New arrangement

For those who haven't seen the new set up in our living room. Here it is. I hope to start painting tomorrow. I'm sure Starla will help me move the heavy furniture.

Oh, yeah - Happy Birthday Hank.

Memorial Day

We had a hot Sunday BBQ. I'm not sure about the meat but the veggies were good. We cooked burgers, chicken, corn on the cob, sweet potatoes and margaritas. Keith and Angie brought Napoleon over for a visit with Ruby. At first Ruby had her normal adverse reaction to large dogs coming towards her. She eventually got over her shyness, though and fought and played with Napoleon. I just want to point out that Napoleon has the same expression on his face in every picture.

Car wash

I took the car to an autowash today. Normally I just wash it myself but I wanted it clean today and I knew I didn't have it in me to find all my car wash paraphernalia. Ruby went with me and enjoyed all the commotion outside the car. She took a nap when we got home. I guess it wore her out.

Are you working?

Starla likes to work on the couch and Ruby likes to be close to Starla while she (Ruby, not Starla) naps. Every once in a while Ruby peeks around to make sure Starla doesn't need any help.

More pictures from MO

I forgot to put up these two pictures from MO. After church we collected Ruby for our long drive home. Ruby was very good on the 9 hour drive. She slept in the back seat for most of it and sat on our laps when she needed some company. She only had one instance when we had to pull over and let her go on the side of the road. She scratched on the windows to give us a clue. Thanks Ruby.

More pictures

New colors

Two rooms of our home now have some new color on them. Our bedroom has a soft green with cream trim. We put up a wall of mirrors and several framed musical scores. The insides of our closets are blue. Many thanks to mom for helping with the bedroom. Also, I just finished our entrance, stairs and upstairs landing. That is a buttercream color with cream trim. I hung two light fixtures that we have had since Brooklyn. It is starting to look more and more like home.

Chinese class

I just got back from my mandarin Chinese class. It is a good class. This will be a short post.

Gazelle sighting

As Starla and I were going to bed last night at 11:00 pm. (late for us) I looked down and saw this. Despite my better judgement I took it to our bedroom.

Outback Steakhouse

Tillie and Starla and I share a photo-op.

Clarification

Let me get a picture up of Cole with Mom and Dad, also. He doesn't spend his time exclusively with his aunt.

Cute Cole

How photogenic can you be? In the case of my cousin: really, really.

Coming of age

I think we can officially call Ruby a big dog now. She got her last set of booster shots this morning. And she got a new snazzy collar fit for a queen. (Thanks, Lynn)

The maples

I planted 3 Japanese maples Sunday morning. I think I did an ok job. I watered them again this morning and plan to water them every other day for a week or two. Hopefully, that will be alright. I dug a hole and sprinkled some lime. Then I planted each with a 1-to-1 mixture of dirt and miracle-gro soil. Then I spread some Pine bark around each giving the trunk about 3 inches of breathing space. If anybody has any advice to keep these alive please let me know. Just click on the comment button below and advise away.

Ruby walk

I just took Ruby for a walk in the park across the street. She returned home crazed. right now she is squeaking a squeak toy at a frenetic pace. She is definitely a beast. Run for your lives.

extra pics

Mom and Grandma D

Boy we had a good visit. You can see that Ruby was very happy. We went to Biltmore and saw many fine things. The best part was perhaps the drive off the property because the azaleas were magnificent. So many colors clumped together. We ate a bunch of course and picked up some lovely beads. Starla's new jewelry is great. Thanks Grandma.

For Hank

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. The fam has kept me very busy. I'll post on that later. But for now I'll get a few pictures up quickly. Surprise, surprise, my wife submitted to some photos.