Cats 101

I have to preface this post by saying that I do promise to write about something other than our cat sometime very soon but this was too funny not to share....

I found a show called Cats 101 on Animal Planet and I thought it was pretty cool so I DVR'd a few episodes and Ryan and I sat down to watch one with dinner last night. The show tells some personal stories about cat owners and their beloved pets (like the cat who saved her family from carbon monoxide poisoning) but it also tells some interesting facts about different breeds and the fun details you might not necessarily know about your cat.

So, I have detailed in a past blog about how Coodie seems to like Grey's Anatomy because he actually sits and watches almost entire episodes with me. Other than Grey's, he doesn't seem to have much interest in the TV. Well, as you may have guessed...Cats 101 was a different story. Not only did he watch it...he sat about as close as he could sit to the TV and stared straight at it in a complete trance for the entire hour. His head bopped around following the cats on the screen and if we interrupted him he would "yell" at us and then go right back to watching the screen.

Here he is with his new favorite show. We had to bathe him today - which he is obviously not a big fan of -so I am hoping another saved show will appease him. The only problem is that when we shut it off, he runs around the house like a madman! Cats 101 24/7? Not so much....apparently, we just need smaller doses!

So, before you say it...we have already been told twice this weekend that it is about time we have kids (since our cat is so spoiled). OK, guys...we'll think about it!

A Visit to the Vet

Like most cats, Coodie doesn't like to leave home. If he even sees that he is headed toward the car he gets stiff, his eyes get big and he meows like no tomorrow... and it gets worse if he is in his carrier because he bangs his little nose into the cage. I usually feel bad for him and hold him on my lap for the 5 minute drive to the vet's office. Luckily, we do not need to take him in the car very often but today he had his yearly physical. I had the day off and Ryan and I (the proud parents) brought him in to be checked out. The ladies at the office always remember him as does the Doctor. He is a local celeb.
Poor Cood in his little cage....





"I am outta here before she takes my temp again!"

Cood is watching for the Doctor.....

Our big boy weighed in at 13.5 pounds and got a clean bill of health!

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When we got home, we put up our new little tree. Cood got over his anxiety pretty quickly as he had something new to contend with....

Feeling Festive

Ahhhh, you have to love Thanksgiving weekend....a nice 5 day weekend to ramp up for Christmas. Ryan and I did not have to travel far this year so we took some time to decorate, organize and relax. We both started having the Christmas bug on "Black Friday". Having been a former retail manager, going out to shop is my biggest nightmare on "BF" so we generally stay away from the stores. So, we started each morning with a 5-7 mile power walk or trip to the gym then came back to clean one of our closets that were absolute disasters. Ryan also took a trip to the Grenon Trading Post in Bedford and scored some amazing deals on festive decor. We are headed back there tomorrow to see what else we can find.... anything over $30 is 1/2 off! Gosh, are we bargain shoppers or what?? Here are some photos of our accomplishments:

Kitchen closet #1 - such a disaster before it was almost dangerous. I only wish we had thought to take a "before" photo to show the difference!

Kitchen closet #2 - this closet was overrun with coats, jackets, mops, brooms and other random items that we had forgotten about since we moved here in 2006. Good times!

And now for the festive photos....

Here is our new centerpiece for our dining room table. These poor snowmen have been through the ringer in the last few years. They have been super-glued back together at least 3 times due to Coodie's tail knocking them off the kitchen cart. We decided to move them this year and see how they fare.

Welcome to our home! Our front door - the wreath is fresh and smells like fresh pine. Hey, if we can't have a fresh tree at least we have a wreath!


We also put our window lights in and Ryan lit up the small tree in front of our place so here is the evening shot.

Happy pre-Christmas festivities to everyone!! Enjoy the decorating, Christmas music, good food, etc etc etc ....

