Not exactly Hadrian's wall...

But it is ours. So far it looks really good to me. If the weather cooperates we should have 160' of it in another week. Then we get to sod the yard and plant a few things.

Longing

Here is a picture of my wife longing to be free of the TV. Sorry, Star, it is a lost cause. Here is a picture of my dog longing (literally) for some treats. Sorry, Ruby, you have to sit and lay down.

Pile of rocks

So this is what 14 tons of stone looks like. It came from the Cherokee reserve here in NC. Doesn't look like too much but supposedly it is enough. The wall should start coming up tomorrow. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like. It will really be a big addition to the front yard. After that we will start in earnest with some landscaping. We are hoping to plant a couple Japanese maples and get some good ground cover for half of the sloped bank. Then save the other half for later. We are looking to put in a wall of bamboo above the driveway. That will give us and our neighbor a bit of privacy. Does anyone have experience with bamboo or ordering plants over the internet? Leave a comment if you do. We want to use black bamboo which is expensive and no one in the area seems to have any. Anyway we don't want to spend big bucks just to have our bamboo die. Also, here is a picture of Ruby in her t-shirt she won from the Buncombe county Govt. for being a cute puppy.

The Beast's size

She just keeps growing. Check out some former posts for comparison. Every morning we awake to a larger dog. Things that used to keep her confined no longer do. She can get on the couch on her own. On the plus side, though, she gets smarter every day. She minds a little more and communicates a little more. She frequently uses her bell now to let us know she needs to go outside. I haven't yet gotten used to hearing a bell in the house that isn't being rung by a human. We think Ruby is going to be a fine dog as long as we can give her the exercise she needs. She had two walks yesterday and still was wound up around 7:30 pm.

Puppy class

Ruby, Starla and I attended our second puppy class at PetsMart yesterday evening. Also in attendance are Toby & Sally - two obnoxious poodles, MarlyRose - a delightfully soft maltese, and Daisy - an irresistibly cute Basset hound. Ruby is generally a total spaz at the class. The way she acts it looks like we keep her in an isolation chamber all week. She barks, pees, pulls on her leash, and shakes like a ball of energy for the full hour. So we were glad last night that Ruby was the only dog who could lay down when asked. We had already taught her this command. In fact, she could lay down without even a treat to entice her. Sioux, the trainer, even got her to roll over. Thanks Ruby for making us look good.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. We enjoyed church this morning and then went for a ride with Ruby. The weather here has been great. Here are two photos of Ruby with a goofy ear.

Comfiest spot in the house

I didn't realise it would be laying behind my feet with her head resting on one of them. I can feel her little snores through my socks. My wife wants dinner but I have to get up to get that. I hardly want to upset Ruby. I suppose I could feed her too.

Lana's surprise party

Yesterday evening Starla, Ruby & I drove up to Kingsport, TN after work to surprise Starla's mom with a birthday party. Keith met us over at her house and boy was she surprised. We had dinner and cake and fun. Keith brought one of his dogs (Molly) over and she played with Ruby a bit. I think she eventually got annoyed with Ruby. I can understand that, Molly. Ruby can be rather insistent. Unfortunately, I left my camera at their house so no pictures of the party until I retrieve it.

Yard's a-blooming

I'm not sure what all these are but they make the yard quite interesting. I think we see lilac, red bud, dog wood, ?, ?

Ruby's walk

Ruby really loves the park. She meets people and dogs and just loves them all. Sometimes she runs around in circles. Sometimes she sniffs and smells. The best part is that she is worn out when she comes home. Right now she is zonked out on Starla's lap.

Downed tree

Two of our Beaver Lake trees were felled recently. I'm not sure if they were cut down so they wouldn't fall over on someone or if they were hoping to provide some new fish homes but I for one was said to see them laid low. They are still beautiful in the lake.

Secret revealed

Well we finally found some pictures of Ruby's parents. This really explains alot.

