Merry Christmas!

Dayna Kurtz for Christmas

I don't have a Wish List. The only thing I want this Holiday Season is Dayna's voice howling in my ears. It must be a 'group howl' thing, because she makes me want to howl too... AARRrroooOOOOOooooooOOOO!!


Not the Only Fool in Town - Dayna Kurtz

Halloween Fun

Along with our friends, we love having fun and getting creative for Halloween. There's always hand-made costumes, lots of laughs, festive food and FIRE! Julie is the hostess with the most-est, and here's how we decorated her dining room:

And this year's confection: a chocolate pound cake that took 5 eggs, 2 sticks of butter and 1-1/2 bars of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate!

I found this creepy curio on the side of the road while visiting the Adirondacks. It fell from a vehicle and was broken into pieces. Paula and I collected all the parts we could find and later I cobbled them together and painted it black. A unique souvenir and Halloween surprise all rolled into one.

 

Friends by the fire... that's the best part!

Emancipation Proclamation Anticipation

I am really looking forward to the opening of this movie! I'm more excited about Lincoln than I've been about any new film in a long time. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was probably my last crush, but it pales in comparison to this. I long see this President represented in a manner which will engage modern audiences. I hope history comes alive on screen and some how sparks curiosity or wonder about our unique democracy. It seems like we've all forgotten our high school American History and US Government & Civics classes, this might be a timely reminder. Or at the very least a patriotic appetizer to rouse a hunger for a more perfect union.

Feeling Creepy

Halloween! WooHoo! It's that time of year! Tomorrow night we're going to the Haunted Overload! I'm excited and hope it's wicked scary! (What's really scary is how many exclamation points I just used.) Here's the Lestat headstone I carved last year, and the Poe marker with ravens... spooooky.

Time Off With Friends

Julie loves to vacation in the Adirondacks, and this year she invited us to join her and her friends. Michael stayed home to force antibiotics down Peanut's gullet, and I took off to upstate New York. Autumn is my favorite season and we were able to enjoy some fine fall days in the mountains. There are old garnet mines all over the place and one afternoon we trotted out to see one.

 Four monkeys on a rock!

 

The foliage was past peak in some areas, but still beautiful.

Catching up

We got back from Canada last month and had a bunch of things to take care of, including an injured kitty. Peanut is fine now, things are as normal as they ever are, and I'm playing 'Catch Up' and posting a few favorite photos from our latest visit. Enjoy!

This is at French Fort Cove in Miramichi. There are picnic spots, playgrounds, boat rentals and trails to explore. The trail we took this day led us around the pond and out to the covered bridge. While we were walking around the pond we stopped a few times to snap the Touch-Me-Nots and admire the ducks. Then I found a pile of Cheerios that someone had left on a rock and was able to have a little fun feeding the fowl! The picture below was taken before the duck snacks disturbed the peace...

If you look closely there's a spot of blue peeking out from under the wings of four birds.  

These next shots were taken at the Irving Eco-Centre / La Dune de Bouctouche, a beautiful 12 km stretch of dune. We started on the boardwalk with our shoes on...

 

It didn't take us long to get rid of the footwear and get some sand between our toes!

  

 Say, "fromage!"

We walked along the dunes for miles without encountering any other people. If we had known how amazing this place was, we would have packed a lunch and brought a blanket! Next time we'll plan to spend the entire day.

On the stroll back I found this in the sand:

...what a great day.

Oh, Canada!

We're back from a week of camping in the wilds of New Brunswick... the place where we're happy as squirrels! No phones, no computers, no television, no distractions. Here's our home base, tucked off the logging road:

Around the other side is the kitchen:

And here is our favorite WoodBooger working on the road which will one day reach into the center of the property:

Ya gotta look carefully... he's way down the trail...

Railway Tunnel of Love

I'm not sure where those tracks lead... but I'd like to go.

Independence Seaport Museum

This was another cool spot we visited while in Philadelphia. It's a beautiful museum, with a clever layout and lots of interactive exhibits to explore. The Independence Seaport Museum is right on the Delaware river, and they have two historic ships anchored in their boat basin.

  

The USS Olympia, launched in 1892, is the oldest steel warship afloat in the world. Museum patrons are able to explore large portions of the ship and the submarine Becuna. We went into every nook and cranny we were allowed access to! The museum has a program where you can stay overnight on the Olympia. Cool. Maybe next time...

The City Tavern in Philadelphia

For Erica's birthday we took a road trip to Philadelphia because one of the things she wanted to do was have dinner at The City Tavern. What a cool place!

