Grandpa

There may be some people who never would have believed...

That this man ...

Would ever hold a baby, awake or asleep ...

and enjoy it so much!

This Old House

A beatiful new (old) 1900's home.

Nick and Abby will write the next chapter in their lives here.

Surrounded by the beauty of old glass

The scent of a cedar closet

A tile proclaims their address

High windows let the afternoon sunshine spill into the stairway

Big fireplaces, surrounded with old tile

Front windows with a view of the busy street

Arched window on the landing

Door to the side yard

Thanks for inviting us to your open house!

May you live well and laugh often in your new home.

March Birthdays

A cold rain is pounding against the office window. The chimes on the back deck are clanging in the wind. Thankfully we're warm and snug inside, just hoping the temperature doesn't dip too low tonight. The weather guy said it's possible that we could wake up to a dusting of s-n-o-w. Now that would not be funny. Not even a bit. We're all done with winter, so done!

On a cheerier note, tomorrow is somebody's big 2-0 birthday. She was born on a chilly but sunny spring day, and my life has never been quite the same since! Oh how I love my girl! We had a little family party this past weekend to celebrate birthdays for all the girls (cousins) born in March.

My baby girl ...

The 3 cousins (no, Erika wasn't drunk - don't know why the wild look....)

Baby girl holding her baby girl niece ...

And what would a post be without a picture of the sweet Tara Rose?

She was "kissing" the glass on the back door. Yummy.

Wordless Wednesday

Up Close and Personal

This past Saturday we got up early to drive out to Indiana for a visit with some fellow photography lovers. We had a meet-up at a habitat where we had the opportunity to interact with captive wolves, some young and lively, some older and more wary.

Say cheese!

Watching...

Their climbing toy.

Listening to something off in the distance ...

Wary, not wanting to get too close....

Playing, posturing ... these were the adult wolves.

Having a staredown - deciding on how close they would let me come ...

This adult finally decided to approach me. Slowly...

This youngster wanted to lick, nibble, sniff and have a lot of contact. Chris just stood still and let it roll.

Noble.

Who are you and why are you here?

Always watching and listening ....

Electric fences surrounded each of the enclosures.

Looks like a cute dog, but NOT!

Sitting still, letting him (her?) share a seat with me.

Each pack (in its own enclosure) was 4 - 5 wolves. These were the adults we got to meet. They were cautious, slow to warm up, didn't approach us much. They stick together.

Always alert.

We finally got to be friends, for just a minute.

Sitting quietly, waiting for them to become accustomed to us. They were much more hesitant to approach the men.

I see you.

Chris with one of the young wolves (when he wasn't being mauled!).

Beautiful, fierce, and in the end, still wild animals. So glad to have the chance to get to know more about them!

BAD Dog!

Or, could be titled "Mama. Is.Seriously.Not.Amused."

This used to be perfectly good grocery money. $200, to be exact.

When I left for work this morning, it was safely tucked away in an envelope.

On a shelf, on the side of my desk.

Just where I've always put it.

Somebody got bored today. And then had a very bad idea.

So this is what I discovered on the floor of the office a few minutes ago.

I now have $55 dollars of grocery money - the rest is either in nasty little chewed-up pieces or ... well, you know where. Inside a doggie.

What on earth possessed her to do this?? BAD DOG.

The best part was, right after I picked up the pieces of my grocery money, I had to head downstairs to clean up dog poo in the basement. BAD DOG!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

(For probably the first time in my life, I'm not wearing anything green for St. Patrick's Day! Shame on me!)

Wordless Wednesday*

* (I know this is supposed to be wordless. Leave it to me to break the rules. But I just wanted to make sure you know what this is ... if you don't it's because a) you don't have sidewalks in your neighborhood; or b) you don't know any kids who love to play outside.)

Almost 20 Years Ago

These were my busy little ones.

Matt, 4 years old and Kelly, about 6 months old.

Where has time gone?

It All Adds Up

I want to believe it. I think it's really true.

Why??

Because my mother-in-law has been browsing her favorite seed catalogs.

and the Cincinnati Reds have started Spring Training at their new camp in Goodyear, Arizona.

and St. Patrick's Day is just 2 weeks away.

and Lowes has their Lawn & Garden Dept. all set up - grills, garden tools, lawn mowers, patio furniture - the whole deal. (But no pansies yet.)

... and when I was at Joann Fabrics last night, they had tons of Easter decorations displayed.

I think we've survived another gloomy winter, people - Spring is really on the way!

I'd be doing my "happy dance" but we all know I can't /don't / won't dance.