After watching Julie and Julia last night, I had a lot of thoughts running through my mind while trying to fall asleep; none off which were related to my opinion on the movie. I liked it ok but it made me think more about the world of blogging and not quite as much about food…and thoughts of blogging led to all kinds of other things…
I can remember the first email address I had when we were using Juno but didn’t have the Internet yet. I got an average of 5 emails per week and it was still like writing a real letter back and forth. Now, I come home to more than 20 on most days and rarely have time to really read them all, much less respond. Wasn’t technology supposed to make things more efficient? Wasn’t email supposed to save us time? Is it because I am not glued to my IPhone or Blackberry that I can’t get to all these emails in a day? Are they even important enough to read?!
The character in the movie, Julie, grew obsessed with blogging and her commitment to write each day so that her readers (whom she’s never met) wouldn’t be let down. Anyone who has ever checked our blog, knows we must not be obsessed since our average is probably 2 times a month. I’m not sure we have much to say that is worth reading on most days. But I can see how having a real topic and a real purpose for blogging could become addicting…like every other piece of technology.
Am I going against the grain of my generation by simply wanting to slow down sometimes? Why can’t I just stay home and bake pie all day? As a teacher, I look at the students in my room and wonder what piece of technology will consume their lives in 15 years. That’s about how long ago I sat in 4th grade, re-copying my final drafts into cursive because we didn’t yet have a computer. I hope for their sake that the technology helps them. Because for me, I’m feeling like it just adds to the pressure of all the other things to get done.
In a few weeks, we’ll be back to my favorite happy place…
The view of Lake Champlain
I didn’t grow up on a farm so it’s not really like I’m trying to “get back to my roots.” But when people ask about Vermont and why I love it so much, I struggle to find the right way to describe how I feel. It really is the simplicity. The lack of pressure, the slower pace and the feeling of being removed from the temptations to be obsessive about “keeping up.” Although the weather will be a little colder than these beautiful Fall days, I look forward to having those moments away.
Vermont, in sum.
My dream would be to live in Vermont but have Vermont be closer to Washington and our family. We would also need Vermont to offer jobs that allowed us to make a living. And to have a red barn. And a long driveway with a white fence that is lined with trees that turn fiery red & orange in the Fall. And an an apple orchard on the property with squash and berries in the garden.
Is there an app. for all of that?
2010 started busy, as always. We cleaned the house and set up for a dinner party. Kelly proceeded to prepare for 2 more parties, neither of which would be hosted in our home but craftiness would be required.
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- 2010 Banner
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- Wine Tags
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- Yummy food!
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- Chocolate chip angel food cake
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- Homemade frame to match the nursery
Decor from baby shower #2, soon to appear!
Rumors of impending rain gave way to a last minute trip to the North Shore to comb the beach and browse the seaside town of Newburyport. After breakfast at Uncommon Grounds with my good friend Bella (and Tyson and Kelly’s friends too), they left me. Again. Apparently they don’t let dogs into the National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island. I can’t imagine why. Do they think we would chase the birds?
They were kind enough to bring me a new toy from some cutesy dog store that they couldn’t resist going into. I can’t get the treat out of this thing for the life of me though and I’ve been trying for hours. Who gives a gift that forces the recipient to spend hours doing nothing but try to be successful? Wait a minute…
Tyson and Kelly stayed very busy this summer, taking all kinds of trips and leaving me behind. The following is the list of places I did not get to go while everyone else had all of the fun:
Florida
Vermont
Cooperstown + The Baseball Hall of Fame
Seattle
Cape Cod
New York City
I could have handled myself in any of those places but I guess they wanted their freedom to come and go without dealing with me. I’m sure it would be helpful if I stopped having such difficult meetings with other dogs on a leash. I would probably be invited to more places that way! We all had a fun summer though; traveling for them, long walks and fetch at the park for me. The photos provide only a quick summary of the good times Tyson and Kelly had without me…
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| From Collages |
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| From Collages |
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| From Collages |
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| From Collages |
I suppose now it’s on to long days inside for all of us!
