My husband and I have two dogs named Jacques and Brandy.  Jacques is an apricot poodle, and Brandy is a mix between a Chow and a brown/black/tan Border Collie.  Jacques weighs around 11 pounds, and Brandy 52.  When it comes to the two of them getting ready to go to sleep, it can be very amusing!  We have a bolster dog bed, and a regular bed: a small dog bed with a purple blanket bunched up into it, and a pillow inside of a cage that we keep the door open on.  When Jacques is ready to go to bed, he’ll switch between the pillow in the cage, the dog bed, then he’ll go back to the pillow, then again to the dog bed.  Then, when he still can’t decide where he wants to settle down, he’ll come to our bed and lay next to it.  It’s so cute!  Brandy, the 50+ pound dog, will go into the small cage and lay down so the she is completely crunched into it!  Her paws and nose will hang out of the door, but she is completely happy.   They’re both adorable!

I had a craving for what Mom used to make — Midwestern food that’s frankly not always top-drawer, or camera-ready for that matter, or particularly good for you, but that comes with all those comforting associations. With my wife in school, I’m the one who’s responsible for dinner. So I made something merely acceptable on purpose: spaghetti with the red sauce out of the bottle, red sauce that’s sweet and salty and insubstantial, with the spaghetti overcooked to just that right familiar consistency, all of it heavily dusted with that cheese dust from the green can. With a little iceberg-lettuce side salad. Man, did it hit the spot perfectly, and, man, we won’t be doing that again for awhile.

You ever meet a group of people and think that they would be perfect to add to your circle of friends? This happened to me at a local pub I frequent. I am the boss where I work so I make it a rule not to get to close to my workers. It just makes things easier. Well as you can imagine it makes for lonely happy hours on Fridays after work. I found a pub near the house and started going often and got to know many of the people that work there and go there. I started getting invited to after parties, birthday parties, house warming parties, and hell even invited to join them at other pubs. I thought that I was being included into their circle as I was including them into mine. Well I found out I was wrong. I found this out when I started to invite them to some of my functions. I would throw the invite out there well in advance with no pressure for them to commit, but they would. We would even talk about the event on my trips to the bar. When it came time for the event or the night out they would be nowhere to be found. in one instance not only was I stood up but these people actually took my plan for the night and did it without me. Turns out I was not their friend I was just their bar friend and once I figured that out I was okay with it so I say hi and shoot the breeze, but that is it bar friend should just stay in the bar.

The New Forest in the south of England is one of the most beautiful areas in the UK. Rich in ancient woodland and wetland areas, the forest provides a haven for many species that are growing rare or have completely disappeared elsewhere. Scarce plant species such as the early purple orchid and the marsh gentian flourish there, as well as wild creatures such as deer and boar. The bird life of the Forest is equally rich and varied, with red shrike, nightjars and many other bird species either wintering or making their homes there. Perhaps the most famous of the New Forest’s denizens is the diminutive New Forest pony, a breed native to the British isles. The New Forest is a popular destination for walkers and campers, offering a variety of trails from gentle strolls suitable for all abilities, to more challenging hikes. Due to the possibility of damage to important wildlife habitats, camping is restricted to designated sites.