Fed Up!

Fed Up!
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

I don't have much to say... but I had to say something.

Another 360 degree view from the yard

Another 360 degree view from the yard
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Two-headed Cat

Two-headed Cat
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Figured out how to make my old digital camera double-expose, it will actually do up to nine exposures on a single frame.

Kibbles!

IMGP0890.JPG
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Kroger Grackles having a purina cat chow party in the parking lot.

Whaddya mean ya don't have any food?!

IMGP0900.JPG
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Kroger Grackle-girlee looking fer kibbles and bits.

G's Chaos

IMGP0782.JPG
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Every now and then Gman goes crazy and rewires/reconfigs/reorganizes (and many other "re-" words) the puters and gadgets in the house. I'll just tell you it ain't pretty, I generally opt to stand outside and watch from afar.

UBS...Unidentified Blooming Shrubbery

UBS...Unidentified Blooming Shrubbery
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Discovered this blooming yesterday. Maybe it is some kind of Mallow? Maybe you know what it is? Maybe some one could tell me?
:-)

Day Care Entourage Scrambled Curbside

IMGP0752.JPG
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

During the summer it is not uncommon to see a group of day care kiddies strung together and headed for the city park that is around the corner from us. Every time I see them, I can't help but think how curious they look, all the little kids close in height being led on a rope by some caretaker, like a little group of criminals on a chain gang.

Yesterday, I was surprised to see them go by and managed to grab my camera. By the time I got my telephoto lens mounted, they were well down the street from me. As I snapped off pics hoping for a focused shot, I had no idea what the group was doing. I was taken aback at seeing one of the children had fallen--looks like some kind of child torture.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Pulled out the pressure washer and gave the little Bay Hen a badly-needed scrubbing. Of course, no sooner had I finished, Mr. Handsome jumped on board and gave the hatch door a territorial spray...jerk. Gordy roasted our weekly coffee on the front porch.

Had a visit today...

...from a House Wren and...

an Opossum.

House Wrens are migrants that we don't typically see around the yard until fall/winter. This little fellow has been fussing for two days now. Maybe he doesn't like all the hungry cats hanging around.

Hello peeps! Sitting here on the front porch, and it's rainy Tuesday morning here in Humble. Many of my feral feline buddies are hanging out with me. The art show last weekend wasn't as big a success as I might have hoped (that's right, I didn't sell anything) BUT everyone there was pleased with the turnout. I was very happy to spend time with Chelsea, Jamie, and Shannon... LOVE being with the kids. It was nice to see so many come out in support of me too.

I am relaxing a little now and beginning to enjoy school. My initial panic due to realizing I had to go back and teach myself parts of speech before I could get started on my homework has eased into a feeling of "okay I think I can do this thing...mostly"

I like my english teacher, she is a little spunky curly headed blonde who seems easily diverted into relating personal accounts, but certainly knows her english. She told us about having a mastectomy due to cancer and I have since noticed she makes no attempt to conceal the lack of one of her breasts, which I admire greatly... hmmm... wonder why?

It is interesting to be learning now what seemed so out of my grasp all those years at Kindle/Lindy. Back in the beginning I tried to do my best to write well when it was expected of me, but soon gave up and left it to my Nazi editor/boss to rewrite everything I did to the point of not being able to tell that I had originally written it at all. Oddly, despite my lack of training in grammar et al, I secretly felt my way of saying things made better sense than hers, I just needed "polishing" in the punction, grammar, and tense departments.

Gordy has been wanting to "upgrade" my old phone to an iPhone for quite some time. For my birthday he surprised me with a brand new iPhone. At first I was unimpressed with the complexity of it, but have quickly come to really like it and mostly for reasons unrelated to what one would typically use a phone for. You know the Apple saying "There's an app for that"? Well after perusing the app store I can tell you that is 100% true. Not only is there AN app for any conceivable thing - there are many apps. Kinda makes me wonder what app could G and I possibly do that hasn't been done pretty well already?

I have downloaded three apps now. Solitaire, Flickit Pro (a utility for uploading/viewing pics to Flickr on you phone, and an app called "Hipstamatic." The latter app is kinda cool, it emulates various old film camera lenses and films and creates old analog effects on the pics you take. Here's a link my Flickr set of random effects:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael-ann/sets/72157625000139226/

Well that is about all I have at the moment. Hope everyone is doing well and life is being kind to you.

