deedee blog: 07.29.08 
a tribute to schpatzi
almost 16 years ago i decided to get paige a dog for our first christmas together. and not just any dog, but a dachshund. her favorite. not making a lot of money then, i spent weeks checking the pound everyday, because the breeders wanted $400 and i couldn't afford it. so christmas eve arrives and i have no puppy. in tears i go to the pet store and the nicest woman takes me by the hand and we get a collar, a ball, a bag of food, etc. one by one paige opens these gifts and thinks i am some kinky crazy woman until she opens the food - and then she burst into tears. "you got me a puppy dog!" then i burst into tears trying to explain my plight of not being able to find one. the next day we drove to santa rosa for a family holiday dinner. paige opens up the newspaper and there is an ad for a "used" dachshund for $200. she was five months old and had been given to an elderly couple by their grandchild and they could not take care of her. we promptly called her and set up a meeting in the wendy's parking lot in santa rosa. she told us she would be driving a red truck. we pulled into the parking lot and there was the truck but the woman must have gone inside. paige walked up to the truck and curled up in a little itty bitty tiny ball was the cutest thing I have ever seen. paige tapped on the glass and the little puppy jumped up, feet to the window, wagged her tail and peed on the seat. paige looked at me and said "she is mine!"
we took her home and i laid down some ground rules. "she will not sleep in the bed!" after two minutes of schpatzi crying, paige said "just tonight honey" and there schpatzi slept, at the foot of our bed, in her own down comforter, until logan kicked her out about 5 years ago. he didn't really kick her out, but she didn't want to sleep there anymore with him making all that noise.
schpatzi had an amazing life and it is truly incredible that she made it all 16 years. she once ate an entire dutch apple pie (you know the kind with the two inch crumb top!) and was sick for days. right after she stopped puking she tried to steal a pizza! she once disappeared. we had the entire neighborhood on page street looking under cars and all over golden gate park for her. i was standing on back porch calling her name and lo and behold i heard her yelp IN the fridge. no kidding. she had managed to get inside while i was unloading groceries, she had started to eat a package of raw meat but when the door shut the light went out and she freaked. she once ate marijuana (not ours i swear;-), and after we knew she was going to be okay, laughed for hours at her stumbling around stoned. she jumped on the kitchen table and ate a pound of chocolate, stick of butter and loaf of bread ALL IN ONE SHOT and ended up in the emergency room with an astounded vet saying he NEVER saw a dog throw up that much, EVER.
schaptzi was the little hoover that could. if there was food, she was going to get it. she would sit straight up, turn her head sideways, and inhale all the contents on your plate in a matter of seconds. we never had to vacuum after logan ate, she just cleaned the floor and i swear she got fat after he was born because he thought it was the best thing ever to feed her, "a bite for me and a bite for schpatzi", and so it went.
some of my favorite memories of her are of watching her run. she ran like a bunny with her ears flapping in the wind. she used to love going to the arboretum in golden gate park and she would run as fast as those little legs would let her, round and round in huge circles. but just as fast as she ran she would stop at blankets where people were eating and either try to steal their food or just sit there and beg. she used to love to play "catch" and (for those of you that remember our apartment in the haight) we would sit in the back room and throw a ball all the way down the length of the house and she would tear down to get it. and the cat would hide in a doorway and jump on her. so funny to watch those two play.
my absolute favorite schpatzi story is this: we placed a bowl of jolly rancher hard candies on the kitchen table. we would come home from work and we would find several wrappers all over the house. so we moved the bowl to the kitchen counter because schpatzi MUST have been getting on the table. this went on for at least a week and we were totally perplexed - how was schpatzi getting these. one day, paige is watering one of the house plants and in the back of the planter in a neat little pile is a stash of jolly ranchers. that doggie had hid a stash and was rationing a couple a day for at least a week AND she unwrapped them. without opposable thumbs.
schpatzi's death wasn't like chloe's. we had about a week to prepare. she was old, blind, a bit stiff and just plain ol' tired. towards the end she was suffering from some dementia and it came to be that we couldn't pick her up anymore. the vet gave us some sedative for her so in her final hour paige could hold her and pet her and say goodbye. our most amazing vet came to the house and schpatzi went to see chloe right here on our front porch in paige's lap. beautiful. peaceful.
as i fell asleep last night my last thought and vision was of chloe and schpatzi curled up together again, my yin and yang, sleeping peacefully into the night.
