Robert and I invited friends over this year for Christmas and had a traditional dinner of turkey, dressing, etc. etc. As always, when cooking in the kitchen, Squirt is underfoot non-stop. He knows Mom and Dad tend to drop things and it is his duty to be right there ready to clean up.
This year was no exception. As the turkey came out of the roaster, Robert was in the process of saving the juice for gravy and some spilled...
On Squirt.
Yes, Squirt has turkey gravy on his head and shoulder. Not a lot, but enough to make him wonder where that yummy smell is coming from.
One of these days, I promise to wash it out.
Of course, he cleaned the floor and lower cabinets perfectly!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Go ahead...try and take our landmark!
Friday, December 26, 2008
White Christmas
Once again, we had a white Christmas.
In fact, we have gotten about 6 inches of white Christmas...and it is getting deeper.
I will soon be time to shovel!!!
In fact, we have gotten about 6 inches of white Christmas...and it is getting deeper.
I will soon be time to shovel!!!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Rolled past another milestone!
You may not realize it but yesterday was the start of winter. Why is that significant for us? It means we have turned the corner on darkness and the days are getting longer! To celebrate, once the sun comes up (about 10:30 or so), we are going to go for a hike.
Squirt received a Christmas bath Friday. He is so white and soft right now. I am not sure he believes the experience was worth it. He has been guarding the Christmas presents under the tree to the point he had to unwrap one of his to make sure it was safe. He and I were forced to have a discussion about waiting for Christmas Eve. I don't think he has bothered them since...other than to make sure they are still there. :)
Squirt received a Christmas bath Friday. He is so white and soft right now. I am not sure he believes the experience was worth it. He has been guarding the Christmas presents under the tree to the point he had to unwrap one of his to make sure it was safe. He and I were forced to have a discussion about waiting for Christmas Eve. I don't think he has bothered them since...other than to make sure they are still there. :)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
An early morning surprise...
On workdays, we are normally up around 5am and about 5:30, Squirt gets to go outside. Recently, we have had a lot of ice form on our deck and it is extraordinarily slick. Since I am the first one up and out the door, I am always very careful to hold onto the railing going down the stairs as I don't want to slip, fall and wait for 30 minutes for a rescue in the cooler weather.
One day this last week, I was taking Squirt outside and as normal, gripping the railing, going down one step at a time, very slowly while Squirt was already at the west gate waiting for me - impatiently - to get there. It was just another typical, dark and cool winter day.
Squirt finished running around the yard and I closed the gate and we headed back towards the door. That's when I heard...
"CRUNCH! CRUNCH! SNAP! CRUNCH!"
I stopped and peered off into the darkness...
Sure enough, there was a moose munching away on our crab apple tree about 5 feet from the back door of the house. She was on the other side of our East gate but I don't know how Squirt and I missed her on the way out.
She wasn't bothered by us in the least and Squirt knows better than to take on a dog that big without glass between them.
We watched her for a while and then went inside and told Robert there was a moose just off of the porch.
And that the SNAP I heard was one of the tree limbs being sheared off.
Robert immediately went out and shooed her away and sadly I didn't get any pictures.
As luck would have it though, this morning about 8am, there was a different moose in the same spot. This time, I got the camera to take a picture. Of course, it was still pitch black (sun rose this morning about 10) and I couldn't see anything through the view finder.
I have some great black pictures (I call them night sky with no flash). Several ear shots in lower corners of the frame. Here are two of the better ones. At least you can see how close to the deck she was in the first picture. (The wood on the left side is part of the trellis.)
I did run upstairs and to let Robert know we had a moose emergency and that I was going to try to send it to the front yard away from the fruit trees. (Just in case there was an icident and she decided to come over the fence toward me instead of the other way. Hey - it was -4 this morning. Not a day to be lounging on the back porch in your sweats and a simple shirt. (Who needs a coat when there's moose pictures to take!))
One day this last week, I was taking Squirt outside and as normal, gripping the railing, going down one step at a time, very slowly while Squirt was already at the west gate waiting for me - impatiently - to get there. It was just another typical, dark and cool winter day.
Squirt finished running around the yard and I closed the gate and we headed back towards the door. That's when I heard...
"CRUNCH! CRUNCH! SNAP! CRUNCH!"
I stopped and peered off into the darkness...
Sure enough, there was a moose munching away on our crab apple tree about 5 feet from the back door of the house. She was on the other side of our East gate but I don't know how Squirt and I missed her on the way out.
She wasn't bothered by us in the least and Squirt knows better than to take on a dog that big without glass between them.
We watched her for a while and then went inside and told Robert there was a moose just off of the porch.
And that the SNAP I heard was one of the tree limbs being sheared off.
Robert immediately went out and shooed her away and sadly I didn't get any pictures.
As luck would have it though, this morning about 8am, there was a different moose in the same spot. This time, I got the camera to take a picture. Of course, it was still pitch black (sun rose this morning about 10) and I couldn't see anything through the view finder.
I have some great black pictures (I call them night sky with no flash). Several ear shots in lower corners of the frame. Here are two of the better ones. At least you can see how close to the deck she was in the first picture. (The wood on the left side is part of the trellis.)
I did run upstairs and to let Robert know we had a moose emergency and that I was going to try to send it to the front yard away from the fruit trees. (Just in case there was an icident and she decided to come over the fence toward me instead of the other way. Hey - it was -4 this morning. Not a day to be lounging on the back porch in your sweats and a simple shirt. (Who needs a coat when there's moose pictures to take!))
