Our First Root & Happy Labor Day!

Hi All! I wanted to update you that we are finally, finally putting in some trees.  We removed quite a few last year, but now are planting 7 Regal Prince Oaks next week!  Here are some pictures of the prep work.  As you can see above, we got out our first big root this morning.  I've been whacking on the stump for the past couple of days but couldn't get it out by myself.  Now, we're really going at it!  We have to do this because the old Locust tree that was removed last year was at least 25 years old.  The root structure is quite significant and we have to get it out before we can prep the soil for the planting of the new trees.


The oaks are exciting to us because they will grow to 30 feet tall and only spread about 6'\ feet or so.  They are considered columnar trees - these will provide screening and privacy.  The ones we purchased the other day are 3 1/2" in diameter and 14' tall!!!

(Ours are marked with orange tags)

(The stakes mark the location of the new trees)

(A picture of the Regal Prince Oak Leaves)

Just as a little Labor Day Celebration, here are a couple of pictures with our planters out front with the flag.  I put out some little flags in the front yard, too!

The Dog Days of Summer - "Teeth Cleaning & X-rays"

The pups had quite a day yesterday.  They both got their teeth cleaned.  Tucker also had a skin biopsy to see what's going on with his rashes that just won't go away.  And, he had X-rays of his hind legs.  

Sophie had X-rays on her hips and we found out that her left hip is "shot."  Meaning, she will need a total hip replacement!!!!!  We are so upset to think that she might be in pain.  I know we have a lot to talk about and I hope we can get her some comfort soon.  She's been really stiff since we got back from Singapore and the decline was fast.  Our Vet confirmed that these kinds of things can come on fast.


We always thought Tucker would give us these kinds of troubles but he seems to be kickin' along just fine, except for the skin issues - poor guy.


But, we feel blessed to have them in our lives and we love them so much.  They are so cute and so good.  We really enjoy them - once you get out of the puppy years, it's really great - wink, wink! My next posting is going to be of some pictures I found of S&T when they were pups!  So cute, but we suffered a lot of destruction along the way, too! Ha!

Late Bloomers

We have special tulips this year!  They are just blooming - can you believe it?!  And, they have never really bloomed before.  Let me explain...last year we two pine trees taken out.  Now, finally, there is sun reaching the tulips and they are thriving!! 

The Dog Days of Summer - "Rainy"

Okay - thought you would get a kick out of my solution to keep the dogs dry while I took them potty outside.  It was raining non-stop last night; I kept checking, but every time I looked out, it was still coming down.

So, after I couldn't put it off any longer, I came up with the idea to put a black trash bag over the dogs and then staple it around their next necks - it worked!!  I can't believe they actually put up with it - a doggy poncho!

Celebrating E&J's 7th Anniversary!!

We had the great honor of celebrating Eileen Jeff's 7th Anniversary the other night!  Paul and I got them a gag gift - see above.  Can you tell what they are?!  I put together a bouquet of 7 Back Scratchers in a vase - ha!  We told them this was to help with that 7-year itch!

We started out the evening with a fantastic meal at a local Italian place - yum!  Of course, you know I had to take pictures of everyone's food - enjoy!

(Chicken Parmesan)

(Chicken Marsala)

(Pasta "Scarface")

(Cosmo & Marsala Ravioli)

We went to a local showing of "The Lady with All the Answers" - 'an evening with Ann Landers.'  The joke of the night was that we were, quite possibly, the youngest ones there, but we had a good time.  None of us really knew anything about her personal life and it was quite intriguing - it was a one-woman play!  Can you imagine trying to capturing and keeping the audience's attention for 2 hours - and, she did it beautifully!

CONGRATULATIONS EILEEN & JEFF - May you skip through the next 7 without having to buy more back scratchers!  We love you!

As a side note, here's an interesting workshop - that we all thought might be interesting...hmmmmm...kind of odd sign to have posted soooo big...

Horseback Riding - First Time in 10 Years??

I had a great time riding with Eileen last week - she's boarding a horse, Buster, and she just rescued another horse, Jasmine.

Looking forward to going again when the weather cooperates, but until then, here is a shot of Eileen with Buster - lookin' good!

Yard: Before & After

And so it goes...it's May and I get to play in the yard - yea for me!  Paul's not as excited but since this is really my domain he doesn't have to worry with it all that much!  He was a trooper this weekend and helped me weed and weed and weed and a little planting :-)

We got some great planters for our new front steps (new meaning last November - I've been trying to find a picture of what our steps looked like before - ugh!!).  So, this year, we get to enjoy the front a bit more and really work on the backyard, but more about that later!

Here are the pix: