Our son...

Our very loved son is 35, lives in Manhattan, and likes to travel as much as possible. He is soon to take off to spend a year in exotic China. He chooses to experience the treasured cultural habits of each area he visits, instead of adopting the tourist frame of mind. At present, he is viviting us for a few weeks before his year abroad. He is an interesting, educated man who has friends all over the globe. We love spending time with him, sharing ideas on a wide array of topics. There is always plenty of humor involved in our conversations, too.

We feel blessed!

Let there be rain!

New England has rain in the forecast for today and most of next week. In a way, that is depressing, but in another way, much more acceptable than getting pounded with snow. Much easier to avoid the growing mud puddles than to shovel several inches of snow off the winding pathways. Our little house has a doggie door that exits to a very large fenced in play area for our dogs. This mean that six very wet, muddy, but loved creatures go in and out steadily, bringing in dirt, leaves, sticks, and all sorts of natural decorations to add a bit of "flavor" to my floors that are cleaned daily. Also, there is nothing like the smell of six wet dogs huddled around me off and on for a solid week. Since I am their pack leader, they are honoring me with their presence, albeit a very wet one.

These weekend days when my husband is home, and all the dogs are around us, are so special to me. One never knows when the whole scenario could change, so I absorb all the goodness of these moments with thankful enthusiasm. My husband is my soul mate and has been so for 36 years. We are so comfortable together, both so happy to be sharing our lives in such a positive way. Although the rain outside is drumming down heavily, it only adds another element to my feelings of great peace and security.

Let there be rain!

Homelife in Autumn

Fall is a beautiful time of year in New England. The air is clear, the nutty smell of the dried leaves heavenly. Temperatures in the 50's F are t-shirt days for stoics like us, but sweatshirts are kept handy for when the sun sets. All my tender crops are history for the growing season, but a few hardier roses and violets are still going strong. All our dogs romp joyously in the colorful back yard, so glad to leave the hot summer days behind. Since they all have very heavy coats, the crisp cold air is a wonderful relief for them. This creates a season I term "Happy Feet Season". My dogs just love to run, tumble, wrestle, and play without facing the malady of becoming over-heated.

If my husband and I had more money, we would most likely spend it on adopting more rescued dogs. Being simple New Englanders, we have all the materialistic things we need, and can't think of anything that gives us more happiness than keeping our six dogs groomed, fed, hugged, and exercised. Except fot their regular vet visits, we do all the bathing, brushing, and nail clipping ourselves here at home.

We recently purchased a new used doggie van, since our old one bit the dust. Now the dogs are hard at work "hairing up" the inside of the new van. They have to get it looking as lovely (by their specific standards) as the older van!

Our son joked one time that he would like to have signed us up for Extreme Home Makeover, so we could have more space for rescued dogs, but he knew that since we had built our own little home ourselves, stick by stick, we could never relish the thought of seeing it bulldozed to the ground. Our home is tiny, square, easy to heat with wood, and passive solar construction. Built into a hill, we have a direct window filled southern exposure. The shell of our little home is thickly insulated, and the windows coated to keep reflecting the heat back into the interior. We burn three to four cords of wood a winter, and are always toasty warm. Our older dogs like to lie in the sunbeams in our living room and let the heat warm their muscles. It is so relaxing for them.

I will close with a photo of our "children".

Take care,
Beth