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Around Halloween, Carrie and Victor announced that they're expecting their first child-- which will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family. (ETA: Well, the first on both sides of our family, I mean-- but not the first on Victor's side.) Obviously this was big news. ;o) (They told my parents by presenting them with a bucket of candy-- a very careful selection of candy, such as Sour Patch Kids, Sugar Babies, etc.)
The due date is sometime in mid-May (I think). Still waiting to hear if I'm going to be an aunt or an uncle. (Ha ha. (g)) Seriously, though, I'm curious whether it's a boy or a girl. (This is a perfect excuse for more crocheting, and I need to figure out what pattern and colors I want to use!)
The due date is sometime in mid-May (I think). Still waiting to hear if I'm going to be an aunt or an uncle. (Ha ha. (g)) Seriously, though, I'm curious whether it's a boy or a girl. (This is a perfect excuse for more crocheting, and I need to figure out what pattern and colors I want to use!)
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A while (month? I lose track of time) ago, my father brought a good pile of mulch up to our yard from the pond. (Which reminds me, as if I needed reminding, that I need to finish spreading that. Time goes too quickly!!) Anyway, I spent some time carting it around and spreading it over plantings and around trees. At first, I took care that the dogs shouldn't be outside while I did this, because I thought they might get in the way.
See Trixie watching me through a window? Isn't that adorable? ;o)
Later on, however, they managed to be out while I worked. Trixie found the digging into Mulch Mountain very exciting. Every time I jabbed the shovel into the pile, she pounced on it, growl-barking and biting it. (ETA again: I meant that she pounced on the mulch pile-- not the shovel... which would be kind of dangerous. It was almost like she thought I was attacking the pile and wanted to join in.) (See? I told you it was exciting. Bet you didn't believe it was really that thrilling, did you?)
Once some of it was taken away, the pile of mulch became Molly's designated spot to wait for our return when we go on walks:
Outdoor pet beds-- yet another use for mulch!
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While I was out doing yard work, I happened to look up and catch sight of a huge flock of American White Pelicans. You may recall that we spotted a group of these birds a couple years ago. I posted a (shaky) video of it, back then. This flock was much larger and therefore more impressive. I ran to tell Donald, and while he snapped some photos, I got some more (shaky) video of the flock.
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Let's see... What else?
According to my (old) cheat-sheet of Subjects to Mention on the Blog, we went to Fairhope Pier to eat pizza and take photos. Apparently it was ideal photo weather, because there were photographers everywhere. And not just casual photographers, either. There were people with tripods (and you guys, they were actually using them). There were people with big, for real cameras and lenses. There was even someone doing bridal portraits... of a bride... in her flowing white wedding gown and veil. Seriously, it was like the local community college had sent out a whole class of Photography 101 students on a field trip to the pier.
You couldn't ask for more beautiful weather.
...And then we saw a cruise ship leaving Mobile, which was also pretty neat.
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After finishing with Project 365, I wanted to set up another photo blog for any smaller photo challenges I may decide to try. Here it is for anyone interested: The View Through My Lens.
Right now, I'm in the middle of a month-long challenge for November-- A Month of Gratitude. The challenge (not surprisingly, given the title) is to take a photo a day representing something that makes you feel grateful. One of my friends from the online community of polymer clay enthusiasts had the idea and invited people to join. If you like, you can visit the Flickr group pool to see what has inspired others with gratitude.
So far, my photos for the challenge have been kind of random, but that's ok. November always seems like a fairly busy month to me, so I'm feeling sufficiently challenged even with my random (sometimes not-so-great) photos.
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Ok, that's caught-up enough! ;o)
I hope you're all enjoying your last full week of November!
