Holiday Newsletter 2013

Holiday Greetings to Our Family and Friends

Christmas 2013

Welcome one and all to our Christmas Newsletter for 2013!  We hope this newsletter finds you well and happy.  It's been an exciting, fun-filled year, so read on and see what we've been up to!

OLD MAN WINTER

The new year started off with a bang (or maybe a whimper?) at the annual  AgileDogs New Year's agility trial indoors at High Goal Farm in Greenwich, NY.  Quincy must have been pretty tired out with all the celebrating, as he only managed one qualifying score all weekend.  But, as always, we had a fabulous time with our friends, canine and human alike.

After he finished with the agility trial, Quincy put on his fundraising hat and got Team Quincy going for the  fourth annual American Cancer Society Bark for Life walk.  Bark for Life gives dogs and their humans a chance to get out and raise funds for the American Cancer Society to help find a cure for human cancer.  Team Quincy is dedicated to help the ACS in their efforts to find a cure and to provide services in support those who are fighting cancer.  For our dear family and friends who are affected by this disease, we hope and pray for their continued recovery and good health.  Team Q. was quite successful, as you will soon see...

The remainder of January passed uneventfully on into February when we missed the annual Super Bowl party, held this year at the Ward's (who were standing in for the vacationing Papales).  Gary came down with a nasty case of bronchitis, so we were stuck at home to watch the game by ourselves.  Looking forward to next year when we can all get together again (hopefully, to celebrate a Giants win!)

We were glad when Gary started to feel better and we were able to enjoy two of our favorite annual events. Of course,  February is really all about Valentines, both human and canine.  Each year we celebrate our boy Quincy's birthday and it just seems like time goes by so fast--can't believe he turned 4 on Valentine's Day.  We hosted a small get-together as our way of saying thank you to our family for all they do throughout the year to help us take care of Q.  We literally could not do it without them!

Quincy can't be the only one who has all the fun, so we rounded up the usual suspects and headed out for our annual Valentine's Day dinner.  This year we broke with tradition and moved the party from Hiro's to Treviso at the Italian American Center.  Dinner was delicious and the company even better, but we do miss the shrimp bunny...

After taking a breather for a couple of weeks, Jean ventured out in early March to attend an interesting and unusual fundraiser to benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County (LVoRC).   Billed as a 'Famous Ladies Tea' , the event was held at Emma Willard and resembled a kind of historical speed dating, complete with really good food and a silent auction.  Attendees sat at round tables, with one empty seat per table.  Actresses portraying famous women in history came to each table and sat for 5-7 minutes or so, describing their lives.  It was a fascinating perspective on how women lived from biblical times to the 20th century. 

After the tea, it was time to get back to more conventional forms of entertainment.  First up was a great standup show from comedian Demitri Martin at the Egg.  He's had specials and even a short-lived series, both on Comedy Central, and written for the New Yorker.  If you've never seen him, his humor is hard to describe, but if you get it, it's hilarious.

Not to be outdone by the humor of others, we created some of our own at the second annual Pink Flamingo Bowl, with friends Lisa and Clancy.  No 300's this time, but a good time was had by all!

March came to a wonderful close with Easter dinner at our house.  The Good food and good times; thanks Easter bunny!

SPRING IS IN THE AIR!

As  April rolled around, Team Quincy entered the home stretch in our fundraising efforts.  In addition to our usual candy and bake sales, we held a raffle for some fabulous prizes, including a deluxe gift basket filled with dog goodies, a portable pet crate, a $25 gift card to Lowe's and an Italian food basket.  The response was tremendous!  Thanks to the incredible generosity of our family, friends and colleagues  Team Q. was able to raise $2,000, making us the 4th highest team (up from 5th last year)  This far surpassed our hopes and doubling our original goal of $1,000.  We were so excited to be a part of this effort and to do what we can to support the American Cancer Society and help those who are undergoing treatment for this disease.  Stay tuned for Bark 2014--Team Q will be here for you!

Quincy was all set for the walk, and then the phone rang...and boy, were we surprised!

Quincy's 15 minutes of fame, a.k.a. THE BENETTON SHOOT

A couple of days before the Bark for Life walk, Quincy's agent (from the All Creatures Great and Small agency in New York) called to say he had been chosen to be photographed for an advertising campaign for Benetton!!

