Santa Pup

Merry Christmas! We've had a couple of stray dogs hanging around, a mother and pup, and the puppy wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas.

Birthday

Happy birthday to my baby brother!






Dude, you can thank me later for not picking the picture where your little sweatpants are hiked up to the middle of your chest. Of course, that's the same picture where I have the worst haircut ever, so maybe my vanity protected you!

Anyway, you were an adorable (ahem, tough and talented) little kid and now as ever I'm glad to have you as my brother. :)

Possibly the best use of the internet ever (since Matt dancing)

Feeling sad or stressed? Try watching these puppies for awhile.

Just try not to reach out to your screen and tickle their bellies. Oh! They've just left the box. Don't worry, they'll return soon for another nap.

The blood in my veins just screeched to a halt.

It seemed appropriate to mention this, since the state fair is coming up here. (Allie is showing her lamb!) Although, if this burger were served at the state fair, the whole thing would no doubt be dipped in batter and deep fried.

The yogurt I ate for lunch somehow seems both more and less satisfying now...

Oh, and I'm a bit late, but


Dogwood leaves at sunset, 19 September

Where is Matt?

Look at this!

Absolutely the simplest, most uplifting thing I've seen in a long time.

County Fair

Experimenting with Photobucket's slideshow feature here - if it works this is a lot easier for me than editing code on all the individual photo thumbnails.

This week was the Polk County fair, and Allie showed a lamb. Layla hung out with us for awhile Friday night and Saturday morning.

Hmm, embedding isn't working, so here's a link:

Polk County Fair slideshow

August photos

I've got a few days off between summer and fall semesters, and since that seems to be the only time I manage to process a few photos and read blogs, here we go!

Home:

Allie and her friends at their back-to-school sleepover


Treasure hunt!


The girls' early-morning t.p. exploits / Apple picking


Layla around the house


Layla wanted to prove she could fit into Truman's carrier!


Allie and her lamb / Layla and Mama avoiding the "rain"


Layla pretending to be a "baby deer" / Some actual young deer we saw later in the day



Signs:


Charmingly spelled signs at the produce stand on the corner


Hicks need churches too! / "1" changed to "3" for the rising gas prices


Landscape and naturey stuff:


Carolina anole (lizard), water lilies


Fallen muscadines, cypresses, golden silk orb weaver


French mulberries, swamp and wading bird, sunset over cotton fields


Zinnias, pecan tree, and cedar on a foggy morning


Spiderwebs in fog



Black and white:

Three things

... then I'll scamper away again. Summer schedule is intense!

1.



I think I'm a day late, but happy birthday Kristy! (These are flowers from around Ink.)

2.
If you love mullets - and let's face it, who doesn't? - this is a fun gallery to browse:

Photobucket Mullets

3.



(If you're not a Star Wars geek and something else would tickle your fancy, there are more hamster lolcats here.)

Wildlife, roughly

I told Mama I'd show her my latest project, so here it is: Scott the Bear (that's the name the Lion Brand pattern gave it), my first crochet project. Grammy helped me with my crocheting, and a friend helped some more. I find it really strange compared with knitting, which makes more sense, but I was able to get through this beginner pattern. I'm pleased!




And since I'm here...


1. "Can they see me, can they see me?"
2. "Maybe if I make myself really flat they won't see me."
3. When the cat's asleep, the squirrels will peep! (Look in the pot out on the balcony.)


Summer is my busiest time as our schedule keeps us in the classroom about 50% longer per week than a regular semester. It's exhausting, but we've got some really interesting students this semester. If we can all stay on our feet for ten weeks I think we'll be fine!