I'm a school-girl!

It's official now!

Not been keeping up with the blog very well!

I drove out to Georgia last weekend to bring Gordy his truck. Most of the drive was some really pretty countryside, from the Louisiana swamps to the Mississippi wetlands, one thing stood out in my mind and it is that there still remains some virtually untouched beautiful places in our country.

Most everyone knows it is impossible to take a "normal" pic of Gordy, so despite the fact this is slightly blurry I am rather pleased with my ninja photo skills. I managed to get this one of him when we were on the Coca Cola Museum (In Atlanta, GA) tour. It was interesting, I experienced my first 4-D mini-movie, and we tasted many Coca-cola products from around the world... fascinating, but mostly quite gross!

We also went to the Atlanta Aquarium, which if I recall correctly is supposed to be one of the largest aquariums in the country. I must say, it was a mightily impressive place with some fantastic views.

Yesterday, I went to the college bookstore to pick up my books. As I stood in the line along with a LOT of young students it was the first time I felt a little anxious about going to school. In my arms I had cradled what felt like Dick and Jane books in comparison to the books I observed those around me holding. None the less, I am a little excited about the adventure that lies ahead.

I've only got two classes this semester, English 1301 and American History 1301. I have one huge english book and four smaller books for history. I'll pick up my school supplies later this weekend.

This weekend G has a nasty 100-mile bike ride in Wichita Falls, Texas called the Hotter'N Hell 100. I say it is nasty because the name very accurately sums up the temps. It will be real important for him to keep himself properly hydrated - with his work load he has not been acclimating himself to working out in the heat as he has in prior years.

Gordy will be heading out early tomorrow to get there in time to pick up his race packet. It is about a 6-1/2 hour drive to Wichita Falls. The race is Saturday and he plans to head back home right after he finishes. I kinda wish he would take it easy after the race, maybe spend the night and come home fresh on Sunday, but he is stubborn like that.

Well, this is about all I have in the way of news. Hope all who still come here to check in on me are doing well!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Chelsea!

You sprouted 28 years ago, and have bloomed every day since!
xoxoxoxox
~mom

7.12.10 Amorphophallus titanum

7.12.10 Amorphophallus titanum
Originally uploaded by Houston Museum of Natural Science

I would love to go see this in person. It seems odd that this plant appears to be a single humongous bloom sticking out of a pot.

Jamie's doodle from middle school

doodle from middle school
Originally uploaded by spiffydamnpoodle

Somehow I have managed to hold on to this throughout the years. Makes me giggle and perhaps it will you too!

so what up you might be wondering...

...folks pretty much know I've been painting again. It feels good to be inspired and have the time to focus on it. I just submitted an entry to be considered for a group show at one of my favorite art places, Winterstreet Studios. The show asks artists to find their own connection between art and quantum physics, with the theme being "The Door to the Future."

I don't know if I will be accepted, but either way it sounds very interesting and I would like to check out the show. This facebook page tells you more about it:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134036243292761

G has got us both on the Paleo Diet. I was curious about alternatives to grain products like lasagna noodles and tortillas and looked to the Raw Food Diet for some inspiration. I found a couple intriguing little recipes I want to try. One is a mock-bacon that uses coconut meat from a young coco, which is then marinated in Braggs aminos (similar to a soy sauce) overnight and then dehydrated. With some difficulty I cracked open two coconuts this morning and scooped out the meat that is now marinating in the fridge. Will let you know how this turns out in a day or so.

I need to mow the lawn something fierce... the trees are competing with the grass for sunlight.

Sad discovery

A momma raccoon has been bringing her 4 babies here at night to eat for the last couple weeks. This morning the neighbor and I discovered one of the young had gotten its foot stuck in the "Y" of a tree. Despite the struggle it must have put up the poor little thing died hanging there only three feet off the ground. My heart breaks imagining how long it hung there before it eventually died. I wish I had discovered it sooner and could have saved it.

Last week Kate and I decided to get together today and paint something. Unfortunately, her AC went on the fritz and she is having to wait for the AC guy (with a typical ETA of anytime before 4pm-ish). So we have tentatively postponed it until tomorrow, it's just as well because I realized I have birdee bread to bake and frankly, after the awful discovery of that little raccoon I am feeling kinda shitty.

