Merry Christmas Every One!

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family! I hope you all had just as wonderful a day as we did here at Solid Gold Samoyeds and DreamWeaver Poms! My wonderful Michael earned his husband stripes today with his gift to me of a Samoyed jacket! I know he worked hard to find it and spent a good deal of time during our national trip talking to people to try to find the vendor that sold them (who didn't happen to have a booth there this year!) Check me out! I just love it. Thank you to Kim Katanik who helped him too! You are a great friend.

Sir Prize Package

Another delightful Christmas card came from the Code family with Starbuck Samoyeds and "the most wonderful dog in the world" Sir Prize Package aka Poe! Here is the cute little guy that we raised from birth. His mom is Tisha aka "Tish the Dish" who surprised us by being pregnant when she came to live with us. Seems she had had a gentleman caller from next door who was a parti colored Pomeranian name Pete. Three puppies were "Triple Bonus", "Sir Prize Package" and "Mystery Date". It is one of the highlights of the season that we get to see pictures of our fur kids who have moved to new homes! Thanks Sharon and Bill for sharing!

Green Boy Grows Up!!

I was thrilled to get a Christmas card this morning from Tom, Lisa and Rak! Rak is Boston's puppy who was "Green Boy". Rak is one lucky boy! His family has 15 acres of land in northern Michigan and he gets to sled, ice fish and just hang out with his buddies. Boston and Slider can sure be proud of this guy. He is gorgeous! For a closer view, just click on the picture and it will enlarge to show Rak in all his glory.

High Tea

Last night Mike and I were looking over some of our bills from our trip to London and it brought back fond memories of our high tea experience. A trip to London isn't really complete without high tea. High tea is served in the late afternoon at some of the nicer restaurants. On the advice of June we went to high tea at Richoux's on the last day of our trip. We got there about 4:30 p.m. and ordered tea for two. The waiter brought out a two tiered plate with little sandwiches, scones and fruitcake. There were three types of sandwiches: cucumber, salmon and chicken. All had the crusts removed from the bread and were cut in long thin strips. The scones were served with clotted cream. Each of us had a pot of tea which was very smooth and piping hot. When we finished our tea, scones and sandwiches we were allowed to each pick a dessert from their very large display of delicately decorated confections. Mike chose an eclair and I had a chocolate torte. Both were delicious! The cost of high tea for two? About $45. but of course the experience was priceless. To make a virtual visit to the restaurant go to: http://richoux.co.uk
We went to the Mayfair one which was about four blocks from our house and a block from the American embassy.

Rally Title for Boston

This weekend Boston and I went to East Lansing to an obedience trial where she qualified twice in novice rally to earn her first rally title. She is now Ch. Starbuck's Solid Gold T-Party CD RN! The most important thing to me though was that she really seems to love performing and really sparkles in the ring. Those watching always comment on her happy and exuberant performance.

Friday's Changing of the Guard

The one important tourist duty that we hadn't yet attended to was the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Because it was the winter season the guard only changes every other day. On the advice of our Big Bus tour guide we walked over to St. Jame's palace to watch the guard that comes from there and goes down the street to Buckingham Palace. Most people wait at the palace and it is hard to get close. Even at this time of year...it is the one place you are apt to find a crowd. We got there just in time to see them coming down the street and heading up to the palace. After November 1st they wear their gray coats and continue that until April 1st, so our pictures are not very colorful. The plumes in their hats represent the particular area of Great Britian that they are from, in this case the blue tassle indicates they are from Ireland. It really was fun to see and we were glad we didn't miss it. After it was over we spent the rest of the day shopping, first at the Mews and later at several shops and department stores. Saturday we flew home to Michigan.

Thursday in London

Mike was in charge of Thursday. At his request we took the tube from the Marble Arch to Blackfrier Station where we went looking for the Tipperary Pub on Fleet Street. It didn't take long to find the pub which had a newsarticle taped to the front door showing Prince Charles drinking a beer there. We went inside and upstairs to the second floor for lunch. Mike enjoyed a pint of Guinness. Tipperary's Pub was the first pub outside of Ireland to serve Guinness so it made Mike feel close to the history. I enjoyed a diet coke and we both had sandwiches. Later we went to the Science Museum where we toured the veterinary section and the medical sections. Thursday night we went shopping at M & S a local department store and to Starbuck's for some dinner. Yes my dear, there is a Starbuck's on every corner and since London rolls up the welcome mat at about 8:00 p.m. it is hard to find something to eat late at night.