Art of a Different Sort

As I wandered the halls of my son's elementary school last night,
I discovered some interesting new artwork on the walls.

Here's one created by my 10-year-old, Remy.
(I've shared his artwork before, my little madcap prevaricator!)

It took me a second, then I figured out what was going on in this piece.

Can you guess?

Dog Sitting, A Piece of Cake, Right?

As our plans for Thanksgiving solidified this fall,
I knew I needed to find a place for our sweet Annie to stay while we were out of town.


I called our vet early on, and was surprised to discover they were full!
Weeks in advance!
And I was a few animals deep into the waiting list.

After a lot of calling around and worrying,
it hit me that I have a friend who might be willing to help.
She was wonderfully willing to dog sit.
I was so relieved.

I figured Annie would be easy, a piece of cake
 ... but of course, she proved me wrong.

While we were gone:

She shed a massive amount of hair on a daily basis. 
She threw up. 
She developed an ear infection and shook her head non-stop, 
causing her collar to rattle all night. 
She threw up again. 
She snored loudly. 
She threw up yet again. 

No problem, right?
Sheesh.

Our friend deserves a medal!

Any good dog-sitting stories?



 

My Boys' Christmas Wish List

It's that time of year again.
The time of year that relatives begin asking what my boys want for Christmas.

I usually ask the boys to make a list.
They haven't given me their lists yet,
but I do know the most important items on them.


At the top of my teenager's wish list this year:

• An amp ... for his electric bass guitar. 
• Halo 4 (a video game) 

  At the top of my 10-yr-old's wish list this year:

• a double-bass pedal for his drum set 
• Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (a video game) 

 I'm sensing a lot of noise in my future.




 

How I spent Black Friday

We hiked through Ball's Bluff Battlefield and National Cemetery.
 Civil war soldiers were buried there.


Then we joined a historic tour of Oatlands Plantation.





And finished the day with a family game of Dictionary and a movie.

How did you spend your Black Friday?

A Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

We're visiting my mother in Virginia right now,
 and she was determined to introduce us to her new grocery store.

This isn't just any grocery store, of course.

It was Wegmans.

However, to keep the boys busy while we shopped,
my mom prepared a grocery store scavenger hunt.




If you can't read that, here's what it says:

Naan Bread
Dragon Fruit
Duck Fat
Lamb
Crumpets
Gluten Free Cereal
Triple Cream Brie Cheese
Indian Buffet Tandoori Chicken
Fresh Wild Samon
Pomegranite
Something from 8 Different Countries

My boys had to find all these items and
take a photo of each one on their smartphone.

And it worked.
It kept them busy for a long time.

In the meantime, I discovered a plethora of new fruit:

Dragon Fruit





Horned Melon

 




Star Fruit

 


We bought one of each, and I can't wait to try them!

Have you seen anything in the grocery store you didn't recognize?
Have you ever tried the dragon fruit, the horned melon or star fruit?


 

Alpacas

Alpacas are funny lookin', but so cool.
They hum.
They are incredibly soft.

Now my 10-yr-old wants one.

Different Perspective

Sometimes I'm driving down the road, looking only ahead, until I am forced to stop at a light, and I find myself looking around, and I realize the beautiful sunrise behind me. I might have missed it if I hadn't been looking. 

Now I find myself being more observant, and I keep looking for that sunrise.

Have you seen any sunrises lately? What do you see on your drive?