My Sister Cheryl

I just wanted to take a moment to say something to/about you. We have had many recent wonderfully long, sometimes deep, sometimes light-hearted, often stream-of-conscious conversations. You have helped me with creative blocks, garden spots, bad days, low points and loneliness even. Yesterday we dipped into the past and all i can say is I am so happy we have crossed that emotional chasm to get to where we are today. I could not ask for a dearer friend or a better sister. You are marvelously witty, smart, and creative--fiercely loyal, big-hearted, and supportive... thank you, I love you!

Here's to having sisters!

Image118

Image118
Originally uploaded by joelgnyc

orange butterfly on a lavender cat tail..pretty neat find!

You can't REALLY catch leprosy from armadillos...

...or can you?!

I'm just throwing this out there because it is curious.

When I was young I remember being told that you could catch leprosy from armadillos. Later in life, I was told by a health-care professional that in the wild armadillos do not carry the disease. The relationship between armadillos and leprosy came about because scientists discovered the little critters were the only thing they could find that could contract the human disease, which was done in order to study and work on treatments.

I remember "googling" for this and finding a story about a facility in Louisiana (I think) where these studies had been going on and that something went wrong resulting in infected armadillos escaping into the wild. It seems there are questions about wether or not the infected animals were captured or went on the spread the disease to other armadillos.

The medical professional I spoke with seemed to think that the infected ones never intermingled with the wild ones and that catching leprosy from armadillos was a misconception.

Anyway, G's 70-ish-years-old uncle has just been diagnosed with the disease. The Dr.s have told him that he contracted it from years of working in his garden that was contaminated with armadillo feces. The uncle has started a three-year treatment process.

hmmmmm...

Don't let him fool ya...

...he's been eating all my tomatoes!

Yesterday morning with Shadow-bird

Sinkhole in Guatemala: Giant Could Get Even Bigger

This looks like some mad photoshopping, but it is the real deal. Check out National Geographic's article, there is a link at the top of it to a handful more photos of the sinkhole.

Sinkhole in Guatemala: Giant Could Get Even Bigger

Purple Gate

Purple Gate

Over the weekend G decided he would like the gate to be purple... so here it is!

Star Wars at City Hall

Star Wars at City Hall
Originally uploaded by gordyt

Had Gordy scan and post this fer my little Star Wars fiend... Hoot

:-)

Man oh man! Never realized what hard work painting a house could be! I've painted houses before, but I was much younger and I suppose that makes a lot of difference. Along with all my other aches and pains due to going up and down a ladder I'm experiencing some crazy numbness and tingling in my right hand. I did some web-searching and it would seem carpal tunnel syndrome is the culprit. In the last week I've been waking up numerous times with my hand completely asleep, so I twist and turn and try to position myself in such a way to prevent it from reoccurring. Nothing seems to be working. I can't help but feel a twinge of bitterness about getting older - lets just say I am not feeling graceful.

On the other hand, the house is coming along ever so slowly and it is starting to look good. Yesterday I had a couple people stop on the street to tell me how nice the new paint looks as I was painting the porch posts white.

From my vantage point on the small ladder on the front porch I saw the stray tortoiseshell momma cat at the day care down the street with her kittens. Momma is looking pretty hungry these days and her six kittens aren't helping. As she was attempting to lead her entourage across the street a truck hauling down the road hit and killed one of the kittens as I watched. The remaining family has relocated under my back porch, which is yet another bad choice made by the young mother cat. Old Beaux doesn't pay much attention to small critters, but Noodle and Chi are cat killers... Noodle for the most part will mind me when I shout NO! but my trying to stop Chi only seems to fuel her little fierce schnauzer kill mode.

I'm afraid old Beaux is on his final lap of life. He wants to drink water non-stop and then has to pee a river every hour on the hour. This can be a sign of kidney failure or diabetes, as well as Cushing's disease. I love the old dawg, but don't have the patience to happily spend all my time with him letting him in and out of the house all day. I've been trying to limit his water drinking to a normal amount and it has been frustrating because he is pretty determined. Yesterday morning just to see how long he would drink if left unattended, he drank for almost 10 minutes straight... then threw it all up in a sudden blow-out. Oddly enough, it seemed to curb his desire to drink so much the rest of the day.

