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Blog
GUINNESS IS GONE....there's been another loss in my life. Our beloved chocolate Lab/Chesapeake Retriever died suddenly on Sunday, January 20, 2008. My son and I tried to rush him to the emergency vet, but he died on the way. He was only eight years old, and had just been in for his checkup, where the vet said he was in robust health. Apparently, he died of the canine version of an aneurysm, and there was nothing that could have predicted it or stopped it from killing him.
Guinness was the type of dog that spoils you for future pets. He was a kind and gentle soul devoted to his people. Losing him is another reminder that life is too short for all of us, so please take time today to show your loved ones they are treasured. I will do the same.
Date Posted: 1/29/2008
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THERE'S A NEW MAN IN MY LIFE..... It was bound to happen. I've been looking for many months. I trusted that I'd know him when I saw him, and that's exactly how it happened! Love at first sight! How could I not fall hard and fast the day we met? His dark eyes twinkled as he toddled toward me. His black curls fell over his brow. The guy was so excited to see me that he peed on my shoe!
Yes, my new man is a puppy -- Marley, a now-10-week-old Labradoodle (Labrador retriever and standard poodle mix) and pardon me for gushing, but he's the cutest damned puppy on the planet. Smart, too. My older dog, Guinness, has been quite gracious in accepting a new member of the pack. (And, hey, he digs the taste of puppy chow, so there's something in it for him.)
See my photos page for a peek.
Happy Fall,
Susan
Date Posted: 9/19/2007
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MAY DAY! MAY DAY! -- Spring has sprung all over the place, and I am in a quandry. My problem is men. To be exact, my problem is men who are contractors. Sisters, I know I am not alone in this agony, but pull up a chair and let me tell you about mine. All I want is some concrete and some landscaping. Is that too much to ask for in this life? I have actual cash money to give these contractors if they would only do one thing, and that would be SHOW UP. I began the process of phone calls and estimates in January, and here it is, May, and I have no concrete, no retaining wall, and no landscaping. What I do have is neighbors who look at me with a combination of concern and disgust. See, because I expected my property to be dug up, re-built, re-graded and really beautiful by now, I haven't bothered to mess with it. This means that not only is the path leading up to the front door of my cute little house made of crumbling cement and rotting wood, but that the vegetation in my small, sloped front yard consists only of dandelions, wild onions, thistle, tired mulch, half-dead bushes, and a vareity of creeping weed-vines from Hell I don't know the names of. Better Homes and Gardens it ain't, let me assure you. Well, I know you're all enjoying this, but I must be off. I have a list of contractors to call this morning. You know, just some friendly, how's-it-goin' kinds of chats that better result in the pitter-patter of a jackhammer or heads are gonna roll -- right down the slope of my crumbling, weed-choked front yard. I'll keep you posted. Happy Spring!
Date Posted: 5/1/2007
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ON THE ROCKS -- Ice anyone? We got some here in Central Maryland, let me tell you, and I just heard on the weather forecast that there's more on the way! I think I'll celebrate by going to Home Depot and stocking up on chemically enhanced salt crystals. Maybe then I'll mosey on into the grocery store (with the rest of the population) and pick up a few bags of Doritos and some Pop Tarts. These are for my 13-year-old son. I swear. Because being stuck in the house really doesn't bother me in the least, nor does it cause me to desire snack foods. In fact, here's what I'll promise anyone who bothers to read this blog -- I will spend the next few bitter-cold, hard-frozen, slick-as-snot, no-school February days in a Zen state of meditation and reflection. I'll light candles and incense, put on some nature sound CDs, and become one with the glorious cycle of the seasons. And just in case, I'll grab a few jars of cheese dip while I'm out. My son might want some. Ohm, everyone!
-- Susan
Date Posted: 2/24/2007
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2006 ENDS WITH A BANG!
A near explosion, to be precise. Here's a little tale about gratitude.
On the evening of December 22, my kids and I entered the front door to a very strange odor. Not a good odor. I suppose the word "odor" clued you in on that right away, since if it was good I would have used the word "scent." Am I right?
Anyway, I traced the odor -- a kind of throat-scratching sourness -- to the basement furnace room. Yep, I had one of those infamous "too stupid to live" moments, because I thought to myself, hmm...this door is really hot to the touch and the furnace is making a really weird sound -- I must investigate! So I tried to slide open the door. It wouldn't budge. I got a crowbar and pried it open enough to be nearly blown back on my butt. No flames -- just intense heat. And being the mechanical genius I am, I realized something was very, very wrong.
