Happy New Year!!

This morning I watched our Oregon Ducks (band and cheer leaders) and a local Texas high school drill team (the Lake Travis Cavallettes) march in the Rose Parade - Now it feels like New Year's Day! We'll all be tuned in to the Rose Bowl this evening to cheer on our Ducks as they play Wisconsin.

Santa brought us an early present, a grandson! Little Jax was dressed for action as one of Santa's helpers on the big day. He must have been tuckered out from delivering presents as he moved from one grand parent's lap to the other and slept most of the day.

Santa also brought us rain for Christmas, which was a good thing considering the drought we had this year, and now everything is basking in the sunlight - how perfect can you get!

This year has certainly flown by quickly. The day after Christmas I sat on the new porch enjoying the balmy 65 degree day and the sun, and watched the squirrels and birds enjoy the remains of the Christmas feast we put out for them. We're so lucky to have been able to travel and experience the places we have, and we both have our health. Can't ask for more than that!

Shiner has grown quickly and lately is  a bit calmer and not bugging us to go play all the time, as she had several busy days recently with all the dogs that have visited, so we can all kick back and enjoy the afterglow of a wonderful Christmas, and reflect back on a great year. 

As soon as all the holiday festivities are over we'll dive back in to the remodeling work. . . on the porch and window trim inside, and whatever else crops up along the way. We've promised ourselves to take days off to at least take day trips now and then, so we should have some local items of interest to report. Stay tuned.

In memory of my Irish grandfather. . .a toast:

As we start the New Year,
Let's get down on our knees
to thank God we're on our feet! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Early December update

My goodness it's been a long time since we posted anything! That's a clue as to how busy we've been! I can't blame it all on Shiner, though she has occupied quite a bit of our time. She's grown a lot -31 pounds now, so with the potential of being 60 pounds or more when grown we are trying to focus on training now, while she's small enough to manage. Molly is accepting her as part of the family now, and disciplines her when necessary - which is fairly often! Her baby album is expanding, so if you want to see some of the latest pictures take a peek. The newest pictures are at the end of the album.

Shiner has also spent a lot of time helping Steve supervise the porch construction. I keep calling it a deck, and get corrected - in Texas, it's a "porch".

Here are a few shots of the construction. It was very impressive to watch the development, and learn a little from the builders along the way. We are planning to do a lot of the finish work ourselves, and we don't move as fast as they do, so the screen, skirting and staining won't be finished until next year. In the meantime we have it to enjoy, sans screens. Steve can move some of his BBQ gear up to the "cookhouse" area and get a feeling for the layout before he build counters, and we can enjoy the covered area even when it rains.

Yes, it does rain here - finally! After an lengthy drought we've finally accumulated several inches of rain. Everyone is happy about that, but not so thrilled at the chilly temperatures we're having at the moment. To Texans, anything below 70 is cold, and our high today is 60. Frost is on the way too, so I guess I'd better get those green tomatoes picked.

Even with the cold and wet weather slowing us down outside, there's plenty to do inside. New trim is needed around all the lovely new windows we had installed while they were building the deck, and once that's done, drapes to hang in the living room. AND, we're still waiting for that grandbaby to be born! There have been baby equipment to assemble, crib sheets to sew, and other grandparent type activities on the to-do list. We're going to have to hit the road again so we can rest!