New Puppy & New Magazine!

2012 got off to a wonderful start with the arrival of Chloe a beautiful Labradoodle puppy (now 10 weeks old). While I did have every intention of adopting a Golden Retriever rescue, fate had other plans. And perhaps with all our strong memories of our beloved Grace of Naptown, it better that we have switched breeds for an entirely new dog experience. For those readers unfamiliar with Labradoodles, these dogs are a hybrid breed created originally to work as service dogs in place of Golden and Labrador retrievers in households with allergies. These dogs are a cross of poodles and retrievers and thus have the kind obedience of a retriever and the cleverness and non-shedding coat of a poodle. Chloe is third generation, so both of her parents were Labradoodles. Both her parents weigh between 40 and 45 pounds, so she will be large but lean.
She is being crate trained and is sleeping well through the night. Of course by joining our family she gets plenty of exercise. We have not taken her for a downtown walk yet, but she has taken plenty of walks in the neighborhood to investigate and become accustomed to the sights and smells of the Murray Hill neighborhood.
This past week in media news Jefferson Communications signed and agreement with HDJ publishing to purchase the Annapolis area lifestyle magazine Taste of the Bay. Jefferson Communications will begin publishing the former Taste of the Bay as Chesapeake Taste in April and I have been named as the new editor! I’ll be working with Karen Gaspers, who has been doing an excellent job of managing both the calendar, resource books, and Chesapeake Family content for Jefferson Communications along with new hire, Betsy Stein who will be leaving her previous editor’s post at Maryland Family where she worked since 2002, winning numerous awards in her field. Betsy will be putting her primary focus on Chesapeake Family. This means I have about one month to strongly focus on Chloe before there will be a radical change in my daily routine and I’ll be back working in an office other than the one in my home.
THANK YOU to all my friends and colleagues who offered encouragement and support during my rocky times during the closing months of 2011. While I still have some reduction in mobility in my neck and back from my injuries, I continue to go weekly to P.T. and try to do all my exercises faithfully. I have not been cleared to resume pilates but I’m hoping that eventually I will be able to return to my previous fitness routine. There will be, however, no horseback riding for me. I will be very content to do my trail exploration on foot.

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