So I made dinner last night and the recipe I was using called for six cloves of garlic.

Six.

That's my kind of food, I thought to myself.

Surprisingly, it was only mediocre. Not making it again.

From the ride to KC a few weeks ago...

Car trips are excellent opportunities for taking amusing pictures of oneself.

Carrot salad

For some reason, recently I've been mildly obsessed with carrot salads. I'm not sure why, but it's a fact.

Here's another picture :)

puppies at 8 weeks

If anyone wants/needs a puppy, we're giving them away. Just let us know:)



John Adams in on the left, Houdini on the right...

A kind of gross and semi-entertaining story

Note: the following story contains references to dead rodents...so if that bothers you, please don't read it.









Earlier this week I found a dead mole in the front yard, right by the porch steps. This would usually be really nasty, but it was kind of shriveled up and dried...so it wasn't that gross...even though it sounds like it would be.

Trust me. It wasn't that nasty.

The puppies have been hanging out in that area, so I kind of scooted the deceased little fellow off to the side.

Thinking back, that was not a wise thing to do. I don't really know what I figured I would accomplish by scooting him to the side, but I did it and it's done and we can't go back, can we?

I didn't think so.

As you may guess, the next day, there was the same dead mole, laying more or less where he was the first time.

So, using two twigs like chopsticks, I picked up the unfortunate little rodent, carried him to the edge of mowed grass, and flung him into the field. There, I thought, as I watched him fly through the air and land amidst the tall grass/weeds, the dogs will never find him. They don't go into that part of the field very often.

That was silly on my part.

This morning, what do you know???? The mole is in the driveway!

So, this time, I really took care of him.

I buried him in the flower garden.

Using the garage broom, I swept him across our gravel driveway (which is quite difficult, btw...sweeping something across gravel) and through a little bit of grass. Then, using the end of the broom not usually meant for sweeping, I dug a little hole in the ground.

It was a touching funeral.

I gave him a nice, natural looking rock for a gravestone.

There he will lay forever and ever....I hope.

:)

An example of how lame I am...

I found my first four-leafed (leafed? leaved? leaf-ed?) clover this morning. Yes, my first. I know, I know, it's kind of lame.

You know how some people can just glance at the ground and spot four leaf clovers? My aunt is like that. I am not.

I was taking a letter to the mailbox, and, passing a large patch of clover, decided that I was going to find one. So on my way back to the house, I stopped, bent down, and started searching. Within two minutes, I found one. I was thrilled!

At the corner of Regency and Elizabeth...

Seen on our trip to KC last weekend. I thought it was appropriate to post as I (and probably most of the cast) still have Pride and Prejudice on the brain...

Observations From This Morning

John Adams and Houdini like to tackle Mr. Jefferson and eat his food. This upsets Mr. Jefferson and he runs away.

Bingley, John Adams and Houdini are chums.

Princess Leia keeps her distance from Houdini and John Adams. They don't seem to mind.

Yes, I am speaking of the zoo of animals at our house, and not some strange combination of history, Pride and Prejudice and Star Wars.

Yes, I am aware that our pets bear unique names. I like it.

Hopefully, Littering is for Losers! Part 2 will appear this afternoon/evening.

Littering is for Losers! Part One

On my walk yesterday, I couldn't help but notice all of the trash along the side of our county road. I decided that today I would walk with a trash bag and pick all of it up. I planned to walk along one side of the road on the way there, and walk along the other side of the road on the way back. I only got the trash from one side of the road...my bag was full and breaking before I turned around to come home. I couldn't even drag it home...I had to go back with the van later to bring it all home. Tomorrow I'll go along the other side of the road...and I'll take two bags, and possibly a sibling to help me :)
Isn't that disgusting? Just plain nasty. Beer bottles, beer cans, soda cans, a few misc. glass bottles, plastic bottles, and a couple squished beer cans. All of it has found a new, loving home...in our garage in their respective recycling bins.

Some of my finds....a glove, a windshield wiper, an empty chapstick, one of those smelly things you hang in your car, and an empty Ben and Jerry's carton. I also found a bunch of misc. trash, some empty tobacco tins, and a cigarette lighter.

Sometimes life is so confusing.

Isn't it interesting how different smells can trigger different memories?

The smell of this hair product stuff I have reminds me of Deer Valley: that baseball game, the horses, the square dance, the old piano, my room in St. Elmo, the mountains.

The smell of Irish spring soap reminds me of Little Prairie Bible Camp: the showerhouse, the sweat, the sunshine, the friendships, working in the kitchen.

The smell of hot rollers reminds me of Pirates: the giggling, the parasols, the beautiful voices, the camaraderie.

The smell of dirt reminds me of riding in Daddy's old pickup truck with the window down.

The smell of hairspray reminds me of dressing room chatter.

The smell of chlorine reminds me of lazy afternoons and the sun on my eyelids.

The second performance of Pride and Prejudice is tonight. I need to get my stuff together and make dinner. I think I'll listen to Pandora.

I just read the synopsis for "Love Never Dies," the sequel to "Phantom of the Opera", and I'm kind of skeptical. Hmm.

various pictures with no order or reason....

It is a truth universally acknowledged that pictures make a blog more interesting.

That's not necessarily true, but it makes for a good opening line.

I'm posting pictures of general interest. I hope you are generally interested in them.

Our dear cats, Mr. Jefferson and Stormy. I long for summer, and I think they do, too.

I long for these guys, too....:) Football and basketball are alright, but I miss baseball.

This is one of the sample pictures on mother's computer. The clouds are very blue.

Guess who this is! I'll tell you....it's grown-up Jim Hawkins from Muppets Treasure Island!

The puppies are growing up:) They will be a month and a week tomorrow.

I'm sorry that there was no order or reason to the pictures. I haven't been feeling very organized or ordered recently :) I went bike riding yesterday.

I like not having to wear shoes outside :)

On the way to day school this morning, Meredith told me:
"Christmas, Summer, Fall and January are my favorite years."
Hmm.