Corning, NY (part 1)

The house in Corning is pretty much exactly my dream house. That house belongs to some of CJ's family - and her brother was house-sitting because they're off on some European adventure. I'm so envious.

First of all, the house is beautiful. Five bedrooms, two bathrooms, lots of natural light, hard wood, and it's very well taken care of. We had the benefits of high speed internet and a well-stocked fridge, as well as two freezers stocked with veggies grown on-site and other various things which were labeled with the date they were added. It was wonderful. We were welcome to everything.

Other things which made it a dream house included the finished basement, and the many acres of land they had to roam around on. The idea of having property you can hike on is a wonderful one, indeed. There was even a beaver-dam on site. I think I'll do the hike we went on with CJ's brother as an entirely different entry.

And speaking to my love of this house and the warm fuzzy feelings I felt therein, I must mention Sara. Sara is the beautiful elderly lady of the house, and one of the sweetest dogs that it's been my pleasure to meet.

Sara

What was most remarkable about Sara to me was how happy she seemed. I'm sure she missed her humans, and she certainly had some skin and joint issues, but she was so gentle and kind that her happiness glowed. Something about having all of that land and such good caregivers who neither spoiled her nor deprived her of the occasional pizza crust seemed to make her a very peaceable dog. She was used to long walks in the woods with her humans and evenings by the fire place.

 She also, despite her advanced age, still happily played with her toys.

I wished so badly that my dogs could know that life. I wish that I could.