Heavy Heart

One minute I'm fine, and the next I'm in pieces.  We had to say goodbye to our sweet Maddie on Friday.  I alternate between dwelling on the good times and bemoaning the difficult end.  I can only be grateful she had 13.5 years on this earth to make everyone around her so happy.

Her energy and vivacity were infectious, sometimes inspiring, and often exhausting.  I will be forever her Maddie's debt for teaching me to love dogs.  The joy she - and all dogs I will love for the rest of my life - bring me is unmatchable.  I know we gave Maddie a great life and she always knew how much we loved her.

Goodbye, sweet girl.  We will never forget you.

Five Things

This week has been better with each passing day as my pups grow stronger, and I get closer and closer to the weekend.  We are heartbroken that it will only be 68 degrees on Saturday, how will we survive?  (Answer: with the heat blasting.)  

Of course, how could I not include in my list of favorites my beloved chipotle peppers in adobe sauce.  I've been picking mine up at Whole Foods and have been opting for the more adventuresome looking cans, those made in Mexico.  I can't say they taste better than the ones made in the U.S. (since I haven't tried those), but I do know they cost more.

John got me this garlic peeler as a stocking stuffer a couple of years ago.  I don't know why I haven't posted on it yet, but this is essential for anyone who loves garlic.  I don't use it for peeling one clove of garlic, but if I'm peeling upwards of three cloves, I will break it out.  You shove the garlic in the center, rolls with your palm and magically the skins are removed.

My obsession with Tex Mex is leading me to use my slow cooker a lot more lately.  I promise two new slow cooker Tex Mex recipes coming soon.  Yes, they both include chipotles.

Anika recommended this book to me, and I've since passed on the recommendation to a few people, including my boss.  David Busch writes books specific to lots of DSLRs.  They are infinitely more user-friendly than the horrid manuals that come with these cameras and really help you figure out how to use the silly things.

Thank goodness our Maddie girl has been recovering well.  Her days of home cooked food are coming to an end now that she's almost back to normal.  As much as I enjoyed cooking for her, I did not enjoy the mess it made all over the floor as she ate (imagine a toddler on all fours).

Have a great weekend, everyone!  We'll be walking around at parks and such all weekend and celebrating Valentine's Day at Dio Deka.

How We Almost Lost Maddie

John and I almost had our worst weekend of all time - we almost lost our girl Maddie on Friday night.  Everything was going normally and Maddie was scarfing up her dinner like she does when we hide a treat in there, then she started acting weird.  

She kept (unsuccessfully) trying to throw up and wouldn't sit still.  I took her for a walk and she didn't get any better.  We kept saying "oh, we'll give her 15 more minutes and see if she's better."  My first thought was that she was sick from licking some cleaning fluid off the floor or something.  It dawned on me she might have bloat, but John thought I was crazy.  As soon as he left to take her to the vet I Googled "bloat" and knew that's what she had.

Ten minutes later I got a text from John - she had bloat and was in emergency surgery.  If you've seen Marley & Me, bloat is what happened to poor Marley.  Bloat usually happens to broad-chested dogs (not those like Maddie) and is when a dog's stomach flips over inside them.  Symptoms usually include restlessness, retching, and a bloated tummy from the build-up of gas inside the tied-off stomach.  We were really lucky Maddie's flipped stomach didn't get too bad and she managed to survive the two hours until we got her to the vet (apparently some dogs die within an hour).

The surgeon flipped her stomach back and tacked it to the inside of her with 5 stitches so it would never happen again.  The vet thinks it happened after Maddie fell over with a full stomach so that everything just sloshed around and flipped.  Her recovery is going well and she even got to leave the animal hospital on Saturday evening.  She's on a strict bland diet of boiled chicken, white rice, and cottage cheese.  At least it makes me feel like there is something I can do for my poor girl by making her home cooked food.  Hopefully she'll be good as new soon.  And if you have any kind of larger dog - whether they have a big chest or not - be on the lookout for bloat (the second leading killer of dogs).

If He's a Good Boy

While John got me one big present for Christmas, I got him lots of smaller gifts, like this one.  Of all his gifts, I think this was his favorite.  How could it not be?  An adorable ornament that's the spitting image of Maddie girl.

If you would like to surprise a pet lover in your life, order an ornament next year from Clay Greys on etsy.  I sent the artist a few pictures of Maddie and she created this gem.

Looks just like her!  Next year if he's a good boy John might get a Harper ornament.  Santa will be watching.  

iPumpkin

John and I went to our favorite pumpkin patch, Farmer John's in Half Moon Bay, to get our pumpkins last weekend.  And yes, I mean pumpkins plural.

We brought Maddie so she could help us pick just the right pumpkin.

And because it was Bernese Mountain Dog day at the pumpkin patch.  We probably saw 10 there in the 30 minutes we were walking around.  They were adorable.

