Thank you, all for your very kind posts about Sprite. She was our very special “best girl puppy” for many, many years. (I always have to add the “PUPPY” part >>> My daughter is gone so often that she has caught me calling Sprite my “best girl” a few times when she is home visiting, and prefers it when I add the “PUPPY” when referring to Sprite.)

I know I mentioned that my husband wants to move my computer desk from “Sprite’s bedroom” to our kitchen. We still plan to do that, but we are going to be moving my desk next weekend, because, it turns out that my husband has decided to get DirectTV installed in our house this weekend.

We have been getting a lot of blue screens with messages from Time Warner – in lieu of the shows we expected to tape. The message always says something about the network not being available, or some such thing. From all of the boards my husband has checked out online that deal with this very same problem, it means, quite simply, that Time Warner has too many people trying to access the high definition channels at the same time. When this happens, apparently Time Warner’s computer system simply cannot handle transmitting all of the channels, so they simply don’t allow you access to some of the non-network shows.

I tape several shows on the ID channel (Investigation Discovery), which is a channel that is consistently short-changed by Time Warner. I feel like we will be doing our part to help Time Warner with their problem of not being able to service all their paying customers during the peak television-viewing times. >>> At least this way, after this weekend, there will be one less home trying to access high definition channels, helping perhaps one other family get the service they expect!

Sixteen and a half years ago, my parents came for their yearly vacation – accompanied (as usual) by my father’s Cocker Spaniel. We all loved Aspen, except my daughter was quite hesitant about him. She would try to pet him, but was always on-guard… quite literally! She had always had a… should I say “hesitancy” when it came to dogs. She had never been hurt by a dog, she simply didn’t feel comfortable when they were around. She always HAD to know exactly where they were.

My father felt sorry that she was missing out on the childhood fun of enjoying a family pet. He absolutely NEVER offered any constructive parent-rearing tips or corrections, except to tell us that he thought we should add a family dog to our family, so that our daughter could become comfortable around dogs.

We actually added Sprite to our family on one of his trips to visit us… and I can tell you that Aspen was not delighted with having to compete with this little, white fur-ball we had brought into HIS vacation domain. Sprite thought Aspen was the greatest, and wouldn’t leave him alone… even when he let her know he did not appreciate her little razor-sharp puppy teeth excitedly nipping at his big, floppy ears.

That was sixteen and a half years ago, and I can tell you that Sprite has been the center of all of our universes since that day. Aspen had to make due with staying in Colorado Springs for the rest of the times my dad visited us, which I know was a hardship on my dad, as he loved that dog a whole lot.

Over this past weekend, we had to say our final good byes to Sprite, which is why I haven’t been on the computer these past few days. Because she was not able to go up and down the stairs, or jump on furniture the last few years, I literally took her with me from room to room, always having her by my side or on the couch or bed while I did housework. She was a comfort to me when both of my children moved to college, and has remained a very close “best girl puppy” to me since then.

I have tried to work at the computer since we said good bye to Sprite, but I keep looking over to the bed, where she has been my constant companion while I am at the computer for the last few years. I know I wrote about us having to bring my computer desk downstairs so that she would be comfortable on the guest bed while I worked on the computer. It is very difficult for me to sit at the computer without her on the bed.

I am home alone much of the day. I talked to her literally all day long, and find the house so VERY quiet now…

Peter Falk passed away on Thursday, June 23. A lot of us remember him as Columbo. He personified this television detective.

Recently, my family has been making our way through all of the Columbo television movies. And, of course, those movies simply would not be the same without Peter Falk’s wonderful portrayal of Columbo. Actually, his portrayal of the disheveled, hyperactive, distracted detective was too good! Any time I see him in anything… either from before or after his Columbo days, I immediately think of … Columbo.

As soon as Columbo arrives on the scene of a crime, in his banged-up Peugeot convertible, with his trademark stub-of-a-cigar in his mouth, his overcoat looking like it had been worn for an entire month (even while he slept!), he walks around, scratching his head while muttering to himself. He then “befriends” a character – usually the biggest guest star – and that is when the fun begins…

The Columbo television movies are different in that they always begin by showing us who the culprit is, and how he/she commits the crime by using some type of elaborate ruse. This is actually the opening scene! So, there is no denying the who, what, when, or where. The fun is watching Peter Falk fumble around, acting like he really hasn’t a clue about what he is doing. And, the culprit, thinking that this simpleton is going to make it possible to get away with… murder, usually begins to feel annoyed that this idiot is always asking “Just one more thing”, which, incidentally is the title of Peter Falk’s autobiography.

I am always saddened to hear about the passing of an actor/actress who has given so many hours of entertainment to so many people.

PS>>> For those few of you who have not yet seen the Columbo television movies, you might recognize Peter Falk as the grandfather in The Princess Bride movie.

I received a letter from Janet Halpin, who is the Program Ad Coordinator of the New England Crime Bake 2011. She has told me about the 10th annual mystery conference they will be having in Dedham, Massachusetts on November 11, 12, and 13 of this year. (It looks to me like Dedham is almost attached to Boston, but I’m not quite sure…)

The two guests of honor this year are Nancy Pickard and Barry Eisler. BUT… That’s not all! There will be many panelists there, also. Here is just a small list of those who will be attending:

Peter Abrahams (Spencer Quinn)

Donald Bain (aka Jessica Fletcher)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sara Atwell)

Vicki Doudera

Hallie Ephron

David Handler

Roberta Isleib

Stacy Juba

Clea Simon

Lea Wait

What a line-up!!!

So, if you plan to be near the Bedham/Boston area over November 11-13, 2011, you might want to check out their website: crimebake.org…