Puppy Love

Oh Baxter....my sweet, precious, curious, innocent, trusting, tender, playful and unbelievably adorable puppy!  He is just what I needed.  I love everything about this little guy.  I want to spend every second of the day just soaking up all of that cuteness and kissing his soft, little face a million times.  He is the breath of fresh air that we needed after a rough couple of months.

I love the way he makes teeny, tiny, little squeaks when I pick him up.  I love the way he sweetly snuggles up next to me in the morning and lays his head beside mine on the pillow.  I love his "new puppy smell."  I love everything about him!!!  He's total puppy perfection!

Hugs,
Jenny

P.S.  I know he looks like he's on some sort of flying saucer in that last photo but he really is just floating on the pool!  I call that "his first swimming lesson."

Random Thoughts On Moving

So we're here.  We finally made it.  We are now living in California.  Still sounds weird every time I say it or think it.  I haven't really had time to adjust or let that fact sink in.  But I'm hoping the wild roller coasterish lifestyle of the last two months is quietly coming to an end and we can start to create a new normal.  A much calmer new normal.

So here are my random thoughts on California and moving and life in general right now in no particular order.  Remember....my mind is still a jumbled mess after everything that's happened so bear with me folks!

-Moving is hard.  Really, really, REALLY hard.  Especially when it's on short notice.  And across the country.  And when your beloved kitty unexpectedly dies in the middle of the whole situation.  I knew moving was going to be hard.  But I had no idea it was going to be THAT hard.  I'm glad "pre-move me" didn't fully understand what she was in for!

-Moving is also exhausting.  For the last two months we've been getting up early, staying up late and we've been busy, busy, busy all day long with no days off.  It's been a test of our endurance and I think we passed with flying colors!

-We drove 36 hours, 2400 miles in 3 days.  Yes.  We did the drive from Florida to California in THREE days.  With two dogs and two cats.  They did amazingly well.  But it was still quite an unforgettable experience and hopefully we'll still be talking about "that time we drove from Florida to California in three days" when we're in our eighties and sipping pina coladas on the beach!

-Trader Joe's is awesome.  Really, really awesome.

-This is the first week in forever that I've had a little bit of time to myself.  For weeks and weeks life was full of movers and repair guys and painters and workmen and boxes and trash bags and an endless stream of various people in the house.  And they all had lots of questions - What is this?  Where does this go?  Which light needs to be fixed?  The questions never stopped.  But this week has been heaven - just me, the pets, the quilt shop and Col. Sew Fab.  Life almost feels.....dare I say....NORMAL!

-Hopefully next week will be even more normal!  I'll get back on my regular schedule that Col. Sew Fab made for me.  I'll re-start marathon training after those plans had to be put on hold for the move.  I'll start ordering new fabrics for the shop.  And I'll start blogging about quilts and dollhouses and fabric and crafty stuff again!  And puppies.  Lots of blogging about puppies too!

-It's hot here.  But I'm used to the heat.  I lived in Florida for the last 13 years.  What is really difficult for me is how dry it is.  I'm not adapting quickly.  I can't seem to drink enough water.  I'm always thirsty.  I thought dry heat was supposed to be easier to deal with than humid heat!  And something about the dry heat is sneaky.....I don't realize how hot I am until I'm about to overheat and pass out....and it makes it impossible for me to decide if I'm thirsty, hungry or tired.  It's very confusing...... 

-But there is a good side to the dry heat!  In Florida, the humid summer heat makes it hot ALL. THE. TIME.  It's not just hot in the afternoon.  In Florida, it was unbearably hot late at night.  It was hot in the early morning.  It was hot in the shade.  But here.....here we wake up to these fabulously crisp, cooler mornings even on the days when it's going to be over 100 degrees!  So this little chickadee is going to have to become an early bird so I can fulfill my passion for running during the glorious morning weather.

-At 5:00 p.m. every day I realize that it's already cocktail hour back "home" in Florida.

-We have WAY too much stuff.  You just don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to move it all!  It's time to simplify, pare down, let go and get rid of all those things that I've realized just aren't as important as I thought they once were. I feel lighter and freer already!

-The movers packed a bag of trash.  Yes, seriously.  They packed a bag of trash. 

- How long can I use the excuse "we just moved" for any sort of air-headed behavior?

-I love our new neighborhood.  I've gone running through it a few times this week.  It's quiet and serene and full of older, well maintained homes, lots of big trees, green lawns, flowers and there's some sort of huge orchard all along the edge of the neighborhood.  I caught a teeny glimpse of something orange and round nestled in the branches of one of the trees the other day.  Oh, I hope it's an orange grove!  Wouldn't that be gorgeous once it's in full bloom?!