Good Friends and Fam

Last weekend, Ryan and I drove to Amherst to see Ryan's cousin Lindsy, husband Mike and two beautiful daughters Phoebe and Olivia. We used to spend a few holidays a year with them but now haven't seen them in two years! We love these guys and have tried to make plans for awhile but it hasn't materialized even though they live about 20 minutes away. So, we finally had solid plans and headed to see their new house and "new" baby Olivia (she just turned one!). After the full tour and some catching up, we headed to our regular weekend spot to go for a walk in the woods.

Above, you'll see the whole Faucher gang and below is a close up of Olivia - so cute! We had a great time catching up with Lindsy and Mike but also LOVED seeing the girls. We promise we won't wait so long next time! Hopefully, there is a Christmas Yankee Swap in our near future....

I love my gadgets!

As we speak, I am blogging from my relatively new iPhone. How cool is this?


Here is Ryan playing with his new phone ... We both love them.
Tonight I started searching for new apps by scouring the Internet and the "best of"
lists and am amazed by the technology that I have just begun to scrape the surface of. As I said, I love my gadgets but most get old quickly. I think this one will stay fun and fresh for quite some time!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Leaf Peepin'

Ryan and I go for a hike every Saturday and Sunday morning barring any nasty weather when we will trudge to the gym. We usually don't bring the camera but when we went out yesterday, we figured we had to bring it today because the colors were so vibrant. There's no need to go north to peep leaves, you can stay right here in Southern NH! It was only about 50 degrees so we piled on the warm clothes and it ended up being the perfect fall day. I will let the pictures do the talking from here:

Even Coodie likes Grey's Anatomy

I usually DVR Grey's Anatomy so I can enjoy it over the weekend at my leisure. So, last night I was pretty excited to relax with a glass of wine and see the latest episode. What was so different about this time was that our usually spunky Coodie sat down and watched about 30 minutes of the show with me....really...he did. He was really into it and even shot me a dirty look when I paused it. The evidence is below:

A Visit with Donna, Sandy and Winston (Part II)

Donna's birthday was Saturday so we all decided to take a trip to the Burlington Mall where Ryan, Donna and I found some fantastic workout clothing from lululemon ( I LOVE this place). Once we were done shopping around, trying on pants and jackets and having them measured for hemming (they do it for free!), we tried to call Sandy to let him know we were running late but he wasn't answering... As we walked to our planned meeting place, we found him snoozing in a super comfy chair!
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Saturday night, we headed over to brother and sister-in-law Mark and Allison's in Derry. We got to catch up with niece and nephew Chelsea and Hunter and Chelsea's pet hamster, JJ. Here they are below:

We were quite amazed by the amount of food JJ could hold in his tiny little neck. Apparently, hamsters do less chewing and more swallowing. He is a cutie pie, though.

Here are the men - Mark, Sandy, Ryan and Hunter. We are missing Todd, Owen and Grant out in Portland but they were with us in spirit!...and the women minus Cathy (again, there in spirit!) out in Portland, OR with the rest of the west coast McCagues! Allison made a delicious dinner along with a yummy chocolate cake for the birthday guy and gal and we had a great time catching up.

Thanks for a great visit Donna, Sandy and Winston!

A Visit with Donna, Sandy and Winston

My parents-in-law and Winston (the beloved family dog) took the loooong 17 hour drive up from Franklin, Tennessee to visit us this past week. They moved there over a year and a half ago but they relish their visits back to their "real" home of NH. We were able to see them on both of their birthdays (one day after another!), take a lot of great hikes and walks and most importantly eat some yummy homemade meals from Donna. We usually prefer to eat in when she is around because she cooks much better food than any restaurant!

Here are Sandy and Ryan doing an excellent job of washing and drying the dishes! Look how happy they are...Winston buddy! Coodie was a little put out for the first day but then he got used to him. They are both pretty laid back pets.

Donna and I went for a great hike Friday morning and then we all headed to Ogunquit to celebrate Sandy's birthday for a nice walk on Marginal Way, a little shopping and a so-so lunch.

More to follow...

It's Fall

Yes, it's true. The colder weather is upon us, the leaves have started to change and Cood is back on his warm, snuggy bed. I know the official day is not quite here yet, but this is about as official as it gets.....

It's a tough life...

