We have a new addition to the family, her name is Lilly and she is a cute little thing. We have sort of adopted her... OK, it's a horse. We have her on a "free" lease, which means we only have to pay for board, vet and farrier... not so "free", but she and the daughter have bonded already in the short three days they have been together. This horse has a lot of potential.. she has not been ridden much over the past year, but is cantering around the ring (sometimes on the wrong lead) and even jumped a fence or two. My daughter is delighted.



Last weekend AM, Julie and I played tourist in Baltimore and visited the Visionary Art Museum. Visionary means that they have no formal training, and from the descriptions of the artists, many of them had some mental issues, or at least induced some artificially. There were some very interesting exhibits, including a model of the Lusitania made from 190,000 toothpicks. There was also artwork made from matchsticks, telephone wire, and others from recycled junk. Definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in Baltimore. From there we dined at the Rusty Scupper with a nice view of the harbor, then up to the Charles Theater for a movie.



Oh, and I finally got this photo off my iPhone.. its AM and Livingston Taylor from the concert we attended a few weeks back.


Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. We will be celebrating that, along with AM and her Dad's birthdays this weekend.

I was going to write about the inauguration, but my sweetheart expressed things so much better than I ever can. I was inspired by our new president, his eloquence, his grasp of what this country means, the tasks that lie before us. I feel like he has the tools to move things forward, if we can just overcome politics as usual in this country. I did miss out on the champagne toast with AM and her oldest, but I hope to toast many of this president's accomplishments in the future. As for the rest of today, I had to get home to a less than healthy young lady. This week is high school midterms, so she dragged herself into school for the test, but then home soon after since she was not feeling so well. Hopefully we will make it through the rest of this week of half days and exams.

I finally got around to downloading my memory card in my camera, so here are a few samples of the past few weeks.

Our post Christmas trip to DC... playing tourists.




Happy New Year to everyone!


The noisier of the two new kittens that took up residence with AM over the Christmas break.

I have been negligent in my blogging for a while now. Seems that when you miss doing it for a week or so, its even harder to get started again.

I think I have all my shopping done and just a few things left to wrap. AM, her kids, my daughter and myself will be doing our gift exchange tomorrow. Should be a fun day! Then have to work Tuesday and Wednesday before a nice break for Christmas.

I won't bore you all with a long catchup on all the things going on in the last month, but will summarize thusly...

Work, Farm, Taking care of my daughter, Meetings, Commuting, Lovely days spent with AM and family, Shopping, Decorating, Wrapping, Yoga, Working on web sites, sleeping, eating... you get the picture.

Oh.. Thanksgiving went very well... had AM and a portion of her family, my mom and daughter on hand... the food turned out well and the company was wonderful. It was an inauguration of sort for the new kitchen.. at least I know the oven works now. :-)

A couple of photos from the iPhone - The daughter, friend and horse Max, AM, and the actresses from the recent holiday performance.





Still getting the hang of the new toy... but its been a great replacement for my old iPod and Palm Treo.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year (just in case I go another month between posts).

Merry Christmas!

A few weeks back I mentioned that one home improvement project seems to lead to another... well those continue, still doors to paint, ceilings to touch-up. But I have been wonderfully distracted by my iPhone that AM gave me for my birthday. A new system to set up and customize... well, that led to a purging of my contact list and calendars before I put them on the phone. Do I really need the number for my daughter's elementary school health room any more? She is in high school after all. The dentist we used two dentist's ago.. nah, that can go to. I whittled the list down by a hundred or so numbers. Some I couldn't even recognize! It felt good to start with a more organized slate of people that I may need to get in touch with.

Having somehow stimulated these organizational brain circuits.. I spent several hours the other day clearing out the old stuff in the basement. I have a lot of big plastic bins that are great at hiding away things that should have been thrown out or given away years ago. Boxes of stuffed animals, old toys, unpaired shoes.. out they went, or were sorted into boxes to go to the charities. Still much to do.. but I am making progress.

I am a bit concerned about what's next, my computer desktop and all its files? The garage? Maybe I will just go back to enjoying my iPhone.. probably could use a new playlist for that. I have several in my ITunes that need to be purged and redone. Oh no.. its happening again. Someone please make it stop! :-)

I don't feel any older... a little achy after going to the gym on Monday and Wednesday, but that is pretty much par for the course. The new recycling bin that arrived on my curb on Tuesday should have been a clue. Then AM calling to wish me a happy birthday yesterday morning tipped me off. It was my 47th yesterday. :-)

I had some lovely notes from friends on Facebook. Almost all my meetings at work were canceled (sort of a gift in a way). Then we all met up for dinner in Burtonsville last night. AM, her kids, mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law, my mom and daughter. It was a lovely celebration. I am a very lucky fellow to have such wonderful people in my life. And sometime in the next few days I will go get my new iPhone that AM gave me for my birthday. Then I just have to figure out what to get with my mom's nice monetary gift. Any suggestions? Putting it towards a new sliding door to the deck just doesn't seem right. :-)

Saturday AM and I will join Linna for a Yoga retreat. That should be a relaxing day! Maybe I will get a lot of eye pillows? ;-)

In an surprising turn of events, last weekend we sold our horse, Pilgrim. He is going to a lovely new home in Pennsylvania tomorrow, to be the first horse for a new young lady. I expect he will be pampered and loved as he was by my daughter. For my daughter it is both an exciting time, as she prepares (and starts saving money) for her new horse, and a sad time as she has to say goodbye to her first one. One good thing is her friend in Pennsylvania doesn't live too far away, so they can visit from time to time. Also, she had a wonderful lesson riding a new horse, Max, on Wednesday.. she was jumping and cantering so much more than Pilly was able to do, and she had a big smile and renewed energy and confidence. I enjoyed watching her... these are the times that all the hours spent at the farm are most worthwhile!

Tomorrow we will send him on his way with our love.. and my thanks for taking care of my daughter, not causing her any injuries in those two years, and being a good boy (most of the time) ;-)

AM and I just got back from a lovely retreat for spa pampering in Berkely Springs on Friday and Saturday. I had never done that before, and I can now see how it could become a regular treat. We wandered around this small town in West Virginia, strolling into the stores, dining, seeing a movie in a very old and quaint movie theater there. The show, popcorn and drinks for $8.50! Can't even get one ticket for that back in our neighborhoods.


Update on the kitchen.. it's done! Well.. almost. The refrigerator comes on Wednesday. It's been a long wait on that! The doors are all in, and some of them are even painted. Still work to do there. My daughter and I did a near total clearing out of her room.. which now looks great... but all that stuff (that did not immediately get thrown out) is now added to the clutter in the basement. So, one step at a time.. the house will get looking good one day. Since I am hosting Thanksgiving this year.. I guess I have a deadline. ;-)

Sometime in the middle of all this.. the hot tub sprang a leak.. but that is fixed now. Just in time for the cooler fall and winter nights when its the best!

Will be getting back to checking out and commenting on others blogs... I have just been swamped with work, both regular and some side jobs that have made it hard to do more internet work for fun! :-)

Looking forward to seeing some spooky Halloween costumes in the coming weeks. And more SNL skits on the politics.. they have been very entertaining!