So this is pretty much my entire update.

On news that is not mine, but I have to share it... both Chelsea and Jamie finished their last semester with flying colors! I am so proud of the two of them. They have worked real hard toward their educational goals. Looks like our family is going to have both a public health/sex-ed genius and a biochemist to boot.

Gordy Jr.'s birthday was this past Thursday. They have been keeping him real busy changing up their work schedules quite a bit trying to work around the heat they are experiencing in the desert right now. He has not had a chance to call us since he went back from the last leave.

Okay, that is EVERY thing I have to tell you about. Off to go do my chores now!

Still painting the house!

*OMG* This is day five, and gastrocnemius muscles (Didn't know that, I had to look up the scientific name for calf muscles) are screaming. The right one actually feels as if I pulled it. I am so tired of lugging around that big huge ladder and crawling in an out of the bushes with it. What the hell was I thinking when I decided to paint dark paint over light and nearly white over dark?!! As I paint the fascia and soffit dripping in sweat, all I can think of is that I have to come back again to lay down the second coat.

I do like how the new paint job has changed "the feel" of the place.

Gonna try to get pictures today in the afternoon when the light is good so you can hopefully make out the actual color. It is basically a dijon mustard kinda color. As the light changes throughout the day it can look almost beige, yellow, or even a light orange.

Today...

...we are going to an estate sale at the old Lambrecht house. This is a beautiful old house that belonged to the old mayor and his wife. The place looks like it was plucked straight out of New Orleans. I'm guessing that Mrs. Lambrecht must have passed away, she had survived her husband by a few years. Don't really want to buy anything, just want to see the inside of the old house.

Here's a photo I took of the house about a year or so ago:

Tonight, G, Michelle and I have a date to go see Ironman 2 @ 5pm. I really enjoyed the first movie and am excited to see the second, the previews look great.

Hope everyone out there in the world who happens by here has a wonderful Saturday!

The backyard animal kingdom...

...is acting wacked.

As I approached the lil' pond to feed the goldfish this morning I noticed one fish out of water, motionless, hanging against the side. I thought "great. the raccoons have discovered a new food source." Visions of the rampant death and destruction I discovered one morning at the other pond flashed through my head.

Then I realized that the fairly large white goldfish seemed to be attached to some kind of stick. Moving cautiously closer, I realize it is the water snake on the bank who has caught a fish by the head and is possibly in the process of contemplating HOW it is going to swallow this thing that is at least 5x the size of it's own head.

About this time, Chi the rasta-schnauzer (aka luvmuffin or stinkycheeze) has taken notice of the snake on its fishing expedition, and dodges toward the snake, who freaks, as I freak calling to Chi to get away. The snake drops the fish back into the pond and the fish swam away. I did not get a look at the injuries it may now be sporting on its face.

Then as I sat down on the front porch to check out the neighborhood blogs and have my coffee, suddenly, a blast of machine gun-like noise makes me jump out of my chair. I look up and it is a Red-bellied woodpecker pecking/pounding away on an aluminum rafter. The rafter is part of an unfinished cover-structure G made for his little sail boat. The bird continued to peck well beyond the point of realizing the thing is not wood and looked up at me as I laughed at him, as if to say "What?!!"

Update on G in the Hermann Memorial Half-Ironman

There is a website that has "live" updates on the athletes in the Half-Ironman. I've been waiting to see what G's time is at the next checkpoint of the bicycling leg... I don't think the stats are quite as live as the word "live" would indicate.

I can see that he swam the 1.2 miles in 46 minutes. I can't find anything on the news this morning about the wind and water conditions, but i do know that event-holders cancelled the swim leg of yesterday's races because the choppy water was too dangerous. They said they would not cancel today's swim leg no matter what.

Here is the website that has the athlete tracker, G's number is 1002.
http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/lonestar70.3?show=tracker

He is listed as 34th place of his division (men, age 50-54)...GO G!

I keep trying to post something...

...but I just can't think of anything remotely interesting to write about, which is saying a lot as it seems the scope of what I find interesting is broader than many would consider to be so. I'm going make myself do this now.

Today: Fed the critters, ate breakfast, washed dishes, roasted coffee, watered plants, called Lonestar College and had to leave a message for the advisor, prepared strawberries for shortcake, gave a recruiter a glowing review of a coworker from my last job, cleaned the pond filter, moved some pond rocks around, let the dawgs out and in and out again, etc.

