Meet Zoey!

I'm sure you'll call us crazy, and believe me, we are, but we got another dog!!

It started like this: I've always wanted a basset hound. We've talked about our next dog being a number of different not as big dogs, and also talked about getting another dog before these two pass on to ease the transition and feel like no one is being replaced. We also, however, talked about not having any dog for a while after these two, but when the local humane society had a basset up for adoption, I said, "Please??" And Mr. Fabulous said yes!

But he was adopted right before Mr. Fabulous got there, and he figured while he was there he would take a look around. And then he found Zoey. She's a collie mix, smaller than Brooklyn, but a few of the same mannerisms. She's super cute, a little rough around the edges, and has soooooo much energy.

She's a year old and still has a lot of puppy habits, including needing to get up to pee before my 9 hour sleep cycle is over. I swear she can tell time, because if I say "5 more minutes" or "20 more minutes" I swear she's barking at me just as time's up. And she's already eaten 2 pairs of shoes, a belt, a pair of jeans, and chewed a hole in my down comforter. Apparently the small fortune I spent on chew toys for her was not money well spent. Recently she discovered the cat's bed and decided she fits just right there! Just as Fiona was starting to get used to her presence here too.

Wedding Reminders

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending a wonderful wedding filled with love and friends, and it reminded me just what our marriage vows were all about. In the short time we've been married, we've been handed a lot of setbacks, and it is easy to get caught up in it all and just feel badly for ourselves. We still have a lot going for us, a roof over our heads, loving family, some hilarious fur-kids (and feathered kids) and we still eat 3+ meals every day.

My dear husband has an infected thumb. I know it doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but two hospital visits, three doctor appointments, and numerous antibiotics later, it's still infected and painful. He can't work on the boat with it, and this weekend when we thought it was getting better, it suddenly got worse again. Without going into too much detail, he took a band-aid off and a chunk of his thumb came with it. That was right after the ceremony at the wedding, so we rushed off to the drugstore to get some better dressings and went back to the reception.

When we arrived back to the reception, it was tough to find seats, so we just mingled about. When we had our food, we decided to just sit at the picnic tables outside. I went to get some drinks, and when I came back my dear husband had pulled a couple of chairs in front of the fire pit for us. It was wonderful. Just the two of us, sitting by the fire enjoying some delicious barbecue, a whole tent full of people behind us. We talked about how lovely the ceremony was, how funny some of the people were, and how tipsy most of the groomsmen seemed to be.

We had to leave early, and I'm sure we had to miss out on some great times, but health of the hubsy comes first. He has a follow up appointment today, and I hope we're finally told that everything is healing as it should. It's still swollen and painful, but less so than it was a few days ago.

I have had a lot of people tell me that the first year of marriage seems like the hardest, and I would say ours has been pretty difficult. It was fabulous to have such a glorious reminder of how it all started, and the commitments we made to each other to help and support each other to be the best person each of us can be, no matter what.

Also, I learned to make sure to write down all medications and a list of questions to ask before going to the Emergency Room. Otherwise, you have some late night phone calls to make, and some favors to cash in on as you bribe someone to go to your house and find the answers for you :)

Meet Alfonse

After the death of her good friend, Babs, Gert seemed quite forlorn. We set about finding a new friend for her, but the lady I got them from only had boys to give away, and since it's fall, the nearest hens (of any breed) were at least two hours away, and more money than I wanted to spend. So, it was a little trepidation, that we accepted the rooster and prayed he would be good company for darling Gertrude. I chose the tamest of the three I had to choose from, and the most pretty. Here he is riding in my car on the way home:

He was pretty good in the car, other than this moment when we first got in, he stayed in his tub and did some minimal chatting on the way home. I felt like we bonded.

Upon arriving home, I carried him to the yard, and set him down. He started doing a little squawking, the kind of "locator cry" I've come to expect from them, and Gert came running over. They grazed a bit side by side, and I thought it was love at first sight. But then Gertrude turned to face him, puffed up her feathers, and attacked the poor, unsuspecting rooster.

... and then he ran away.

It was a pretty rough first day for Alfonse. Gertie was not too sure she wanted a boy in her midst, the dogs barked at him and he ran into the woods. But he kept coming back, and made himself at home on our porch and attempted to roost on our grill. Given evidence of the giant owl in our neighborhood, we opted to keep him safe and put him in his coop.

Soon enough, they will be fast friends, and we'll have to work on getting a couple more hens to keep Gertie company!