Awww Monday: 8 month smiles

You may remember back in December when I shared photos I took of my BFF’s first grandbabykin. What? You missed it? Well, check them out HERE. I also was honored to take her 3 month photos as well. They are HERE.

Well, that little grand girl is now 8 months old and I got to capture her personality again. She is definitely a huge Awww!

We toyed with the idea of taking her to a park or local botanical garden. But when I looked at my neighbor’s landscaping, I thought, why go anywhere?! Plus the little miss refused to take a morning nap so we weren’t certain what sort of mood she would in for picture posing. Turns out we were worried over nuthin’.

Overall, she was cooperative and very happy…especially when BiBi (BB? BeeBee?) was dancing around behind me singing the I Dream of Genie tune to get her to smile! Look at those sparkly eyes!

Seriously, the things we do to make babies smile.

Mom and BiBi like the results, so I assume I’m not fired. Her next session will be in December for her one year pics. Should be interesting if winter comes early.

Blog hopping today with Sandee over at Comedy Plus for Awww Monday.

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Awww Monday: Beautifully blended

Well, maybe not beautifully. After all, how beautiful can it be with two 10-year olds, a nine year old and two 5-year olds? Add to that the almost-a-tweenager mood swings, two stressed out, working full time parents and…well, there you have it.

But for one August morning, they cleaned up nicely and I was able to capture a moment in time for our daughter and her family. In my not-so-humble opinion, they are awww-worthy. 🙂

The parents.

The grands.

The girls.

The guys.

Each with their own unique personalities.

Dad and daughters.

Mama and sons.

And into life, a little photo bombing must fall.

Linking up with Sandee’s Awww Monday over at Comedy Plus.

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Let’s take a walk. Words are optional. Welcome to my little corner of the world.

Sunrise as we head out at 6:15am.

Queen Anne is looking very lacy this morning.

And, the black-eyed susans are in full bloom now.

I love it when nature follows design principles, don’t you?

Not sure what this is, but I like it.

I seriously thought this was an artificial flower until we got a closer look….which then confirmed my suspicion!

And, here’s a bit of whimsy to end our time together today.

Thanks for keeping Cabo and me company while we walked. Maybe we can do it again sometime.

Blog hopping today with Sandee at Wordless Wednesday.

Photo challenge: Patriotic

It’s already the end of another month so that means getting ready for PJ’s photo challenge. This month’s prompt is, of course, Patriotic, and I chose to honor Independence Day with most of my photos. Sometimes I struggle with photos when the grandbabykins are at their father’s for most of the summer. It’s just soooo easy to take photos of them.  But I do have Cabo……. 🙂 However, I did find time to snap a few for the red, white and blue.

Patriotic 1
I posted this for Independence Day, but we can use it again, right? Cabo’s sporting a nifty patriotic bandana for the occasion.

Patriotic #2 and #3
We happen to live in the county where it’s okay to set off fireworks. And, we are surrounded by pyromaniacs. Each Independence Day we get to sit on our patio and watch them blow up money. But it is pretty!

Patriotic 4
I haven’t had a lot of time to do this lately, but decided it was time to get creative agin with some nail polish.

Patriotic 5+
This one may be a bit of a reach, but it does display a sense of patriotism to one’s country or tribe. Entrepreneur and I went on a tour of some of our state’s wine country in Hermann, Missouri. Entering the town, there is a commemorative statue to a person named….yes, you guess it…Hermann. Officially, he’s called Hermann, Germania’s Liberator. We called him Hermann the German. But, here is the official story:

In the year A.D. 9 the warrior Hermann, then known as Arminius, led an army of northern Europeans to oppose a Roman intrusion into their homeland. In the ensuing Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the annihilation of three Roman legions by Hermann’s army has led historians to describe the battle as having changed the course of civilization.

Interestingly, my 7th great grandfather was part of one of the Germanna/Germania colonies that sailed from Germany and settled in Virginia in the early 1700s.

So, there’s my five (six) for the patriotic month of July. Hope you had a great July. Head over to PJ’s to see how patriotic others were in July.

Thankful Thursday: Dog poop

Yes, you read the title correctly. And here’s why……

On second thought, I think I’ll let Cabo tell you the story.
_____

Ummm…..yeah…..well, Mom and  Dad went on  a mini vacay and I was left to protect the yard until the house sitter came. And, well, you see…..there are squirrels everywhere in my yard. And, they like sweet corn. Mom and Dad pulled the corn stalks in the garden and put them in a pile to be burned.

That’s when it all started.