I made the mistake of telling John he could choose his own pumpkin.  Look which one he chose.  Sigh.

This message brought to you by iPumpkin.  My Nikon arrived in the mail today, so hopefully this is the last of the iPhone posts.

And if you're craving pumpkin desserts like I am lately, feel free to check out this or this or these.

Cavallo Point Anniversary Weekend

To celebrate our anniversary (albeit a little late), John and I headed up to Cavallo Point.  An old army base transformed into the "Inn at the Golden Gate" makes for a beautiful setting to celebrate.

Instead of the older army buildings, we were staying in the new buildings up the hill.  Somehow I forgot to take pictures of the room, but I can assure you it was big, beautiful, modern, and comfortable.  We were in heaven.

Each morning they had pastries and coffee (green tea for me) in the lobby.  Naturally I had a chocolate croissant every day.  Speaking of which, is it time to go back to St. Martin yet?

While in Marin, we decided we needed to hit our favorite place, Point Reyes.  One day the population will be 352 as John and I move in (around 2035).

The Point Reyes farmers market is a small one, but full of character.  John rolled his eyes at these haricot verts (he hates French things, despite his LaBarre heritage), but I told him haricot verts are actually a different vegetable than American green beans.  

This vendor sold different varieties of basil - I never even thought about different basils having different flavor.  Wish I had picked some up!

I can't decide whether the flowers are prettier than the multi-colored radishes on the front of the table.  

Roadkill green beans.  

Golden Brown and Delicious - after having one of these grilled cheeses about a year ago I knew I'd be having another on this visit to Point Reyes.  

The toasty cheese on the outside was the best part.  

Point Reyes Compost Co: Don't let anyone else give you crap.  

Could there be a more perfect slogan?

This little fella (gal?) was standing on his hind legs and looking from side to side for mom and dad.  He was like a little furry toddler.  

You over there, Ma?

Next we drove up to Dillon Beach for the first time.  

Just another beautiful beach in California.  

Just another cute hubby on a beautiful beach in California. 

All my frolicking Maddie pictures turned out blurry, but I had to post some photos of my gal.  She looks pretty funny mid-leap, if you ask me.  

Lookin' pretty funny mid-shake too.  I have a dream of getting an in-focus shot of Maddie shaking off one day.  

Saturday afternoon I spent on our porch reading my September issue of Elle and eating hummus and pita chips from the farmers market.  Not a bad way to relax.

Oh and I had this view too.  

What a great weekend!

Swiss Mountain Dog Day

John and I have a bit of an obsession with Swiss Mountain Dogs.  Such an obsession that we stalk the Golden Gate Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club.  Hence the picture of said club above.

We joined them at our favorite place, Point Isabel, for their Walk and Talk.

There were about ten Swissies at the event - more Swissies than I've ever seen in one place.  I was in heaven!

Swissies are big 100 pound dogs, but they are gentle giants that I can't help but be enamored by.

Look at those sweet faces.

I remember the first time I saw a Swissy.  John and I were in Virginia Beach for Thanksgiving.  My whole family was at Seashore State Park to take a family photo.  After piling out of the car I spotted a big lovable dog with the colors of a Milky Way Dark bar.  What could be better?  I bounded over to say "hi" to the pooch and her floppy ears and big smile melted my heart.

From then on I've been a Swiss Mountain Dog fanatic, raving for days when I've managed to spot one.  Only serious dog people (which thankfully includes John) could understand my obsession.

The Walk and Talk was great because we got to hear first-hand accounts of the breed.  For instance, they aren't usually fond of water, but one will occasionally take a short dip for fun.

Maddie fancied herself one of the gang during the walk.  When we had her off leash she was inclined to lead the pack but found herself a big perturbed that the humans and big dogs couldn't keep up with her fast trot.

All of the dog owners were in love with the breed and were extremely helpful telling us all about their dogs.  We're crossing our fingers we might even be able to dog sit for a Swissy at some point.

As much as I love Swissies, no dog can compare to my dear Maddie.  She turned 13 last week, which is definitely senior citizen status in dog years.  I find her even cuter now that she snores and has a grayed muzzle.  Wouldn't it be nice to age so gracefully?

Have You Seen...

Guest Post by Madison Lexington LaBarre
Have you seen my dad?  He's been missing for almost two weeks and I'm not pleased.  I've been looking for him everywhere.  Whenever I hear a creak in the house or a noise outside I always perk up in the hopes that he's about to walk in the door.  When my mom is walking me down the street and I see someone approaching I am always eager to say hi in hopes that it will be my dad.

Who else am I supposed to wrestle with and cover with my white fur?   And who is going to carry me up the stairs when my old legs are too tired to climb?  No one around here will let me lick their shaved head to my heart's content.

It just isn't the same without him.  Please let me know if you've seen him and send him home.