Ladies and Gents, We Have a Fence!

She doesn't allow leaves in her pool.  Working on fishing every last fleck out.

Pauly the seal

Shake! Shake! Shake!

Enjoying his freedom

The always seem to find more sticks, no matter how many I throw away

Our new fence = Happy Dogs

My love

"Smile!"

Pretty lady

Stalking her brother

Dirt Girls

A wonderful weekend of getting our hands (and faces, and feet, and everything else dirty) digging in the dirt, planting vegetables, eating sushi, playing with doggies, and snuggling with good books, all in the fabulous company of my darling, dearest Nora the Explora.  I built and prepped the whole garden during Spring Break and was thankful to have help with the planting stage.  Can't wait to indulge in the fruits of our labor.

Pysanky

Today Erika taught her mom, my mom, my friend Lauren's mom (Lauren, we miss you!), and me how to make Pysanky.  Erika learned how to make the Pysanky at the Ukranian Museum and she was psyched to give us all an arts and crafts lesson.  Pysanky are traditional Ukranian Easter eggs.  They are made by melting beeswax and using a special stylus to "draw" with the melted wax on the egg shell.  You are essentially drawing the negative of what the egg is going to look like, since the wax is what eventually comes off, revealing your design.  So the idea is that you draw a bit, and then dip it in special liquid dye, and then draw a little bit more.  You are covering more and more of the egg, so what's left when you're done is different colors that you covered with wax as you worked on the egg.  I would say that it took us about two hours, start to finish, to each make one egg.  The designs are very intricate and you are constantly melting the wax in your stylus over a candle.  At the end, you burn all the wax off the egg to reveal a gorgeous pattern.  If you're interested in making your own Pysanky, the supplies can be purchased in NYC at a store called Surma in the East Village.  It was really fun and even though my mom and I are not artistically gifted, we created beautiful eggs and had fun doing it. 



Marilyn, Mia, Mom, and Erika hard at work



Erika's first Pysanka



Erika, Marilyn, Mom, and Me Pysankying



Pysanka

Burning off the wax to reveal the colors underneath

One of Mia's beautiful Pysanka

 Happy Easter!

  

It's Lamb Time

A friend recently bemoaned on a rainy, cold day in NYC, "isn't it lamb time yet?"  It was definitely lamb time today in beautiful Morningside Park.

Snuggles

This is what I came home to this morning:

I had to tip-toe in to get this picture

"Oh, hi mom" - said in the best Eeyore voice you can muster

I had a lovely coffee date yesterday with two of the most stand-up gentlemen I know, Luis and Tuesday.  As we leave Starbucks, Luis scolds Tuesday, who is charging ahead into the beautiful day, "Tuesday!  Ladies first!" and Tuesday drops into a heel to let me go ahead.  It was a glorious, hot day in NYC and I can't think of a better way to spend it than by sitting outside, sipping iced tea, and listening to Luis talk, bounce ideas, and tell stories while getting "snuggles" from Tuesday (Pauly will be perfecting the "snuggles" command ASAP).  Tuesday convinced me that he really is the most emotionally intelligent dog I've ever met.  In true Golden fashion, he wants to be in the middle of the conversation and/or on top of its participants at all times.  However he alternates laps and leans with the skill of an experienced party host who knows just when to bounce to their next guest.  As they showed off their arsenal of party tricks, I was most impressed by his "whisper" command, which means to bark softly.  It took a couple of loud barks, but then he whispered a hushed bark.  I'm sure you dog handlers can appreciate the difficulty of teaching this one!  Luis and Tuesday have achieved a unification that we hope all our dogs will achieve with their partners.  They are truly different aspects of one personality - Tuesday the goofy, outgoing side and Luis the pensive, noble side. 
I suggest you check out their website, pre-order their book, and pencil in the nearest book talk/pawtographing event near you.  I promise it will be your pleasure meeting these guys.

Hello Blackbird Hello Starling

 Winter's Over Be My Darling!

Rocco figuring out how to carry a 4ft stick

Erika, Pauly, and Rocco

Some lovin'

Some more lovin'

My sweet Paulywog

It's a beautiful day in NYC

Fast friends

Happy Days

The weather is finally getting warm and we got to spend tons of time outside this weekend.  Jay came to visit and we’ve had so much fun playing outside, going to the beach (twice!), and enjoying each others' company.  Plus, there’s no work to worry about because it’s Spring Break!  A picture says a thousand words, so without further ado, some pictures of our happy days.  I sure hope it’s contagious and we make you happy too!

Pauly found an old ball on our walk that led to a good game of chase.

Pauly wins!  Sophie is distracted by something smelly/shiny/tasty.

Sophie is much faster and takes corners like a race car.   Pauly knows the only way to beat her is to distract her.

A beautiful day for the beach

Oh, boys!  Making the same face with the sun in their eyes.

Apparently it wasn’t too cold for swimming.