Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

I don't mind December snow. We've been getting an inch or so every few days and it makes the Christmas lights look so pretty at night. We don't get many white Christmases in this part of Jersey, but we just may have one this year.
It would be nice.

The first time I put Archito outside while it was snowing, he seemed a bit afraid of it. Then he had his first taste of snow and he was hooked. Just look at him-he thinks he's at some all-you-can-eat doggie buffet:



Doesn't he look like a little fox?

We should be getting some more of the white stuff tomorrow. It's a good thing, because I really need to stay home and do some baking and wrapping. Not to mention cleaning-well I always need to do that!

Hello There Again!!!

Hey, Remember me? I used to post here almost daily, then weekly, monthly, and now seasonally it seems!! I'm going to attempt to do this blogging thing again on an almost regular basis. I'd pretty much had forgotten how to post it's been so long!

I've been trying to get into that holiday mood, we've really had to scale back this year like mostly everyone. This little book has helped me find my Christmas spirit:



I highly reccomend this book. I'm going to read it again. It's also available as an audiobook, perfect for listening to while sitting in those holiday traffic jams or while checking out Christmas lights in your area. It's also a nifty little Christmas gift.

Speaking of which, I am so NOT ready for Christmas!! I still have some shopping, cleaning, decorating, card writing, and cookie baking to do. but I'll try to be back here soon. But just in case you don't hear from me again until Easter-Have a Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year!

Why It's Called A Puppy....

I think I figured out where the word "puppy" comes from:

Pick
Up
Poop
Pee-pee
Yuk!!!


Who? Me? I swear THE CAT DID IT!!!!

He sure looks guilty to me!

Yeah, this puppy sure is keeping me busy, but there have also been other things going on here as well, both good and bad. First the bad news: there was a fire in the building where both Carlos and I work about a week and a half ago. There was quite a bit of smoke and water damage, but it is a large building and the fire was pretty much confined to one area, so we were able to return to work the next day. Also we were afraid of losing our jobs this fall, since we were bought by another company last year and there were rumours they were going to close our building in October. Well, there has been a change of plans; they are going to keep our building open, upgrade our operating systems, and we're all getting retrained. So that's the good news. Now, we can relax and enjoy the rest of the summer, that is when I'm not chasing after our little furry, four-legged "chew machine".

Sunday In The Park

We took Archito to the park today. He really seems to enjoy walking there much more than walking around our neighborhood. Poor little guy is really afraid of cars. I guess I need to walk him at 4am when there isn't much traffic!

Here he is with Carlos:



And here's me with the little guy:


Gotta luv those orange shoes!

While we were heading back we were caught in a pretty bad thunderstorm. Carlos said something about turning off our air-conditioning at home and opening all the doors and windows because our last electric bill was pretty high. Well his wishes were granted, for when we returned home we had no power for several hours. It was raining buckets and the water in front of our house was ankle-deep when I emerged from the car with one wet, stinky Archito. He looks like a little puff-ball now.

Well, that's all for now. Hope to find some time to post during the week. I have to return to work tomorrow :o(. Wouldn't it be great to be a kid again and have the entire Summer off?

Meet Archito!!!

When we lost our Doberman, Raven, earlier this month our home felt so empty. One evening while sitting on the front porch, I noticed several of our neighbors walking their dogs and my heart ached so badly that I ran inside the house crying. Yes, I did plan on getting another dog or puppy when I was "ready", I really didn't want to rush into it. When I mentioned the crying incident to both Carlos and my sister, they both said the same thing: "Lynne, it sounds like you're ready for another dog."

I was hoping to find a dog at one of the local shelters, but they seemed to be full of mostly pit bulls and pit bull mixes and I was afraid such a dog might hurt our cat, Jeter. Also I wanted something smaller and less agressive, because both our home and yard are definitely what one would call "cozy" and I didn't think a large dog would be happy here. And I simply did not want an agressive dog. Although Raven was a Doberman, she was very sweet and gentle, and also very petite for her breed. We were very fortunate with her.

So we searched a bit and found this cute little guy. He's a Sheltie aka Shetland Sheepdog. We had one a few years back and enjoyed "Archie" so much that we decided to get another one. Carlos named him "Archito" (little Archie) in honor of our former dog.




He's six months old and he's soooo smart! I've always loved Shelties, especially their long noses:



He's slightly smaller than our cat and our vet doesn't think he is going to get much bigger, so I'm sure Jeter is going to be happy about that.



This little guy sure keeps me on my toes; he has lots of energy. The last time I raised a Sheltie puppy I lost quite a bit of weight trying to keep up with the little pooch. That's another reason we decided to get another Sheltie. I'm happy to report that so far I have lost four pounds on the "Shetland Sheepdog Puppy Diet and Exercise Program"!

Surprise Visitors

When one plants a garden, you can always expect a few surprises and that's exactly how I felt when I spotted a few of these guys chowing down on my dill plants:



That's an Eastern black swallowtail caterpillar dining in a herb patch at the edge of our veggie garden. They sure are hungry little critters! Anyway, they have sinced moved on, possibly "cocooning" somewhere close by. The adult butterfly looks like this:



It's a bit of a challenge to get these guys to pose for a picture.

Note to myself: next year plant lots of dill!

Hello Again!

Bless me Father, for I haved sinned, it has been more than four months since I last posted here! I hope to be blogging again on a regular basis. So much has happened in the past four months. I survived my 18 weeks of grand jury duty. It was pretty interesting. I'll talk about it in a later post. but first I have some sad news.

I lost my beloved canine companion of nearly 13 years earlier this month. Raven had been battling lymphoma and having her "put to sleep" was the most agonizing decision I ever had to make. It was truly one of the worst days of my life. She was a big, gentle girl with a heart to match and was loved by all who knew her. If there is a doggy heaven she is most surely there. I miss her terribly. Here is one of the last pictures I took of her:



That's our obese kitty "Jeter" pictured with Raven. They were best friends. I think he misses her the most. Sometimes he sits by our gate waiting for her to come home. So sad.

We do have a new puppy. I'll post about him soon, hopefully before he eats the computer.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.