Seafood decision

I hope I'm not risking overexposure here..... ;-)

Did you ever have to decide between eating starfish or turtle???

Starfish, "yeah!"

Feelin' frisky

This young feller was full of energy yesterday morning. He's less than a year old, so basically just playing.

And doing some wishful thinking.

I believe this little junco is feeling pretty safe.

The pics would be clearer if they hadn't been taken through a plastic-covered window. :-)

Catchin' mice

We had a fun day today. What Courtney's playing with is a cat toy that neither of my cats ever found very interesting.

Can anybody guess, just by looking at her, what her latest accomplishment is? (Mommy, don't tell!)

The disappearing dog

Watch the little black and white dog very closely! He's kinda naughty! He escapes from the bus once, she puts him back in, then when the ride is over and she tries to get him out, he bites her hand, then disappears!

Amaryllis 5

I took these pictures this morning. Here's the one that's the slowest (but will also be the most spectacular, so keep checking back to see its blooms!).

It's getting closer!

This one is my oldest, blooming for its 29th year!!! I don't know for sure why it's leaning so much, but I suspect it's because the leaves have forced the stalk over. It's not that it's reaching for light, because it was leaning away from the window. I have to keep it propped up, or it'll tip the whole pot over, because the huge flowers are heavy.

But isn't it GORGEOUS?!

Here's the one that's done blooming. I just cut the stalk off it this morning. Now the leaves will grow and nourish the bulb. I'll set it and the others outside in the ground this summer, right in their pots, in a slightly sunny spot. In the fall, just before frost, I'll bring them in and stick them in a dark corner of the basement, not watering them, until I bring them up again next winter.

Poll Results

The results of the poll "How often do you see movies at the theater?" are as follows:

• Once a week - 0 votes
• More than once a week - 0 votes
• Once a month - 0 votes
• A few times per month - 0 votes
• A few times per year - 2 votes
• Very rarely - 4 votes
• Never - 1 vote

Looks like we aren't giving the movie theaters much business these days! Of course, when you live around my neck o' the woods and have to drive 30-40 miles to the nearest theater, it's no wonder people don't go very often. And then there are the much-cheaper rentals that no doubt cut into the theater business a LOT.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

The bus crash

Okay, I know all you Courtney fans have been waiting for something new since I had her here on Tuesday, so I shall feed your addictions a little now. ;-)

This bus crash is not quite as serious as the tragic one that happened near Cottonwood, but it may have occurred at about the same time.

I think she was calling Daddy to report the crash at the end there.

Moonshine... and not!

What a gorgeous moonrise last night! I took these at about 5:45 p.m.

Later on there was a total lunar eclipse. I didn't spend a lot of time outside, since it was about 0°F at the time, so it was a little "chilly". Fortunately there was no wind at all. If there had been, I wouldn't have been out there! There also were a few light clouds, like in the above photos, so it was hard getting good shots. I could hardly make out any stars, and the clouds kept floating across the moon, so the 1st and 3rd pics below look a little hazy. When the eclipse was total, I could barely see it in the sky, due to the clouds, but the camera probably wouldn't have picked it up, anyway. Here are three of the best shots I got.


The first two are before the moon was completely covered.

This one is when the moon was on its way back.

From the FROZEN tundra

This is what I got up to this morning. Brrrrrrrrrr!! I think it was a new record low. Due to "global warming", of course. Uh huh.

If you look at this thermometer, it's much better. Ha.

I was gonna crop off the little plaque, but decided it was quite appropriate for today... too bad I didn't get the whole thing... but we all know it, right? Now, where's that serenity? :-)

But don't feel too bad for us... 2 hours later it's already up to 16 below. :-Þ

Oops! It slipped!

If putting up this many videos makes the page load too slowly for any of you, please leave me a comment saying so. I could eliminate a couple... after all, they are a bit redundant. But I just wanted to show you one of games Courtney loves. ;-)

Amaryllis 4.75

I just couldn't resist taking new pics this morning of the next amaryllis to bloom!

Amaryllis 4.5

The last two amaryllises continue to grow fast! They'll soon have to be moved out of that window, too. These pics are from Thursday.

As of this morning, the one on the left is showing a couple of red buds, so they'll soon be opening.

Here's another view (taken today) of the Valentine's Day one. Lest anyone not know how big the flowers actually get, I included my hand. :-)

Such fun flowers they are!

Poll Results

The results of the poll "How many hours do you spend in front of a computer on an average day?" are as follows:

• Less than 1 (1 vote)
• 2-3 (1 vote)
• 4-5 (2 votes)
• More than 5 (4 votes)

It looks like a lot of us are spending a good portion of our days staring at that monitor!

Thanks for voting!

Hot tub?

Since we just had Christmas, and Courtney got plenty of toys, for her birthday I thought ahead to summer and what she might enjoy then. Since she LOVES to take a bath, this is what we gave her:

I think Mommy (and Daddy?!?!) just might enjoy it with her. ;-)

Amaryllis 4

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is how the earliest Amaryllis looks today. Gorgeous, huh? Thanks, Nate 'n Suzi!

