Lily: the beautiful flower.

Continuing on our tour of pets, i had to mention Lily.

I'll get to Ruby and Smiegel later. This one is for her.

Terri owns Lily. I mean this maybe in the opposite because the lines are blurred. Lily is the undisputed queen of the house. She is a very affectionate and very beautiful cat. Terri has had her since she was born back in 2003.

Lily can be a bit of a diva. which is fine because she earns every bit of her pomp and circumstance by being very affectionate. She will wake me in the morning by sitting on my chest, giving me the eyes that you see in the picture to the left.

She fell in love with my late cat Senor Pepe and i have the pictures to prove it.

She is a gentle cat who likes to play, but no rough stuff.

Lily likes to be pampered, which is fine with me because she is a beautiful little lady.

Lily has a bunch of sisters and brothers somewhere. But she is unique and great in her own right.

Terri told me that she went missing from home and became pregnant. unfortunately, she lost the whole litter. This was some time before Lily and i met, so i'm sure i'd be distraught.

We love her so much. She does this cute thing called 'the bear' when we give her treats. She'll get on he hind legs and grab for the treat like a dancing bear.

I am so happy that with my lovely mom to be,Terri, i also happened upon such a beautiful creature.

She is especially funny when we put her witch costume on. She hates it so much, the look on her face is priceless.

So, that is Lily. She is a one of a kind sweetheart and i think the above picture really says it all.

Thanks for letting me share her with you.

Jackson is my new best friend.

The picture on the left is Jackson. I mentioned him about two blogs back, and many times before. he will be my partner in crime from now on. he came to us when we first moved into the 10 Clark last year. He is now a very active member of our family. I enjoy his company mostly because he has a tremendous personality and a sweet heart.

His story is this: he was part of a litter born under someones stairs. We never found out how many brothers and sisters he had, but we know that his mom is an Border Collie and his dad is a Labrador.
We know that his previous owner was really quite cruel to him in the fact that he or she kept him locked in a dog crate for the first five months of his life. This stunted his socialization skills. The person finally gave him up to a no kill shelter just outside of Salem. He ended up at a training camp for police dogs. From what i remember, the guy trained mostly German Shepard's, but took on Jackson to get him up to speed.

That is when Terri found him on a web site and now he's ours forever.

Admittedly, i was not too enthused by this situation as our cats Lily and Ruby were just used to their new surroundings and to this day, Jackson and Lily are mortal enemies.

He also had problems with acting out. He would get crazy and i have many scars on my arms to prove it. It was a difficult few months but he soon melted my heart.

I mean, look at that picture and tell me you couldn't love this guy!?

We ended up putting him on a very low dose of Prozac, and he is the better for it, as he isn't as anxious as he used to be.

So he still goes to classes every week and is a very very good boy compared to when he first arrived.

What does he mean to me? He's my friend and comrade. He helped me to be more gentle and my reward is his undying loyalty.

I didn't think i was a dog person at all. I'm still not. I'm a Jackson person.

I just wanted to document his story in case you were wondering about him.

Plus the picture is pretty cool too.

No title.

I have been so busy chatting you up about everything, that i haven't really mentioned the baby in a bit. Here and there, but not really focusing any really time on her. Why? I don't know.

She's doing fine. Terri's last visit to the doctor checked out well. Terri has to go every two weeks now. I feel assured by this fact because it's the third trimester and Elsie has to finish 'cooking' so she'll come out fine.

According to Your Pregnancy Week By Week by Glade B. Curtis & Judith Schuler, We are in our 33 week, the baby weighs over four pounds and is about a foot long.

Thank you, doctors.

We still have to finish the baby's room, which will be out of the way ahead of schedule. Terri's mom's dentist donated a full crib/dresser and changing table for the unbelievable price of: nothing.

We have tons of clothes already, the breast pump, the this, the that. That little room is going to fill up very quickly.

The baby shower is coming up.
I hope that everyone who received an invitation will attend. It's going to be a celebration of what's to come, an homage to my Grandmother Elsie and a cackling cauldron of womanhood. Ha!

My job? I will be here at the 10 Clark with all the cast off males, probably grilling meat and trying not to feel awkward about my lack of sports knowledge.

It's not really traditional for men to show up at a baby shower, especially the dad. I guess I would be a distraction from Terri and our baby.

These are modern times and i'm sure that tradition has been debunked, but it's one i'll gladly follow to ensure my sanity.

So there you have it.

Terri is fine, which means Elsie is fine. I am fine too. I am on my second juggernaut week at work. I will end today at eleven p.m. with thirty-six hours finished and fourteen more to go.