For those who may not be familiar with Benetton, they are an international clothing company based in Italy, specializing in fine clothing, woolen goods and related accessories for adults, children and (most recently) dogs.  Quincy was chosen from 25 dogs to appear in Benetton's fall/winter ads in stores and online.  So with that phone call began one amazing adventure! 

On Saturday, April 27th (the day of the Bark for Life walk) we packed up the car (and Quincy, of course) and headed to New York.  We were sorry to miss the walk (and THANK YOU to all our friends and family for understanding the last minute change of plans), but we felt this was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we knew we would be back next year for Bark, so we decided to go.

 The shoot was held at Industria Studio in the West Village.  The building must have been an old meat packing plant remodeled into a large space that was divided into different studios.  The shoot featured lots of kids, maybe 10-12 pre-teens, all of whom were so astoundingly beautiful it was not hard to imagine why they were chosen.  We were not allowed to take any pictures, but our agent took Jean's phone and took a few candid shots.

For the photo shoot, Quincy had to wear a blue sweater and pose with many different children in many different scenarios.  We were so proud of him--the studio was LOUD (music to energize the already sugar-fueled kids), there were fans blowing (to move the kid's hair), bright lights, lots of frantic movement (jumping, dancing, etc.).  Quincy was perfectly calm and did exactly as he was asked. 

While we waited (and there was a LOT of waiting in between setups), we had some refreshments (compliments of Benetton) and met a lot of the kids, who had fun playing with Q.

After the shoot, we learned that the photos would not appear until sometime in the fall (our agent didn't know when).  So, we waited and waited until finally, on October 19th, the website came up with his picture, featured in the Woolmania segment of the campaign.  The website changes weekly, but his photo stayed up for over a month, well into November.  Here's what it looked like on the first day:

Needless to say, this was pretty much the most fun and exciting thing to have happened to us in quite a while.  We were so thrilled to have been a part of the shoot and to see our boy up in lights, so to speak.  As if the fun wasn't enough, we actually got paid for the shoot, which was a complete bonus :-)

Since then, Quincy has been submitted for other print ad jobs, but has not been chosen (our agent submits Q's photo, along with any other dogs they think might be a good fit and then the client makes the final decision on which dog they want).  We're hoping he's chosen again, but if he isn't, we'll always have Benetton!

As you might imagine, it was pretty hard to come down from our New York adventure, but not long after we got back, we realized we had to get ready for another exciting event--our nephew's wedding! 

Renovation Central

With the big day just a few short months away, and the bridal party coming for brunch before the ceremony, we decided to undertake some home improvement projects to spruce up the house a bit. 

After replacing the French doors in the family room and the kitchen door to the patio, renovations began on the first floor, starting with the kitchen/hallway/half bath floor.

If you've ever replaced a floor in your house, you know it's a messy job, and our house was no exception.  The old ceramic tile and slate had to be jackhammered out, creating massive amounts of dust EVERYWHERE, on every surface, nook and cranny of every floor in the entire house.

But, after 3 weeks, we had a great new floor and were very pleased with the result.

After the floor was finished, we tackled the next item on our agenda--refinishing the main staircase.  Originally covered in carpet, we weren't sure we would be able to remove the carpet and have the stained treads with painted risers that Jean really wanted.  Fortunately, we found a fantastic stair contractor who was able to rip out the carpet, sand the oak treads and stain/urethane the wood.  

We replaced the old banister and spindles (which was a different company than the tread guy).  

We also found an awesome woodworker to add portrait molding.  

Our painter and carpet guys finished the job, finally giving us the look we wanted.

Last but not least, we changed all the trim in the house from stained to white paint and repainted the kitchen, family room and hallways.  All projects were completed in the nick of time, by the end of August.  Phew!

While all this renovation was going on, we did manage to have some extracurricular fun, starting with the MS Walk with friend and neighbor Judy Danto (and her sweet chocolate lab, Karma).  The walk was held on May 5th to benefit the Upstate NY chapter of the National MS Society.  We had a great time, and raised some well-needed funds for a good cause.

