Evil Dog

I left the house for a meeting in the District and my desk pretty much looked like this:


Came home to this:

And this:
He won't come out. Hmmm. Could he have done this?

My guess is that the Thief and Jaleo were playing and chasing each other. Then Chima must have hopped into one of her favorite places to hang out and Evil Dog wanted in there also.

Thief!

Now it seems I need to put baby-locks on some upper cabinets.

Sign at Trader Joes Market

Sign at Trader Joes Market
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

Brrrr

Baby Girl Ricks

Baby RIcks 01
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

I just returned from seeing Tangie, Dave, and their beautiful baby girl (name to be decided). It seems that Tangie and Dave are still negotiating names, etc. Tangie called last night a bit frantic because they didn't have time to get a digital camera and grandparents can't make it to D.C. until the weekend.

She is pink and beautiful. She's just under 5 lbs and should be in neonatal for a few more weeks. I was able to get some nice shots of her with Tangie and then with Dave. In between them shuffling in an out (only 2 visitors at a time) Tangie plopped her into my arms. She's tiny and warm. Dave retreived her from my arms like a pro. More photos.

Tangie had her baby

Lauren was born this morning at 6:48 a.m. She's six weeks early but doing well. Tangie and baby are at Washington Hospital Center. I hope it wasn't something I said.

Happy Birthday, Lauren.

Lunch with Tangie

@ Marshall's Bar & Grille.

3:00 a.m. – Attack of the Killer Snow

We finally have winter here in Northern Virginia and had our first snow fall yesterday and last night. The storm was capped off with freezing rain later in the evening and now the roads and sidewalks are icy and slick.

I felt sorry for Jaleo last night and let him sleep with me under the comforter. Around 3:00 a.m. he decided to look outside and the white stuff all over the neighborhood scared him. I awoke to him running from window to window, barking and growling. I could not for the life of me get him quiet. I was afraid he'd wake up the neighbors, especially the young teenager who's bedroom is just below mine. So back into his kennel he went. Still not quiet. I finally put his training collar on him and had to give him a little zing each time he barked until he finally quieted down and went back to sleep about 45 minutes later. I, of course, could not get back to sleep. Damn dog.

Here's a shot of him catching up on some zzzs while I toil away working to feed him.

Oh yeah, this was the first morning in many months that I woke up with no nasal and sinus congestion. Yeah.

First Snow

Washington D.C. finally has winter. This is a shot of the first few flakes coming down. One news station said it would late tonight and only an inch. Another station said 3-6 inches. I imagine neither will be right.

Saki & Jedi

Having a most delicious cold day. With the wind blowing and the 36 degree weather, wind chill is down to 20 right now. Went hiking this morning and now at Marty's house drinking warm saki and watching the Star Wars Episode I. What in the universe where they thinking when they created Jar Jar Binks?

Jaleo is cuddled up on the couch with a heating pad, a blankie, and Marty's dog. Ooh, the life of a well loved dog.

May the Force be with you.

Allergy Central

I have enjoyed the mild weather this winter, but...

It seems my fall allergies have morphed into spring allergies. So far, it has not been cold enough long enough to kill off what ever it is I'm all sniffly about. I can't wait for nice weather again. But, I am looking forward to not having a constant headache, sniffles, sneezing, coughing and throat clearing for a few months.

Every year I always say that this is the year I go to an allergist. But somehow I never think my allergies are not going to be bad enough to warrant the doctor visit. This year I really mean it.

Sunset 16 January 2007

Sunset 16 January 2007
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

My friend Beth has sunrises. I've got sunsets. Just caught this shot from my office window. Had to take the screen out and hang out the window though.

This shot is the raw jpeg. No colored filters or photoshop manipulation was used.

Nice Spring Day, January 14

You've probably figured that I finally mastered the moblog learning curve as indicated in the post below. One must update their email/blog preference on Flickr to work with the new Blogger. I hope switching over will be worth the overall headaches that come with it. I've yet to play with the new tag function or play with the templates.

It's a grey day here in D.C. this fine winter day. However, I was outside having coffee with friends this morning wearing a long sleeve tee shirt and a light sweatershirt. On my morning walk today I saw more evidence of this false spring. There were a number of budding flowers on trees and bushes and a few poking out of the earth. After a busy morning, I'm home now for some heating pad therapy for a few hours before I head out for dinner. I have several windows open and I can hear birds finest springtime song competition. It should be noted that I am not complaining. I'm just astonished at the mild weather the D.C. metro area is experiencing.

