We are tuckered out here at the cottage; so much so, that we decided to take a raincheck on dinner with Rick and Doug last night. Don just needs to rest. (So do I.)
So we’ve been taking it relatively easy, except for installing three window air conditioners, going on a walk with Sam, running to the grocery store and sitting on the porch. Today is a cloudy day and I know that rain is in the forecast, so we’ll hang out here.
Sam likes to carry a stick on his walk.
This one may be his biggest yet. To his credit, he carried it for quite a long stretch, mindless of how the stick was hitting my legs. It was so impressive!
Sam and Don got to bond again, as it’s been a while since they’ve seen each other.
He’s such a great dog.
We watched the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last night on HBO On Demand. As always, we learn so much about the honorees. But my favorites were the Moody Blues. Nights in White Satin was the soundtrack for my life in a college dorm in the early seventies. We had Christmas lights hung around the room. We’d shut the main lights off while keeping the twinkle lights on, light a candle, and listen to the album. Over and over. Hearing them sing it again was great.
More Bridal Veil Spirea. Thanks to the previous owners of this cottage for planting this bush.
It’s been great just being together on this mini-break for Don. Being apart as much as we’ve been over the past year and a half has not been easy.
Don got one whiff of the lilacs before they disappear. The pummeling they’ve received from two huge storms has not been kind to them.
Happy Tuesday.
installing three window air conditioners and getting groceries does not sound like taking it easy to me! glad you have the “extra” day together for more porch-sitting and togetherness …
we have boonie seats, but i don’t care … jimmy b’s in town tonight!!!
happy tuesday.
kathy in iowa
Have fun with Jimmy tonight!
Sam is a beauty!
I know you are enjoying your precious time with Don.
Peace~
Thank you, Monica!
Installing three window air conditioners is work my friend! Glad you got some rest in there. Every time I hear Nights in White Satin, I’m also transported right back to dorm life circa 1970, and lots of drippy candles from wine bottles! Ah…memories!
Enjoy your time with Don! ;)
Oh yes, the Italian restaurant kind of candles and wine bottles!
Knights in White Satin takes me back to a houseboat trip with high school friends after we were ‘old’ and married, with kids. (Never mind that we had just entered our twenties and were kids ourselves!)
Music can invoke such strong memories!
I always love how music can bring back such great memories! Enjoy your time with Don. A rainy day on the porch with your loved one sounds a bit like heaven to me.
It is! Sadly, he’s headed back to the city today.
So nice to have time with Don.
Sam is so cute!
We saw the Moody Blues last year and loved them! It was a wonderful evening.
So cool! I’m a wee bit jealous!
What a nice post…just so typical of you, Claudia, to make each day extraordinary! I absolutely love the photo of Sam carrying his big stick…what is it with dogs and their sticks? I don’t see many dogs carrying sticks in my neighborhood, I think because there’s a landscape service that cleans up weekly. However, I do see a few lucky dogs with patient kindly humans, who allow their dogs to snatch a small branch and bring it home. Don looks relaxed!
Is it some long ago ‘retriever’ instinct, I wonder? Thanks, Wendy!
That Sam is a nut! I’ve never known any dog who wants to lug around a stick on his walk. What a personality! Definitely a major cutie. Maybe if Rick and Doug have to be away overnight sometime, he can stay with Auntie Claudia and hunt down a suitable stick in her yard to tote! Enjoy your Tuesday! Peace.
#Resist
#ProtectMueller
He is such a wonderful dog!
well you know what they say… walk softly and carry a big stick! LOL
i’m so glad Don got to spend some home quality time with you.
it will hold him now until the next time. XO
Yes. Next time, I’ll take the trip into NYC – the first weekend of June.
you know … it dawned on me…
that there are a lot of couples in your business that are so competitive
and so self centered… they can’t appreciate the love they have.
for one who lost it early but DID have it… it just reminds me of how love is!
and how wonderful it can be when gifts are shared and appreciated.
and i don’t mean material gifts. i mean the gifts of the heart.
bless you both! xo
Thank you so much, Tammy. We never take what we have for granted – I know that you didn’t, either. xoxo
How cute is Sam carrying that BIG stick?…He looks like a sweetie…I bet he is enjoying living the country life with his Dads…You two…taking a break and sitting back and enjoying life and each other sounds like just what you both need…Enjoy!
He really loves it here. Doug says that he’s much happier here than in San Diego.
Putting up three air-conditioners is back breaking. you and Don should just lay back and rest now. No more chores.
Marilyn
It wasn’t so bad. It would have been back breaking if I did it alone, which I did last year. Having Don here made it much easier!
There is a lady in town here who walks her dog and he always has a stick. It is so funny. Another friend has a pile of rocks in her yard. I asked what she was doing with them ~~ it seems when she walks her pup, he finds a rock along the way and carries it home with him every day. Too funny!!
Sam is a cutie pie! I bet Don loved the time spent with him, and I know you do, too.
I am quite sore after a full morning of planting. Getting close to the finish line, I hope!! But, as you know, there is always one more pot, one more pretty or unusual plant to be found and brought home, so it goes on for a while. And it is just what we waited for over those cold and snowy days, so we do appreciate it!! Hope the rest of the day with Don was wondrous!!
Yes. I’m supposed to be at the finish line, but I just bought two more antique pots. I guess I’m not quite there yet! And that’s the fun of gardening.
So nice to see you and Don have a chance to hang out and relax together. I for sure is hard to have to spend so much time apart. Your beautiful picture of what we used to call a “Bridal Bush” brings back great memories. There was a humongous one in the yard where I grew up. It was so big my cousins and I hung blankets and made it our “play house.” Spent lots of quality time under that bush with my Tiny Tears doll.
What a great memory, Kay! I loved my Tiny Tears doll, which I still mourn to this day as my mother gave it away without telling me!
So glad you’ve been enjoying some much needed downtime with your sweetie, Claudia!
O.M.Jittles I got the biggest kick out of Sam’s ‘stick’ adventure! You captured it so perfectly with his stick being so much larger than himself! L.O.L It’s nice you get to enjoy your God son until the time you might be ready for your own once again.
Oh, maybe you could encourage either Rick or Doug to start an Instagram account to share with all of us who’ve gotten to know them a wee bit through you? I’d love to see their adventures of new home ownership, gardening & their famous french toast! { smile/wink }
I left you a little love on your Instagram during the much needed rain in NH yesterday. Today’s already looking beautiful, but it’s a day of earning the kibble to keep the garden going … especially after yesterday!
Have a day as special as you are to all of us who follow your social media happenings & consider you a dear friend though we’ve never met!
– xo
– A.
I love thinking of Sam as my godson! Thanks for that!
Doug is on IG, but he’s mainly a lurker. It took me (and others) about ten years to get Rick to join Facebook, so I’m not holding out any hope for Instagram!
Thank you for your kind words. xo