No time to rest, as a couple of weeks later, Jean attended Elise's bridal shower.  Held at Pat's Barn in the Rensselaer Technology Park, the shower was lovely--filled with family, friends and beautiful gifts.  Jean even won the

prize for most questions answered about Elise!  Just the beginning of a great few months of ongoing celebrations...

That very same weekend, while Jean was enjoying the shower, Gary and Quincy were busy at the Southern Berkshire Agility Dogs (SoBAD) trial at Sugar Bush Farm in Stephentown.  Quincy did a fantastic job, earning all 5 qualifying scores on Saturday and earning the Judge's Merit award (from Judge and teacher extraordinaire, Trisha Stall).  He did very well again on Sunday, and made us very proud!

After a quiet Memorial Day spent at home working on our various home improvement projects, we were ready to get back outside in June.

We started the month off right with another CPE agility trial at Stockade Agility in Glenville.  Once again, Quincy did an amazing job, going 7 for 9 in the blistering heat and even earning his Level 2 title in Strategy Games.  Here he is, resting with the fruits of his labors:

The very next weekend the fun continued with the annual Paws in the Park walk to benefit the Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society.  Mom came along on the walk with us and our friends from the Schenectady Chapter of Therapy Dogs International.  Quincy stole the show this year as first prize winner for Best Trick.  Huzzah!

Quincy's busy month continued with a Therapy Dog visit to the students at Union College on June 9th.  The college visit, like all our Therapy Dog work, was fun and rewarding.  We met lots of students who were ready to take a break from schoolwork and spend some quality time with our pups.  Many of the kids really missed their dogs at home and were grateful to make friends with Quincy and the other dogs.  We'll go back again if we get the chance.

As if all that excitement wasn't enough for Quincy, he scored another minor round of celebrity with his picture in the Times Union "Your Best Shot" feature, where readers send in their favorite photos to appear in the column each day.  Q's photo, taken on a rainy day, appeared in the paper on June 12th.  He looks less than enthused, but it's a cute picture nonetheless!

SWEET SUMMERTIME

Ahh,  summer--our favorite season!  We kicked things off on Independence Day with the annual celebration for Lee Ann's birthday at camp.  As usual, we had a wonderful time with Lee Ann and family on beautiful Sacandaga Lake, maxing and relaxing.  Always a pleasure to spend this day with our dear friends!

Summer wouldn't be summer without our annual backyard BBQ and pool party and this year was no exception.  Perfect weather, yummy food (featuring Gary's new pulled pork recipe--a bit hit!), great friends and good times!

Before we knew it, it was time to head out on our annual vacation in beautiful Cape May, N.J. with friends Andy and Linda.  We packed up the car and sent Quincy off for his luxury staycation with Dennis and Lorraine (THANKS, YOU GUYS!!!) and headed south.  We rented our usual condo at Regent Beach, which is our favorite place to stay. Weather was fantastic and the food to die for (as always!).  We got to see our dolphin friends every day, from our balcony and right offshore on the beach.  

This year featured the adventures of Roadie, the pop-out Boston Terrier.  

 Check out some of Roadie's adventures here. 

  

With vacation behind us, we were looking for something fun to do.  Luckily, our friend Becky Smith invited us to the 4th annual Wags and Whiskers Fair at Mabee Farm in Rotterdam.  The Fair was an outdoor fundraising event to benefit the programs of Schenectady County SPCA and it featured agility demos, a reptile exhibit, miniature horses, food, vendors, music, and a pet costume contest. We were there to help with the AgileDogs agility demonstration but, as usual, Quincy managed to find the spotlight, appearing in YNN's coverage of the event. That dog really knows how to work it for the camera!

We spent the rest of August working on our renovations and participating in a few agility trials.  With the house nearing completion, we felt we were in good shape to attend the Scottish Games at the Altamont Fairgrounds, where we again helped out with an AgileDogs agility demo.  Gettin' the word out about the awesome sport of agility is part of the fun!

FALL FUN

As it usually does, summer went by in the blink of an eye and we found ourselves celebrating Labor Day with the annual party and BBQ at Sacandaga with Lee Ann, John and family.  Every year this wonderful party brings together good friends and good food to take the sting out of the end of summer.  

Even though it means the summer is over, we look forward to the ring of fire around the lake every year.  Goodbye, summer--hello fall! 

