Unlike some people,  we have not been bored this summer and fall with opening a business and moving into a new house.  I'm not sure I will ever be bored again.   

Bad timing.  It was a chilly October and only this child dared to try out the pool.

We also celebrated a banner birthday.  4 sad Covid birthdays this year.  Thank goodness for Cake and Balloons-they never disappoint.  

And with a big birthday comes a big responsibility. Covid had the DMV appointments backed up for months.  Of course this mom had an appointment booked months ahead of time.  But maybe, just maybe, this kiddo didn't finish her on-line drivers ed in time for that appointment.  We nearly had to drive to Savannah to catch another appointment (before January) but I managed to score one at a DMV just 90 minutes away from home.  Woohoo.  It was so quick and easy.  And we got to detour back to the house via a very scenic highway.  

I can't say this pretty mountain view is in my backyard...but its close.

 

This kiddo rocked the SAT and was awarded a scholarship based on his score.  His tuition to college is covered at 90%.  Of course the fees cost as much as tuition...but every penny helps!

This puppy has adjusted well to having 2 homes.  He has adjusted much better than I have.

It wasn't love at first sight for Cleo and Benny but they are coming around.

In an effort to help the newest member of the family be "well socialized" we drag him everywhere.  This outing was to Blue Ridge, a very dog friendly town.

Our first dining out with the dog experience was going well until this 90 pound puppy sat at a table near us.  Bear was a bit freaked out and I can understand!

Based on all the attention he gets when we go out I can verify that he won cutest puppy in Blue Ridge on this day.

Across the street from us is the Cohutta Wilderness.  We took off on a driving adventure to see it and let me tell you, if the MAP says fill your gas tank, make sure your car is in good repair, and have 4 wheel drive....they mean it.  

No paved roads, no facilities, no phone service.  

This kiddo accompanied me to NC to grab some furniture.  

She was supposed to help me drive....

Such a  good helper haha

We made it back in time for Thanksgiving.  This was the first time we all, including 3 dogs, went to the new house at the same time.  That was a fun car trip.  

 "T" made a cheesecake

And everyone had a nice Turkey nap after our meal.

Our new downtown is darling.  I'm still not sold on small town living but at least its cute. And we have some great restaurants as long as you are ok only eating Wednesday Through Sunday.  

My daughter is so talented...This is Henna by the way.  Way harder to draw with, as it is a tube of goop, not a fine line pen. 

Henna goes on dark and when you rinse it off it leaves a reddish brown stain on the skin.

This was a fun project.  Looks great in my opinion.  

Embracing country life....Not really.  I totally did not wear these together.  

This isn't an action shot.  He stands like this all the time.

Hernia surgery and neuter.  Poor little guy.

Christmas snuck up on us this year. 

Lets try the car trip with 3 dogs again...All 3 want to sit in my lap.  

Pretty flowers from "D's" sister

Family Christmas movie night.  Grandpa enjoyed Home Alone more than the kids did!

If you asked me what I wanted for Christmas...this was it.  Everyone together in the same house and my kids getting along and hanging out together.  

We even got snow on Christmas.  Just enough to be pretty and not enough to cause trouble. Perfect.

Ok, maybe that wasn't ALL I wanted for Christmas.  I also wanted these really cool canvas portraits of my dogs.  Waiting for the kids to notice I didn't order portraits of them.  

I'm not sure how many more "Christmas Morning" pictures I'm going to have of these two.  Which makes me treasure this even more.

 

The Puppy

Life had gotten a little too boring with 2 dogs.  In March I started looking for a puppy... apparently along with millions of other Americans who wanted a quarantine buddy.  I searched from Virginia to Florida and came up empty handed.  I swore to myself that I wouldn't adopt just any old puppy-  because I can fall in love with any dog in seconds.  3 Puppies fell through and I had given up.  And then I saw this post on a private page from the rescue where I had worked for 4 years.  

I was blown away by how adorable these babies were.  I got very lucky and was allowed to meet them.  It was love at first sight.  We drove an hour to see them.  And it was dicey for a while-because the foster mom wanted to make sure our home was a good fit.  But we were able to adopt our puppy and he came home at 8 weeks of age.  I have only gotten 2 puppies previously and they were 12 weeks old.  My other dogs came to us as adults.  That 8-12 week gap was very new for me.  Our puppy was really a baby.  

Meet Teddy aka Bear aka Bear Bear

We wanted to meet the only little girl in the litter but we fell in love with this little guy and his tubby little tail.  Spoiler Alert he looks so different now.

Here is Bear's mom.  She is about 10 pounds.  She came to the recue already pregnant and these puppies were very hard on her.  Bear was the last one born and his little tail was deformed.  

Now at 6 and a half months his coloring is much lighter than when we got him.  He is reddish blonde and white with no trace of the black coloring he had except on his face.  More photos to come lol.  So many puppy photos to come.