Me And My Cousin

Today I celebrated my cousin Janet’s birthday.
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Our friend, Michelle came up and the three of us took a cruise on the Mount Washington Cruise Ship.

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We spent 2 1/2 hours out in the breezy sunshine enjoying the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee. The day was so clear and we had a great view of the shoreline, the mountains in the distance, and even the now green ski slopes of Gunstock Mountain.

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It was so relaxing, so fun and we enjoyed the time.

When we returned Hubby picked us up at the dock with Arnie and Anneliese in the car. They were so surprised to see us! Janet took these pictures in the car on the way back.

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We rested at the house for a while, visiting with Hubby and Emily came over. She helped Hubby paint the stain on the picnic table and before we knew it, it was time to go to dinner at Canoe.

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Me, Michelle, Emily and Hubby.

As usual, the food was wonderful, but sadly our favorite waiter wasn’t working and we got a young girl who had trouble keeping it all together. It was pretty busy and I think she was new. So I wasn’t really thrilled with that. But the food was good, and the company even better! And best of all, the birthday girl got her cake!

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Happy Birthday, Sweetie and many, many more!!!

Puppy Dogs & Loaves Of Bread

First I have to tell you that I got up today, did my hair and then forced Hubby to take a couple of pictures of me with the babies. They are growing so fast and I wanted to get my longer hair on film so I can remember that I should never go shorter than this for a very long time.

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Arnie, me and Anneliese, the kissy girl!
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It’s another 90+ degree day. Once again my boy, Arnie wasn’t feeling too great, so I have kept him inside in the air conditioning.

Hubby has been sanding the picnic table getting ready for our party on the 4th of July, and so he came in, soaking wet from the heat and is now asleep in his chair. I’m hoping tomorrow will be cooler and drier and we can stain the table.

We special order delicious German bread from a baker in Toronto. Oh my goodness, this stuff is wonderful and addicting. We order several loaves at a time and freeze it. Well, today’s loaves arrived and the box was all smashed. Inside one of the 4 pound loaves of Klosterbrot was decimated! I was so upset. I called U*S and the company that we order from and I guess in the long run we will be getting a replacement loaf, but what a pain. When I spoke to U*S I told them this wasn’t the first time a box arrived in this condition and I hoped they could speak to the driver. I have 3 dachshunds I can sick on him, should he screw up again! LOL

Full Of Love

One day I think, I’m so in love with Arnie that I can’t imagine not having him. The next day I think I am so in love with Anneliese that I can’t imagine life without her. I already adore Fritz and Greta, and I couldn’t possibly choose between them, but now I have this whole new love affair going with the puppies. They are so sweet, so loving and yet, so different.

Fritz
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is your usual big dog. He loves to be outside with his daddy and he loves more than anything to sit under the peach tree with as many toy balls as he can find. He can be sweet, but he is also independent, in a big dog sort of way.

Greta
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is a sweet, loving dog, but she has a wildness to her that the others do not. She will chase down a mole in the field and watch for the cat next door to go and sun itself on the rock near our front window. She just loves to sit. To watch. And then bark to let us know that the gray cat is on our rock!

Anneliese

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She stole my heart early on. At Christmas I told Uschi I thought maybe I was going to keep this little girl. She is a comical puppy. She loves to curl up and is full of love, but she loves to do what I call her commando crawl. She will have a toy in her teeth and then crawl across the floor like she is on a mission with the military. She is always full of kisses and although she is petite, she has a big spirit!

My surprise love is Arnie
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I have never been a boy dog lover. My cousin is laughing at me about this, I am sure. Arnie came to us because the people who were due to buy him changed their minds. How lucky for me! Arnie is the sweetest of dogs. He wants to be in your lap, at your side, he follows me around the house and sits at my feet while I prepare meals or when I do the dishes. His heart is so big I can’t believe it. Of all he dogs, he is the one who is the easiest. He is the lover of all.

So I am hopelessly hooked on this wonderful group of dogs. How could I ever chose to have just one?

We Found It! (Or Puppy Pool Time!)

Today, just when I thought it was not going to be possible, Emily came running in and said, “I found the Puppy Pool!”

I called to make sure that the pool was, in fact there, and then the two of us raced off to get it.

