Category: maryland

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Just Another Day

Happy Valentine’s Day. I’m only saying that ’cause I feel like I should. I mean, it is Valentine’s Day.

It’s not that I’m anti-love or anything. And I am certainly not anti-chocolate (you can give me chocolate on any day, for any reason, and I’ll be happy). Hubby and I just don’t celebrate this particular holiday. I’m not sure why. Shannon pretty much thinks it’s a stupid holiday, perpetuated by greeting card companies, florists, and jewelry manufacturers. I don’t completely agree. I don’t completely disagree with Shannon either.

I’ve always said I think it’s silly to spend a fortune on flowers on Valentine’s Day. But I wouldn’t say no to some good chocolate. I’m definitely not one who would want flowers or a fancy (expensive!) diamond necklace. I’d be perfectly okay with a nice high-visibility motorcycle jacket though. (That’s a useful gift.) And some chocolate. Notice I didn’t say “or” some chocolate?

Maybe it’s that getting gifts on Valentine’s Day is just too predictable for me. I don’t know. I could debate this with myself for hours. So I’ll just change the subject. ‘kay?

We did not go to West Virginia this weekend. Gaige, our oldest grandson, had a wrestling tournament on Sunday. They can sometimes last all day. Or at least a big part of the day. They start really early, too. Amy didn’t want to make Joey sit through yet another hours-long wrestling match, so she asked us to keep Joey for the weekend. We’re anxious to get the WV kitchen finished, but we couldn’t say no. Especially since the kids are all so busy. We don’t get to see much of them.

Did I mention that the weather finally got warm? Or remind you that we have two brand-new bikes in our garage saying “ride me”?

Things got pretty quiet in the house at one point on Saturday. I heard some strange noises coming from the garage. When I went to investigate, this is what I saw…

Pop and Joey, pretending to ride.

Joey was all about Pop this weekend.

We could have gone for a ride at naptime, but it was only in the low 40s. Hubby opted to take a nap, too. I opted for a ride. I needed to run to the grocery store anyway. It was a little chilly, but not unbearable. Those heated grips make a huge difference. When my hands get cold during rides, they tend to cramp. Hand cramps are never good on a motorcycle.

I only did about 30 miles.  You have to ride pretty carefully when riding on new tires. Cold tires aren’t good either. And there were quite a few places where snow melt was running across the road.

Sunday temps were in the 50s at naptime. Wanna guess what we both did?

Ready to ride.

We were only gone for about an hour and a half. It was awesome. It was pretty cloudy so it felt sort of chilly. But it was still great. I really like my new bike. It is so different than the big, fat cruiser. It’s so much lighter, more nimble, and easy to maneuver. I’ll be really glad when the break-in period is over, the tires are broken in, and the roads are clean and dry.

Off we went!

Shannon was kind enough to take these pictures for us. And stick around to keep an eye on Joey while we were away. He actually slept for a couple of hours. I’d already consumed two nice, warming, Baileys and coffee drinks by the time he woke up.

Now those really hit the spot! 🙂

Vroom, vroom!

All in all it was a pretty good weekend.

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Brrr

I’m not usually one to complain about the cold. Heat, yes. Cold, no.

The view from my front porch.

But this year, the cold weather came early. And it hasn’t left yet.

Also, it’s just been so dreary.

My poor pansies.

Perhaps I’d feel different it it were at least sunny and cold.

I am SOOOOO ready for warmer weather and sunshine.

Really.

Come on Spring!

There was 1/4 inch of ice on my car the other day.

Only two more months of this Winter stuff…

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There’s An Elf (or two) in My House

Someone’s been busy in my kitchen again.

Chocolate-topped Marshmallows

That someone has been making Christmas treats.

Indian Curry Peanut Brittle

Some of them look a bit less appetizing than others.

Chocolate-dipped Pretzel Rods

She was in the kitchen practically all day on Sunday.

Cheesecake-topped Brownies

She actually did some stuff on Thursday, too. I didn’t get a picture of the chocolate curry truffles, so you’ll just have to trust me on those.

Peppermint "Oreos"

The homemade peppermint oreos are my favorite. Now, if only I could convince her to dip THOSE babies in chocolate. YUM.