deedee blog: 06.28.08
a tribute to chloe
the day we got her, i opened the cage at the spca and there were 10 kittens in there....they all ran away except one - who jumped into my arms, cuddled up to my neck and purred the loudest purr i had ever heard. i knew she was mine. schpatzi loved her right away and from then on they were sisters who chased each other up and down the halls and curled up together and slept the days away. i swear schpatzi has always thought she was a cat. when paige got pregnant - every night chloe would curl up on her round belly and sleep. when logan was born she was completely attached to him, slept next to him at every moment - logan's protector. she slept in his bed during the day and his closet at night. she never tired of him holding her, rubbing her, hugging her, even when he was little and didn't know how hard he was hugging. she always stayed there - right there with him. chloe got diabetes right after logan was born and for awhile there i thought she was a goner, but she hadn't used up her nine lives yet! she fought hard and lived almost six years with a disease that kills most cats in half that time. she survived three moves with us - gave me my second scare (and used another life) when she "ran away" when we moved to american canyon...that was the longest two days of my life - she came home sick, tired, but again she battled on. she had a tough move to the east coast where the summers are hot and the winters are way cold. she would lay by the open doors during the day looking for a breeze in the hot summer and curl up in front of the wood stove all winter. during construction of the new upstairs bathroom in vermont, chloe decided to go exploring and found herself stuck in the walls. she spent the night there as we tried to figure out where she was. three holes in the ceilings and walls later, we pulled her out - again, another life used.
chloe went for her regular check up a couple of weeks ago and her bloodwork indicated that her kidneys were starting to fail. our most amazing vet told me to prepare. you can't prepare to lose one of your own. chloe and i went home and we changed her food - concentrated on her insulin. she was looking so much better. her coat got softer, her eyes looked better, but then she jumped on the couch with me yesterday and sneezed. she caught a cold. actually it turned out to be pneumonia. she couldn't fight it. her whole body shut down and even though our vet said she could make the pneumonia go away - she couldn't make her right again and it was time to say goodbye. there was enough time for us to all be there with her. and we held her and pet her and logan kissed her head and said "i love you". it was so hard and painful to say goodbye - but she looked me right in the eyes and i just knew she was ready and it was time.
i love you chloe and will miss you everyday. walking between my feet as i go to the bathroom in the morning begging me to "hurry up and feed me!" sitting on the couch meowing at me until i sat down and cuddled and pet you. waking up to you sleeping on my pillow purring in my ear. cuddling under the covers with me on really cold nights. rolling on your back so logan will rub your tummy. you were a good kitty. and as logan said, i hope your soul goes into a new kitty so you can live again.
logan has helped me create a photo tribute to chloe here.
Camp Sally Shirts Available Now!
Where do you want your Sally? Your heart? Your Mug? Your...? From T-Shirts to Thongs we got your Camp Sally Gear Here!
A newly designed kids version is available. We have removed the beer bottle and replaced it with a juice box. Your kids will get hot & sweaty while running around camp sally, get them extras.
You might spill some beer on your adult sized shirt (especially if you are trying to emulate sally) so get an extra one.
You might spill sauce on your shirt while you are BBQ'ing....wait, that's me!
Hats, Mugs, Kid Shirts, Adult Shirts, Sweatshirts, Tank Tops, Boxers and Thongs, Aprons, Dog Tees, and Mouse Pads - Go here to purchase your favorite clothing item with Sally On It!
deedee blog: 04.01.08
a true sign that spring is coming...i was innocently trying to back my car in the garage today and much to my surprise i found myself stuck in the mud...after 20 minutes and many apologies to my neighbors for covering the side of their garage with mud splatter - i was out - my car completely covered in mud. with it still too cold at night to hook up a hose - i spent a long time using my deck brush to the aforementioned garage and filling up buckets of water in the bathtub and throwing it - quite annoyed, but still laughing at my luck.
also (almost) here is the 2nd annual cinco de mayo fiesta! call us for details and if you find yourself in the neighborhood - come!
deedee blog: 03.04.08
middwinter reunion. another great weekend in heart of winter. the storm and the never ending flu kept a few families from making it - but we had a great time: eating, celebrating joe's b-day, drinking champagne, riding snow mobiles (thank you janice and dale!), building "snow-bear-yoda", eating sam's yummy delectables, debating obama vs. hillary, kumbayah, the inn, sledding, more food...good times.
deedee blog: 01.02.08
december. what an amazing month of firsts: logan lost his first tooth, had his first school performance (a very cute circus), first time on a snowboard and ice skating with his moms in montreal. we had a great christmas kicking it off with a fabulous christmas eve dinner with good friends and a fun christmas day playing with all of logan's new games and riding his snowboard. we finished the evening at a community dinner in middlebury to teach logan the true spirit of christmas, giving to others.