It fit perfectly in the back of the station wagon and we got it home and immediately filled it up with crisp clean water! Today it was 90 degrees (F) and the pups were really enjoying the cool fun. Here is a small sample of our afternoon pool time.

The Good & The Frustrating…

It was a productive day, just a bit frustrating.

It started with me bathing all three dachshunds with a new shampoo. Mmmmm. Smelled good, and now they all smell good. Emily helped me to dry them all off and then she snuggled Arnie for a while.

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My big goal, after that was to get a four foot rigid kiddie pool for the pups. I wanted to get it now so they could play in it during the coming heat wave, but I also want to get this pool now for use next year when Greta has her next litter. This plastic pool would be so easy to keep clean and would literally grow with the pups.

I called Wal-$@*! which is about 15 miles from here and asked if they had this pool. “Sure!” I was reassured and so I set off to pick it up. When I arrived I found NO POOLS!!! Surely this was a mistake. I asked to see the manager who apologized and then assured me that another Wal-$@*! had it. This was another 10 miles. So off I went. When I got there…you guessed it. No pools!!!

I decided it was not my day and didn’t even bother to get upset. I bought myself an electric curler set and then I called Hubby and asked if he wanted anything from that end of town and he wanted two bottles of Scotch that were on sale. Not a problem, but oh do I wish I could drink. After a day like this I could use a stiff scotch!

I arrived home and was greeted by four loving dogs and one grateful husband. I got kisses from all and then sat down to rest. I was tired.

Of course pups and Hubby alike needed to be fed. Steaks, for us, and the usual for the doggies. Now we are all happy and cuddling and I am ending the day with a nice German coffee. What a treat!

Loon Mountain Hike

It was a bright and beautiful, early summer day here in Central New Hampshire. A cold front had moved through on Friday, leaving the air crisp and clean. We’d decided some days ago to go to Loon Mountain with the dogs (minus Greta who is still in heat) and ride the trams up to the top, have lunch and then hike down.

I was a little nervous about this hike because of my knee, but I didn’t hesitate as June in the mountains is a glorious time.

My only worry was Fritz.

I love that dog like no other, but…he is terrible in the car and on a leash. He jumps and howls and generally makes himself a pest for all around. I have taken him to “doggy reform school” and when I used the chain collar he listens quite well, but I hate the choke collar.

On the ride up we had Emily and the two pups, and Fritz and Hubby and myself. Em’s parents and their dog rode in another car. Fritz was, his usual terrible self! I kept threatening him with bodily ejection from the car. Somehow we made it to Loon and began unpacking the car and getting our backpacks and hiking sticks out.

Em and I took the pups in the first goldola,

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her parents and Kodiak, their dog, in the next. Then poor Hubby in the last gondola with Fritz.

I imagined the chaos erupting in that gondola, but when we got to the top I was delighted to learn that Fritz had actually enjoyed the ride!

We poked around, got some lunch at the “Summit Canteen”, and then about the time we were due to start hiking down, Hubby lost the hold on Fritz’s leash. Fritz took off and headed back to the gondola and jumped into the open door! Em’s Dad ran after him and grabbed him and got him out before we had to watch him disappear down the mountain!

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The scenery was so beautiful. I wish I could have had you all with us. The Lupines were in full bloom painting the mountyainsides with white and purple.

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It was so much fun to walk down the very slopes that we ski in the winter. How different they look with emerald green grass and the trees completely leafed out.

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I did pretty well, but about half way down the old knee gave out and I was forced to put on the knee brace. Now to accomplish this we had to scoot the guys ahead and Em’s Mom helped protect my modesty so I could slip off my jeans, put on the brace and then get myself all together again. I did it without missing a beat!

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I used two hiking poles (wish they’d been crutches!) and got down the mountain. Then I just wanted to rest. Everyone but Arnie and me rode up the mountain again, but this time they all rode down on the gondola. The funniest sight all day was watching Fritz come back into the gondola loading area. I was hoping to capture that imagine, but a little boy was holding Arnie and I couldn’t get my camera out.

So tonight I am sitting in my chair with my knee pillow comforting Greta, who, of course is feeling sad at having been left behind.

The question is, will Hubby and I be able to move tomorrow?

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The sunset Saturday night across the lake.