It's worth every minute of my time because it will help the three of us.

'Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.'
Bill Cosby

Picture: from the archives. Taken on 7/24 by my dad.

You came from Iowa to knock on my door?

The mighty walled in compound that is the 10 Clark, was almost breached today by mid westerners.

After a night of celebrating the departure of one of the laziest and confrontational temps that we were working with yesterday, I decided to enjoy four beers at home with the dogs.

I awoke in a fog as i really don't drink to excess anymore, with the doorbell ringing.

The car they were driving had Connecticut plates. A rental.

She went next door to Esther's house after ringing our bell twice, and her husband pointed to me as she was walking back to her car.

Esther is One hundred and three.

We greeted. Instead of verbally berating her for stirring me, i decided to play nice.

Here's a recap of a person i'll probably never see again:

They are from Iowa. They are relatives of the previous owner. they are obviously religious because they mentioned living next to a recently closed church across town.

She asked if we knew the previous owners phone number.

She was nice, but i had absolutely no information about Kittie(yes, her name is Kittie) save that she moved from here to Palmer.

I ended up pointing her across the street to Maureen's house.
Maureen is the unofficial queen of nosy gossip on our street.

That was that.

I can say that the first thing i did today was meet someone from Iowa!

Now i'm awake. I have no iced tea or iced coffee prepared for that morning jolt, so i'm drinking some almost flat Polar ginger ale.

Polar ginger ale is the best among the worst. By that i mean there are the ginger ales that come in a plastic bottle and there are those that come in a bottle and are micro brewed.

Polar has a zing of real ginger that other ginger ales fail to reach.

The best of the micro brewed? it would have to be Boylan's and Reed's for a tie. but Reed's is a Ginger Brew. They have three strengths. And it's more of a tonic as it has herbs.

Boylan's is sweetened with cane sugar and real ginger. It's a punch that is hard to take, and it has to be served really cold, but it's so refreshing.

So that's it for me for now.

Good luck!

going to the dogs?!

Here we have a picture of last New Year's Eve. A night of Merriment, the wii's and something called maple whiskey.

2/10's of the crew ended up getting ill , but that's another story.

Now, you may think the title is rude and are focusing on all of my lovely lady friends. It may seem as though the canines in the picture on the left are being forced into posing. These things aren't true.

I posted this picture because it's the only one on file of our beloved dog, jackson, and Molly and Seth's dog jasper.

Jasper has been our house guest since last Friday as M& S headed to the 'On golden pond' pond in Maine(?)

Jasper is the one on the right. Clockwise we have: jackson, Remi, Jessica,Terri(center) and Molly.

We were at Molly's house when this was taken. We were also up in the Whately's.

O.k.: Jasper.

He's a smaller breed. I think he's part border collie. He's very, very passive. He comes on a bit confused at times but you can see the gears turning in his eyes. If he is part collie, then he's a thinker. Border collies are smart. That's a fact.

The first night he was here, i fell a sleep on the couch after going into a caffeine coma and much to my surprise jasper was asleep on my chest with his head on my shoulder.

I was touched by how he found me to be his protector as he was a bit ill at ease with his new surroundings.

The trouble is: i can't shake the guy. He is at my feet all the time and follows me like a puppy dog. Maybe because he IS a puppy dog?

Feeding time for him is a blast, when i pour his food into a bowl and tell him repeatedly that he has to keep eating. He digs in after a while but needs a prod or two of advice.

He follows me into our kitchen and i have to tell him there is nothing for him and he kind of sulks.

These aren't a negative reflection of jasper by any means. He is a sweet, sweet dog and some of his mellow attitude is rubbing off out our boy jackson.

So, we've gone to the dogs at the 10 Clark.

And that's all right by me.

In other news: I finally received my used copy of DAS BOOT on Blue Ray.

Are you freaking kidding me?

The director's cut clocking in at over three hours in 1080p?

I know what i'm doing Sunday night: sinking into the depths of madness.

'My truck uses the gas your hybrid saves.'

This is the funniest thing:
I went to my mechanic in Hatfield (about four miles from downtown 'hamp) for a routine oil change at 0:900 last Thursday. I had also mentioned a grinding noise in my brakes and had them check out the front driver's side. As i flipped through copies of Consumer Reports and listened to classical music in their waiting room, the diagnosis wasn't good. I needed a new wheel bearing instead of a cleaning of my brakes, which I thought was the root of the noise.

The cost of that, a tire rotation and an oil change was a little over $300.

