Our Sheepish Lion

Nearly a year ago my husband and I decided to surprise our kids with a bombshell - a dog. Three out of four of us have extreme pet allergies, so the kids had resigned themselves to a dogless childhood. When my husband and I discovered that the poodle breed was an option, we began our covert search for the perfect pet.

Based on friends’ and family’s success with rescue adoption, we decided this was our best option. There are so many unwanted dogs no longer in the “cute puppy phase”, and we were looking for a grown dog.

Lambert (based on the Disney animation) arrived at Logan Airport from Illinois in December 2009. She’s a two-year old, black toy poodle with an amazingly passive disposition. Her foster family told us that she was rescued from a puppy mill, and she had enjoyed her rescue days with lots of other animals on a farm.

Today, Lambert relishes her role as sole family pet. She’s an equal opportunity lover, silly, and amazingly smart. We strongly recommend rescue adoption to anyone considering a pet.

Van Otis Chocolates, IncrediBREW, and the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire have partnered to create a chocolate cordial that features the award-winning chocolate raspberry port made by IncrediBREW as part of their Animal Rescue League series of wines. Partial proceeds from the cordial sales will be donated to the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire.

The cordials can be purchased at IncrediBREW, Van Otis Chocolates, and the Animal Rescue League’s fundraising events. For more information, visit the companies’ websites: www.vanotis.com, www.incredibrew.com, www.rescueleague.org.

Dress for Dinner

Unfortunately, mealtime etiquette is a fairly low priority for our family. With our hectic schedules we take pride in actually having eaten rather than accomplishing that task with polish and grace. Seriously, it’s not easy enforcing manners while eating a nugget on the car ride from practice to rehearsal.

Holidays are our opportunity for a slowdown. I look forward to a festive table and even make an effort to put the utensils in their proper order and position. I’m drawn to centerpieces, but my very practical side knows that they typically make a short-lived appearance before swiftly being replaced by the meal. So I’m constantly on the hunt for smaller, more permanent solutions to dress up the holiday table.

This year I’ve decided to add a surprise and no, I don’t mean a salad fork. Sidling the dinner plate will be a piece of chocolate in the small, covered dishes that I recently purchased at an unnamed, local retailer. (Don’t You Just Love a Bargain?) These dishes were intended for individual butter servings, but I think they’ll be perfect sweet treat holders. When dinner guests find a Van Otis decorative truffle or foiled chocolate next to their plate, the burning question won’t be which fork to use but whether or not to eat dessert first. No need to consult Emily Post for that answer.