Wahooo!!!!! Guess what this means?!Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man's hat, if you haven't got a penny, a hay-penny will do, if you haven't got a hay-penny, then God bless you!
T-minus 116 days until Christmas.
Then, he traced the outline of the hole and cut it out with his new jig saw.
Then, he screwed in the dog door and hung the door back up. The hard part was getting our scaredy cat dog to go through it. So, we got some lunch meat and lured him out....here's a photo of Riley looking back at us saying "Do I hafta?"
We discovered that getting him to go out is the easy part - he does not like coming back in. He'll sit outside looking through the clear flap in at us, waiting for us to open the door....after calling his name over and over, and a few tries at coming in, he actually makes it through.
Here's an action shot of Riley using his new dog door....success!
Our weekend was very domestic and productive - farmer's market, dog door installation, house cleaning, dinner with friends, yard work, stripping beds, washing towels, loads and loads of laundry, bath and brushing for Riley, homemade Green Chile Chicken....
I read this one over a weekend - Jennifer Weiner is one of my favorite authors. She does not disappoint, however it's not her best work, either. It's light reading and it's entertaining. Wait for it to come out in paperback, but do pick it up then.
My old book club just finished reading Little Bee so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was an interesting read. I liked the book throughout and I got through it quickly, but I was disappointed with the end - I felt like I was left with no closure and the story could have gone in a million directions. Not bad for a fast purchase at the Albuquerque airport, though.
This one I'm about halfway through and am enjoying it. It's not going to win any sort of literary prize, but it's entertaining and I read the first one so of course I had to pick this one up. I've been flying a lot so I've had plenty of time to read so this was a quick purchase at Hudson Books at the Nashville airport..JPG)
Next, he got a BIG present - a HUGE rawhide bone with a bow on it. He loves it already. He's been carrying it around the house, dragging it along the walls, looking for a place to bury it. .JPG)
He also got one more present - a DOGGIE DOOR - but, it's too small so we have to take it back tomorrow and get him the XL size. His shoulders are too wide and he's too tall for the one we got - who knew our Chicken needed the doggie door with the Saint Bernard on the front of the package..JPG)
The Italian relatives are on a USA tour and made a pit stop in San Francisco and we got to spend some time with them. Mom made dinner and they came to the 'burbs. So good to see them and to hear about their trip. Their visit even sparked Dad to PROMISE a trip to Italy for the family in 2-3 years to visit. I'm going to do my best to hold him to that! 
I found a review for this book in People Magazine last month so I decided to give it a try. It's really good! It has a bit of "When Harry Met Sally" to it, but doesn't follow exactly the same. If you like British writing/humor (or should I say humour?), it's a good one. Got a few laughs, a few tears, and finished it off in about a week. Cheers!
I'm booked on a 2:50pm flight today to head out to Albuquerque to visit Alia! Thanks to all of our travels over the last four years in Denver, we have a stash of free flights so I cashed one in for a trip for some QT with Alia. Last year (picture above), we did some hiking, some shopping, some lunching, some hanging out.....and we're going to do the same this weekend. Woohoo - somewhere with REAL summer weather right now! The Bay Area needs to get with it and turn up the weather thermometer - I don't have enough winter clothes to last me all year here in SF. On Monday, after I get back from NM, the relatives from Italy are in town - dinner at Mom & Dad's...
On Tuesday, I take a 7am flight out to Nashville for three days for work...looking forward to seeing Music City and some old friends, but I'll miss my pooch and hubby!
....or like this beautiful view from the drive up to the park. It was a beautiful, clear day - we could see the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Rafael Bridge.
Girls shotgunning beers....it was rough.
Boys shotgunning beers - much easier for them. Are they just naturals or do they get too much practice?
Tried to head to the river for some fishing for the boys, but the fishing wasn't great. What was great though was polliwog / tadpole hunting. Riley definitely ate a few baby frogs...
And of course plenty of campfire time. Riley was a good boy and loved sleeping in the tent with his new favorite friends, Erin, Todd and Amy.
Great times with old friends....I've known these girls since I was 6 and we have nothing but fun when we're together.....so thankful to still be so close!
Then, on Monday while at work, I got a text from my friend (and old Alpha Phi roommate), Tessie is ALSO engaged! Kim proposed in Yosemite and they are both on cloud 9 - could not be happier for them! I guess the timing is perfect with all of the Prop 8 business going on, too!
I have a few friends I'm holding out for on the engagement front (you KNOW who you are!)....hoping the engagements keep rolling in! 
I've seen these books in magazines, on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, etc. but the summaries just didn't do it for me. Then, a friend of mine started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and we have similar taste in books so I gave it a whirl. WHAT A FANTASTIC BOOK! Creepy? Yes. Odd? Definitely. Twisted? Mmmhmmm. Suspenseful? Yep. Regardless, captivating, interesting and entertaining! So when I finished with the first book, of course, I had to buy the next two.....all good. I highly recommend this series by Stieg Larsson to any serious reader!
This book (That Old Cape Magic), on the other hand, I just finished. Not a fan. It was tough for me to get through. Ugh. 
This book, by one of my favorite authors, was pretty good. Not my favorite, but I like her style. It was a real tear jerker, though. Get your tissues ready if you're going to read it! I do recommend Promises to Keep, however.
I am now onto Commencement which I am, unfortunately, disappointed with, as well. This one was on the recommended reading table at Borders and also featured in People Magazine. I'm not even halfway through and I'm not impressed with the style of writing.
But that's not everyone who joined us.....DOGS WERE ALLOWED so Chicky McGee came, too. He got lots of love and compliments from those around us. 
Just a snapshot of me with Erin and Amy.
The boys were having a good time - lethal combo, those two - too much fun. Riley wasn't as into the dancing, though...
The one thing we forgot....sunscreen! Here's a photo of the aftermath and this does not do it justice! Brian still looks like a raccoon!