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Return to Snow!
I forgot to mention, upon returning from holiday travel, we had a good 12-13" of snow on the ground ready to shovel. That was tons of fun dragging the suitcases through to get to the door. Lucky the cab didn't get stuck in the driveway.
We spent Tuesday morning digging out the sidewalks, deck, driveway and of course Squirt's paths. (Squirt was very appreciative of this!) Now when he is in the yard, he can barely see over the snow walls of his runs.
It has been warming up the last couple of days to the upper 20's - lower 30's. Just enough to create ice runs on the ski slopes (YUCK) and to allow for rain instead of snow. Today we are blessed with 30 degrees and a thin layer of ice on everything. I'm glad we ran errands yesterday!
Tomorrow we are off to a moving away party. Some of our good friends are headed back to warm country (Oklahoma). Their 3 huskies and malamute aren't very happy about the decision to move back south but I don't think they got to vote.
Squirt is still catching up on his sleep. It is tough having a college student for a dog sitter. I don't think he got his required 20 hour nap each day. He has however spent a lot of time guarding the presents under the Christmas tree. He understands what presents are and he is pretty sure there is at least one for him.
We spent Tuesday morning digging out the sidewalks, deck, driveway and of course Squirt's paths. (Squirt was very appreciative of this!) Now when he is in the yard, he can barely see over the snow walls of his runs.
It has been warming up the last couple of days to the upper 20's - lower 30's. Just enough to create ice runs on the ski slopes (YUCK) and to allow for rain instead of snow. Today we are blessed with 30 degrees and a thin layer of ice on everything. I'm glad we ran errands yesterday!
Tomorrow we are off to a moving away party. Some of our good friends are headed back to warm country (Oklahoma). Their 3 huskies and malamute aren't very happy about the decision to move back south but I don't think they got to vote.
Squirt is still catching up on his sleep. It is tough having a college student for a dog sitter. I don't think he got his required 20 hour nap each day. He has however spent a lot of time guarding the presents under the Christmas tree. He understands what presents are and he is pretty sure there is at least one for him.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Congratulations Jerry! Welcome to Retirement!
My brother, Jerry, has successfully retired from Continental Airlines! His retirement flight was on November 21st from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Houston International. Fire departments at both airports saluted him with water arches, crews gathered to see him take off and to welcome him back to Houston. It must have been an amazing thing to see and be a part of.
Hats off to you!
PS - we hope to follow you...come on stock market!!!
Hats off to you!
PS - we hope to follow you...come on stock market!!!
Ode to Craps
We went on our yearly sojourn Outside (i.e. not in Alaska) to visit our families for the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration recently. This year, we even tossed in a retirement party for my brother. Our families make the most of our time together!
We managed to slip in a quick side trip to our old stomping grounds and met with several friends we hadn't seen since hurricane Rita blew through Houston, TX. It was fantastic to see everyone again! Just wish we had more time - as always.
We were also able to slip in a side trip to a casino (hard to believe) and I learned a new game
Craps!
Normally, I hate to play at any table games with a minimum bet higher than $5. Why? I am too tight with my money. Unfortunately, $5 tables have almost turned into "rookie" tables which used to be the $3 tables. (There is a Blackjack strategy and some rookies don't know what it is - causing me to lose - causing me to move.) But enough of that.
Since Blackjack didn't seem to be our game this trip, we decided to play some craps. I am not sure but there appears to be about 50,000 bets you can make on a crap table and I know one. I put my $5 on the play line and then put $10 odds behind it. Then I got to roll the dice. What a blast! The dice even stayed on the table this time during my entire turn. (FYI - everyone frowns at you when you toss one of the dice on the floor. I know from experience.)
When I wasn't shooting, I started paying attention to how others bet. Before I knew it, I had $36 on the table for one roll of the dice. Luckily, there were some good shooters and I did OK...tripling my money.
Good shooters must be rare or they wouldn't allow craps in a casino! Must be very careful of this game in the future!!!
It was a LOT of fun at the time! Can't wait to pay again!
We managed to slip in a quick side trip to our old stomping grounds and met with several friends we hadn't seen since hurricane Rita blew through Houston, TX. It was fantastic to see everyone again! Just wish we had more time - as always.
We were also able to slip in a side trip to a casino (hard to believe) and I learned a new game
Craps!
Normally, I hate to play at any table games with a minimum bet higher than $5. Why? I am too tight with my money. Unfortunately, $5 tables have almost turned into "rookie" tables which used to be the $3 tables. (There is a Blackjack strategy and some rookies don't know what it is - causing me to lose - causing me to move.) But enough of that.
Since Blackjack didn't seem to be our game this trip, we decided to play some craps. I am not sure but there appears to be about 50,000 bets you can make on a crap table and I know one. I put my $5 on the play line and then put $10 odds behind it. Then I got to roll the dice. What a blast! The dice even stayed on the table this time during my entire turn. (FYI - everyone frowns at you when you toss one of the dice on the floor. I know from experience.)
When I wasn't shooting, I started paying attention to how others bet. Before I knew it, I had $36 on the table for one roll of the dice. Luckily, there were some good shooters and I did OK...tripling my money.
Good shooters must be rare or they wouldn't allow craps in a casino! Must be very careful of this game in the future!!!
It was a LOT of fun at the time! Can't wait to pay again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)