Now I think I will take a shower.

It seems I have good days and bad days, and yesterday/today have been sort of a ho-hum low-spot in my energy and outlook. It is pretty lonely here all day and I feel kind of useless. As frustrating as the stuff at work got, at least I felt like I was intellectually good at something.

Yesterday I was feeling pretty crappy about myself, questioning my decision about school again, my eyesight drives me nuts and i wonder if I am making a bad decision about the BFA in painting...my thoughts keep drifting back to the Monet painting at MFAH that Monet did later in life when his eyes were failing him. It is dark and dreary and contrasts much with the body of work he became famous for.

The logical side of my brain is screaming that I should work toward something more in line with what I was doing at my job. Some strong coding skills would definitely provide a return on the investment. When it comes right down to it, I'm really floundering inside...pbbbffft. I don't mean to sound like a total loser caught up in a pity-party for myself. At least I know these moods seem to come and go... and this too will pass.

Tonight Gordy and I are going to try and check out the art exhibit at M-Squared. We haven't seen Max and Michael in quite some time and I could use a dose of Max's wackiness.

Gordy will be participating in his first ironman this Sunday down in Galveston. He is real excited about it. He won't be trying to win any records, his goal is to pace himself and simply complete it. I did some research about good snacks to eat during these things and found a gold mine of recipe's from Dr. Allen Lim. So I will be putting together a batch of things sat/sun for Gordy to have. I don't know yet if I will be able to go down there and watch Gordy cross the finish line, I would really like to see him accomplish this as he has worked long and hard to achieve it.

Entrance Gate to Joshua's Native Plants

Entrance Gate to Joshua's Native Plants
Originally uploaded by Michael-Ann

Today I FINALLY got around to checking out this nursery located in the Historic Houston Heights. WOW! What a neat little place... amongst the many unique and beautiful plants are fountains and antiques and folk art stuff. I had a wonderful time browsing around.

I could not resist bringing home a few treasures from the place: some Thai Basil, a small sassafras tree, AND a hybrid thornless blackberry bush :-))

I think I have made a decision about school. How does a Bachelor of Fine Arts (studio) in Painting sound to you? I've always wished I had some formal training. I feel very self-indulgent with my decision. I've always had this feeling that art was not something I should consider a means for making a living, but G keeps insisting I should not think about having to make a living and go with this.

For my minor I'm still trying to decide: visual studies, marketing, or management.

Hello there blog... Sorry I've been away so long

I'm just gonna spit out a few random thoughts. I feel like I'm in the beginning of a new chapter of our (G & My) lives. Today G left early this morning headed toward his first day at his new job downtown. Neither one of us slept well last night. I have to say this feels a little odd after working together every workday for the last 12+ years. In a small way, I feel like I'm being left behind in the dust of a talented man zooming ahead in his career. On the other hand, I am very excited for him. I think this is the first time in a long time he has had the opportunity to work along side people fully-qualified in his same field.

For me, I am very fortunate that he fully supports my going to college and getting a degree. It would seem a degree is about the only thing standing between me and being taken seriously as a candidate for a good job. The crux of the matter is, if we are to invest time and money into my getting a degree, it should be a solid decision on my behalf, and well, I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up. Biology, computer science, art, marketing, business management, either appeal to me a great deal, or seem to be logistically wise as far as rounding-out my current career trajectory. That is to say in some way or another each is a hat I could see wearing.

I have a few weeks before the next semester begins. I feel very anxious about making this decision. Shall I keep on the same path, or make this an opportunity to explore a new one?

I could just focus on the short-term and the fact that I need to take some remedial math courses before moving forward with anything. Never made it past Algebra I in high school with all my delinquent behavior.

*sigh*

On an utterly unabashed different topic... Have been having a wonderful time the last week spending time with both G's. I love them so much, as I do my whole family. If I can be blessed (heathen that I am) I am truly blessed in the form of family. So many different, intelligent, humorous, talented people. On a daily basis I am in some way or another inspired to be a better person by at least one member of my family. I don't believe many people can claim this.

I have to wrap this up now, even though many sentences above could and should be written about in much deeper depths. I still have cages to clean and birds to feed. Then I suppose G jr and I will figure out what needs to be accomplished today on his list of things to do.