  In addition to the party at Sacandaga, Labor Day 2013 had another special meaning for us. 

30th Anniversary of Our First Date

 30 years ago, on Labor Day weekend 1983, we had our first date.  We went to Lake George for the day--sat on the beach, had some lunch and walked around the shops.  We went to the arcade (Phoenix and Pac Man) and even played mini golf (Gary let Jean win).  On the way home, we stopped at the now defunct Latham Drive in to catch Flashdance (now you realize how long ago that was!) 

This year, we decided to recreate that first date and went up to Lake George, with  Quincy in tow, to relive the magic.  

This time Quincy was the big winner at Pac Man!

After our beautiful day in Lake George, we were excited to begin preparations for a very important day for our family.

Chris and Elise's Wedding

Of course, the biggest news in our family this year was the long-awaited nuptials of our nephew Christopher and his fiance Elise.  We were so excited to be a part of their wedding, held on September 14th at the Arts Center on the Hudson in Mechanicville.  

The Rehearsal (photo album)

The party started the night before, with rehearsal at the venue followed by dinner at the Italian American Center in Guilderland. 

The Wedding Brunch (photo album)

The next day, we hosted a wedding brunch for Elise, her family and the bridal party.  We wanted to make everything extra special to help welcome Elise and celebrate the union of our families.  Everyone had a little something to eat and then the preparations began!

Getting Ready (photo album)

The house was buzzing with excitement as Elise, her bridal party and family got ready for the ceremony.  Quincy even got in on the action, complete with his blue bandana--to match the wedding party!

The Ceremony and Reception (photo album)

With family and friends in attendance, Chris and Elise exchanged vows in a lovely ceremony officiated by their friend Marc.  Jean was honored to do a reading for the ceremony, the What is Real? passage from The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams.  Despite being a bit nervous, the reading went very well!  It was a beautiful and FUN wedding, with a theatrical theme and plenty of joyful dancing.  It's true that pictures are worth a thousand words, so it's best to let the photos speak for themselves.

After all the excitement of the wedding, we were ready for a little down time.  We took mom and headed out to the Big E in West Springfield, Mass. (Jean's favorite fair) so Jean could get her fix of the organic pizza at American Flatbread in the Vermont building.  To die for!

With October upon us and temperatures dropping a bit, we started looking for indoor entertainment and decided to go to the Jerry Seinfeld show at the Palace with Andy and Linda.  The picture is a bit blurry, but the comedy was razor-sharp--we literally did not stop laughing for 1  1/2 hours.  And 5th row seats--what a treat! 

Quincy kept busy in October as well, with a new therapy dog assignment.  He started visiting at the Clare Bridge Memory Care facility in Niskayuna, making lots of new friends along the way.  We are so fortunate to be able to do this work and we look forward to continuing our visits at Clare Bridge and at Kingsway in Schenectady.

The rest of October proved to be just as exciting as the first part of the month, as we found ourselves out and about with Andy, Linda, Christina and family at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on the 20th.  Since we missed the Bark for Life walk back in April, we were glad we were able to be there to lend our love and support to Linda and her family, and help with efforts to assist all breast cancer survivors in our area. 

 

After the walk, we joined Linda for the To Life! survivors fashion show at Crossgates Mall.  This wonderful organization, located in Delmar, offers help and support to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  To Life! is dedicated to educating our community about breast cancer detection, treatments and related health matters; and provide support services to breast cancer patients, caregivers, family and friends.   Linda rocked the runway, as you can see!

Although we had a lot of other fun events in during the month, October is really all about Halloween, starting with Jean's annual pilgrimage to the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Palace with fellow Time Warp aficionados Elise, Michelle and Laurel.  Always a fantastic time, this year was no exception, with a great shadow cast and plenty of audience participation.  Let there be lips!

Doin' the Time Warp got us revved up and ready to entertain the Trick or Treaters.  We were lucky the weather held out this year and Gary was able to decorate for Halloween.  We kept with the spider theme, but this year we introduced a new, hilarious addition--Skeleton Q.:

When the big day came, the weather turned rainy, but even so, we had almost 200 Trick-or-Treaters.  We just love seeing the kids and their creative costumes.  For more photos of the Halloween madness at our house, check out our Halloween Album.