Those little, furry scavengers tore some of the ears off the stalks and ran up the trees before I could stop them. They ate the corn and dropped the cobs to the ground. Being the pupper I am, I had to investigate and you know what….sweet corn is really good! No wonder the squirrels wanted so many ears. It’s so good that I helped myself to what was left after they finished in the trees, cobs and all.

That was not the best decision I’ve ever made. Evidently, puppers are not suppose to eat corn cobs. I tried to tell Mom I was not feeling well by throwing up a little, but she didn’t completely understand. So, I added some diarrhea with it and then she made an appointment with the nice doggy doctor for the next day. Unfortunately, my crime became crystal clear at midnight when I threw up corn cobs not once, not twice, but three times. She was not pleased.

Oh, and I had been working on a stress hot spot on my paw while they were gone that was now infected.

To the doctor we went the next day. Usually, these people are very nice. But today, everyone seemed to be conspiring against me. First they took pictures of my insides.

That blue circle shows my tummy is more than twice the size it should be. Well, yeah, because it was full of chomped up corn cobs. And those bunched up things called intestines should have been spread out more evenly. But then………they made me throw up; and once was not enough. They made me throw up FOUR times! After the last picture, the doctor said there was still one “suspicious” item in my  tummy but since I couldn’t throw up any more, I got to go home. But she said I still wasn’t out of the woods yet for any intestinal blockage.

The next day we went back for another round of pictures. This time the doggy doctor said the “suspicious” item had moved and looked like it was on its way out the other end. Mom was on poop duty to make sure it made it. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen until three days later which made for a few anxiety-filled days and nights praying I didn’t have a blockage. She was soooo happy when it finally happened that I got extra treats!

And that stress sore? I got a shot and now I have to take pills. AND…..I had to wear the cone of shame for a while because I wanted to clean it all the time. Mom found me a sock to wear when I didn’t have on the cone. She didn’t look very happy about the doggy doctor bill,  but I’m worth it…..right?

So we are all really thankful for dog poop this week. And I’m feeling much, much better.

Woof,

Linking up with Brian’s Home and Thankful Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday: summer storm

Blog hopping with Sandee at Comedy Plus for Wordless Wednesday.

Slowing down the pace of life

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.
~Benjamin Franklin

So, evidently, our nation simply doesn’t drink enough wine. Problems solved. 🙂

Entrepreneur and I checked off another item on our travel list. Initially, it was a Napa or Sonoma wine trip. But, then we switched it up and decided to save on airfare and visit our state’s own wine trail in Hermann, Missouri. I’m not a huge fan of Missouri wine, so I was on a mission to find a white wine that would be a good “patio wine” for the summer. I’m really a year-round, red wine girl, but thought I should try and keep an open mind.

Hermann, Missouri is home to a variety of wineries, distilleries and breweries. This historic, German town has buildings dating back to the mid 1800s that are still in use today. Wineries and vineyards are sometimes tucked into residential areas because, well, that’s the primary stock and trade of this area.

Hermann is also home to the oldest family farm winery in the nation named Adam Puchta Winery. The same family has continuously owned the vineyards and winery since 1855.

We met up with Entrepreneur’s cousin and husband and took the Hermann Trolley tour. Our guide, Kevin, chauffeured us around to five of the area wineries and offered up snippets of local history at each stop. Each winery offered 5 to 6 tastings of their wines.

Did I fall in love with a white wine? No, but I found some I would be willing to drink…chilled….on the patio…in the summer. Adam’s Dry Vignoles and their Reserve Vivant both earned a + sign in my tasting notes.

Probably most enjoyable, aside from the company, was the scenery. Hermann is in the center of the Missouri Rhineland area and many wineries have sweeping views of the Missouri River Valley….which, at the moment, is still mostly underwater. But, it’s still a lovely site to see.

I think Martin Luther, a 19th century, German priest, said it best. If you know history, you recognize his name as one whose actions against the  Catholic church sparked the Protestant Reformation in Europe.

Yep, Martin had some other things to say about wine as well.

Beer is made by men, wine by God.

Accordingly if the devil should say, ‘Do not drink,’ you should reply to him, ‘On this very account, because you forbid it, I shall drink, and what is more, I shall drink a generous amount. Thus one must always do the opposite of that which Satan prohibits. What do you think is my reason for drinking wine undiluted, talking freely, and eating more often, if it is not to torment and vex the devil who made up his mind to torment and vex me.

Being a good German, Martin also liked his beer. But I digress……..

Playing along today with Sandee at Comedy Plus for Happy Tuesday, and Peabea for Pictorial Tuesday.