I have been working really hard and saving as much as I can for when the baby comes. I have been sacrificing and going without so that she may be a little more comfortable. And now I have to pay out and put even more money into my late model Subaru.

So, they have to keep it overnight as I would be late for work if i waited. No biggie. They use Enterprise car rentals and pay half the charge for each day. If you remember, i only had to pay a total of $30 for that yellow hippie mobile I rented for two days back in January or February.

So what did I get from the car rental gods this time?

A fucking massive Dodge 1500 pick up truck.

The thing was a behemoth to drive, sucked gas down like a pig and was generally a menace to everything around it.

The pros and cons were the same for the behemoth: it was HUGE.

Some notes:

The damn thing was very easy to drive, due to it's independent front suspension.

I was towering over everything around me.

I felt like an all american douche bag who is inadvertently aiding terrorism by wasting so much fuel to look 'badass.'

The acceleration was great, it went from standstill to 'i'm going to tear the tar off the road' with ease.

The brakes were a bit spongy and i found my self misjudging the distance to which i was supposed to start braking and ended up on people's ass more than once.

In honor of all american excess, i ate a cheeseburger and fries in the behemoth, but i didn't throw the bag out of the window when i was done, so i didn't take the facade all the way.

I was high enough up to where my ears felt like popping and the air was getting thinner. On 91 South in Deerfield, I could somehow make out the buildings in Springfield.

In the one day I rented it, i drove where i normally drove, and had to put $12 in the gas tank.

I don't see the practicality of a truck being so high off of the ground and yet still having the ability to haul cargo.

The dashboard computer was busy and distracting.

My overall grade for this king o' the road: D+

I have nothing against trucks as i've owned two of them. This thing is everything that is wrong with the automotive industry in america: it's big, loud and always thirsty. This goes beyond being a truck and enters a branded lifestyle of fake machismo excess and an 'i don't give a fuck, get out of my way' fake preening attitude that frankly shouldn't fly in the year 2011.

It was just way too much for me and i'm happy i didn't take someone or something out while i was experiencing being' Ram Tough.'

This truck was just a toy, an accesory. Terri's dad has a massive truck with dual tires in back. Why? because he has horses and a farm. it doesn't have chrome bumpers or six cup holders.

Anyway, i have my 2001 Subaru Legacy back and feel a lot better at getting 28 miles to the gallon instead of 17.

I don't like big trucks. If you didn't already understands where i was coming from.

Other notes:

This is the first blog i wrote on the new laptop Terri bought for a really great price. It's a re-certified Toshiba L675 Satellite and it's 4gigs of sweet love.

The site we went to is: newegg.com

And we're taking care of our friend's dog Jasper for the week while they are on holiday.

By the way, my mechanic, Mark, is the best i've ever gone to. He is great all the way around and really fair in his work and prices: http://www.advancedtechauto.net/

Just thought i'd let you know.

'You are not what you own.'-Fugazi

Title quote from a bumper sticker on a giant truck we parked behind at the Hadley Flea Market.

Photo from the googles.

Obligatory 'I've not written in a while' post.

Major, major updates from the 10 Clark.

We have been feverishly working to get the home together for our new arrival. Terri is looking more and more pregnant every day and I have been taking on more and more responsibility as the result.

We have been feverishly preparing the baby's room that used to be the computer/music room. i am typing this blog on a temporary table, which is the dog's crate.

I'm glad to get some momentum and ultimately some routine going, because i'm going to need to be 'on point' from when the baby comes until at least 2028.

Looking at that date is like looking back in time to 1992. It looks out of place and way far away.

So, that's the good news.

Here's the bad news:

We were getting ready for our seven hour marathon birthing class early on Saturday morning when I noticed that I had a message. I dried my hair off and received a call from my dad that was very urgent and serious.

I called him back and found out that a day earlier my aunt Joan had been killed in a car accident in Florida. She died instantly.

Now, this news was really hard to take, as we Fowlers last forever. Something like this doesn't happen to us.
I guess that's why they call it an accident.
Aunt Joan was really nice and had a great laugh and a sunny disposition.

She seemed to move around a lot, which only added to her mystery.

She was the second born of six kids and my Grandma Rose's first daughter.

She was getting ready to retire and enjoy her days in Florida.

I managed to pull through the birthing class with very little emotion and held back pretty well.

Memories started flooding in of Christmases at my uncles house, Aunt Joan laughing about something, seeing my entire family together for my grandma's seventieth birthday.

I called my dad back when I came home, got off the phone and started crying. I felt so bad for my father and felt so bad for my grandmother that it overwhelmed my emotions.

I will always remember her laugh and am thankful that she didn't have to suffer.