a golden retriever would fulfill my wish for a big dog, and that there would be no protests from my husband because the dog would be the breed that he loved most.

Rosie was awesome.  When she was a year old, Caitie was born.

Rosie didn't seem to mind.

Then came Sean.  Great!  Two playmates.  And then Erin came along.

Three was never a crowd as far as Rosie was concerned.

This 'n That

Where do I start?

Okay, first things first.  I do not have a new recipe to post.  I've been making lots of oldies but goodies, like pasta, broccoli and chicken which was the recipe that started this whole blog.

Nothing I've made recently has been good enough to blog about.

This was the pot roast that I made in my crock pot earlier this week.  Ick.  First and last time making pot roast in the slow cooker.

I've been spending way too much time trying to figure out my blog header.  Or should I say lack thereof.  Several months ago I changed the layout and the graphics, and you have no idea how frustrated I've been trying to put the header back together.  I can't figure out how to layer a photo onto the header!  Caitie is coming home for her fall break in a couple of weeks, I think I will cajole her into helping me figure it out.

I painted my dining room today.  Or maybe I should say that I continued my kitchen/dining room painting project.  

This is how I left it last week, when I didn't have time to finish.  The new green is pretty close in color to the old green, and unless you were looking at this particular spot under one of the windows it was hard to tell that my walls were painted different shades of light sage.

As I was finishing up my painting I was thinking of what my next painting project would be.  I don't like anything about my kitchen and since there is not a remodeling possibility in my near future I was thinking that I'll paint the trim as well (hard to tell in the above photo but the wood is an icky knotty pine).  And I'm going to paint the icky oak cabinets.  

And then I wondered, is it possible to paint the icky tile back splash?  And what about the icky counters?

I think I've overused the word icky.

I'll switch gears, from icky to magnificent.

I'm so happy that my garden is still producing an abundance of magnificent flowers so that I can surround myself with their magnificence in my icky kitchen.

I'm not kidding about the abundance part.  The more I clip, the more they grow and bloom and multiply.

Some of the zinnias are even having twins!  I've never seen double blooms like this before.  Magnificent.

Next post, I think I'll write about Gus.  My magnificent little southern boy.

Broiled Zucchini With Melted Cheese

Okay, I've spent way too much time trying to come up with a name for this recipe.  

 I've just spent almost an  

hour staring at this blank page.  Daydreaming, talking to Gus, anything to avoid the torture that is coming up with a name for a recipe.  Time to move on and go with a straight-to-the-point name.  The zucchini gets broiled, the cheese does melt...and so there you have it.

The important thing is this:  you will now have another recipe to go to when you are looking to use up the abundance of zucchini growing in your garden.