More dog fix

Ruby is learning how to ring her bell to go outside. Unfortunately, she has relapsed on some her housetraining. Starla has been too busy with work to watch her as closely as I can. Tomorrow Ruby starts her first puppy training class.

Dog fix

Ruby is happy to have her whole family back. Here are a few pictures for you.

The smoking robot

I just visited the Mansfield Museum with the robot display. It is a small three room museum with mostly local history stuff. The robot display, though, was quite extensive. The curator was there giving tours and explaining early robot technology. He was pleasantly enthusiastic, verging on odd. I suppose that is pretty much standard for pre-depression robot afficionadoes. Elektro was actually the third robot Westinghouse developed. The first was basically an electric box that turned on and off Westinghouse appliances by phone. Nice marketing tool, huh? The second robot had an odd little french moustache. I really couldn't see past that so I don't know what he did. Anyway, Elektro was third. He was built in '37.
A correction from my previous post. He could stand and sit and move and carry on wittily with his technician before an audience. Most surprisingly, he smoked. I guess that is essential for a movie star. He was in Sex Kittens go to College(1960).
By the way, Westinghouse was in Mansfield, OH.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektro

One just for the wife

You know who you are.

Forgot

I forgot to mention that I bought fudge for my wife. She was bummed that we didn't get any in New Bern. So, Baby, this time I'm bringing home fudge.

Revisiting Mansfield

I just returned from a brief walk looking for food. I discovered that I must reassess my former post. I found Mansfield's delightful downtown area. It has several eateries and shops and a nice park with a gazebo. I ate at the Sweet Basil Eatery and rather enjoyed it. Then I took a scone and espresso to sit in the park. Very nice. And to top it off as I was walking back to the Holiday Inn I noticed the Mansfield Museum was having an exhibit of robots. I will definitely check that out tomorrow. Here is a picture of Elektro, The Westinghouse Robot from '57. He is the featured robot.

The theater

I saw the theater and it is dandy. I think it was built in the 30s and looks to be fully restored. Here are some pictures I found on the internet.

Fabulous downtown no where

We are in desolate downtown Mansfield. Today we set up the stage and have a dress rehearsal tonight. Tomorrow is largely free and then an evening performance. Mansfield reminds me of Shaw in DC. Apparently it has quite a Suburbia just miles away. The theater is supposed to be quite nice. I think it is an older one that has been renovated.

Crop circle

Here is the crop circle in my yard. I think I waited a bit too long to move the stone to the driveway. I guess I could make it a smiley face.

The wife.

My wife loves it when I update the blog. She says she likes to know what is going on in my life. I'm not sure what that says about our communication skills. Maybe she just doesn't believe anything unless she sees it on the internet.

Out of sorts

Ruby has not been happy this morning unless she is on a lap. I guess she was craving some nurture time. Supposedly, dogs need: 1. exercise 2. discipline 3. affection. I tried that order with Ruby this morning but she made it clear that she wanted #3 first. I'm looking forward to puppy class next week so Ruby can get a little better socialized. I have another Butterfly performance today in Johnson City, TN. That is only an hour away so it will be a quick trip up and then back after the show.

Working hard today

I spent a good portion of the day shoveling rock. Our stone wall keeps getting delayed. This time we are waiting for the large stones to be delivered. We had a large amount of crushed rock sitting in our front yard. It is part of the building process. Anyway I am moving it to the driveway so our grass can start making a recovery from it's several week hiatus from the sun. Right now it looks like a crop circle. Here are some pictures of Ruby during dinner break.

Back from New Bern

Starla and I are back from Eastern Carolina. It was a nice trip. We stayed in a hotel right on the water. Our room looked out over the river. Starla read several books and we ate homemade ice cream twice. The opera performance went well. I think the audience was 845 people. They laughed and applauded and booed Pinkerton (the bad guy) so I think they had a good time. Ruby had a nice time with Hank & Lana. She met a lot of new people and animals and was generally well behaved. We are glad to have her back, though. We couldn't believe how much she had grown in just a few days.