Kelly picked blueberries, raspberries and peaches yesterday in preparation for the hurricane that would be coming through today. This is what she did all day…
While it did this outside all day…
And I did this all day…
Yep! It was a great day!
When you move to a new place, it takes a long time to feel settled and established. Making new friends can be difficult but every once in awhile, you find a strong connection that may last for a lifetime or be only for a season. That’s what I am thankful for today – the blessing of friendship, good times and special memories.
BBQ at Oscar's house
- Cleaning up
Whenever we go to Oscar’s house, Tyson and Kelly come to hang out with Sarah and Michael. Last night they had yummy surf and turn. I ate Oscar’s food in the hallway and then chewed on a bone. I think Ty and Kelly are thankful for their friendship too since they always want to go to Oscar’s house with me.
Kisses! What a great friend!!
Life has been busy here in the last month and a half. All of New England has been sitting on edge, waiting for the rain to stop and for summer to officially shine on down. It still seems yet to break out permanently but we have taken advantage of every nice day that has come our way. I for one, am bored of laying around the house all day. I’ve been working so hard on fetching and now I can’t even practice! Everyone else seems to be doing fun things…
Tyson started his new job out in Framingham so his commute is a little farther than it was to Harvard Square…leaving me alone much longer during the day. Not cool. He is enjoying his time there so far, working with some really nice people. Softball season is underway so of course, every Friday night we go watch Ty play. He’s doing well this season and even bought a new bat! He takes church softball very seriously.
I made some new friends when Andy and Katie came to visit in June. I loved them and was very sad to see them leave. Tyson, Kelly and Andy got to go to the Red Sox game and got to see the World Series trophies! Then, when Katie got into town, they all went out for a fun night in Boston.
Standing under the Jumbotron instead of sitting in our bleacher seats for this view...so good, so good!
Kelly finished up school and jetted right off to Florida to visit family. She went to Disneyworld AND spent relaxing time on the beach while the rest of us continued to wait out the rain in Boston. She did have a big thunderstorm on her last day so I guess it’s not completely unfair.
The beach!
Disney!
Once Kelly got home from Florida, it was finally time for ME to go on vacation too! We all went up to Vermont for the 4th of July. As always, Tyson and Kelly stayed at their Bed and Breakfast in Brandon.
12 Franklin Street Brandon, VT
Jim and Linda are the best hosts. The make wonderful breakfasts and leave treats on the bed each night.
Linda's dog Sherlock left me a treat too!
Ty and Kelly loved the small town 4th of July parade as well as driving around the countryside (that’s all they ever do there). They visited Fort Ticonderoga and even found a new restaurant to rave about! The Common Man right at Sugarbush is a restored barn that served local, seasonal foods. The atmosphere was fantastic! Not too fancy but also not a “homestyle” type place either. We had a fresh local cheese sampler, the burger and the duck. Everything was wonderfully prepared, all the way down to the fresh berries and angel food cake dessert served in the Mason jar! For all of you skiiers out there, this is a great spot. Highly recommended!
I stayed at a dog kennel right nearby but really, it was a dog farm (not that kind of dog farm though!) I had a good time playing there but the real highlight of the weekend for me, was going hiking with Tyson and Kelly. They sure wore me out! We did 2 hikes in one day and one was practically straight up! I will admit, the view at the top was worth it.
You can see all the way to the Adirondeck Mountains in NY from here!
This is on the North Trail, right outside of Brandon and it’s one of Tyson and Kelly’s favorite hikes, especially in the Fall. They claim it’s one of the best views of the Vermont countryside. Our second hike was much less rigorous. More of a nice stroll through the woods up to Silver Lake. Again…worth it! Especially since they let me swim! If I could fetch in the water all the time, I bet I’d bring the ball back more often…
Looking for a good family hike? Check out Silver Lake!
Look at me go!
After hiking all day, I slept the entire way home. I was calm and sleepy enough to let Ty and Kelly stop off at Long Trail before heading back to Boston. I figured they earned it after dragging me up the mountain and then letting me get all wet and dirty.
