I Love the Smell of Chlorine in the Morning

Last weekend, Megan and I were lucky enough to see Rachel in a swim meet at Penfield High School as a part of the Sea Dragons (http://www.seadragons.org)

Mmmm...  Swimming is a difficult sport to capture with still photography... 

But, look at Rachel go! 

She's a way better swimmer than I am.  I would have been doing the doggy paddle... 

And, here's the future Olympian showing off all her prizes.  GREAT JOB RACHEL!

And, here's Scout torturing us.  Specifically, trying to use Megan's hair as a pillow...

A good place to hide from the cold.

And passing out after three hours of losing her mind...

And, other dogs are now mailing Scout treats.  Apparently really good treats that are able to hold her complete attention for the entire night.  Thanks Vern!

Finally, went to Wilson Commencement Park's (http://www.wilsoncommencementpark.com/) gala on Saturday.  Unfortunately, wasn't able to take any pics.  It was a good time with great people.

That's about it for now.  Just waiting for Meg to get back from Chicago and playing with the dog.

Our New Dog Scout

Here's our new puppy, Scout.  She's a nine week old Lab/Terrier/Shepherd/Squirrel/Kangaroo/Meerkat mix.

 And, especially for Katie, here's a puppy photo extravaganza!

She has a quick and sneaky tongue (Scout, not Megan)... 

She's a pretty calm dog unless you release her from her crate.  Then she's a blur. 

 Belly scratchin'!

She will do everything in her power to be in your lap at all times.

Pose...  Pose...  Sneak attack! 

 Licking the ears.

STOOOOOOP!!! 

Megan and Scout at Corbett's Glen watching the salmon. 

That's a fur baby photo montage...

Fishermen at Corbett's Glen.  The guy on the left is lugging around a giant salmon.

APPLE PICKING UPDATE:  Per my last blog, we went apple picking.  Therefore, Megan's been on an apple food marathon.  Here is apple cake, which is a great substitute for every meal.

Mmmmm...  Baked apple

That's it.  I'm going to bother our dog now...

I Got Apples!

It doesn't get more Upstate New York than this: apple picking.  Headed over to the Apple Farm (https://www.thevictorapplefarm.com/) in Victor for a bag of apples, apple donuts, and other products in what is becoming a Columbus Day tradition.  

 How 'bout dem apples?

 The rain earlier in the day made all the apples look idyllic.  It also made my sneakers into a portable swamp.  You win some; you lose some...

Ground apples... 

 An old barn on the property.

Megan finding the perfect Golden Delicious apples 

"I can make baked apples, apple pie, apple cake, apple sauce, apple butter, apple muffins, apple juice, apple glazed chicken, apple pork chops, candy apples, apple crisp, apple strudel, apple cobbler, apple fritters..."

The foliage is getting to be near peak.  Just another week or so. 

More apples!

Also a Columbus Day tradition: Bernardo's (http://www.bernardospizza.com/) for a post-apple picking lunch.  

May I suggest the Chicken Pesto Pizza Special?  By far the best slices of pizza ever.  I probably could of had a whole pie to myself.  

MOMBUS2

That's all I got for this week.  See you on the flippy-flip (miss no-look basketball shot over my shoulder).

ROAR

Rachel and I got to spend some time together this weekend.  There were a few rounds of Mario Kart on the Wii, Chinese for dinner, she taught me all about Movie Star Planet and Moshi Monster, as well as lots of drawing.  It was a good play date.

Someone became shy suddenly...

Rachel's drawing of Katy Perry.  My favorite part is her signature in the hairpiece.  THANKS FOR HANGING OUT WITH ME RACHEL!  I HAD A FUN TIME!!!

If she gets to show off her art skills, I will show off mine.  This is a silkscreen of a factory in Muskegon, Michigan.  It was part of a series I did in college.  There are about 30 others that have ended up in many odd places.  The majority are at my mom's house.  She'll probably give them to you for fire wood at a good price.

 These are sketches I did of people that rode the Brown Line train with me to work in Chicago.  The torn off parts are where I wrote things like "get milk for dinner" and "PAY ELECTRIC BILL!"  

Mini abstract landscape.  Somewhere out there are some strange large paintings I did with super thick paint.  This is a practice piece that is only a 6 x 8 inches.  There was some painting I saw at the Art Institute of Chicago that I really liked and I tried using a similar technique.  From a distance, it's suppose to look like the woods (not sure if I'm allowed to tell you that, but oh well).

Another painting of abstract woods in the fall.  Kinda looks like the leftovers after a party...

Finally, please consider joining our family in the 2013 Walk to End Alzheimer's at Corn Hill in Rochester, NY on Saturday October 12th.  For more information, please visit the site below:

http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk/NY-ROCHESTERampFINGERLAKESREGION?fr_id=3587&pg=entry

WE'RE OUTSIDE THE LINES!!! HAHAHA!

Who needs Flutie Flakes when you can have MariO's?  Seriously, one of the huge advantages to signing with the Buffalo Bills is the possibility of having your own cereal.  

Winding down to the last fire of the year...

Zweigle's red and white hot over an open flame.  

More home improvement.  This is the before picture.

This is the after.  Not too much.  Just painted the wall above the tile white to soften it up a little bit.  The matching yellow wall kind of burned out your retinas.  

And, a "before" of our front door.

I'm not going to call this an "after" picture because this is getting redone.  The red paint isn't sticking.  So, I'll probably have to strip it, prime it, and sand it all over again because the base is non-absorbent (as you can tell by the missing chunks on the left).  But, someday, this is what it will look like.

"Before" front door

Not an "after" front door...

Last, but not least.  Watched Gertie for a night.  I think she was looking for Dick and Marianne  the whole time.  

That's it for me until the Detroit Tiger's faceoff against Oakland A's in the playoffs starting Friday.  Might splurge and make myself some "Famous Prince Fielder Nachos."