Category: Uncategorized

Always the tears….

You know…
it happens every.single.time.
The rallying speech by fearless leader Lorin
at the start of adoption weekend..

Each and every time the bells rings
and a rainbow bandana (adopted!)  is placed around the dogs neck
instead of the orange (adoptable) bandana.
My favorite moment today?
The high fives one older woman in a wheelchair
was giving us and the tears in all of our eyes
..including hers.. as her husband wheeled her and
their newly adopted dog Lilly (see previous post)
out the door.  What a lovely lady.. so filled with joy
to have that dog on her lap.
It was a beautiful thing…
did I take a picture?  NOPE.. my eyes were too filled with tears.
It takes a village to pull this kind of an event together.
And a dedicated village we have.
I am only a very small link in this
strong and powerful chain…grateful for the opportunity.
Adopted! Another Volunteer who took home a “souvineer”.

Adopted.. together with his buddy!
The Awesome Adoption Team

Lillian, the dog groomer extraordinare!

Susie still needs a home.. wonderful dog for someone.
NO, I didn’t bring her home with me today.

These girls sell lemonade at all the Dog Days events and
donate their proceeds.. how very cool is that?

Adopted!!!  Don’t they make an awesome pair?

Sometimes the dog picks YOU!

Tomorrow is another day ..
Hooray for the Underdogs!

Hold me back!

Last night the rescues rolled in with their shelter dogs…
vet exams were given ..
baths taken.. feeding, walking, kennel checks..
The heat and then the rain..
many awesome volunteers…
AND LORD HELP ME TO PLEASE NOT BRING
ANOTHER DOG HOME.
Don’t forget… if you’re in driving distance and thinking of  adding
a new family member,
Chester Fairgrounds, Chester, CT…
10-4, Saturday & Sunday.
MANY small dogs, purebreeds and mixes
as well as larger dogs from our municipal pounds available.
ALL vet checked and temperment checked.
Some aged, some pups, all needing new homes
 after having been abandoned or abused. 
Maybe I’ll see you there!
OH.. to the commentor who said she’s interested in Lilly and coming to meet her…
she is the favorite so far, I recommend you come early today.
I wasn’t able to respond to your comment because you have your e-mail blocked.

The Brood

You remember a few posts back…
the couple who relocated
from one side of our kitchen slider
to the other due to heavy traffic issues?
They finally decided the second nest
was egg worthy…

They’ve used chicken feathers and horse tail hair mixed in with mud and grass.
I stood on a bar stool and snapped this picture way up over my head,
not bad for a blind shot, huh?

Another Day for the Dogs!….

    This weekend there will be another shelter dog adoption event in Chester, Ct at the Fairgrounds.  For more information… go here…

Dog Days dogs  are pulled from high kill shelters,
and some are from municipal dog pounds
and Connecticut Rescue groups.
When you adopt a  Dog Days shelter dog,
you are saving a life.
The saving of dogs from cruel euthanasia 
or a life in a kennel
and finding them homes is their mission.
Meet some of the dogs  
who will be available for adoption this weekend….
Molly
Susie
 please dog days people..keep me away from Susie
If you see me hovering… just SAY NO!!!
Drew
Lilly
Maggie
Cindy
Tucker
Fifi
For a full list of the dogs available this weekend, or more information
on the dogs listed above, visit the link at the beginning of the post.

Regarding T-shirts in this post earlier today…
just got word from the printer…
and they’ve run into snags and want to up the price
so that it will not be affordable to produce.
When we find a better option,
we’ll work on this fundraiser again.

 

Chester Sunday Market

   Not too far from here is the charming New England town of Chester.  On Sunday mornings from 10am-1pm there is a wonderful farmers/artisan market among the quaint shops and restaurants on Main St.  For those of you who are local.. check out the link for more info…

I brought home a bottle of this delicously fresh Connecticut milk,
along with a bottle of Belgium Chocolate milk…
YUM doesn’t begin to describe it.
and.. I love the glass bottle!
I’m a sucker for good soap..
and so I also bought a bar of Strawberry patch
from this goat soap artisan.
Dog Days women had a booth there too, to raise money for
the next shelter dog adoption event, also in Chester next weekend…
I’ve got some exciting news about that – a really cool t-shirt
that Frasier and I designed to raise money for shelter dogs…
 The little guy on her shoulder is a rescued shelter dog.
We volunteers tend to take home “souvineers”… as we call them.
The produce and flowers were beautiful….
all grown by CT farmers…

…and what I love most about this market…
is the community vibe… it’s everywhere!
Dogs welcome!
 I’de say half the crowd had a dog on a leash.
Very cool indeed. 


 

A picture says a thousand words….

Frasier at the adoption event in March….
I hadn’t seen this photo before, it was posted on the FB page of the
photographer who attended the Old Saybrook Event.

Oddly, Frasier escaped my radar that weekend
until he went missing from his new adopters home
just 25 minutes after leaving the adoption event.

Funny..  but not really….the man came back to get his money back,
because the dog “isn’t a house dog, I don’t want him if you do find him”.
That information couldn’t have been further from the truth.
This Dog is one of the most loving, cuddly dogs we’ve ever had. 
If he could sit in your pocket all day, he would.
Totally house trained too.
I can’t express enough what a great feeling it is
to save a dog’s life, and watch them flourish as
they learn what it is to be loved. 
So next time you’re considering a dog… first look into Adopting before you shop.
Frasier thanks you.  


Let them eat cake

I love cakes, cupcakes…. send me to a good bakery
and I am a happy girl.. especially with a good cup of coffee in hand.
(although now that I’m eating gluten free it just really sucks to be there)
I also like to bake, and the creative side of me loves
 the funky decorated kind.
With Fathers Day rolling around, I got to thinking about cakes again.
Mike likes his cake real simple.
..but just look at the fun cake designs I found on the web…

This one is just so beautiful I had to throw it in.

Do you have a fathers day tradition for the Dad/husband/father in your life?

Summer Veggie Salad

   Between the housecleaning here at This Old House and a stopover and some clean up at my Dads yesterday… I just wasn’t in the mood to cook dinner. So I cheated..and picked up some honey herbed chicken breasts and a really yummy cold summer veggie salad at our local gourmet deli.  I dont’ know why I never though to put this together before myself, but I just love it… very light and refreshing and Good For You.  This is not my photo or recipe.. I googled it and now I can’t find the link, I apologize to the person who’s photo this is.   Their version has Feta cheese mixed in, no parsley.

Ingredients
(makes enough for 15 as a side dish)

3 lbs. corn – either frozen organic or fresh husked corn…
1 pound green beans, stems cut off

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

chopped parsley to taste

2 T sugar

1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

4 T evoo

Instructions
In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil, filled 2/3 with water.

Add corn to water and boil about 5 minutes until soft. No thaw time necessary.

Remove corn from water with slotted spoon but do not discard water.
In a large mixing bowl, combine tomatoes and corn.

Add green beans to water and boil about 8-10 minutes, until they are tender crisp. NOT too mushy.
Remove pot from stove and drain water from green beans in collander.

Once green beans have cooled, cut them in thirds.

Add green beans to the corn/tomato bowl.

If you aren’t serving immediately, refrigerate after this step.

In a separate small bowl, combine EVOO, salt, pepper and sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves.

Pour over the corn mix and stir well.  Add chopped parsley.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.