01.14.19 It warms my heart....

Outside of work, there are few things that occupy my time right now as much as football and my four legged boys. The Patriots won the division championship game and we are off for the conference championship game, and if successful, the Super Bowl. So far, so good. And then football will be on the back burner as playoff hockey will be approaching.  While we all love our sports, my dogs are a constant love and challenge!

When I was thinking about bringing Shorty here many thought this was not my best idea because of the added work (yes, three dogs are a lot of work), Fionnegan and Gunnarr mighty not get along with him, (the first day was a challenge), and Shorty will not adapt because he may not want to stay inside the house, walk with a lease, follow commands, get along with Fionnegan and Gunnarr, and tolerate the cold winters and snow. Well, so far, so good here too. We have conquered all of those possible obstacles to a happy home.

Over the last  month there has also been another evolution in their relationship. They do get along well, they wrestle and play like dogs should, and they are  never out of site of one another, unless it is bath time, then Shorty slips away to his bed in the atrium. When one dog goes outside, they all run out the door. If, however, no one follows Shorty, he just turns around and comes back inside. He likes the company of Fionnegan and Gunnarr. And they have gotten used to him. They are a  pack.

Fionn and Gunnarr are my twins. They are litter mates and do have that special bond. They sleep on top of each other and snuggle into the same dog bed in the kitchen and my study. Gunnarr also grooms Fionnegan, hence Fionn has no cougar lines from his eyes but Gunnarr does. Then one day I noticed a sign of affection between Shorty and Fionnegan. Shorty actually gave him one big kiss right on the nose, much to Fionn's surprise! And he did it again when I asked if he gave Fionn a kiss!

I have also noticed that Fionn runs with Shorty when outside much more often this winter. Gunnarr tends to stay close to me while the other two run, not chasing each other, just running around looking for squirrels. Then Shorty started sitting closer to Gunnarr on the couch and would take over his spot when Gunnarr jumped up to bark at the television dogs. He would cuddle  up to me and not budge when Gunnarr came back. So Gunnarr would have to jump up on the other side and scoot in place.

Last night, while we were all in our regular position - Fionn on my lap, Gunnarr next to me, Shorty came over and laid down right next to Gunnarr. They were actually touching and both fell asleep cuddled next to each other. That was so sweet. Perhaps the relationship between animals is as complex as relationships are between people. But given enough time, we can overcome any challenges and get along. Some may even cuddle!

Here are a few cute pictures of my boys.

Shorty and Gunnarr sleeping side by side.






Fionnegan and Gunnarr watch football with me. We are having a discussion about the Patriots and TB12 and Gunnarr is hanging on my every word. I love when he turns his head to the side as he listens. Fionn is also very attentive to the conversation. After all , this is football talk!  They just had a bath and are nice and fluffy and smell good, too! Their Auntie Diane sent us Patriot pillows to match our Patriot blanket.



Shorty sits on the floor and just listens.

Gunnarr grooming Fionnegan.




I hope you are warm and doing well. We have just had bitter cold weather and are doing are best to stay warm. O, the tropics look so appealing this time of year!

12/15/18 Football - the glory and the agony

Forgive me as I reflect on the events of the last two weeks as we prepare for a big game tomorrow versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. I attended the New England Patriots game against the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago.  It was great - because we won handily. It was a victory that came much easier than I thought as Minnesota is a good team. So that created a strong sense of confidence that we have a really good team, the team made good progress in improving, our defense is tough, our offense on point, and who knows - the Super Bowl again this year? The glory days!

So foolish. So naïve. We lost to the Miami Dolphins in the last second of the game. A team, with no disrespect, has no where near the talent or record as my beloved Patriots. But what Miami has includes a couple of our players from last year with a strong drive and motivation to win and more wins against us on their home turf than loses.

Did a five point lead with 7 seconds left on the game clock lead to complacency for the team? It did not for me as I yelled at the TV they have 7 seconds to score! Seven seconds is ALOT of time! Funny, only my dogs get excited when I yell at the TV. I have learned not to yell "go - go" while watching a game as they think they need to run to the door. How many times I made that mistake I cannot tell you! But I did my best to warn my team that Miami had a great game plan and watching them execute it perfectly and cross the goal line UNTOUCHED was more than my heart could bear. How could we not have stopped the runners? How could an injured quarterback lead the team to an improbable victory? How could our defense look as if they already left the field for the showers? How could they do this to their loyal fans?! And all the coach had to say was nobody died.  Nobody died?????? We all died a little watching our win disappear. Nobody died, what a comment.

So tomorrow is another big game. For me personally it is usually a win-win type of event as we play the team from my childhood, the tough and competitive Steelers. But if my Patriots do not win, I will be sorely disappointed in them. We need the win and they need to play better - the entire 60 minutes. And win. Nobody died. What a poor comment for a loss that should have been an easy win. But as coach likes to say, on to the next game. We are focusing on the next game.

And while we fans are still licking our wounds from this loss to Miami, I am reliving the glory days of the victory on 12/03/18 against the Vikings. I took this video of a Patriot  touchdown from my seat at the Gillette Stadium. Will look at it again just in case we don't get another one tomorrow!

Here is a picture of TB12, JE11 and Gronk and the offense.




It was a bit rainy but not too bad. When we win, we can weather any weather!

09/10/18 It's FOOTBALL season!

Yes, it is time again for our favorite sport football. Sunday's game at Gillette stadium was exciting as we saw our 41 year old New England Patriots quarterback looking great as we won 27-20 over the Houston Texans. (Why do we say "we" when "we" are either sitting in the stands or watching on tv?") The team looked good, and as we all well know there is room for improvement with each game. The defense looked strong and better than it did last year this time. So we are hopeful of another good season. It was exciting to be back in the stadium.

Pregame includes signing of the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem.



There was also a flyby of two fighter jets. Thrilling to see them maneuver these silver birds. One wagged its wings as an acknowledgement to the crowd during the first flyby. There are so fast - just a brief moment to take this shot.



Here we are at the start of the game, with the opening paly. Brady hands off to Burkhead (#34) for a five yard or so run. A good start to the game. The crowd was into it!










At half time we were treated to a performance by the University of Massachusetts marching band. This had not happened for about 25 years. Reminds me of my college days when all football games have halftime entertainment by the school's band.









A nice way to begin the Fall. A cool day but no rain. Good company and a great game. Not bad.