Thanks to Katie and Vern, Scout now has a pair of socks to wear around the house. I'm pretty sure she has a more extensive wardrobe than I do now.
Video of Megan and I making Scout run around the house in her socks.
At least you always know how she feels...
action shot
All she's missing is an elf hat (Katie, don't buy her an elf hat...)
Please stop.
[Mike] How ya doin', Scout? [Scout] If this is what it's gonna be like with you bein' home all da time, ya need ta get another job. [Mike] Aren't ya havin' fun?
[Scout] Don't push it. I know where ya sleep...
Added another eight inches of snow the other day. Started off with a nice ice storm for a good base. It ended up being the heaviest snow I've ever shoveled.
Pine trees are pretty weighed down.
With the ice, the snow really grips all the trees and bushes. Thankfully, it's been nice for the last few days and this has been melting pretty quickly. We've had about 112 inches of snow this winter, which is only about 18 inches more than average. Ready for spring...
More canvases on the assembly line. If you haven't noticed yet, I've started my own Etsy page. If you are on Etsy, I'd appreciate if you "favorite" my shop and follow me. I'll return the favor. Any suggestions would be appreciated as well. Please visit at:
CONGRATS MALLORY, TIM, AND BIG BROTHER EZRA ON THE NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY. This is my 1st cousin once removed (cousin's kid) Hallie Rose Deibel. Born yesterday. YEAH! That's not the only addition. The doe that's been way too friendly with us in our back yard give birth to two fawns very recently. This will add another wrinkle to our ability to enjoy our fire pit... A fawn after my own heart. Who doesn't love a hammock? If only I wasn't taking a picture through a window when it was raining. WHY WON'T IT STOP RAINING!??!?! This is more of a note to myself. I need to figure out what plant this is. It's a really bushy 12 foot tree with these flowers. Essentially, where that open field is behind the deer above will be filled in with various kinds of flower, trees, and bushes along a path to the fire pit. Trying to make a nice secluded private area to hang out in the back yard. That's it. A rather uneventful week. I've watched way more movies and read way too much of East of Eden than I'd care to admit. That's what three straight weeks or so of rain will do to you...
ANGRY CAT! Speaking of messes, this is not clutter; it's art. 70 degrees and sunny! Break out the shorts and sandals, honey. We're a goin' walkin'! Here's East Chestnut Street in East Rochester. A sure sign of spring were all the softball and baseball games taking place as East Rochester School.
The entrance to Edmund Lyon Park More baseball, this time at Lyon Park. There's a pretty interesting neighborhood and the southeastern portion of the village. It seems the developer was trying to create a modern elf village, which these houses don't appropriately show... Sorry... Our first flower at the new house. Not bad little Daffodil. When I came home today there were a whole row of these guys ready to pop. I wonder what else will pop up in our yard? That's all from Rochester.
A butterfly on a lilac bush. The only thing that could make this be more Rochester is a garbage plate. Meg and I found a new trail near our place. Who would have thought this would be behind Tops? Looks like the set of Mad Max. It's the bridge on Penfield Rd going up the big hill that will be under construction for the next 6 months. Wee-Wee Diapers for dogs. The picture of the dog is hilarious... Busy week coming up (as if things have slowed down). There's a few birthdays. Several work events. Lots and lots of projects I have to get done. and all. Oh adulthood...
Last I saw, we've received 41.7 inches of snow so far in 2010 in Rochester. That's just 10 inches away from the record snowfall in December with expectations near 60 inches total for the month. As for the "Golden Snowball Trophy" Syracuse is in the lead with 55 inches. "What is this trophy?" you ask. Well, it's a nature driven competition between Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Albany to see who gets the most snow. Go to http://www.goldensnowball.blogspot.com/ for more information/
Oh bike. How I won't see you until June.
It's been a long time since I've lived in a snowy climate. Chicago gets snow, but not like Rochester or Muskegon. What makes winter awful there is the bone chilling wind off the plains or Lake Michigan and the complete lack of wintertime activities because they have flat land as far as you can drive. Maybe my wife will get me a sled for christmas...
So, I had 4 job interviews in a week. All seemed to go well and were interesting in their own ways. Certainly won't hear anything about them until after the holidays and the 2010 budgets are done. Megan is out shopping tonight for gifts. She'll be done by Modern Family is on. Buffalo this weekend for dinner and It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen.
Megan and her new lobster husband. We had to go to the beach despite our burns. So, we scouted, travelled and moved a lot finding little pieces of shade wherever we could to enjoy our last day in Albufeira
Sangria and Don cookies under the drinking tree in the main plaza.