for new years we headed up to montreal. we had so much fun doing what we love to do most in a big city - walk. it was covered in snow but not too cold and we rode as many trains as we could (logan's favorite mode of getting around), ice skated at the old port, saw a fun imax 3-d movie, played "kick the snowball" down as many streets as possible, had dinner with our friend bill and ate as much ethnic food as we could and really just got to know the city. we left with the weather report saying "40% chance of flurries" and headed into what was acutally a blizzard. it was slow going and really stupid drivers all around us (at least 5 or 6 cars off the road and one REALLY stupid woman who tried to pass everyone on the right, lost control, spun out one car ahead of us, crossed traffic and slammed into the guard rail. then, I KID YOU NOT, ends up passing us again not 1/2 hour later with her front end hanging off (on her way to work at the border!) but, all that said, we made it home safely to a lot of snow that we are still digging out of.
deedee blog: 12.14.07
nov / early dec. we were so excited last month - my mom and grandmother came to visit, we had an amazing thanksgiving with the clarkes, uncle larry came then uncles peter and paul came. we have had quite the full house and if you know us at all, we wouldn't have it any other way.
the snow has started falling, logan has already had one snow day and another one may be right around the corner as a classic nor'easter looms for this weekend.
hockey has been a blast and even though most weekends we are at the rink long before most sane people are even awake it has been so much fun watching logan improve and has so much fun, it makes the tired eyes and frozen feet wake up and melt.
the bathroom is finally done and even though i don't have the MOST recent photos of it up, these will give you an idea.
we are looking forward to a great holiday season where we are hunkering down with friends for christmas and spending new years in montreal.
deedee blog: 10.18.07
brattleboro 2007. what an amazing weekend. fall colors were at full peak, there was a nip in the air but shorts were still okay, the wine was great, the food was yummy (sam, next time could you bring MORE desserts please!) thanks to lucy for hosting another great event.
deedee blog: 10.01.07
fall is upon us. september was awesome. we celebrated shoreham with the annual shoreham day festival with an amazing fireworks display right in our front yard (okay across the street), we spent a weekend in montreal with bill, uncle jb came to visit all the way from alaska and it's been great watching logan and jb bond down, apple and raspberry picking, a litte hike with our friends the pottemels and lastly we spent a weekend with the "caribeeners" in new hampshire...life is good.
deedee blog: 09.10.07
august
we have had another busy month. logan turned five, "graduated" pre-school and started kindergarten, he got up the nerves to jump off the diving board and now can swim all the way across the pool - just in time for summer to end. we have had some wicked hot days, dry (as in NO RAIN don't let that fool you into thinking NO HUMIDITY) but we just had our "last hoorah" and I do believe that fall has descended upon us. The trees are already starting to change, the nights are getting chilly and today I am wearing my first fleece of the season.
Camp Sally Shirts Available Now!
Where do you want your Sally? Your heart? Your Mug? Your...? From T-Shirts to Thongs we got your Camp Sally Gear Here!
A newly designed kids version is available. We have removed the beer bottle and replaced it with a juice box. Your kids will get hot & sweaty while running around camp sally, get them extras.
You might spill some beer on your adult sized shirt (especially if you are trying to emulate sally) so get an extra one.
You might spill sauce on your shirt while you are BBQ'ing....wait, that's me!
Hats, Mugs, Kid Shirts, Adult Shirts, Sweatshirts, Tank Tops, Boxers and Thongs, Aprons, Dog Tees, and Mouse Pads - Go here to purchase your favorite clothing item with Sally On It!
deedee blog: 08.08.07
july....heart of summer
an incredibly busy month. we had a visit from jill, nico and fiona all the way from france en route to their next post in turkey. while they were here the neys came up from mass to spend the weekend and together we all had a blast. oma and ditty also came to visit and we had a great week with them. logan is taking swim lessons and he improves every day. he is able to swim on his back, breathe while swimming and he is even jumping in the deep end now (even off the diving board!)
we went camping in the groton national forest with the ursittis, kiernans and pottamels at riker's pond. awesome spot. the kids played and the parents drank. check out john on the rope swing - i think his side is still healing from his second ride - too bad i didn't get a pic of that one.
july 4th week brought us the PIERSON FAMILY REUNION. why all in caps? well, the pictures don't do it any justice...but what an amazing week: tent city, alaskan crab and fish feed, kerosene, black forest, german relatives, nate...oh my god nate, bean hole beans, pig roast, uncle ernie busting his ass while we all nursed a massive hang over, kite sailing (or not), boat rides, tadpoles, bucky, disco, ponchos, a.k. and never knowing what she will have on next, bling teeth, county teeth, spoons, fahrt shirts, random dude, branden who will do and wear anything, finn who wears nothing, bug bites, jager bombs, three generations hard wired to party, laugh, eat, and love. i am lucky to be a part of it.
