busy

Someone has been keeping us busy.

Her name is Sally.   She's a 9 week old Shepherd-Lab stinkbug.   Love her I do.   (hi, Jeff!)  

She likes to chew on shoes and the ties on our daughter's dresses.   She snoozes a lot still, and thinks her crate is cozy.  She's quiet and mellow (for a nine week old puppy).   She's doing really well with her house training;  the little bell you can see on her collar in this photo is part of that - - we can hear her when she wakes at night and take her out to pee.  (Ok, so "we" = my wonderful, lovable, generous husband who volunteered for night duty.  ♥ ♥ ♥)  It also is helpful in announcing her triumphant romps around the house with a shoe in her mouth.    

Sally is beginning to love being out in the backyard.  It's been quite warm here lately and that - combined with her just feeling more at home - seems to make her quite happy to laze about in the sun chewing a stick.  We've got LOTS of sticks back there, she's been delighted to discover.    After school yesterday, our youngest daughter took to rolling down the hill back there.  Sally raced after her, hopping more than running in that funny way that puppies do.  Up they'd go again, and repeat the whole dance over and over again.  It made me tear up to see them having fun together like this -- our daughter was very attached to our 10 1/2 year old lab cross who died back in early September.  To hear her laugh and call Sally's name - to see her so happy?  It melts my heart.

Sally is a bit leery of the big World outside the front door.  We've taken a couple of  "mini walks", she and I - and by mini I mean across the street and back.  This morning she did enjoy sniffing around our front flower beds a bit, but as far as straying too far from the front door?   For now, Sally's happy to be at home.

So, life is predictably crazy with a new baby pup.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  ♥

the crud

Thanksgiving break saw an unwelcome squatter in our house.   The Crud™ has loosed herself once again upon our home and, more importantly, our chests and nasal passages.  I'm looking right at the six-year-old.  That girl, I tell her "You know, Missy, you'd stay healthier if you'd keep your fingers out of your nose.".   She fixes me with a devilish grin, blue eyes sparkling, and promptly shoves a finger right up her nostril.   Cute, kid.  Real cute.

Regardless of sinusitis, I'm feeling cheerful.  It's a beautiful morning.  The sun is shining.  I'm holed up for an hour (or so) at one of my favourite coffee haunts.  It's deliciously chilly outside today - - for coastal Texas, 35F is about as cold as we get - it gives one leave to wear fuzzy, warm sweaters and my new-to-me brown corduroy pants and drink this big ass cup of coffee with  no guilt.  I'm not much one for guilt, mind you, so that's not really a stretch.

This is a big week for me, full of plans fun and exciting.  Myself and some friends are meeting up for what will be a chilly early morning nature shoot tomorrow morning.  If anyone takes a picture of me in my fuzzy toque, they're getting it.    Thursday night I will be attending the opening for a Juried Exhibition in which I have a piece hanging. My very first time having work displayed in a juried show!  Very excited about that, I am.   Friday night I perform with my choir at a local, Christmas festival.  There is no time, you may note, for The Crud ™ in ANY of this.   Shoo, bug, shoo!

In honour of Meatless Monday, I'm going to be making this later on today ~ Mushroom Hot Pot.  First off, it is visually stunning (click to see the photo).. second, coconut milk, lime, lemongrass and chiles?  How can you go wrong?   I don't have any star anise, but I've got everything else covered.  I think the dish will survive without it.   I even some have lovely, lush cilantro in my garden to serve alongside.

A fiery photo to warm you on this crisp, Autumn morning ~

Today I....

• made it to the Thursday morning early Yoga class.  Yay, me!  The Instructor lulled into a false sense of security by being all stretchy-focused, and then - BAM!    Threw Bird of Paradise at us, she did.  Dang.  I *did* manage to get it going on, at least to some extent.... if you can ignore the fact that I was kind of hunched over...   Hunchy Bird of Paradise is not quite as cute as non-hunchy;  just sayin'.
• I found the time to toss back 20 oz of Christmas Blend.  Hey, for the months of November and December, it's my duty.  
• I finished "The Happiness Project" (whilst tossing back the coffee).  I really liked it - I liked how "real" Gretchen Rubin comes across.  She is Gretchen.  (That'll really only make sense if you've read the book;  if you haven't, you're probably just thinking, "Yeah... so?")   I am thinking of embarking on my own Happiness Project, just for kicks.  I've already found many ideas in the book that I'd like to incorporate into my life (and some that I already had been doing).    It's a book worth reading;  I recommend it.
• I came home and threw the ingredients for Dal in the crockpot.    Yes, actually making dinner gives me a very high sense of accomplishment.  
• I took care of three errands that had been  nagging on me for waaaaaaaay too long - - a parcel that I've been trying to mail since August (Have I ever mentioned I loathe mailing things?  It's one of my weirdnesses).   I took care of my ... *ahem*... traffic citation (FIRST dang one since I was 17, y'all.  What a supreme PITA.).   Hit the Indian Grocer for some ingredients I noticed were lacking as I put together the dal this afternoon.   Returned borrowed coolers to a friend.
• Fed children and hit the rink with them for the organized "Skate Night".  We had a blast.  I have one arm longer than the other from my youngest's clutch of death, but it was a great time.   My eldest really got to zooming around the rink pretty good, especially since this is only her... let's see... third time in skates, and it's been 9 months (or so) since our last outing.  I also did a fine job of refraining from dancing as I skated.  I was under STRICT instructions that I may.not.dance.  At all.  Like, not even a hip shake here or there.  Believe you me, even the slightest indiscretions were noted by the wily eyes of my eldest.   

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig.  Everyone's sleeping but me and I'm about to join them.  Clothes are laid out for the morning, kitchen is cleaned up.  Time to hit the hay before I start to scour the shelves for tucked away chocolate....

Today's photo - from Monday morning's venture.   A good reminder.