Comparisons

   After the loss of our Meg, we were determined a new dog was still going to join our household.  last night, with the encouragement of Meg's foster care person, we went and met many puppies. 6 or 7  with varying shades of labrador retriever in them.  There was one we thought we were serious about from looking at her on the website, and a different one entirely who came home.
     Libby is the new friend of the four - footed variety.  She is tinier than Meg - more terrier for certain.  She is bright and quick and wants to be on your lap or at your feet.  She has a terrier mouth - sharper than Meg's, but she is a dear.  The children are very happy to have her here, but I can see a slight hesitation, a caution in the way they approach her, I am guessing because of the circumstances of last week, and because she is so similar to Meg in coloring that we are still stuttering a little when we call her - "Meh...Libby"
    Here are a couple of photos for you to compare:

Libby with Alex

Meg sleeping during the Olympics

Meg liked to sleep under my spinning wheel - usually when I was spinning!

Libby prefers to be under my feet at the computer

   I must admit that last night, there was another sweet puppy I really wanted to bring home.  Drew and I actually looked at each other and asked if we were thinking the same thing.  This puppy was a male who had lab in him, but something else - something big!  He had large puppy paws and a fuzzy coat,  and if we had not also been looking at his sibling, we would have sworn he was  Newfoundland.  he was very steady tempered and mild and tolerant of being picked up  over a dozen times.  He was my choice - but it is not about me. 

    For now we are making this little one feel at home. 

Goodnight sweet Meg, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest

   Sad news.  Meg, the sweet puppy we all fell in love with, died on Friday. We all miss her very much.  She was only a member of the family for 2 weeks, and yet she wrapped herself around our hearts.
   Her death was a freak accident. No one's fault. No reason. She fell down the stairs and broke her neck, so at least it was fast and with no pain.
    As much as it may seem insensitive, we are going to look for another puppy this week.  Our daughter feels this may be too soon, but we will not know until we see how we handle being near other puppies. In some ways it feels right to  find another little one to fill the void.
    It feels  much worse than any other dog I have ever lost (and there have always been dogs in my life) because of the abruptness and unexpectedness of the accident.
sigh...time will heal and a new furry member of the family may  help that. 

Puppy

       No postings recently because the days are filled with keeping our newest family member out of mischief!

Meg is a puppy we adopted from a rescue - a mutt who has terrier tendencies (read digging and very fast), is quite smart and very mild tempered and wants to be a lap dog. So far she is 17 lbs. and is about 5 1/2 months - they think.  She and her litter mates were rescued from a kill shelter and their actual birthdate is unknown. We are guesstimating she will be a little girl - 30 lbs at most.  She is definitely the tiniest dog we have ever owned.  
    Meg arrived a week ago and is fitting in pretty well. She has a great curiosity about yarn - dangerous in this house as I have it everywhere - in baskets, bags, on the spinning wheel.  So far I have rescued some un-spun fiber she was trying to shred,  rewound a skein of yarn, and pulled her head out of my knitting bag.
     Our older dog is okay with her.  She is asserting her dominance over the puppy, mostly by the occasional bark.  She is not too certain  about this little one.  She was quite happy as the sole dog.

To show the size difference. 

   The cat, however, is not amused.  She has been walking around with her tail fluffed out to the size of a bottle brush, spitting and hissing.  At one point yesterday, my husband saw her  chasing Meg up from the basement.  That was funny!
     The main reason for the adoption was our youngest son really needed a playmate.  There are almost no children his age on our street, and the one there is has daycare in the summer. Also, we like the idea of an overlap of dogs.  Our older dog, Tasha, is now 12 and has  a couple years left, we estimate.  I find transitions are easier when another dog is in place.

She really likes hanging out on the hammock.

The brindling on her legs makes her look like she just played in the mud!

     All three of the children love Meg, and I think it is a good fit. 

Reading

  Today my dear husband and I get to perform together onstage.  This is a rare occurrence.  I think it has only happened twice before.  He is usually onstage or directing and I am usually costuming the show.  It is a nice treat to be able to do this.  We are doing a directed reading of The real Thing today at 2 at the Franklin Stage Company.  It is free, so come join us.

Structure

  Sometimes we forget the basic "rule" that goes along with raising a child with autism.  Structure is important.  Not that we adhere to this religiously - by no means.  When our son was young, he loved to line up his matchbox cars in specific rows - we would mess them up.  We never ate (eat) dinner at the same time.  Never had "Tuesdays we eat this, Fridays we eat that" dinner menus. We have always thought this was setting up a false set of expectations.  The world is not ordered and structured and always on time, so we never were, and never allowed our son that option.
   School has its own structure.  Summer, however, is decidedly unstructured - to the point of being detrimental to his behavior.  He only has horse back riding once a week, and swim lessons once a week. So today is the first day of a schedule - albeit a loose one - but a schedule nonetheless.
    First off, exercise.  He woke me at 6:45 to go bike riding.  Then we went grocery shopping.  Three times a week he has to help with the laundry.  He has fun outings twice a week with his helper.  Normally he is in charge of mowing the lawn, but it has been so dry here, we have little or no growth.  In the afternoons, we are going to start heading to the Y for some swimming practice. In the evenings - several nights a week, the boys go fishing with Daddy.
   There is still a lot of free time with nothing to do - because, let's face it, he is a teenager and hanging out in your room playing on your iPad seems the norm.  If all goes well, the rest of the summer should be a little less stressful. 

Morning in the garden

     Temperatures are predicted to be 95 today, so I was up early to water before the plants were stressed and limp.  This is some of what I saw as I drank my coffee.

Not one of my bees, but welcome nonetheless.

This butterfly has been working the echinacea for over two hours.

Visitors are always welcome

Lemon lilies from my husband's grandmother's garden.

All pollinators welcome

Open and open

   The show which has been with me for months is finally open.  Separation Rapid at Chenango River Theatre is open and you can still get tickets for some of the later shows.  Opening night was Friday, but I also had rehearsal for a directed reading of The Real Thing at Franklin Stage Company.  They are doing a 5 play series "On Love"  and we performed Saturday, and this coming Sat. we do it again.  So Friday I was up early doing finishing touches on the show, then off to rehearsal for  The Real Thing, then out to Chenango River Theatre for final ironing, painting and such on the costumes, and home.  I rarely go to opening nights because I have spent much of the week away from the kids, and I miss them.
      Now we are slowing down a little for a couple weeks - I may be able to turn my dining room back into a place to eat - it is currently a giant pile of fabric, sewing notions and two sewing machines.