logan's uncle b taught him a great song...click here to hear it.
deedee blog: 06.21.07
visits, milestones and growth.
may was awesome - the sun came out, the leaves came back virtually overnight and we were "blessed with the presence" of sunday and matt.
the first week in june marked our one-year anniversary in vermont. to celebrate, my neighbor graham and i sat on the porch and drank a beer talking for an hour or so, just as we did the night i arrived here (we were only missing jeff who spent the first night with me here at the house)
june also brought a visit from our favorite connecticutians the dubay-hortons.
logan has joined the ranks of swimmers (see the video here). just last year he was anti-water (it must be our fault since we started "swimming lessons" with him at 3-months old). he wouldn't go in the pool unless he had a floatie on - not even in our arms. but after a couple of 85+ degree days, logan decided it was time to swim. he went in the pool (janice and sally's a.k.a. "camp sally") put his face in and swam. just like that. why am i surprised? everything has happened like this, crawling, walking, potty-training (or NO training), tree-climbing, the list goes on...when he has made a decision it is done. just like that. he continues to amaze and delight me everyday. he is such a good kid...we are so blessed.
we have begun construction on the master bath and spare room upstairs. for those who don't know, when we bought the house those two rooms were only framed. living through construction (in your bedroom) is stressful and those who know me know that i am in constant pain with the loss of control over the cleanliness of my house but we are so excited to get these two rooms done. we had a little adventure the other day that involves holes in the floor and the cat. go here to see the breakdown.
in the middle of all this - the town decided that it needed (and it did) a new run-off water pipe and that it needed to go from the front of our house to the back of our property (to meet the creek in the back) and so, with the plumber and contractors all here tearing up the house, in drive two trucks that start digging an 8 foot trench across our front yard that then travels down the length of the backyard. it will be years before it looks normal again. i am learning a life lesson:
let go.
control what you can.
and when all else fails...go to "camp sally".
deedee blog: 05.08.07
success...
it was a busy month (and beginning of may) with easter, b-day parties, amy and justin visiting, etc. it was winter, then spring, then winter again...all normal i am told. well, the snow is gone, the sun is out, the flowers are blooming, the leaves are returning and excitement is in the air as we all anticipate the next 5 or 6 months outdoors. happy spring to you all.
cinco de mayo - thanks to all for a great party. we had a blast. i am horrible with taking pictures at parties but some pics are here. If you have any you would like to share send them to me i will post them here.
deedee blog: 01.26.07 (2pm EST)
my first winter musings. now, i know this isn't the antartic - but this california girl is nipply.
you know it's cold (-3) when:
the cold water running in your kitchen sink is too cold to rinse your hands in. when all you want to eat is stew, soup or anything braised (and you want the oven on all day) and since that is all you have eaten for three weeks your bedroom gets polluted by noxious gas and you CAN'T open the windows to air it out, you just can't. when you have permanent hat head - you wear it all day - you wear it to bed at night - and you spend that 10 extra minutes in bed in the morning trying to figure out how you can wear it in the shower. when your hands are cold IN your ski gloves. when wearing long-johns under your jeans and looking like the stay-puffed marshmellow man is "just fine with me". when your dog looks at you like "hell no - I'll hold it". when you drive to dinner...four doors down. when all the cars in the parking lot at the grocery store are running (sorry earth). when 20degs feels warm.
i am happy....cold...but really happy.
paige blog: 12.15.06
So, I have the "turning 40" thing behind me now. Whew! I got pink eye for my birthday and stayed home for the day... Deedee took good care of me, and she and Logan made me a wonderful mold of his hand to hold my rings - made me cry... My other present is a trip to NYC to see Wicked on Broadway - DeeDee and I will be going at some point this spring. My mother sent me an amazing email with reflections/memories of my life - she blows me away and is such an inspiration in my life. When we spoke she said, "welcome to the second half of your life!" I look forward to the second half being as great as the first!
Other than my "big" birthday, the big news is that I am now a full-time employee of the Vermont Community Foundation. Still deciding on a title, but I'm in communications working for a cool guy named Felipe. I'm absolutely thrilled, and it's a perfect opportunity for me to utilize my skill set in a non-corporate setting, which was what I set out to do here. It's an incredible group of people doing incredible work. You can check out the website at www.vermontcf.org. One of the things I'm currently working on is a website update that will be complete in January. Once again I must thank my friend Lucy for connecting me with the CEO.