Mini Celebration

Yesterday, toward the end of the work day, I got a strong hankering for a margarita (or two) and sent out a text SOS to Kate and Leeroy. AT 5:05pm on the dot we met up at Dos Gallos. After our thirst for booze got stimulated we opted to park at my house and walk down to Twin Oaks for further libations in celebration of Kate's getting a new job. I am so excited for her - she has really deserved a little break-through since graduating from college.

We had a great time being loud and rowdy at the bar - and taking lots of photos of each other with Kate's kick-ass Cannon. I can't believe how well it does in low-light.

I must have needed last night worse than I thought, I'm not 100% certain but I think I may have had 6-7 margaritas and I feel down right chipper today.

Anyway, not much else to say... other than it is nice to be around these younguns.

*ugh*

Just when I thought it was tough, the past two weeks have been sooooo stressful and it all culminated yesterday with my wee spaz rasta schnauzer being in some kind of terrible pain causing her to not want to move or eat and yelping loudly when disturbed. I took her to the vet and had to explain I was in a financial position to not be able to justify any crazy expenses.

He did his best to give her a good look over and try to determine the source of her troubles. It would seem she has managed to hurt her back, to what degree is unknown. I'm almost certain our big fat lab Beaux had something to do with this. He is oblivious to his surroundings and barrels into/bounces on top off anything in his path.

So the vet prescribed a cocktail of pain and anti-inflammatory meds along with something to soften up her stool as she was a little backed up too. We have to keep her from moving around as much as possible, no stairs, no big dawgs bouncing around her.

One good thing that came out of this is that while Chi was hopped up on her pain meds last night I got in some substantial fur-trimming and matt-removal!

Wow! Just got off the phone with Gordy Jr. In Baghdad! What a nice surprise to hear his voice this morning. He sounds so good and grounded in himself. He gets to come home for leave next month, hopefully will get to see him! He said that they are in a record stretch of not being bombed -since the beginning of January. Will be so glad when he is back state-side for good.

Well... have to go do my chores and go to work, lots to do yet for the big show in Austin next week. With any luck at all we will get a favorable response to the next version of our software.

One last thing before I go... Mom! I am sorry I missed your birthday yesterday. I wasn't until LATE last night I even realized what date we were on. It was much too late to call you when I did realize, so had to leave a sleepy message in your blog. I'll try to call you today.

can't get enough pie!

well maybe i can. Today was national pie day. I had planned to go down to M2 Gallery and celebrate the evening with Max and Michael and a truckload of pie. Dumb me, I didn't realize they were going to be done with their festivities @2pm... I thought it STARTED at 2. Gordy made two of his awesome key-lime pies last night and today I made an Albanian meat pie called "Lakror" and another veggie pie that is a traditional recipe from the isle of Crete... called "Boureki". Both were freakin' delicious, unfortunately they were finished about 3 hours too late for their debut.

I've had my fill and I'm busting at the seams, a little bummed that I didn't realize beforehand that i should have had this stuff ready much earlier. Gordy said we could bring 'em down tomorrow, but I don't want to bring the guys leftovers :-(

At my request Gordy took some of the bounty of our private pie-fest over to the neighbor. I don't know what the heck he will think of the pies... hope he likes them.

Im feeling sorry for myself tonight.

Gordy crossing the finish line

Dot

Pics from Christmas

Kate came by this past weekend and dropped off a CD with the pics she took at the house with her new camera. I've uploaded the pics to flickr to share with anyone who may want to have a look. However, I made it so the pics are only available to my flickr friends and family - It seemed like the polite thing to do, since I am not the one who took the pictures. If you don't have a flickr account AND we are not friends/family you will not be able to see the pics. Sorry! Just contact me via flickr and I'll "friend-ya."

Kate does some great photography, thank you bunches for taking pics hon! Kate's pics

I don't know how I managed to make it all the way through the holidaze without taking a single photo.

Hawk with Squirrel

Hawk with Squirrel
Originally uploaded by gordyt

a friend sent this pic to Gordy today... He took the pic in his yard in Conroe. Amazing!

So what did i miss?

28 degrees tonight? Here?! Ack!

Then Thursday and Friday AGAIN back down into the 20's. It is not supposed to do that here.