Teacher, The Dog Ate My Homework

This past Sunday Ross was hired to cater a small holiday party that some friends from church threw. He did most of the prep work Saturday and some final work on Sunday before he went over to their house to cook everything up.  It was some tasty food, and it seemed that everyone was happy.  After all the guests left, Ross helped clean up, and then we headed home.

Once home we unloaded everything onto our dining room table, including the check Ross received for payment.  I said I'd do the dishes as he had just done a bunch at our friends' house.  We chit chatted a bit while I washed, and then Ross headed into the front room.  Next thing I hear is "no Max."  So what did our little Corgie do?  He ate Ross' check.  So not funny in one hand but way classic in the other!

Thank the Lord that these were friends of ours.  Ross called them up and told them what happened.  Their reply was that they paid Max to eat the check (of course we know now he would do it for free).  Ross got a new check Monday and subsequently deposited it before any more mishaps could happen.  Smart thinking!

On another note,  Ross and I have had a little blessing this year.  It may not sound like much, but we had our rosemary plant bloom for the first time.  Woo-hoo you're thinking.  To me, this is an amazing feat as I have systematically killed every rosemary plant I have had up till this current one.  I received them as Christmas gifts and bought them from nurseries; all dead.  We started this one in the Summer of 2010.  It barely survived the Winter on our kitchen counter.  I took it outside this Summer and it flourished.  I brought it back in when the temperature started to drop and said a little prayer for it.  So far my prayer has been answered as it seems to be doing quite well.  It flowering is a fitting Christmas tribute as I recently read a blurb about how the Virgin Mary had laid her blue cloak over a white blooming rosemary plant and from then on it bloomed with blue flowers.  The plant was hence known as the Rose of Mary.  Let's hope that I can keep this plant living so we won't need an Easter miracle later this Spring!

I Swear I've Been a Good Boy!

Well maybe not always so good. But definitely a boy!

This is Max's first Christmas with us and he is enjoying the festivities. The other day we took him to the local pet supply store to meet Santa.  I should mention that Max does very well meeting new people. He usually throws himself on the ground and rolls over to get belly rubs.  Santa was a whole other story.

When it was Max's turn we took him into the room.  He played a bit with Santa and his toys, but once Santa sat down and asked Max to sit in his lap, Max hunched close to the floor and started to cower.  Like many children, Max was afraid of the big, jolly fellow.  Santa reached out his hand in which he had some doggie treats.  Max stood right up, ate the treats, and let Santa put him on his lap.  It's nice to know that anyone can buy our dog's affection!

Max also went with us to cut down our Christmas tree.  We went to Angevine Farm again this year which is a hunt and cut farm.  We walked through the various fields looking for the perfect trees.  There were a couple Max sized trees there as well to be cut in the future.  Max decided that a couple of these young trees were nice so he decided to mark them for us for the future.  Hopefully by the time they get big enough to cut down they smell more pine tree than fire hydrant!

Max has been doing well with the Christmas tree in the house.  We did keep most the ornaments out of his eye level.  The other day he did take a glass bulb off the tree and was carrying it through the front room.  Talk about nerve wracking.  You don't want to yell or chase him to aggressively or he'll break the bulb, but you got to get it before he chomps it.  Crazy dog!  He also thinks that the tree stand's water reservoir is his personal water bowl.  He must love pine flavored water-go figure.

We're looking at making some more Christmas memories with our little pup.  We did realize early on though that no presents can go under the tree early as Max is just as bad as me.  Where I shake, rattle and roll each box, Max tends to open cardboard boxes by chomping on the corners.  Guess we'll have to wait for Santa Poochy to come on Christmas Eve to get any presents!

It's Labor Day!

It's Labor Day!  Time to sit back and relax just like Max here to the left. Not in our household; it's called Labor Day so you'd better get to work.  It seems that I always have something else to complete, and every time I look at my list it just gets longer.  Ross had started a list for me that had eight items on it. I've completed three and then added sixteen mores tasks.  Some of these are simple-such as vacuuming all the cobwebs from the basement rafters-while some are a bit more complicated-like adding a second sump pump to the basement.

Before

The most recent cross off on my honey do list was replacing the basement windows.  I'm big on doing lots of research before starting a project, and I did not find as much info as I would have hoped.  Ross and I have installed regular windows before but the basement windows do not get nailed into studs so I was a bit perplexed.  Oh well, if you're not quite sure what you're doing just keep going forward and you'll get somewhere (seems to me that this is a man trait-no honey I don't need to stop and get directions cause I know it's around here somewhere).

After

I have now replaced four of the five basement windows.  The fifth window was knocked out by the previous owner and a sheet of plywood was set in its place.  They placed a dryer vent through this and there it has set since (no paint, no sealant, just a sheet of thin plywood exposed to the elements).  We decided to replace that window with glass block and found a nifty glass block dryer vent that will be installed as part of the window.  I have everything on order for that installation; looks like I get to learn something new!  I have to admit that the new windows do wonders for the light and the general atmosphere of the area. Ross was correct to add this to my honey do list!

On another note, we were walking Max down the street the other day, and I noticed a strange (for here) but familiar looking nut on the ground. Lo and behold, it was a buckeye.  I guess Ross and I aren't the only transplants to the hill as the buckeye tree is not native to Connecticut.  I would think that this was some lost souvenir except that is was still in its outer casing when I picked it up. Looks like we have a tree to hunt down-now let's just add that to my list!

A Momentous Week

Max turned six months old on May 8th.  Happy half birthday little guy. And your present...

We had Max neutered on Thursday. Both Ross and I were concerned about him going under anesthesia.  I felt better after dropping him off at the vet as they explained that they would do some blood work on him first to ensure he should be fine with the sedative. He made it through his procedure with flying colors.  If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't think that anything was different.  He has all the pep and onerousness that he had before.  His biggest fun is eating paper and cardboard.  I had him in the bathroom with me as I was cleaning the bathtub and the next thing I new he was chomping on the toilet paper (so cliche Max).   And, speaking of bathrooms...

We are almost finished with our bathroom renovation.  We finished painting the bathroom last weekend.  Every night this past week we spent placing the backerboard and floor tile. I was able to get the tile grouted on Friday evening which allowed us to get the toilet and sink in on Saturday.  We officially have a functional bathroom.  All that's left is to install the trim and some paint touchups. The change makes me feel so good that I find myself just standing in the doorway taking it all in.  It is a dramatic difference from what we inherited when we bought the place.  The best part is that this was the last room in the house that needed a major remodel.  Now all that's left are some minor renovations and basic maintenance.  Happy happy, joy joy!