We are gradually losing our patience waiting for the real snow to arrive. We had one little storm, but it melted within a few days. Deedee and Logan managed to get in a good snowball fight before it disappeared! Logan is full force into skating and now has his own hockey stick. He LOVES it. As long as he loves it, we'll be taking him to practice. The six year olds have practice 4x a week!
We'll have a house full for Christmas Eve dinner (new friends and old) and will spend Christmas afternoon with a wonderful group of people, including four kids Logan's age. We're hoping to head down to the Boston area for New Year's Eve weekend to hang with Middlebury friends. One of the biggest joys of being here is the opportunity to see old friends more often.
We have a big trip planned to the Bay Area and Seattle in February. Here is our schedule and we hope to see as many of you as possible. We may put a dinner together at some restaurant in the City, so we can see as many of you as possible.
Santa Rosa: Feb. 13 - 15th
Napa/American Canyon: Feb. 16 - 18th
San Francisco: Feb. 19th - 21st (morning)
Seattle area: Feb. 21st - 26th
First winter pics are up, and yes, that is Schpatzi in a fleece jacket. She turns 15 next summer, and for those of you who remember, she was my first Christmas present from DeeDee!
Wishing you all peace and love throughout the holiday and in the new year!
deedee blog: 03.23.07
okay...spring is here
4 days later and the sun is shining, the snow is almost gone, and I am smiling BIG.
deedee blog: 03.19.07
what spring?
After a week of warm weather and a major melt of most of the blizzard left overs - we got nailed again with another foot or so and everything is white and cold again. The amazing sheet of ice that is now my driveway jumped up and bit me and I have a nice lump on my head and a bit of whiplash to show for it. Damn driveway! I think that was the last of it though - NOAA is calling for the return of the warm weather and a fast melt. Logan keeps asking if he can wear shorts....I think he is ready for spring.
We had a great and BUSY weekend. Thursday night our dear friends (and SF neighbors of yore) the Dubay-Hortons came (from Connecticut) for the weekend. Logan had the best time with their three girls and they were the hit of the town with everyone claiming their favorite Horton girl. He was very sad this morning when they went home - but I am sure we will see much of them.
Saturday night I got to experience my first St. Patty day at the Inn. With every intention of going for ONE beer, Carl and I headed up around 8pm while our wives were putting the kids to bed - well, Carl went home after an hour - I just couldn't seem to get out of there, until the closed it down! The good news being my ice thumped head didn't hurt anymore, but it certainly killed Sunday morning.
The best cure for a hangover? Snowmobiling! Logan and I went snowmobiling for the first time and we got to witness the life-long pro (paige) in action (and Emily - she didn't dump me!). If they didn't kill the environment and cost a fortune I would SO buy one - I'm totally hooked! When Paige and Logan came back from their ride together - the HUGE twin-grins spoke volumes. When I took Logan he kept saying "Faster Mommy!"...yeah, he will probably want to ride with Paige from now on. Carl, Kate and Clara got to ride too. What fun. They all left and went sledding and I stayed and rode the rest of the day with our neighbor Mitchell (11). It was his first time driving by himself and he and I had a blast chasing each other through the open fields. Thank you Dale and Janice (Greg too!) for a great day.
pics from the weekend
deedee blog: 03.09.07
spring around the corner...
Well, I can't believe it's March already....spring is coming right? We had an amazing trip to the West Coast but were utterly bummed to have missed (by 12 hours) the biggest blizzard Vermont has had EVER. But, we came home to plenty of snow...and I mean PLENTY and after a few days of below zero temps are patiently awaiting the arrival of spring and all the mud it will bring.
Right after we came home we had a True-Blue Caribou Reunion here in Shoreham. We had a great weekend playing in the snow and catching up with old friends.
I also can't believe that I haven't posted any pictures since December - so I have made up for lost time and posted three new pages. January, February (our trip) and March (Caribou Reunion).
deedee blog: 04.13.07
a little late out of the gates...
we are throwing a party and you if you are here you have been invited!
details are below - please let us know if you can make it so we have enough tequilla and guacamole!
deedee blog: 04.07.07
I'm dreaming of a white easter...
where the tree-tops glisten and children listen to hear bunnies in the snow...
it has been so long since i updated the site i was in for a minor shock when i looked at all the pictures of the 
in 
wow. i have been out of it for awhile. we have been hammered by the "sickness" that has seemed to take over the state of vermont. first logan, then me, then paige, then logan again! but we are all better now and coming up for air.