Igreja Matriz de Albufeira was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755 by the then Bishop of the Algarve, Francisco Gomes de Avelar. One thing you learn about Portugal, is that everything is somehow related to the earthquake of 1755. The way some locals talk about it, you would think it occurred yesterday.
another old church I know nothing about...
another church...
Somewhat of a view of the city and Atlantic Ocean
hot wife posing with favorite flowering tree
Albufeira on the shore.
So, Albufeira is super touristy for Europeans. There are tons of English, Dutch, and other northern Europeans hanging around, which means a lot of the restaurants cater to and are owned by folks from their respective countries (i.e. Dutch people eat at a Dutch restaurant decorated orange for the World Cup owned by a Dutch guy). So, we asked a local where the locals go to eat. Without hesitation, he said "Casa Madeira. Go there." We replied, "Great, where is it?"
"I can't show you on a map." he stated.
"Um... Okay... Is it near anything?"
"Old town." Mind you, everything is near Old Town. Anyway, we decided to try another restaurant and accidently made it to the one he recommended. It was on a main street easily show-able on a map. I think he realized tourists shouldn't go to local restaurants...
MMMmmmm... Kabab Madeira-style. What makes it Madeira style? Apparently, you take all the animals of a farm, butcher them, put all their meat on a huge skewer, cook it and let all the meat juices fall onto a huge plate of fries. In other words, the perfect meal.
CLIFF CAT! We finally saw one on the last day. We've seen dogs, such as "beach bum dog" who plays with all the tourists at the beach, and cats roaming around perfectly well-behaved throughout Albufeira and Portugal apparently without owners. In Albufeira, many of the cats live in the cliffs. This one was looking for bugs to eat or something.
Goodbye Albufeira! What a great way to relax after the insanity of a great wedding and long flights...
So, our skin is fried. We had the 200 SPF sunblock, applied it 20 times and scorched our lily white northern skin. So, this was a day to hide from the sun as much as possible. And here Megan and I are under our tree in the plaza drinking Sangria with a few other of the town winos...
They have a 7-11 here? No, just a 7 Days...
After walking the beaches east the day before, we decided to try going west and quickly became discouraged by a harbor we knew was there, a sun so intense it was turning us into bacon, and an expanse of land so vast we lost hope. But, this was a pretty view.
It appears Albufeira hired an architect from L.A. or Miami to design the Marina Apartments on their west side and everyone decided to stay as far away from them as possible. It's another sign that wide roads and plentiful parking do not make good cities. The bright colors are nice though...
Festival of the Suckling Pig! Finally something to do. What "Bairrada right by your side" means is still a mystery that I don't think I want to know...
A short, fat palm.
The cemetery I almost died in. It's a nice little place on Rua Sir Cliff Richard with interesting at grade graves covered in tile, photos, and fake flowers. Megan and I were just checking it out when a large Atlantic seagull bellowed at us. It seemed irritated, but nothing unusual. A bit later it did the same thing, but louder and continuous. I was near a tree and we decided to walk away from it because it must of had chicks in it or something. As soon as I moved further from the tree the seagull went nuts and dove at me. Luckily, I had the big backpack my new big brother Dave gave me for Christmas and used it as a shield. Seagulls started to fly out from all the trees and attack me. Megan bolted. It was like the movie The Birds and I tried making my way to the cemetery entrance swinging my backpack at every seagull dive bombing my head. Eventually, they left me along and I saw the Cemetery attendant laughing her ass off and pointing to the tree saying, "babies." That was my first Portuguese near-death experience...
The place I'd by in Albufeira to fix up if it was a bit closer to my job. The green tile exterior makes it along with the walls made of a pile of rocks.
The last fisherman boat left on the beach for the tourists' sake.
Nice fishing boat logo
You would think that the sun would lose it's intensity later in the day and you would be wrong.
Me getting sunburned through my shirt
A little boy and his inflatable tube looking for a river in what appears to be heaven...
Drinking Port wine, grown in a local we'll visit later, at the hotel before getting dinner. Our hotel manager chatted us up a bit since most of the tourists they get are European, very few Americans. US: "So, is the weather always this nice here? We haven't even seen a cloud."
Hotel Manager: "No, in December and January, it can get bad. We'll get rain." Sounds terrible...
YEAH! THE SUN FINALLY SET! We went to the pharmacy to get aloe, which the pharmacist told me was called "solar no-no." My lack of Portuguese and his broken English made for a great medical recipe.
A local band rocking the local folk music in the main plaza.