With Halloween behind us, we set our sights on the Takes 2 to Q  CPE agility trial up at High Goal Farm on November 9th and 10th.  Gary was Chief Course Builder on Sunday, and each time he does that job he learns a bit more about course design and handling.  Quincy had a great time, with 4 qualifying scores and earning his Level 3 Strategy Games title.   Here he is resting up in between runs.  It's a dog's life!

Just a week later, Jean celebrated a very happy birthday with family and friends.  And no, Q. did not have any cake!

Actually, Quincy could probably use some sugar, as our agility league started on November 16th, up at Jazz agility.  Capital District Agility Fun Group meets at a variety of indoor facilities and the goal is to simulate an actual trial, so you get more of a sense of a real trial environment.  All in all, a great way to practice, stay competitve and stay connected to the sport over the long, cold winter months.  Check out his work on the table...

After our first CDAFG date on November 16th, we joined our agility friends for a little friendly competition on the lanes.  We ended up at Tippy Bowl in Ballston Spa, a little neighborhood place with just a few lanes.  We're not sure who Tippy is, but we sure had a good time!

The very next day, Gary headed out on a guy's road trip to the NY Giants game at Met Life stadium, to see Big Blue battle the Green Bay Packers.  Our friend Billy is a die-hard Green Bay fan and he was able to get tickets for the game.  Of course, they had a tremendous tailgate party (Chef Gary made sure of that), complete with sausage and peppers, pulled pork, Philly cheese steaks and the requisite adult beverages.  Gary had a great time, especially since the Giants won!  Sorry Bill...

While Gary was off enjoying the Giants victory,  Jean was busy with Operation Fuzzy Blankets for TDI.   Each year, our Schenectady Chapter of Therapy Dogs International gets together and makes no-sew fleece blankets for local children and seniors.  This year, we made over 30 blankets for the kids at the ARK Community Charter School in Troy, where we have a Tail Waggin' Tutors program.  Our chapter members donate the fleece and we make the blankets--many hands make light work!  Good work for a good cause.  Thanks to everyone at TDI Schenectady for making this happen!

The holiday season is all about friends and family, and what better way to kick off the holiday season than a Girls Night Out at Carrabba's in Latham with Linda, Sue, Lisa and Debbie.  Lots of good food and lots of girl talk  make for a fun time!

Had to make it an early night, though, because the next day (the 23rd), we picked up mom and headed down to Manhattan to visit the Benetton flagship store on 5th Avenue.  The advertising manager for Benetton New York had contacted us about the posters of Quincy in their store, and he set one aside for us, so off we went to see the store, meet the staff and pick up Q's poster.  What a day!  The store was fabulous and everyone was thrilled to meet Q.  We had a fantastic time and got a big memento to bring home for our wall.  Our thanks to everyone at Benetton for an incredible experience!

No time to rest, though because the very next week we gathered together for Thanksgiving at our house with mom, Michelle, Ray, Claudette and newlyweds Chris and Elise.  This year we were especially aware of the many things we have to be grateful for--loving family, wonderful friends and a celebrity dog ;-). 

Of course, we continued our annual day after Thanksgiving tradition of leftovers at mom's house, followed by the ladies' traditional Black Friday shopping trip to Wit's End in Clifton Park.   It's our store of choice for all things Christmas; if you can't find it at Wit's End, you really don't need it! 

After the birthday party, we got back to decorating in earnest, for this year our house was featured in the Altamont Community Traditions annual Victorian Holiday House Tours.  The tours are part of the Victorian Holiday celebration, where residents of our village gather to share the Christmas spirit.  We're very proud to be included in the Tours this year and hope our guests enjoy our decorations.  Cheers and welcome Santa!

Well, that brings us up to Christmas time.   It’s amazing how fast this year has flown!   We hope your year has been everything you’d hope for and next year, even more.  We would love to hear from you, so let us know what you’ve been up to by dropping us a line on Email (gguyon@nycap.rr.com),  giving us a call (518-861-5768) or better yet, friend us on Facebook!

Although we may not see you or hear from you as often as we’d like, you're always in our thoughts and in our hearts. 

We wish you peace and joy this holiday season and always.

Jean, Gary & Quincy