Mersydotes

Welcome!  The 2014 Rat Terrier Roundup has officially begun, and you can cast your vote for this year's best and brightest rat terrier!  Who will be the puppy of the year?  Only you can decide!  I hope you enjoy scrolling through these canine memories from 2014.  Let me know who you would like to vote for by either leaving a comment on the blog or sending me your vote by email.  May the best pup win! Our first contestant is Charlie , who considers himself to be "30 pounds of pure puppy soul".  This year was quite literally Charlie's time in the sun, whether on Mama's lap or a corner of the carpet. Throughout the year, Charlie made several car voyages, proving himself to be an excellent traveler (contrary to the widely-circulated "pukey" rumors).  Here we see him resting peacefully with his little sister. Having now entered middle age and feeling more confident about his self image, Charlie sported a variety of styles this year, ran

This is but a wee little post.  I couldn't post earlier because these were going to be surprises for my sisters-in-law, and I didn't want to let the secret out before they found them in their Christmas stockings : )  Here is my dear friend, knitting buddy, and volunteer hand model posing with the very first one I made: I used a Q hook (15 mm) and t-shirt yarn which made for very sturdy baskets but also sore wrists!  There was a nice tutorial that I found online, and the only adjustment I needed to make was to pull each stitch quite tight so as to keep a clear heart shape as I built up the walls.   Bye for now, ~Mersydotes

Huzzah for road warriors!  Mr. Mersy, Penny, and I took on the eastern seaboard this week to make the trek to North Carolina and celebrate Christmas with family.  We gave our last pennies to the New Jersey turnpike and fought through the snarls of Baltimore traffic to arrive just in time for midnight mass- perfect timing!  On our way back, however, Mr. Mersy devised an alternate route, which was scenic and peaceful and mountainous.  We even made a little stop at the Natural Bridge State Park in Virginia. I'm going to hand over the keyboard to Penny now, as she has requested to share this tale herself. Hello my friends- Penny here!  On our way back from Christmas at the wonderful play-outside-in-the-yard place, Mama and Papa took me on a special walk along a river.  For some reason, they were concerned about me going off of my leash, but I wasn't afraid! We wandered along the river, and it was wonderfully muddy with lots of dry leaves to eat- don't you just love t

Hi folks- are you as glad as I am that the winter solstice has come and gone and now we are slowly climbing out of the darkness?!  The days will grow exponentially longer, beginning with just a few seconds a night, but those seconds will be doubled and doubled and doubled again until the balance of daylight returns!   'Twas Mr. Mersy's birthday this month, and he requested the legendary "bete noire" as his birthday cake.  I baked it into a heart with whipped cream on top, which seemed like a great idea until Mama Mersy pointed out that I might have caused him to lose some serious street cred when he took into work to share with colleagues- oops.  But hey, now they know I love him! We also had a warm and cozy little Chanukah.  I tell 'ya- there's nothing like burning lights to warm up even the chilliest, dampest, greyest evening.  There must be something instinctual buried in our souls that is comforted.  Somewhere throughout the week, though,

Ever since I lived in Paris, I've wanted to write a short story about a lonely young woman waiting on an empty metro platform at some indeterminate time in the middle of the night.  She'd be standing there on wobbly heels, a forgotten Le Figaro rolled up in her hand, her mind wandering hungrily as she gazed into the tunnel, waiting for a headlight to pierce the darkness.   And then, with a swoosh of stale air, an old train would silently pull up in front of her, the doors opening onto compartments filled with people waiting just for her.  She'd know instinctively that one step into the train would mean figuring out everything she needed to, no matter how long the journey took.   There'd be singing and dancing and endless talking, and fragile silences as the train shuddered around bends.  The compartment would be filled with wise women with old eyes and knowing smiles and little children the could appear and disappear as they ran about.   She'd never