Gotham Knights vs. Brockport Doggies

So how about some rugby photos?


If you like hot men with big legs, rugby is the sport for you!


You met Daniel, our new Aussie, in the last post. Here, you see him in action!




Tommy is one of our veterans. He's not a big guy, but anyone who underestimates him based on size is making a BIG mistake!


A not-too-hard-to-look-at guy from the Brockport team


Nathan in a scrum


If you like redheaded bears, have we got a new guy for you!

That's it for now! More to come!

By the way, if you want to see the full set, go to the Brown Hound Photos website. This particular gallery is here.

Reasons to love rugby

As I'm sure you know, I'm a proud member of the Gotham Knights RFC (Rugby Football Club), and that's because of my love of the sport. There's no other reason. For example, new guy Daniel has nothing to do with it...



Okay, so maybe I find him a little attractive. But then there's that off-putting way he speaks. You know, those Australian accents can be such a distraction!

*swoon*

Okay, now I have to get back to editing rugby photos!

Yay! Rugby starts again today!

Today we truly start spring, even if the calendar says we have a few days of winter to go, for today our beloved Gotham Knights have their first match of the year! The camera is ready, and I head out in about an hour to join them. Even Dodger is cheering for rugby:

The cozy dog

It's a hard life!

Our first baby, Bernice, the Energizer doggy!

When we adopted Bernice, we knew that we'd do our best by her but had to realize, as with all such things... well, you know. She's doing well for her age, but some days are hard for her at this point. We do our best to make every day as good as possible.

Still, the vet told us a while back that a dog of her type could be expected to live 10 to 12 years. I guess we've done okay, because she's now 14 years & 2 months old. And while she has her achy days, she has her good days, too. At the moment, she's sleeping by our feet.

So how's she looking at such an advanced age? Take a look at a shot of our pretty baby that I took earlier tonight as she relaxed on her new bed:

Old dogs with new beds

We bought a new couch, after one last bit of dog damage finished the old one off. Since we intend to keep the dogs off the new one (or at least try to), we bought new dog beds for this room (as opposed to the dog beds they already have in the bedroom). We only bought two, since Dodger tends to avoid such things during the day, even when they're made available. I don't know why--Dodge moves in mysterious ways.

So we bought lovely new beds that have a center cushion that sits inside a cushioned ring, letting them sink into the cushy center and rest their heads on the side, a perfect arrangement for how they often like to sleep. So what was the first reaction to the beds? Take a look:



Lovely. *sigh*

And what did Mandy do? At first, she was truly ecstatic. She had her ears up and was grinning. But then she got around to "I have a better idea!"



Yes, she got herself under the cushion. Oy vey, these dogs!

Well, she's now on top of the pillow, so all is well with that. And Bernice is on the floor as I type this, but she's been using the bed, too:



It's not easy to keep old dogs comfy, especially poor Bernice who is beyond old for a dog of her size. But we're trying!

It's so lovely!

Is my new Ford Explorer Limited perfect? No. But what's wrong is minor in the grand scheme. The Sync system is powered by Microsoft. So there are moments where I'll push the button on the steering wheel so I can talk to the system, and the system is off doing other things. I don't know if it's rearranging its stamp collection or it saw a squirrel, but it does get distracted. As the Ford salesman commented, "it's like six different computers, and sometimes they have trouble talking to each other."

Yeah, another win for Microsoft. *sigh* But while that sounds like a pain, it's actually minor. Most of the time it works fine, and it's a lovely convenience (you can tell it to do a TON of things) when it's working.

As for everything else that drives the purchase of a particular vehicle, this one is a home run! Marc took the Explorer to work on Friday to show her off, and one of his people described the ride as "silky." That's the best adjective I've heard, and it's quite accurate. It's not mushy--she handles very well for an SUV (and I'm just coming out of a sports sedan)--but the ride is silky smooth. She has nice power and is an all-around pleasure to drive. Add to that things like the dual-panel sunroof (so backseat passengers can get sunshine, too), the powered shade, the... oh, never mind. The list of comforts, conveniences and features could go on for pages. This is the kind of vehicle that makes us want to take long road trips.

Today, we took her for a quick jaunt down to Robert Moses State Park, where we saw the deer and parked briefly for a couple of photos:


Click on the photo to see a larger version and enjoy all her beauty!



When we got back near the house, I finally (okay, I've only had her 6 days, but still) tried the feature that makes her park herself. With the push of a button, she found a space and whipped that steering wheel back and forth, maneuvering perfectly to the curb. Amazing!

Closing in on the new car

As you may recall, I'd previously mentioned that I've been car shopping. The Lincoln MKT was a serious contender, but since that time we learned more and decided it wasn't a fit.

