Who We Are

Who are we? I am Amy and I'm married to Francis. We live in Baltimore County, Maryland. Francis is an actuary and I worked in the mutual fund industry for many years. We now share our home with a dog and a cat.
Custer is a poodle/schnauzer mix that we got from a wonderful, no-kill shelter. He was 8 years old when we chose him in January, 1997 and had been there for about 2 months when we adopted him. This little guy is smart, quirky, funny and totally devoted to Francis. He is truly a "Daddy's boy".
Teddy is a large and growing grey tabby cat. He was found in early March, 1997 taking refuge on a friend's back porch. She was unable to keep him so we adopted him. Our vet's best guess is that he was between 10 months and a year old. Teddy is also pretty smart, very playful, rather devious at times, but a very sweet cat. He desparately wants to play with Custer and so is often chasing him or waiting to ambush him. He knows just how far he can push Custer and always stays just enough ahead of him to keep out of reach. He has grown quite a bit and is now, at 13 pounds, nearly the same size as Custer.

Paws (sorry!) for some photos of the boys
For us, time did begin on Opening Day. On the way to Opening Day in April, 1986, we picked up our marriage license. Our first date was a baseball game. Fran proposed at a ballgame. We set the date on the way home from a ball game. It's a good thing I like baseball.
Francis loves baseball. Not just the Orioles, but THE GAME. For him, life begins on Opening Day. During the off-season, he reads over his old scorebooks. I am the family computer nerdette. I spend a lot of time on IRC under the nickname AmyElf. When not there, I am tending the many birdfeeders around our yard, indulging my photography hobby or out and about running errands or birding some local areas.
I also have a fledgling web page design business, MouseWorks Web Design. The Other Places page lists some of the other web pages I have created. For more information, follow the link here or on the main page to MouseWorks or email me at kriston@mouse-works.com.

As anyone who has ever had pets knows, there comes along just once in a lifetime that special one. The one with whom there is a deep rapport and a depth of attachment that will not happen again. Mouse was such to me. The runt of the litter, she weighed in at a hefty 8 1/2 pounds at most, but she ruled our home and our hearts with an iron paw. It was a month before I could even write the following and even now my sense of loss is tempered only by the passage of time. Still, I know that I will never again have that kind of rapport with any pet and that thought makes me feel sad sometimes.

NOTED: A PASSING
With a depth of sadness I have never felt before, I must report that Mouse passed away on December 11, 1996. At 17 years, 9 months, her body could go no farther and we made the heart-wrenching decision to spare her any suffering. I held her as her soul departed, leaving only an empty husk of what was once, to some just an animal, but was, to me, my friend, my child, my giver of unconditional love for 17 years, 7 1/2 months. I just hope that, wherever she is, she has a sunny window, a soft warm place to sleep and someone who will love her as I did.....and knows just where she likes being scratched under her chin.

NOTED: A PASSING

With a depth of sadness I have never felt before, I must report that Mouse passed away on December 11, 1996. At 17 years, 9 months, her body could go no farther and we made the heart-wrenching decision to spare her any suffering. I held her as her soul departed, leaving only an empty husk of what was once, to some just an animal, but was, to me, my friend, my child, my giver of unconditional love for 17 years, 7 1/2 months. I just hope that, wherever she is, she has a sunny window, a soft warm place to sleep and someone who will love her as I did.....and knows just where she likes being scratched under her chin.

Email Amy	Email Fran