 

-When I leave our neighborhood to go run errands I drive on a road with a view of the Sierra Nevadas off in the distance.  Ummm.....wow!  So amazing!

-Puppies are awesome.  Really, really awesome.  Puppies make the whole world seem like it's full of rainbows and chocolate rivers and cotton candy clouds.

-I haven't sewn anything in over two months.  I haven't worked on my dollhouses in over two months.  I haven't done anything crafty or fun or just for ME in two months.  I miss fabric.  I miss paint.  I miss needles and thread.  I'm hoping to change that sad state of affairs this weekend!

-My office/studio is a mess.  A disaster area.  I'm currently using the dining room table as my office.  I unpacked and organized the kitchen first.  Then the bathroom.  Then my shop.  Then the bedroom.  And now I'm losing steam.  I have to keep trying to find motivation in the fact that I'll be able to resume my crafty, creative life only after that room is under control.

-I need a Staycation.  I really, REALLY need a Staycation.  So don't be surprised when I start talking about my "much needed Staycation" in July.  And maybe it will be an extra long one.  And maybe I will call it "Pupternity Leave" instead.  Doesn't everyone deserve a week off to bond with their new puppy?!

If you've made it to end of this post I'm really, really impressed.  Unless you're my Mom.  I know she's going to read the whole thing.  Thanks Mom!  But if you're someone else (including Col. Sew Fab who says he prefers my shorter posts) I applaud your dedication to reading this whole rambling, chaotic, stream of random thoughts!  You rock!

Hugs from Cali,
Jenny

It's A Boy!!!

I have so many stories to tell you and so much has happened lately and my mind is a jumbled chaotic mess but all I can focus on right now is MY NEW PUPPY!  I finally have another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in my life! 

Emma and I went to pick him up three days ago and it was love at first sight when we met him!   I drove over FIVE hours away to pick him up in the San Bernardino Mountains (gorgeous area by the way).  It actually took SIX hours to get home because the GPS took me by Los Angeles DURING rush hour.  Eeek!  Kind of a scary experience for a small town girl with no sense of direction and a car sick puppy!  The GPS and I are currently not on speaking terms.

He absolutely adores Emma and does everything she does.  I'm so excited that Emma has a "mini-me" who worships the ground her paws walk on.

And she is such a good big sister to him.  She's so tolerant and patient and she happily "volunteered" to sleep in the crate with him for moral support during his first few nights here.

And are you ready to get some major goosebumps???!!!  Do you remember how Daisy sent me a sign that our new house in California was THE ONE?  After that happened I actually thought to myself "I wonder if Daisy is going to send me a puppy too....."  And guess what - She did!  This puppy was born on March 26.....and guess who else was born on March 26.....Yup....Daisy!  The new puppy and Daisy share a birthday.   Do you have goosebumps yet???

So now that you've all been properly introduced to the incredibly sweet, smart and stunning Sir Baxter Buckingham Puddingstone III I need to get back to staring at him as he sleeps on a down pillow beside me.

Hugs,
Jenny

P.S.  We're going to call him Baxter for short.  And there was no Sir Baxter Buckingham Puddingstone I or II.  My cousin came up with the idea to give him an outrageously long name with Sir at the front and III at the end.  And I reserve the right to change the name if I come up with something better in the next week!  He doesn't know his name yet so it won't be a problem for him.

P.P.S.S.  Don't worry about Emma!  She's not sad in that first photo.  We'd woken up at 5:00 a.m., driven 5 hours and entered a home that had 7 Cavaliers in it.  She was just exhausted and a wee bit overwhelmed!

Moving Fast

Things are starting to move pretty fast around here....

Our "real" house in Destin has been packed up and is now completely empty.....

Our icky, little, 70 year old Air Force Base house on the water that we've been living in for three years is going to be packed up this week.....

And if all goes according to plan we'll be saying goodbye to Florida on Saturday and starting the long cross country journey to California in a rented van with two dogs, two cats and hopefully enough movies, sewing projects, toys and books to keep us all sane!

As unreal as it seems, we should be at our new house in California in about ten days.  TEN DAYS!   And did I tell you that the new house has a laundry room???  Not a laundry closet.  Not a washer and dryer in the kitchen.  A real, honest to goodness laundry room.   I've never had one of those before.  When people ask me to tell them about the new house that's usually the first thing I mention!  And I say it with pride like it's the fanciest, most luxurious thing ever!  And don't even get me started on the master bathroom tonight.  It's so flippin' fabulous that it get's it's very own blog post.

Hugs,
Jenny (aka - The Girl Who's Moving To A House With A Real Laundry Room)