The menu is authentic 18th century American food and beverages. Erica had duck, Michael had venison and I had wiener schnitzel, and we sampled different soups, crab cakes and beers. It was a lovely setting and the waitstaff was great.

Even the weather was on our side! It was a beautiful summer night. This was the nice half of Erica's birthday wish. The other thing she wanted to do in Philly was go to the Mutter Museum... and that's a whole different post...

Oh my Aching Head Bone!

My niece just posted some photos of their 3-month-old daughter and I just had to steal this one.

The power of cute compels me! The power of cute compels me! AaaahhhHH!

This photo is so adorable it makes my brain hurt.

My Baby Sister is about to turn 40!

Weird! I remember so clearly teasing her when she turned "Sweet 16."

Then when she turned 21 I remember thinking, "I could take my little sister to a bar! How bizarre!"

Now the youngest kid in the family is gonna be 40! Where heck are the years going? Now our grand-niece is the size of Baby Sister in this old photo. Yikes!

Som Sabadell Flashmob

This is the coolest flashmob video that I've ever seen! Way, way, way better than any shopping mall rendition of "Thriller."

Now I won't ruin the surprise!

Julie made some wonderful gifts for my new grandniece, Lily -- and I've been wanting to post these photos, but didn't want to ruin Cynthia's surprise when the package arrived in the mail. Now that I know everything arrived intact and safe, I can show off Julie's craftsmanship...

These photos don't do justice to the work in this cross stitch! It's not visible, but there's a leaf pattern on the surface of the green matte too... lots of special touches.

This 2-sided fleece blanket that Julie made was a freakin' cat magnet! As soon as I started arranging the photo, all three of them came out of nowhere and acted like it was the most amazing thing since canned cat food.

The pattern on this fabric is really cute. And just look at that little monster! She's plotting something sneaky...

There's a lot more light...

and a lot more mess in our 'back yard' right now. It's made a huge difference -- it's so sunny out there! The tree crew dropped eight big oaks Monday. This is actually an 'after' photo, sort of. It was a lot crazier before, Michael has been working on it all week.

Our friend Mike was lending a hand today. We invited him over for a visit and then put him to work! Nice! Hmmm... I wonder why we don't have more company?!

It's an all-summer-long project, so if you're looking for Michael the next few months -- you now know exactly where to find him!

She hops like a flea and burrows like a tick!

We think she's been sneaking coffee and smoking cigarettes 'cause her growth seems stunted. We've had her for 1 1/2 months and she's only gotten a little longer and not much heavier. There are dwarf bunnies. Maybe we have a dwarf kitty. There's nothing small about her attitude. She has two speeds: asleep and attack! Her eyes were closed when I first started taking the picture. The shutter woke her up and shortly after she jumped at the wrist strap of the camera.

Last night she went for a little swim in the toilet. Ask Michael about it the next time you talk to him! Ha, ha, ha! She really is the Monster Baby, don't be fooled by her cute looks.

Sassafras

We've got a new kitty.

Sassy is still adjusting to Peanut and Leotard, but so far so good.

I have the feeling she'll be working at the Smack Bar quite soon!

See You at the Smack Bar

It's like a snack bar, but for cats!

Just walk up to the window and place your order...

Peanut: I'd like a tuna melt, please.

Leo: That's four smackers.

Peanut: Smack, smack, smack, smack! That's four!

Leo: Oh, is that how you want it??

Leo: Here's your change -- smack, smack, smack!

Peanut: Keep the tip... of my claw! Smack, smack!

The food is terrible, but the floor show is great!

Easter Time

Spring is sprouting! I love this time of year, when all the flowers are waking up from their long winter's nap... and there's no bugs yet! In my dreams I have a garden like this in my back yard...

Annie Oakley on American Experience

Love this series and really enjoyed this particular episode. It made me think of Grammy. In fact, I thought about her so much and so often that I'm going to watch the show again (eventually) because I was distracted enough to miss some parts. Smart, strong... and accurate! Annie and Grammy, both.

Not Bad, Eh?

Looks pretty good, doesn't it? I'm diligent about the physical therapy routine and making a lot of progress! I'm back to driving a standard transmission and can almost braid my hair without it looking like the cats did it. I only have to wear the splint at night and the rest of the time I'm free, free, free! Now I just need to spend some time in sunny California to hide the scar with a little tan :o)

Leotard and Stockings

He knew which one was his and was waiting for the 'okay.'

Peanut's stocking had an unwrapped catnip walrus peeking out of the top,
but Leotardo wasn't fooled!

RRrrraaaaAAHH!

Nom, nom, nom!