Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My new favorite picture of the girls


My new-old friend Constance came through the area yesterday and took this awesome picture of my girls.  This might have to be my 2012 Christmas card.

She also took a great photo of Singer and Bo that I'm saving for later. :)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Gratuitous nature picture.


Case Mountain

Happy dog booties.
 Singer, Bo and their friend Lee went for a hike this Saturday.  Lots of romping, scary stream crossings, and a chance encounter with an old professor!  Life is good.

Prancing.
Lee.
Airborne.
Fancy footwork.
I am a rock.  I am an island.
New friends.

Old friends.
Tree jewelry.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Busy days

The past few weeks have been extraordinarily busy, with work, taxes and a trip to the vet for BoBo.  Oh, and the stomach flu.  Hooray.  I've lined up two very nice dog walkers for Singer and am looking forward to knowing that she'll get a midday run when things get too tight at the office.

Sometimes I wish Singer and I could switch places.  :)

When things calm down, I'll take my two favorite gals for a nice long hike.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heart shaped mess, soon to be pile of crumbs.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Nail cutting

There are three kinds of dogs when it comes to nail cutting: (a) Singer, a dog who will let you do anything and everything to her without protest, (b) Bo, a dog who might let you mess with her if she's in a good mood, and (c) Bo, a dog who has scared even seasoned veterinarians when she is in a bad mood.  A couple of mornings ago, Bo was solidly in category (b), which made nail cutting challenging, but not impossible.  Unfortunately, when a dog is not fully interested in cooperating with her groomer, sad things happen.  I cut too close and hit the quick.

While my heart ached, BoBo didn't seem to miss and beat and never noticed.  Instead, she snuggled into the covers, bleeding onto my already furry sheets and comforter.  Sometimes I swear that dog lacks pain receptors (or memory).  If I had a dollar for every time I've seen her run into door jam en route to the fridge...

In any event, I stopped the bleeding with some TP and slipped a sock on her foot for her walk just in case there was any lingering salt on the side walks.

*update* I was going to take a picture of her black socked foot after I got back from work, but she'd already managed to nudge it off by the time I got home.  Trust me, it was cute, in a 'My mom made me wear this get up' sort of way.  BoBo's a good sport about looking silly.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Tax assessment

Having grown-up puppies is expensive.  They need to be fed, vetted, walked, clothed (if you  happen to own a thin-coated dog), and oh yes, housed!  So what a sad surprise it was for me to receive my 2011 town tax assessment, which happily informed me that the market value of my house is $xxx,xxx.  Yes, $xxx,xxx!  Really?  Because the last time I checked, my house sat on the market for nearly 6 months before I purchased it, at well below $xxx,xxx!  In fact, if the tax assessor were to knock on my door and offer me their "market value", I'd happily pack up a few items, and be on my merry way.  Even if we were to meet in the middle of their xxx,xxx and my purchase price, I'd walk away a very happy camper.

So what did Singer and I do?  (Mostly me, since Singer's not so good with typing.)  We fought the man!  I took information from the assessor's own website and compiled a spreadsheet of comparable dwellings in my neighborhood.  I provided information including number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, dwelling type, and additional structures.  And lo and behold, the market value of comparable homes started to look a lot more like my home!  

I requested an informal appeal hearing and brought my data.  Guess what?  I was told that my "neighborhood" wasn't the neighborhood that I had taken comps from.  Apparently, the street that begins a mere 60 feet from my property line isn't my neighborhood at all.  What is my neighborhood?  Oh, that private lane 5 blocks away with the houses set so far back you can't tell if it's an empty lot or a mega mansion.  Undeterred by my appeal officer's assessment, I plowed ahead with my data, and letting her know how dissimilar those 'neighborhoods' really were.  And then I left.  And waited, and waited, and waited.

Over a month later, I finally received my appeals decision.  My "market value" had been reduced to within $11k of my purchase price.  Victory!  However, this still means that my tax bill will be about $400 a year higher than it could be, if the assigned market value were truly accurate.  $400 buys a lot of dog walks and treats.  It will also help to launch Singer's Kitchen!  

But do I keep challenging?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

BoBo or Snoozing Hamster?

Fuzzy Rodent

Fuzzy Rodent Wearing a Hawaiian Shirt?

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Happy Belated Birthday!


Happy belated birthday to one of my best and oldest friends, BW!  B and I have been friends since college, and while academics and geography have worked to keep us apart, she still means the world to me.  I should also note that she's an accomplished runner and a mathematical wizard to boot.

And she has a pretty stinkin' cute dog.  Happy birthday!