DC tundra adventure

So with a very stir crazy dog who is dying to run across the ice, I sat and thought about where might have clear, dry pavement where he could at least trot along comfortably and where I wouldn't slip and slide next to him.
Downtown....near the memorials, cause they try to keep those open so people can visit in the snow. Good idea!



The road along the Potomac near the FDR memorial is all clear and only a couple cars of people parked and walking around. And it was a quick walk over to the Lincoln memorial which Max hadn't been to yet. So we had a nice walk/trot, met lots of nice people (a Japanese bunch with their cameras had him pose for a pic and a bunch of little kids hugged him), and I was able to tire him out a bit.

Greyhound in a big snow

really not fun when it's up to your chest but long skinny legs work pretty well!


And the back porch at Mom and Dad's



The 6am wake up

Greyhounds at the Leesburg Christmas Parade

Max with his new food ball

My handsome dog

Max's (and our) first snow

Not loving the big white flakes in the face!

But it's a bit better than rain!

2009 Christmas Tree Lighting in Washington DC

Kathy was the lucky winner of some "green" (close up!) tickets at her office this year and kindly invited me and a couple others. Started out as a very nice afternoon......but ended up very cold and windy. I STILL feel cold now (the next day) but it was fun. :-)

Thanksgiving 2009

Max wearing his fantastic new sweater that Aunt Sunny crocheted him!! Thank you for keeping him warm!!

Max at the capitol today!

And a couple of funny videos of him

Miserable dog adopting weather...

Ok, we're both pretty unhappy with the weather. I think it has rained every day for the last week. One good thing, Max is now an expert at lifting each foot to be wiped when we come in from a walk. He won't understand when it gets dry out and we won't need to do it anymore!

Ears have been "up" today so he's definitely feeling more at home. But that means he's also getting into trouble...not much, but a little. :-)

Beth brought a great toy when she came to visit yesterday....a slingshot chicken that cocka doodle doos when he's squeezed. It is THE favorite toy. So much so that when the vacuum cleaner seemed toooooo scary this morning, the crazy chicken became the "when-the-vacuum-is-running-Max-can-handle-it-if-he-has-the-chicken-toy."
Thanks Beth!

Entering the greyhound world!

Max came and visited on Wednesday, and things went very well so I picked him up today to come stay for good!
73 pounds, about 32 inches long and 39 inches high! 3 1/2 years old.
Super sweet! Needs to put on a few pounds to cover the ribs but otherwise in great shape.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me (especially Regina!) and to all for the good wishes.




Thanks Blue Ridge Greyhound Adoption http://www.brga.org

Tatanka!

Buffalo at Merriweather Post Manor in Leesburg VA!

the Facebook Experiment

I'm liking this Facebook Experiment. It is interesting (and funny) to see what people remember about you. Some of these I barely remember!

Kimberly Bumgarner
THE FACEBOOK EXPERIMENT- Please post a comment of the first memory you have of me that pops in your head. When you've finished, post this paragraph on your own status; you'll be surprised what people remember about you.

Jen Costa Berdux
Black leotard, pink tights, toe shoes!

Karen Canova
In a meeting at JSI: professional demeanor, nice outfit, smiling, warm personality.

Sarah Mitchell
Anthropology class with Dr. Williams, Young Dems and the RATT

Molly Weidner
I knew of you before I knew you. I had spent the night over at Theresa Bublitz's house and she was dog sitting when you lived behind her. Then you came to ballet and we had fun, both in ballet and outside of ballet! Remember the Howard Jones concert? :)

Eric Wieder
The first, first date I had with Anne was a double date with you and some guy. We went downtown for dinner, got drunk and hijinks ensued.

David Stewart
You chiding me for not keeping you in the loop on changes to the website - we had interacted and been around before that, but that's the first specific memory. Oh, a second would be your candy dish! :-)

Dog weekend!

The Arlington Rappers

This is so great....and sooo Arlington!
enjoy....

More of Santa Fe

See the attached Web album for all the pics! click on Full Screen and then the slide show should play automatically.

Santa Fe

At the Albequerque airport.....see what the sign says on the right? Regina and I couldn't figure out if we had one of those rooms in Washington if it would be empty....or complete full!Didn't make it to Roswell but had some of their beer

The really nice Hotel La Fonda (strongly recommend!)
With awesome painting jobs, different decor in each room, great beds, in the middle of town.

Pinyon nuts problem!

So....in New Mexico, in the Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Park, the guide told us all about pinyon nuts, from the pinyon trees and how they were similar but different than the regular "pine" nut. That they were really good tasting and we should try some. On leaving Buffalo Thunder, I bought some in the gift shop, and had been planning to open and share them with Mom and Dad and Regina, before we left. This did not happen.

I got hungry at work this week and pulled the pinyon nuts out of my bag and tried some on Tuesday. Delicious! really. and much different tasting than pine nuts. I ate about 1/2 cup then and stuck them in my desk drawer.....Friday, I remembered they were there and ate the other 1/2 cup, enjoying every bite. Later that afternoon, I bit into a plum and got a super strong, bad bitter taste in my mouth. Thought it must have been the plum so I didn't eat much. Dinner tasted kind of bitter too....and today's breakfast and lunch. And STILL now....so I gave in to starting to worry about what was going on....and googled.

Luckily, some other person, in fact many, have had this experience after eating pine nuts! It sounds like they go "bad" kind of quickly so I shouldn't have left them in my desk and then eaten them after a few days. They also say there are many pine nuts being shipped in from China and other countries that are not good quality, and this can cause the bitterness-after-effect too. This person's blog Pinch My Salt has a good explanation. Hope my bitter taste doesn't take weeks to clear up! I'd like to go get some good food but don't want to waste it on my bitter mouth!

Weird!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut


PHEW!
It is one week later and I am having just the tiniest bitterness....almost gone!

Santa Fe 2009

I soooo don't want to be back in Washington..... more pics to come in a day or two.

MY favorite Michael Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEU9Q8NlOiY

Father's Day 2009

Great food at Brasserie Beck!




Then fun at the Natural History Museum!






On the side of the archives.....