I’ll have to take her with me to my doctor’s appointment in January. I’ll let her explain why I gained 20 pounds in the last month or two.

To be fair, though, it’s not entirely Shannon’s fault. I still know how to make yummy stuff, too. But all of my yummy concoctions of late have been in the alcoholic beverage category.

Baileys and Hazlenut Coffee

Nice warm coffee on a cold, wintry day.

Sangria

Who says cold beverages can’t be enjoyed during the winter?

Is it weird that I take pictures of food and drink in my house?

YOU try coming up with new and exciting stuff to blog about.

Most of my housemates are pretty understanding and patient when I say, “Wait. Don’t eat/drink that yet. I need a picture!”

Earlier this evening when I assembled these yummies, the patience was rather nonexistent.

Doggie Yummies

Any idea what those things are? Why they’re peanut-butter-stuffed-Kongs of course. Actually, there’s pretzels, a few bits of dog food, and peanut butter crammed in each one. It keeps the bitches busy for a while.

Remember what I said about the lack of patience?

"Oh come on already! Hand over the Kongs!"

It’s bad enough that they have to wait the five minutes it takes to cram three of those things full of goodies and peanut butter. Making them wait while I photographed their goodies was apparently more than they could take.

I wish I had the video camera handy to record the very strange howling complaints emanating from my crazy. old Meg. She was not at all happy.

What goodies have been coming out of your kitchen?

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Quick and Relatively Uneventful

I can’t believe how quickly Christmas is approaching.

Christmasy Cardinals

It’ll be here and gone before we know it!

We had our first snow the other day. I think it was Thursday. We got about two inches. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve all been gone by now. But these aren’t normal circumstances. We’re still experiencing colder-than-average temperatures. And, since half of our backyard is shaded anyway, it’s no surprise that some of that snow still remains.

The image I posted above made me smile. If the light were better and it was better focused, it would make a cool Christmas card, don’t you think?

I was using my zoom lens to snap some bird pics. Shooting without a tripod through our patio door usually means I end up with not-so-great pictures. But I was being a wimp and staying inside.

"Hey, that lady is back and wants us to say 'cheese' again. Get into position!"

And that’s a shame, because the birds were sort of being cooperative. The pair of Cardinals and one of the Juncos saw me trying to capture some shots and were kind enough to pose for the first picture I posted above. You know, the Christmas card shot.

Too bad it was so dark.

Snowman!

I was going to spend some time snapping Christmas images this weekend. I was going to do quite a bit of other stuff I never got around to. But that’s because we had a visitor. A visitor far too cute (and much too loud) for me to ignore.

"My don't want to say 'cheese', G."

For whatever reason, Joey wasn’t feeling particularly cooperative this weekend. I don’t think he said “cheese” once the whole time he was here.

Emergency Response

But that’s okay. We still enjoyed having him here. I just don’t have any great pictures to share with you.

Busy Ignoring G

I did try. Trust me. But the boy is STUBBORN. If he doesn’t want to do something, he won’t do it.

If it were something important, I would’ve pushed. But I never feel like being photographed, and can totally relate. So I left him alone.

Meanwhile… guess what was happening in the kitchen.

With ingredients like these, something good is bound to happen.

Shannon was busy being all elf-like and making Christmas treats.

Meg was a bit disappointed that it was Shannon and not me.

She never gives me ANYTHING!

Because Meg knows I am a sucker. She knows I’ll toss her a tidbit or two.

Shannon is much stronger than I am in that regard (i.e., mean) and doesn’t believe dogs need frequent treats. Even when Meg does her best to look pathetic, and sad, and starving…

That was my weekend in a nutshell.

I did some shopping and wrapping, too. But since I don’t usually take pictures of myself doing stuff like that, you’ll just have to use your imagination.

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One of Those Things

There’s something wrong with this picture. Can you spot the problem?

Anything look odd to you?

Ignore the dust, okay? And the spot on the ceiling. Those aren’t what I’m trying to point out here.

Dust and ceiling spots are sort of normal. If not normal, at least they’re not disturbing.

They’re not the kind of odd sight that would make one stop, look closer, and say, “What the heck?” (Feel free to replace “heck” with a harsher expletive if you like.)

