Jan 25

Mr. Hands and the supervisor install our Christmas present.

Jan 24

Neighborhood watch.

Jan 23

I'm glad it wasn't my turn to drive the carpool this week. It seemed awfully early this morning.

Jan 22

I get such a kick out of making dishes inside a pumpkin shell. Tonight we had Baked French Pumpkin Soup.

Jan 21

We have one of those projects. You know, the kind that begin in, say, October, and linger into January. All complaining aside, I love our kitchen, and I love that the project is a labor of love. Every stick of lumber, every hinge and screw, every drawer and shelf was installed by Mr. Hands and my dad, who were supervised by Simon (see him at the bottom of the photo, right by Brian's legs?).

Jan 20: Praise song for the day

What if the mightiest word is love?

Jan 18: Torn between two

This was one of many cool things from our hike today. My bellyflop down the trail and picking ticks off the dog were not among them, but this manzanita draped in moss pretty much makes up for those.

My nephew lives, breathes, and dreams Star Wars. He requested a photo shoot with his figures arranged in formation. Happy to oblige!

Jan 17

We always stop at the visita point when we're heading north across the Golden Gate Bridge, mostly because of Katie's tiny bladder! But we never mind, and today especially, it was so clear and gorgeous, we couldn't resist the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and views.

Thanks for commenting :) Good guess, Sheri, and thanks for the award, Joy!

Jan 16

3:00 Friday afternoon. No bell ever sounded so sweet!

Jan 15

Birds' nest in the lemon tree. I couldn't tell if there were any inhabitants, but this weekend I'll get out the ladder and try to peek in from above.

Jan 14

Simon's newest trick, and obsession, is getting into the pantry. He can work the door open, and then he likes to climb on the shelves and riffle through the products, knocking things onto the floor. Last weekend we were jettisoned out of our sleepy lie-in when we heard a crash from the kitchen. Such fun to discover a bottle of balsalmic vinegar smashed on the ground. And our little culprit? Nowhere to be found. Mr. Hands has MacGyvered a bungie cord around the door knobs to keep him out, but I can't turn my back on the open pantry for a second.

Jan 13

The weather has been so warm these past couple of days, I couldn't resist peeking in on my little garden. I hope I get to eat this before the snails do.

Jan 12

Red Rock coffee shop is one of the hubs of our neighborhood life. My book club meets here. Mr. Hands works "from home" here on occasion. We feel good about buying coffee beans here because they are certified fair trade and proceeds support the Rwandan Wooden Bike Project. It's a non-profit coffee house where local artists display works, local bands play gigs, and who knows what surprises open mic night might hold, if only it wern't held on a school night.

Jan 11

Today's photo tells two stories:

1. We're at the farmers' market in my town today. In January. I love that!
2. Here is my husband, who when we first married would literally make faces at any vegetable he came across, selecting Brussels sprouts for our dinner. If you ask him, he'll proudly rattle off all the leafy greens, roots, squashes, flowers, etc... that he now enjoys. That just makes me smile.

Jan 10

It's been over five years since we walked into the SPCA and let Belle steal our hearts. She's ruled the house since then. Here she is on her throne. Oh, you thought it was a computer monitor? Silly you.

Jan 9

This part of teaching I do not love.

Jan 8

Bon voyage! My parents heading to the airport, 4 a.m.

Jan 7

Burrower. In the morning she peeks her head out for a moment, then dives right back in.

Jan 6

Ready!

Jan 5

Belle's film noir moment. So dramatic!

Jan 4

Wow, this is a brutally "real" photo!

Jan 3

Walking in Pulgas Ridge.

Also Jan. 2

Day 1: Catwalking
Mr. Hands has a plan. Simon's not impressed.

Jan 2

Day 1: Letterboxing

Sweet Boy

at least in this moment!

I Don't Wanna Go To Rehab...

There's been quite the drama around here this weekend. Katie ate something she found in a bush during our walk Saturday afternoon and by bedtime she was clearly not well.

In fact, she was stoned.

Her pupils were huge, she flinched in fear everytime my hands got near her, and she seemed to not really have control over her hind legs. I took her to the vet, where she stayed the night under observation. I guess that's vet-speak for "this dog needs to detox."

By morning the vet reported that Katie had the shakes, but they wanted to watch her more. Then, a few hours later they wanted me to look at her to compare her behavior to last nights', so I drove down.

Apparently, she had been shaking so much that they gave her Valium! When I saw her, she was in last-call-at-the-Alibi mode. Boy is that alarming! Despite that though, she was much MUCH better than last night--except for the staggering, she was herself again. But the staggering was an issue; she was essentially a real hazzard to herself, tripping over her own nose and listing one way, then over-correcting and toppling over the other way. Pitiful? Amusing? Not sure what side I come down on there. Plus, since she was unsteady when I brought her in, it was important to see her moving when the Valium had worn off, to make sure she really was stable again.

So I was to come back in three hours, except that they called after 2.5 and said she seemed fine and since she was making such a fuss could I come get her sooner? She created a scene in the lobby when I arrived, just absolutely wiggling and desperate to get home. Now that she's here, she's terrorized the cats, eaten her dinner and tried to eat the cats' too, run circles around everything, and now lies zonked out in the middle of the dirty laundry. I was supposed to wait 40 mins to take off the IV bandage wrapped around her foot, but she was tearing at that thing even as she pranced from the car to the front door. She's acting incredibly hyper and silly, which is sort of cute and a relief after last night's scare. So all is well! Except for the second job Mr. Hands and I are going to have to get to pay for all of this.

Half Dome

My annual trip to Yosemite with my students last week was an enormous success! I'll never cease to feel awe over the treasures of this valley, both the enormous ones and the hidden ones. And yes, I have quite a horde of apples again this year!