So now we get back to one of the other finalists, the Ford Explorer. Happily, the more I learned about the Explorer, the more I wanted one. I even have a probable color picked out, so I can tell you it probably will look like this:





We'd both sat in Explorers in a couple of dealers (have to shop around to see what you can leverage in a final deal!), so we knew it was comfy for driver and passenger (vital for our long drives). The features and technology--and everything else about it--we liked a lot. That left the test drive.

We took that test drive on Saturday. Wow, we were impressed! What a nice ride! It doesn't have quite as much speed as the Infinitis we have now, but it's still plenty of get-up-and-go (the Infinitis are silly fast--not that I was complaining). The Explorer has more than enough power for those highway on-ramps and passing needs.

So now I'm doing the "I'm not in too much of a rush" thing with the salesman. Can't seem too anxious! His numbers already are far better than the other dealer, but there's always some room for sweetening the deal. Still, I think this is the one, and I feel like a kid waiting for his birthday present! :)

Dog baths

I'm a little late on posting these, but the New Year brought both birthday celebrations for the eldest and youngest members of the pack, as well as baths for all three of the kids, since the weather was warm enough that we weren't concerned about any residual dampness in their coats when they'd go out a few hours after their baths.

We'll start with the birthday girl, Bernice, who turned 14 this year...


This is before she got brushed out, so she still has some stray undercoat pieces marring her beautiful black fur

She's looking pretty good for 14, isn't she? We're worried for her and know she's much older than the vet thought she'd ever be, but we have to take comfort in knowing we've done well by her and she still has a good life!


This doesn't quite capture it, but 12-year-old Mandy gets very poofy after a bath!

Actually, Mandy gets poofy and very smooth. When freshly cleaned, her fur is so soft, it feels like a mink coat!


Mandy can be talkative, and this was especially so after the bath!


Someone wound up in a cone, because he wouldn't stop trying to groom the "stink" of shampoo off of himself!

Last but not least is a photo of Mandy that really captures her mood after a bath. Ears down, sad looking face... In fact, we were considering a little work in Photoshop to add numbers to make this look like the complete mugshot that it really is...


Well, at least this shows some of the poofiness!

Seems like we should have the Dragnet announcer, saying, "Mandy T. Dog was tried in Department 187 of the Superior Court of the hamlet of East Meadow and convicted of kibble theft in the 3rd degree. She's currently serving a 15-minute timeout on the couch."

Catching up

So when we last chatted, I'd had a hard day. Fortunately, most days are far better than that one. Things are going pretty well. Work has been busy, but I'm doing good work. And Marc and I have had lots of fun since--and we continue to. Life is good, and it's important that we all focus on the good as much as we can, since many have much tougher lives!

Let me share one event I recently enjoyed. This actually happened before the last post, but I hadn't put these photos online yet. For once, not photos I took but, rather, a couple of photos I'm in. These are from Gotham Rugby's 10th Anniversary dinner...


Me (second from the right) and some friends


I'm in this one, with a few more of the boys. Can you find me? (Click on it for a better view.)

Unfortunately, Marc couldn't join me for this fun party. I hate going to events without Marc, but he had a work event that night that he had to attend. In fact, his event is an annual one that I usually attend, too.

Fortunately, there's another rugby party this Saturday--the far less formal End of Season Dinner--and Marc will be going to that one.

We're also looking forward to attending next year's Bingham Cup tournament in Manchester. We've attended a few Bingham Cup tournaments, including the one in Dublin a few years ago, and it's always a fun event!

I could go on sharing, but I think I'll stop there, mostly because I'm tired! :) I hope everyone who's reading this (both of you?) is doing well!

I should have just skipped today

Maybe I should have hidden under the covers all day. Whatever, I've sure had better days. Work had a ton of headaches, but nothing was worse than the drive to work this morning.

I hit a squirrel.

He ran right out in front of me, just feet away. I slammed on the brakes, but I heard the thud, and I saw him in the road in the rearview mirror. Much as I'd like to think he was just stunned, I suspect it was worse than that.

I usually go home a different way than I go in, but today I retraced my route. I didn't see a dead squirrel on the street where I hit him, but I suppose someone could have disposed of the body. Still... no, it's silly to hope that he was just stunned. Squirrels generally don't walk away from these things. I know it was unavoidable, but I hate what happened. I hate that some dopey squirrel got itself killed, but that's how I am. I ache for every dead animal I see in the road, whether it's a squirrel or a raccoon or anything else.

Would it be an easier life if I were a heartless bastard, instead of hurting for every little creature I see? I don't know, but I am who I am.

Lyon

I've again neglected my blog. So how about we go back to posting photos from last year's trip to France?