Have you noticed anything disturbing yet?

Here’s a closer look.

Um, what?

There’s a small, gray hippo hanging on my kitchen light fixture.

"Holy hippopotamus, Batman!"

If Batman and Robin were to drop by for coffee, I can only imagine what they might have to say about this oddity.

“Holy hippopotamus, Batman! Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yes, Robin. I do,” mumbles Batman. (Imagine the Adam West voice here, okay?)

“What kind of person would do such a thing?”

“I don’t know, Robin.”

“I mean, that’s just not normal, is it?”

“The hippo hanging from the light fixture? Or the manner by which the hippo was impaled?”

“Well, neither of those things are normal. Really. But the way he was placed there. What sort of sick person would do such a thing?”

“Hmmm,” Batman pondered. “I’ve just perfected an Electronic Hair Bat-Analyzer which may hold the key to this baffling question…”

Are you wondering what I think is just so wrong with this hippo thing?

Have an even closer look. From a different angle. The angle is important here.

Ouch.

Now do you see what I mean?

That’s just messed up.

I don’t need an Electronic Hair Bat-Analyzer to solve this riddle, do you?

Here’s a hint… it’s the same person who sent me a YouTube link about a week ago to a cool little Lego video.

Not THIS particular video, one created by the same guy. But this one is a bit more relevant to today’s post.

Here’s a quickie little Batman Lego commercial that’s kind of funny.

And, finally, the video that housemate of mine sent me the link for.

The Batman videos are cool. But this one is amazing. It’s a bit violent and bloody, but SO worth watching. In my opinion anyway.

Who knew you could do THAT with Legos?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a little hippo situation to deal with…

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The Pope of Dope

Hi there. Did you miss me?

Sorry, I’ve been busy. With work mainly. And getting ready for Christmas. And more work. And shopping. Wait, that’s part of the whole getting ready for Christmas thing.

Anyhoo…

I’ve actually been collecting stuff to post about. AND I have pictures for You Capture tomorrow.

I have so much different stuff to post about (“different” is not always a good thing), that I just don’t know where to start. So I’ll start with The Pope of Dope (video embedded below). The first thing I had to so this morning was to respond to an e-mail a dear friend sent to me on November 28. It started off with “Happy Thanksgiving.”

See? You, blog readers, are not the only peeps I’ve been neglecting. Although she’s a blog reader, too. Sometimes. So she has been doubly neglected.

Why did I just tell you all that. Because it was she who sent me this lovely video. 🙂

Only a small percentage of my readers will like this video and/or song. I happen to like it. If it gets on your nerves, just skip over it. ‘kay?

I also owe some people a phone call. Another friend called me over a week ago. I keep meaning to call back, but the days just get away from me. And now it’s way too early. Hopefully, I’ll get to call her today. You know who you are!

As for that stuff I have been collecting to share…

Here’s a picture of K in front of our half-naked Christmas tree. I’ll try to get a better shot with all of the dogs included. For now, maybe this one will make you smile. It made ME smile.

"Ho. Ho. Ho. Happy? Now get this stupid hat off of me!"

Yes, we Americans even decorate our pets for the holidays.

Speaking of pets… what does my yard have in common with the US-Mexico border?

Is it the jacket?

Even though it is the same color as those worn by the Customs/Border Patrol folks, it’s not the jacket.

A lot of DOPE.

Contrary to what some of you think (“Oh, lord, is she on drugs or what?”), it’s not the dope constantly flowing in either. Or even trickling in.

Give up?

Well, I’ll tell you.

I mean, I’ll show you AND tell you.

Hey, cool. Show and tell!

Tunnels

It’s the tunnels. More specifically, KILLERS digging tunnels.

Digging killer caught in the act.

K is quite the hunter. She’s not trying to escape. She is after a mole or moles that in this case happened to go under the fence.

She digs in other spots, too.

On the hunt again.

Fortunately, she doesn’t usually dig in the middle of the lawn. And she’s not digging just to dig. She is HUNTING. Trust me. Her kill list seems to grow every day. Mice, moles and voles mainly. But she gets a squirrel now and then, too.

Accomplices.

She’s not alone in her quest, but she is definitely the ringleader.

Do you have this kind of excitement in your backyard?