Murray-Murphy

An overdue series of Murray with a haircut!

Berlin Wall

This was also at the Newseum. The plain white wall was the East Berlin side. They kept it whitewashed so they could find people with the spotlights as they tried to escape. The other? West Berlin, very colorful and vibrant - in spite of being graffitti! And the tower? That was where they shot from if they caught you trying to get over the wall.......... You could step inside the tower and they had the sirens playing, creepy. Reminded me of the Holocaust museum - very sobering.

Twisted Metal

These photos were taken at the Newseum. This is a piece of the antenna that stood atop one of the Twin Towers in New York City. In the middle photo, behind the metal is the Wall of 9/11, with every headline from around the world.

Tulips at the Tidal Basin

There were lots of tulip beds near the tidal basin. I took a few photos, and these are the one's that came out the best.

Trip to D.C.

The next several entries will be from my trip to D.C. Hope you enjoy them!

This year, even with overcast weather, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom during my visit to D.C. And thankfully, the only day we went to the tidal basin, the sun shone and the temp's warmed.

It was a beautiful day..........

Before...............

I'm getting a haircut tonight! Boy do I need it!

A Colorful Ceiling

My ugly water stain! The good news is that it appears to only be a flashing problem and will be fixed for a few hundred dollars! Thank goodness, a new roof was certainly NOT in my budget for 2008!

A Rose by Any Other Name

Aren't these great? I received them for Valentine's Day, but of course, I'm negligent in getting pics up. I had them at work till Friday and forgot to bring in my camera to take pics then. There's a dozen and a half in case you're counting. :)

Ain't love grand?!

Birthday Party Hang Over

Last night I went out for my birthday (since it's actually today I figured it'd be easier to have the actual day to recover). We had a really good time. Ate dinner at The Blind Tiger, and then headed over to the club for some drinks and dancing. Two summer beers, and four Long Island Iced Tea's I am having a great ol' time shakin' my butt to good music and playing a bad game of pool.

Today however I'm thinking it was probably a bad idea to have THAT much fun! I am finding 35 to mean even less tolerance for the good times. No longer can I drink and dance all night, and bounce back the next day. I think I'm going to be suffering for at least a couple more!

Brrrrrr............

Who says it's all sunshine and sunflowers in the midwest? This pic was taken last night at about 10:44pm. It was about 10 degrees, but it dropped lower overnight. This morning at 11am it is now 18 degrees - whoopeee, lets but on our shorts!

Memory Lane

I thought it would be nice to add a few old pics into the mix, especially since I'm not oft to carry my digital camera around with me. I could use my camera phone, but since I don't have a data plan (see my other blog for the rant on that!), it costs too much to email them. So, I'm mixing it up a bit.

This photo was taken at Jennifer's bridal shower in May of '04, clockwise from top, Colleen, Jill, Jen and me. I had only moved to Kansas a week before, but flew back to New Hampshire for her shower. She was very surprised as I pretended I wasn't going to make it. We had a wonderful day. Since this photo was taken, both Colleen and Jill have married and Colleen has expanded her family. I'm the old spinster of the group. :)

Squeaky Clean

Here's little Pip after his bath. He's not too happy, but out of all the dogs he is the easiest to shampoo and dry. This of course, is typical as Pip is the least likely to get dirty! I wish Bodhi would be good about his baths. I have to wash him outside with the hose. He doesn't stay in my tub! Tristan is OK with bathing, but he leans on you, ensuring that you get clean also. :) Murray has to get groomed every couple of months, so I don't really have to bathe him that much. But when I do, he is not happy, and tries to jump out of the sink! As you may notice, Pip needs his claws clipped, but he HATES it. So, I guess he's not a perfect angel all the time.......

Dirty Girl

This is my horse Zenavoc (Zena for short). I went down to Ottawa to visit her today. In late November she tangled with the fence and lost. Her legs got all cut up and we had to call the vet out. I went back down there a few days later, and had the vet out to recheck her later in the week. K.B. at the farm has been taking good care of her, putting medicine on her legs every other day for the last 6 weeks. Today I stopped by to look at her legs in case she needed a check up from the vet. Her wounds actually look much better than I thought, so I don't have to call the vet thank goodness.

Life in retirement is very good to Zena. As you can see, her favorite thing is getting dirty. And we've had some warm weather this week, which has turned the pasture into a mud pit. So, her feet are caked in glorious mud!

She was happy to see me. I don't get down to Ottawa as much since I relocated, and it seems that the times I do see her are because she has hurt herself and I need to meet the vet out at the ranch. So, a visit for purely social reasons is a great thing!

K.P. and C.P. also came out with me and got to meet Zena and the other animals at the ranch. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out so we had a decent afternoon in the fresh air. I'm going to bring C.P. back down when the weather improves so he can do some riding. He likes horses. :)

Three Amigos

This photo is proof that the boys do get along sometimes!

You Know You're Old When..................

When did I reach the age where I buy "practical" things with my Christmas money?! Apparently, that time is now, and I've probably been there for a few years! :)

Besides these lovely household items, I bought a hamper, clothes pins, rope to hang in the basement as a clothesline and a cute costume ring to spruce up my work wardrobe.

Oh, and I had enough left over to make a payment on the clothes I bought for my new position, and for a tank of gas.

God, I am OLD!!!!

One Dirty Dog

This is what happens at my house with the snow melts and the ground thaws. Bodhi thinks it is great fun to charge around the house, splattering mud ON the house and himself! You can't see from this angle, but his belly is COVERED! I can't hose him off 'cause it's still too cold for that. So I had to towel him off as best I can. You can only imagine what the carpets look like! I have to wait for the mud to dry and then vacuum it up.

Ah, life with a big dog - wouldn't have it any other way. :)

A Dog's Life

This is my deaf and partially blind Great Dane, Bodhi. As you can see, he leads a very sad life. Relaxing indoors all day, eating the best food, and sleeping every night on a futon with his own pillows.

I really hope I come back as a pampered pet in my next life!

Shock, Horror!

I "inherited" this basket of "babies" when I moved out of my old position in the colony and I was promoted to the office. Note the Taco Bell dog's expression? This was pretty much how I felt all day!

First day back with a fully staffed office and my plate was FULL!!!

New Year Birdie

This is my parakeet "Birdie". I have three more, none of whom have names. She's a couple of years old, maybe even three. Kinda shy, not very friendly, but she's pretty. Kinda like me! ;)

I'm sure along the way you'll see many photos of my pets, since they are what I record the most. Hopefully their photographs will do their beauty justice.

- I.