Sandy

We survived Sandy.  We lost some shingles off the roof - not sure what section yet - but no other damage that I am aware of at this point.  We are very, very lucky.  Boomer was antsy all day long.  He does not like wind.  At one point, he settled down, went to sleep at my feet - actually on my feet.  I didn't dare move for fear of waking him.  He finally really settled down when I decided to go up to the bedroom and let him in my bed.  Then he was out, snoring away.  A worked all day yesterday.  They activated an extra Rescue Company and he was in it - stationed in Brooklyn.  Sounded like it may not have been too busy during the day, but in the evening, they had to rescue 20 people from a flooded neighborhood, then they just started running from fire to fire.  It's a mess in the City today.

Got to love my doggy

Some doggy cuteness for you...
First, last night, A was laying on the couch.  I was kneeling on the floor next to him, kissing him.  I had my arm behind his head.  I feel this nudging under my arm and then all of the sudden there's this little black nose there.  Followed by a cute little doggy face giving out kisses.  Funny dog.  I just laughed.  He's always wiggling in.  If we are standing in the kitchen hugging or kissing, he wiggles between our legs.  You can understand why sometimes he gets locked out of the bedroom!

Then, this morning, while I'm cooking my breakfast, Boomer was outside doing his business.  I left the door open so he could come in when he wanted. Well - he comes racing in, dashes around and up the stairs.  Then I hear a noise, so I go investigate.  The blinds have been knocked around on the window at the top of the stairs.  And then I hear - fluttering.  He chased a freakin' bird into the house and up the stairs.  I shut him in the bedroom and tried opening the window to get the bird to fly away.  The bird was so small, it kept sliding down between the two windows.  Finally I got a dishtowel, managed to wrap the bird up in it and took it outside where it flew away.  Whew!  I go up and open the bedroom door and let me tell you - I so wish I had taken a picture of the look on that dog's face and the wagging tail.  He was so happy.  That tail was just wagging away.  He was so damned pleased, honestly, it made my heart happy.  But I would prefer no further birds in the house.

Happiness is...

....sleeping in my own bed with my own pillow.  Back from Italy on Monday - the town we were in was lovely - see some pictures below - but it's always nice to come home to your own bed.

Are you a planner?

I tend to be a planner when we are going on a trip somewhere.  I'm not good with being spontaneous.  I much prefer to know how I'm getting where I'm going, where will I be staying, where will I be eating, etc.  I have done a couple of road trips with A where we did not make hotel reservations, just drove until we got tired and found a place.  Mostly this worked out fine, but one trip we kept finding hotel after hotel was full, so we finally called ahead a few towns and made a reservation.  I really don't like to leave things to the last minute.  And my definition of the last minute is probably different than most people.  I like to have plans that can be wrapped up in advance done so about a week ahead.  I also plan out and list what I will wear on trips day by day.  This avoids both overpacking and underpacking.  Although I do still tend to overpack, but not to extremes.  I think that the thing for me is that by limiting the number of unknowns, I can relax and enjoy much more easily.  And by getting things done well in advance, I am less stressed in the days leading up to a trip.  We are heading out next week for the famous wedding in Italy.  The flights and hotel have been in place for months.  Airport transfers have been taken care of.  I have already gotten our passports out.  They are with the electrical adaptor set so that I will forget neither item.  Tonight, I will be checking all of our chargers that must make the trip to see if I need to bring the little transformer thing as well.  A is in charge of dealing with cell phone use overseas.  The banks know we are going, it's all coming together.  Next on the list is making an appointment to get my nails done.  Important stuff you know!