My back is better and better every day. I'm feeling so well that I'll probably take Jaleo out for a walk this afternoon before I head out for an early dinner. I bought several brands of those hot pads that adhere to your skin. They are not as good as a heating pad (as with baths and showers, I love scorching heat) but they seem to work well. I bought the CVS brand this time. Will definitely upgrade next time. Seems I'll be stepping up my core work in the months ahead.

Crocus in January

Crocus in January
Originally uploaded by You Busy?.

Saw these poking out of the ground outside my bank in Arlington, Virginia today. Weird.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Test 4

Sent an image and note from my treo via my flickr account. That was at 1:19 pm EST. It's up at Flickr and I also received a copy of it in my email. Just haven't seen it land here yet.

Test 3

Email from laptop with photo in body of message.

Test 2

Email from laptop with .jpg attached.

Test 1

I keep emailing blog entries from my Treo and they never show up. Today I'm going to see if I can send under different circumstances. This email is from my laptop with no picture attached.

Finally Feeling Better

I'm not 100% yet but on the way. I was able to get out of the house and enjoy some of this weather. Thank you to the drunken uncles in New Mexico. Your 3am call with your crazy tips of advise could have waited for a saner time. But insanity seems to run rampant when the bachelors get together for skiing, drinking, and smoking.

Day 3 of Back Aches

I can't take much more of this. I'm going crazy being house bound. My back is feeling better bit by bit. In the morning I feel like I've made progress. My the end of the day, I feel like I'm back at ground zero.

Hopefully will be back to normal very soon.

Back Out

I've been convalescing with a bad back the last few days. It happened Sunday afternoon just after bringing groceries up to my third floor walk-up. Then zing. Since then I can barely stand. I spent yesterday in an old rocking chair since it was the only chair or sofa that was comfortable. A heating pad added to the nice comfy feeling. And Tylenol-3 with codeine was my nighttime aperitif. I did feel a little better today and hope the healing potential is exponential.

Right not I'm trying to kill some time while waiting for the t3 kicks in. Then off to zzzzzzzz.

Cheese, Chestnuts & Wine

I was on the web this evening researching what cheese would be nicely with roasted chestnuts and whether the wine should be red or white. (Yes, really.) And came across the nutritional values of the chestnut. I was surprised to learn that the chestnut has the lowest fat content among nuts. They are high in complex carbs (54%), but very low in fat content at about 1 gram +- per large nut. Wow, I don't feel so guilty for roasting 5 or 6 for a nighttime snack about this time of year. Such a nice cold weather treat. However, it's not quite the same during 70 degree weather.

I did love the weather today. I don't feel guilty about it one bit. I miss California winters. I miss being able to open windows most of the year. And I miss the sunsets. I really have not seen many outstanding sunsets living here in Virginia.

Anyway... I had a wonderful day. Took advantage of the lovely warmth and was on the go all day. Capped it off with dinner outside in Clarendon. It was imperative to eat outside for just about everyone in Arlington. It was crowded. But it was a nice energy.

I'm sure this is the theme of about 90% of blogs in the northeast tonight.

P.S. Had a nice lunch with a friend today and took photos of an outdoor ice rink with people in shorts and tee shirts. I emailed a blog entry with the photo from my treo around 2pm today. As of this publishing the post has yet to show up. So, here's the photo reposted:

Mild D.C. Winter

Yesterday was amazingly nice. The temps made it to the high 60s and I had all the windows open until early evening. Today is blah, overcast, and rainy. But the temps are again comfortable. The weather sites predict tomorrow to be clear and sunny with temps in the low 70s. Yes, 70s.

So, I've decided to take today "off" and clean the house. Then play, play, play all weekend.

House of Blue

Not the music venues. Thee House. Just watched the handing over of the gavel to Nancy Pelosi. Time to pat our backs for finally getting a female Speaker of the House. And the fact that other nations preceded us by electing female presidents, prime ministers, and chancellors long before us shouldn't deter our celebration of this milestone. Mongolia elected their first female president in 1953.

The list of female heads of state is impressive. But do you see the U.S. on that list. No. Not yet. Maybe soon.