After Nice, we got back in the car and drove up to Lyon. When we got there, we found that our hotel--one of the best rated hotels in town--wasn't in the old part of Lyon. Still, I found the view lovely and had to take a shot. This was done hand-held, bracing against a window frame, so it isn't exactly perfect...



An interesting feature of Lyon is the traboules. They're passageways that run through buildings, connecting streets and courtyards. Many of them are open to the public. Our friend Eric, an American who has been living in France for much of his life, took us around and showed us through some of his favorites. Here's a view from inside one...



All kinds of interesting architecture back in those passageways...




Check out one of the many little details!

Many of the windows have crosses built into them. In a country where Roman Catholicism is the official religion, one might think this was just a common profession of faith, but Eric explained that these windows go back to a time when there was a window tax. Having the cross apparently gained an exemption; hence, lots of crosses built into windows...




Another traboule, with Marc & Eric up ahead, Marc videotaping as he walks


I seem to recall these wells having some sort of religious use back in the day--yeah, that's all I've got. Can't remember what was said about them!

There's something special about this shop that got me to shoot a photo through the window...



What's special is that this is the Miniatures Museum, and everything you're seeing is tiny. The chairs are maybe two inches tall.

I loved the name of the pub in this next shot. I particularly liked the drawings at either end of the awning (you may have to click on the photo for a larger version, so you can see it well).



Please note: you shouldn't encourage your dogs to smoke. It's not good for them!


A building I found interesting


A street in Lyon

I suppose that's enough for one post. Hope you enjoyed it!

An important day

Ten years ago today, we received a wonderful gift. The gift gave himself to us. His name was to be Dodger, and he walked up to me on a Brooklyn sidewalk, skinny, hungry, dirty and looking to share his love with people who would care for him. We gave him what we needed, but we got the better part of the deal.



Thank you, Dodge, for all the years of love and fun. I hope you have many years left to share with us!

Didn't have that in mind at all!

It's car shopping time. Okay, for normal people, it wouldn't be. I have six months left on my car lease, but I want to really know what I want well in advance. So I've been poking around online. I'm also the type who keeps an eye on what's new in automobiles. I even watch Motorweek on PBS. I know, sad.

On the way back from rugby on Saturday, we started visiting car dealers. I'd already seen the new Ford Explorer up close and had that on the mental short list. Oh, I should mention that I'm leaning towards a crossover or SUV now, having had enough sports sedan for now. Marc has a crossover, but we really could use something with a little more room. So the Explorer looks interesting. We also had a few others in mind.

So on the way back from rugby, we stopped at... I can't even believe I'm typing this... a Cadillac dealer. Yes, Cadillac. We looked at the SRX. I liked its looks and had read some good things. Unfortunately, we sat in it and took an instant dislike. The legroom wasn't enough for Marc, the stitching on the headrests wasn't stitching but rather a sort of application, and the issues went on from there. I really expected to like it a lot and was disappointed that we found a lot not to like.

Okay, on to our next stop. We have friends who love Subaru. So we went to a Subaru dealer. I'd seen the Outback and thought it looked nice, so I wanted to check it out. Again, sitting in it took care of that. Neither of us was impressed. Actually, I'm sure Marc was relieved that I didn't like it, since I tend to say Subaru as Soo-Ba-Rooo (think Scooby Doo).

Here's where it gets interesting--well, for me; you're probably bored to tears by now. The Subaru dealer was a combo Subaru and Lincoln dealer. I hadn't even noticed those being together, but we later saw another dealer that was Ford-Lincoln-Subaru, so I guess there was some kind of deal to pull them together. Anyhow, Lincoln wasn't really on my radar, but we took a look at the MKX crossover as long as we were there, and it was quite nice. Definitely a contender. We were going to leave it at that when the salesman said something about the MKT. To me, it looked like a stationwagon (if they even call them that anymore), and I honestly thought, "hmmm, that thing is pretty ugly." Here, take a look...



Okay, not horrible, I suppose, but not as sleek as the Caddy. Here, check out the big butt on this thing (not that I should talk!)...



So its looks didn't wow me, and I'd like more ground clearance (the past winter's snowstorms made things tough). Still, I hopped in it to check it out. Oh my dog! It's sooooo comfortable, and the available features are amazing. As I said to Marc, of the cars we've checked out so far, this is the one that had me immediately imagining being on road trips with him and the occasional visiting friends. From the technological features to the "Eco-Boost" engine to the huge (HUGE) sunroof to the refrigerated compartment in between the second row seats (okay, so those are options that would up the price), I really was blown away. Plus, it's top-rated for safety. I'm amazed that this vehicle is relatively unknown.