More of Monhegan...

for the first post in this series, please see below....

Here we are in Cathedral Pines....

Another stunning view...

I couldn't help but strike the "tree pose" ... not so easy with the hiking boots!

My mom and Ryan.

Taking a water break and a stop to see the view.

Handsome husband!

Thanks for a great trip, mom and dad! We had a fantastic time!

Monhegan Island

Ryan and I usually spend Labor Day weekend in Ogunquit, Maine celebrating my birthday. This year, my parents invited us up to Monhegan Island for a change of pace. Monhegan is a small island, approximately 3 x 5 miles and is about 12 miles off the coast of the Thomaston area. There is a limited water and electricity supply and the small population is largely made up of artists. Every time we turned around, we saw an artist painting up a landscape and the few shops were stocked of local art ...very cool. We also hiked both days on trails that circled the edge of the island overlooking some magnificent ocean views. Dinner at the Island Inn, where we stayed, consisted of haddock, cod and crab cakes that were delicious! Words can do little to express the beauty of the island so I will let the photos do the talking from here on:

My dad on the ferry over to Monhegan.The bulletin board - all things Monhegan. Yoga? Check. Menus for local restaurants (all 4 of them). Check. House or apartment rental? Check. Hiking trail maps? Check.
My dad and I at the local pizza/ice cream/sandwich/wine and beer stop called The Novelty. We had some gosh darn good Monhegan Summer Garden Vegetable Rustic Pizza. Yum! In the second photo, you can see the local advertisement for said establishment that got us chuckling!


This is the view from the deck of the Island Inn. Notice the 2 seagulls hanging out on the rocks. Damn those seagulls have it good out there. I did actually utter the words. "I think I would like to be a seagull in my next life." Ryan wholeheartedly agreed.

The most amazing views came from our hikes along the coast of the island like the one above and below. I will post another blog full of those photos next.

Monster in a box!

Coodie loves boxes and he loves it when we tease him in there. Here is a new Cood video. If you listen closely, you can hear the "purrrrr".

A Little Culture in Manchester

Ryan and I were at a wedding recently and sat next to a policeman of a neighboring town to Manchester (where we live). We asked him what he thought of our little city?
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His reply was, "Honestly, it's a bit of a cess pool."

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Ohhhhh-kay. It's not that we didn't know there is some unseemly activity going on, especially since we used to live downtown where we personally witnessed many "victimless" crimes in the parking lot of our old apartment building. Those of you who live in or near bigger cities may think I am crazy - just a cute little city in New England, right? Well, we lived only a few short blocks from where a police officer was shot and killed and this year a 17 year old opened fire on a crowd at the July 4th Fireworks..... So, I suppose the officer had a point.

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So, anyhoo, we don't tend to venture out after dark too often. (But, great job planting all those trees and otherwise "beautifying" Manchester, Mayor! How about the crime?)

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I digress. This post is actually about the good things in our city. I have now lived here for 7 years and have never visited our local art museum. I'm not sure why.... I love art museums and have visited MOMA and the Met several times. This past weekend Ryan suggested we head over to the Currier Museum of Art... just 5 minutes away from where we live. I thought it was a fantastic idea!

This is the central lobby area with a beautiful mosaic floor. We were not allowed to use the flash so please forgive any blurriness.

Here is a close up of the mosaic floor.

A Picasso.We love this...can you see the "K" for Kendra and the "R" for Ryan? This is at the entrance to the museum.

There were many more pieces of furniture, paintings, sculptures, etc. that we did not show here. We especially enjoyed the paintings of local areas in NH dating back to the 1700's.

We also learned that the museum offers tours of a local home called the "Zimmerman House". This house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is currently the only home in New England he designed that is open to the public. Apparently, Dr. Zimmerman was a local looking for a unique abode and the acclaimed architect designed this "Usopian" home for he and his wife. They lived there for 36 years, had no children and bequeathed the home to the museum upon Mrs. Zimmerman's passing. That is our next adventure...I am very excited to see the home and certainly have a renewed sense of our community!