So I ran upstairs, got the kids and the dog out of the house and called the fire department on my cell. They were there in just a few minutes (two gigantuan pumper trucks, an abulance and some other speciality vehicle) and my neighbors were out to watch the light show. To make a long story short, the fire marshal told me that if we'd gotten home five minutes later than we did, the furnace would have exploded, caught the nearby oil tank on fire, and burned my house to the ground. GULP!
So, a hundred phone calls, three estimates, two plumbers, one flooded basement and about five thousand dollars later, we have heat again. This Christmas was chilly for us, but we are all alive and my house and life are still in one piece. And that was the greatest gift I could have received.
Let's move on to 2007, shall we?
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
-Susan
Date Posted: 12/30/2006
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ODE TO FINN
One of my dogs died about 4 pm Saturday, October 21. He was 15 (105 in dog years) and he went out like a champ. On Friday he was still doing his thing -- sitting in the sunshine surveying his property, barking at the pantry door until someone got him a treat, and demanding to be let in and out of the back door about 90 times. Then Saturday, he just couldn't get up. His breathing became erratic. Even though he had been darn spry for such an old guy, we knew this day was coming. So we all talked to him and kissed him and told him what a great dog he'd been. Then we took him to the vet and held him as the vet gave him the shot. In seconds, old Finnegan was gone. There was no more struggle for him.
I wanted to mark his passing. I wanted the world to know that my life was made richer by the 15 years I shared with Finn. He was loved. He will be missed.
Date Posted: 10/22/2006
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I think should just admit to the world that I suck at blogging. This may be evident to anyone reading this, due to the fact that my last blog entry was made, like, before I had gray hair. I have been told by those hipper than I (and that would pretty much be everyone, according to my children) that the whole idea behind blogging is being up-to-the-minute. Yes. Well. Like I said -- I suck.
Hey, I've been distracted. It's the new man in my life. Several men, actually. A whole crew of them. The city's public works department recently set out to replace the sidewalk in front of my house (just outside the windows of my home office.) Their typical work day invovled short spurts of jackhammering, followed by long periods of cigarette and McDonald's breaks, topped off with the melody of backhoes and cement mixers. Who can blog with that going on? Who can write? Who can NAP, for crying out loud? Plus, no one even once offered to bring me a Quarter Pounder, if you can believe that oversight.
I was assured the project would only take a few days. A month has gone by, and I only now have a new sidewalk. It's lovely -- white and even and uncracked, and I appreciate it. It's been difficult to concentrate. That's all I'm saying.
If I don't get around to blogging in the near future, it will probably be because it's been too quiet around here lately.
Date Posted: 9/12/2006
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To celebrate my first time on the USA Today Bestseller's list, I mowed the lawn and took the kids out for General Tso's chicken. Do I know how to party, or what?
I am also treating myself to reading Janet Evanovich's ELEVEN ON TOP. I'm always in awe of Janet. I'm also inspired to strap on my Glock and head out to the nearest fast food joint after reading one of her Stephanie Plum adventures. (Not that this differs from my usual life goals, I suppose.)
Until next time....
Date Posted: 7/10/2006
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See, the thing about blogs is that once you say you have one, you have to put stuff in it. Otherwise you're a blog bluffer. A bogus blogger. An unblogged author. All those things sound vaguely unpleasant to me, so I hereby promise to blog on a regular basis.
It's already a busy summer. My daughter is in ballet camp and my son is playing baseball and doing what most 13-year-old boys do -- yes, that's right -- he's text messaging about 95 times a day. I have explained to him that unless he cuts back, I'm going to start taking money out of his car fund. (He doesn't have a car fund, but if he did, I'd take money out of it and I bet that would really upset him.) Stay tuned for many other handy parenting tips over the weeks and months, as I continue to blog my brains out.
OK, so THE KEPT WOMAN is coming out in a couple weeks! This is a big thrill, because there really was a time when I wasn't sure I'd ever finish that book. This is in no way different than any other book I've ever written, mind you, but I just wanted to put that out there.
Talk to you soon ...
Date Posted: 6/13/2006
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