Our Visit With Aunt Karen

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Many of you may have noticed that Karen the Queen of the Food Group has been MIA.  She's been here in CT visiting her best friend (me) and her "boys"...G & M.  It took great courage for her to get on that plane after not flying for 16 years but with a "little help from her friends" she did it!  We had such a fun weekend, and we were so busy that I never thought about taking out the camera.  We did think of it yesterday morning, but at that point G & M had gone off to Daycare because we were heading the the airport.  So I did manage to get Tim to pose, but unfortunately that's our only picture.

We had gone to our little local pub for dinner Friday night and when we got home we were ready for Yappy Hour, but nobody was on.  We were "bumming" but did some yapping of our own.  Saturday we showed Karen around, took her to our Training Facility/Dog Food Store (where she gave a little consultation to the owner who was having problems with a rescue puppy itching), and I made her the PIE that she's been waiting for.  Sunday we went to the beach for the day, and Monday she headed back.

It was so awesome to finally meet.  Karen is even "cooler" in person.

[Sheila & Finnley]

Well Jane, if you are only going to get one picture, you might just as well get the best ! :) You did that, and Karen and Tim looked great ! Sorry that you didn't think to get the camera out earlier though. Glad that you both enjoyed your time together.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I love this!  Glad you had a great time :)

My dad hates flying, but I managed to get him on a plane to come to my wedding in Hawai'i last year... but he was so nervous his luggage got searched at every security area!  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Awww Karen, you are too sweet....but I'm thinking you kind of "oversold" us.  I especially like the "young looking" part.  So are you thinking 38 throw pillows is excessive?  It rained here yesterday, and Tim went off to work in his "Chicago" hat, looking very proud.  We're missing you too...come back soon!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

sounds like a perfect weekend!  I love that you finally met "in person"- that phrase takes on a new meaning.  I hate to fly, too, so good for you!  Love the picture, too.  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Awwww....this is the best blog to wake up to on this Wednesday morning. Karen, I am so proud of you for getting on that plane. I hate to fly, so I know what it takes to make yourself do it. I have had the wonderful privilege of meeting Jane, Dave, and Tim, and Karen is telling the truth about all of them. Great people! It makes my heart happy to think of "best friends" meeting for the first, but hopefully, not the last time. May this be the start of many more visits. BTW, I love the picture!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I'm delighted to hear a bit of this wonderful trip!!! So proud of you for flying and so happy you had this weekend together!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, we may only have gotten one photo, but it sure is a great one! Of course, Tim is the kind of person who makes everything & everyone around him look better, even me! Impossible to feel sad, mad, or bad around Tim.

And he comes by it naturally. How could you not be wonderful with Jane and her DD Dave for parents?

I am soooo glad I had the courage to get on that plane! I don't even have the words to describe how it felt to finally meet Jane and get to be a member of her household for three days. Imagine being in a beautiful home in a beautiful town, spending time with beautiful, smart, funny, generous, laid-back, kind, welcoming people who make you feel like part of their family, and you will only get the very tiniest idea of how I felt. The house is gorgeous. It's like a bigger, more luxurious version of a fairy tale cottage. Flowers everywhere, inside and out. (Although Jane really needs a few more throw pillows, lol. I only counted 38.) Oh, and the food was amazing, too. Fresh berry pie with real whipped cream. Lamb chops on the grill. Lobster. And that was just some of what we ate at home! Plus a vast selection of artisan beers and one of the best cabernets I ever had. We ate and drank and talked and laughed and just relaxed, and it was wonderful. 

I've never been in New England before, and I was just amazed at the scenery. Trees everywhere, beautiful old Colonial houses & buildings, and hills!!! (I thought they were mountains, but Dave said hills. It's flat here in Illinois, the steepest thing you see in my neighborhood is the slide at the school playground.) And gardens full of flowers everywhere, masses and masses of hydrangeas so blue they don't look real. We drove along the shore on the way to the beach and I saw the town where Katharine Hepburn lived, and a house owned by a self-made billionaire complete with private plane, private helicopter, and private marina for the private yacht. He's about 10 years older than me and single. Jane is going to have to figure out a way for me to meet him.

It was hard leaving JD for the first time ever, but Guinness and Murphy sure did their part to keep me from missing him too much. They are two of the sweetest, best behaved, most affectionate doodles I have ever met. I got snuggles and doodle kisses from both of them, several times a day. And they are both absolutely gorgeous! Little Guinness is always wagging & smiling. (Well, except when Jane put his Gentle Leader on, then she got quite the stink-eye, lol!) And Murphy has the softest coat ever! I never really knew what "loose fleece" was until I felt Murphy's coat, and then I couldn't keep my hands off of him. He didn't mind, either. He was more than happy to lean into me for lots of petting and butt scratches. Sweet, sweet boys. 

Dave is just a terrific guy. All you moms out there, pray that your daughters find themselves husbands like Dave, and that your sons grow up to be just like him. I'm sure he was happy to have his study back after I moved out of it Monday, but he never acted the tiniest bit put out or inconvenienced, even when my moving around woke him at 5:30 the first morning I was there. 

And Jane. To finally meet Jane, well what can I say? She is exactly who I knew she was: kind, smart, funny, warm, genuine, and so pretty and young-looking that I was trying to find some evidence that she'd had "work" done, but I couldn't find any. She's real, and I'm so happy that we finally got to spend time together. We talk on the phone every couple of days, she's the first person I want to talk to when anything, good or bad, happens in my life, and I can't imagine not being best friends with her forever. How could I not get on that plane? 

Thanks for a wonderful vacation, kid. I miss you already.