The trip was a great way to kick off the summertime…except it rained for 2 more days when we got back home. Oh well. We are learning to enjoy the good days when they are here. This must be what Seattle dogs have to deal with all the time!
Since Kelly takes 5 million pictures everywhere we go, we put the rest of the trip into an album. There are some good ones of me in there! And of Brandon, of course.
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| Vermont 4th of July |
Last weekend, Tyson and Kelly took me to Portland like they promised. Yeah! Kelly really wanted to get me a lobster leash to match my lobster collar. She’s still raving about that store Fetch and I found that I agreed. They have so many natural products and higher quality toys than a regular chain pet store. Their prices aren’t bad either. I got a whole bag of mixed rawhide pieces for only $12.99! That was only after I got in a little tiff with another dog and had to leave and come back. Oops. While the girls shopped for awhile, Michael and Tyson took me to my first dog park. I was so good! I really just don’t like meeting dogs on a leash, even if it is a cute lobster leash from Maine. I was good at walking on my leash and teaching Oscar to follow me but once I meet another dog, I just forget my manners.
We all met back up for dinner and Oscar and I laid calmly under table, enjoying our new treats from Fetch and listening to everyone rave about their food. Oysters and fish are fine for them! I think they really liked the wine too…
The streets of Portland with Oscar biting my ear (typical)
Such a cute, cobblestone street!
This is me at the dog park.
Dinner at Street and Company
They gave us our own water bowl!
I was so good lying down while everyone ate! (and you can kind of see my new leash)
Street and Company
Check out the Yelp reviews on Street and Company so that if you are ever in Portland, ME you’ll know of a great place to eat! The atmosphere was absolutely unbeatable. Rustic and cozy, it would be a romantic place for a date or a fun place for a group. The outside dining is in a cobblestone alley. We loved it! It’s mostly seafood and the wine list is extensive. It is a little pricey (not your average drop in place on a vacation) but it was 100% worth it.
Yum!
Since Tyson and Kelly do not update their adventures often enough, I have decided to take over this blog. I think that my writing will be more interesting than anything they have to say! We’ll see how it goes.
- Me pulling Tabi on our walk
Earlier this month, I got to meet my Aunt Tabitha for the first time. It was very exciting because she was so nice to me! She let me do all kinds of things Tyson and Kelly don’t let me do…like walk with a really long leash! I got to sniff everywhere and get into everyone’s yard like I always want to. She played tug with me in the house AND invited me up on the couch! But Tyson and Kelly promptly told her I wasn’t allowed on the furniture.
- Playing tug in the living room
While Tabi was here, Tyson and Kelly took her all kinds of fun places I couldn’t go – like the Boston Marathon and on a Duck Tour! They saw Kara Goucher in the lead, running toward the finish but she ended up getting passed. It was, as always, a great race.
- Go Kara!
After Tabi left, I got to go on my first hike! I was very excited about getting dirty and climbing all over. It was very hot though and I was tired of walking but we had to keep going. I slept the rest of the day.
- The dirty swamp water
- Hale Reservation
It’s hard to see in the swamp water picture but I am wearing my new, navy blue collar with the red lobsters all over it. Tyson and Kelly brought it back from Maine and I love it! It makes me feel like a true New Englander. They got it at this cute store in Portland called Fetch. They brought me so many yummy treats since I didn’t get to go. In fact, I’ve never been to Maine and they’ve gone twice within the last month! Last weekend, they went with Sarah and Michael just to eat lobster at Chauncey Creek! They found out that dogs are welcome though so I will get to go next time. Yippee! They love that lobster place and take everyone they know up there. If you are visiting Boston soon, I’m sure they’ll take you too!
- With Zack…
- Who is this clown?
April was a good month. The weather stayed pretty nice and we’re all excited for summer to come in full gear. The vet told me I have to lose some weight so I am thankful for days that it’s not raining so I can get my exercise. We’ve been to our neighborhood park a lot lately and I’m trying really hard to be better at playing fetch. Sometimes I just get so distracted though! I’ll let you know when I’ve got the hang of it.
- At the park – look at me sit!