Also interesting are the "meh" reviews it has gotten, including by Consumer Reports. Meanwhile, when I checked Owner Satisfaction in its category, I found that it blew away every other car, including Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti and even its fellow Lincolns. I feel like I found a secret. With that said, I don't know if I'm getting one, since I haven't even driven it yet. That's yet to come.

So really, a Lincoln? I saw that as a car for someone a lot older than me, but the MKT definitely is a contender.

We also went to the Toyota dealer to check out the Highlander. I was particularly interested in that one, because they have a hybrid version available. Unfortunately, I was troubled by "fit and finish," as they say. Since my headaches with the Infiniti I now own come from easily dented (and I mean really easily!) sheet metal and paint that is marked way too easily, I would like something a little tougher. My prior vehicle was a Volvo that didn't pick up so much as a scratch in the years I had it. This Infiniti, in comparable conditions, is all marked up and has a few dents because of its tinfoil construction! Too much of a headache! More importantly, I didn't find the Toyota seat supportive in the right places. My commute is too long to compromise on such things!

So what are we left with? Well, Marc has ridden in a Buick Enclave and said it's very nice. That's reason enough to go check it out.

Other than that, I've checked out other vehicles online and eliminated quite a few, either due to feature issues, underpowered engines (New York roads are not for the meek--getting safely from an acceleration lane into traffic during rush hour can require some punch) or price. A couple of the ones I liked looked okay until I started adding features, like navigation and such, at which point their prices ballooned to huge amounts.

So I suppose the current short list is:
Ford Explorer
Lincoln MKT
And maybe the Buick Enclave, but I haven't even sat in one yet.

Of course, with six months left on my current lease, I may yet find something else to like, but I really am surprised at what's on my list. I really didn't have Lincoln in mind at all. Go figure!

Gotham Knights vs. Brooklyn Rugby

How about some more rugby photos? Two days ago, Gotham played Brooklyn. It was a hard-fought match. Brooklyn won, but Gotham put up a good fight and I was proud of the boys.

As always, click on the photos for larger versions.


One of Brooklyn's guys


That's Zander flying through the air. Zander is handsome, athletic and a native of South Africa. Love that accent, Zander!




This is Joe. Joe is a friend and an absolute sweetheart. He's straight, but we don't hold that against him. Hey, the boy can't help it if he was born that way! Now if he'd just work on those skinny legs of his! ;)


This is Mike. Mike is new to Gotham. Mike isn't hard to look at!






Another of the new boys

Okay, that will do for now. Hope you like those. If you want to see the full set, go here.

That shouldn't be cause for praise

A week and a half ago, one of my staff members, Joanne, lost her husband. He had cancer, and it took him from her when he was just 48 years old. Last week, there was a wake and funeral. The wake was on Wednesday, and the funeral was on Thursday. Everyone wanted to go to the wake. People could have gone in the evening instead of the afternoon, but so that everyone could go to the wake together and show Jo our complete support, I closed the department.

Today, a longtime employee of another department who has known Jo for years made a point of telling me how wonderful she thought it was that I did what I did. I know the look on my face had to be complete confusion. At first, when she mentioned what I did for Joanne, I honestly wasn't sure what she meant. Then she explained that she was talking about closing the department, adding that "everyone is talking about it, and is so impressed that you did that for her. And that you went to the funeral, too."

Are other bosses so cold-hearted that doing something so simple stands out? Really, what else would I have done? This is one of our own, and she suffered a horrible loss. The right place for all of us to be was by her side, and that meant me, too, both for the wake and the funeral. I'm just amazed that people were amazed. Am I not enough of a prick to be in my job? Sometimes I wonder. But I'm not changing. I will continue to do the right thing as I see it. In the end, I have to look at myself in the mirror, and I want to be happy with the man I see. It's unfortunate that an ordinary gesture of kindness is noteworthy. It really shouldn't be!

How about some rugby photos?

I still need to share more travel photos, but yesterday brought the start of a new rugby season, so I will focus on that right now. We played the Montclair Rugby team. They won, but the Gotham Knights held their own. We really looked good out there against a traditionally strong team, so I have high hopes for the remainder of the season. Here are a few photos from yesterday:


That's Rob. He's new to Gotham, and he's very fast. He pulled away from those other guys and just kept going!


While I try to limit my admiration of members of the opposing team, this guy looked like a big version of Prince Harry. Needless to say, he was a bit of a distraction!


Here we see a guy "accidentally" breaking Elliot's nose. This same guy was given a yellow card later in the match.


My boyfriend, Joe. Let's just hope my husband and Joe's girlfriend don't find out! ;)


This is James. Sadly, he's just a visiting player. I'd be happier if he were local. He's not hard to watch!

If you're interested in looking at the full set of photos, they're here. Enjoy!