I'll post pics of the others on Saturday.

Birthday party pics

I took too many pictures!!! :-) This is the best way I could think of to show them to you. Just click on each photo group to see them bigger.

Testing 'em all

I know... I know.... you're all waiting to see the birthday party pics! Trouble is, I took too many! :-) So I have to do some sorting and editing before I post. And that's hard to do with Courtney here, as she is today. Hopefully this evening I can get something ready to post.

Meanwhile, here's one last video from last week to pass the time as you wait. ;-)

"Shucks, Grandma musta found her safety latches."

'Course then I went and took more pics and videos today..... :-)

Goin' for a walk

She's not quite walking on her own yet, but it won't be long. Grandma's chairs make pretty good "walkers".

I think she may have lost a little weight during the week she was sick and wasn't eating as well as usual... her pants were kinda droopy last Tuesday. :-)

Amaryllis 3

The amaryllises are making nice progress. These pics were taken on Thursday. I did have to take the taller one out of the window a couple days before that. It's now in a bedroom upstairs, still safely away from the cats.

The green is a nice contrast against the snow and frosty trees, don't you think?

This is the third one, which is now about 2 feet tall! Three buds, and it won't be long before they open!

I quickly took the following pic this morning, to show how the buds look today.

More frosty winter pics

Grace ought to be happy this winter... plenty of frost to take pictures of! ;-) I can't remember ever having a winter with as much fog as we've had this season. It does make for pretty pics, but I'm getting tired of WHITE everywhere!

At least the sky happened to be partly blue when I took these a couple days ago.

Poll Results

The results of the poll "What type of book/movie do you enjoy the most?" are as follows:

• Mystery (2 votes)
• Adventure (0 votes)
• Romance (2 votes)
• Inspiration (4 votes)
• Comedy (2 votes)
• Science fiction (0 votes)
• Western (0 votes)
• Other (1 vote)

Total = 11 votes. Nice variety there. Thanks for voting, everyone!

The Littlest Mechanic

"First ya gotta check and make sure it's not just outta gas, o' course. Okay, that looks good... now let me think.... aha, I've got it! A little twist here... a turn there...."

Biker Babe

Here's a quick preview of things to come! I told Mommy when they came yesterday that Courtney looked like a little tomboy in her jeans and T-shirt. (Well, like Mommy said, "except for the pink socks".) :-) I think she definitely takes after her daddy, both in her bike riding enjoyment and in her mechanic inclination, which you will see in a forthcoming movie!

She was feeling much better yesterday and was full of energy, so I have more movies for all you fans of hers! :-)

Yep, she's gonna be a biker, all right. She started already last summer, as demonstrated in this photo shared by Grandma Grace.

Not quite so tomboyish in that one! :-)

Caption please!

This pic is from a couple weeks ago, but I have it as my desktop wallpaper, and it just delights me every time I look at it, so I had to share it with you.

Any thoughts on a good caption? :-)

Household help

Courtney's not my only helper.....

She's lucky she didn't go for a tumble!

Cube Revenge 2

"What'd you do with my sippy cup?! I'll show YOU!"

I believe this evens the score, right Jess?

Amaryllis 2

Here's my first weekly update on the amaryllis progress. You can click here to see the original post in a new window if you'd like to compare. I've kept the photos in the same order to make it easier. These pics were actually taken on Thursday, a week after the first ones.

Here's the first flower stalk, which was just a little white triangle last week. It's grown a little and greened up nicely.

But notice the other side! If you look closely, you can see another flower stalk coming already, and in the center is also a leaf shoot peeking out.

The second amaryllis is growing and greening nicely also, and has added a few more leaves.

But the third one is definitely the winner! Look how much it's grown! I'll soon have to get it out of that window, or it'll hit the top. It's grown 3 or 4 inches since I took this pic. It's growing faster mainly because it had a head start, but also because there are no leaves coming yet to slow the growth of the flower stalk. The others will take off a little faster, too, now that they've gotten a good start. And of course it depends on how much sunshine they get and what the temperature is in that window.

Check back next week for another progress report!

Poll Results

The results of our last poll were as follows:
"On a cold winter day would you rather... "

• Read a book (5 votes)
• Watch TV (1 vote)
• Watch a movie (4 votes)
• Play a game (0 votes)
• Surf the internet (1 vote)

I'm glad people are still reading books in this electronic age. Books are still the best, in my opinion!

We had a record number of voters this time - yay! I hope it continues to increase. Thanks, everyone!

Our Birthday Girl

Here she is... our little 1-year-old! Even under-the-weather, she's a pretty chipper, happy little girl, and she took her neb treatment like an angel this morning.

And oh dear... look how tall she's gotten! I don't think Willow's too happy about her height. ;-)

I wanted to get a pic of her cute outfit, especially the jeans, but so far she hasn't sat still long enough to get a good shot. ;-)

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, little Miss Courtney!!! We all love you!!!!