Blogoversary

Yesterday was it! 4 years of blogging. Wow, who would have known anything could hold my interest that long.

I spent my blogoversary at the fair. Once again my favorite thing at the fair was the bunny barn.

I love these lion-headed buns. They are so soft and fuzzy and just plain cute.

This one is a Mini-Rex. He was just like velvet. I know it was a he because his tag said he is a buck! Sam said he had never heard of a Rex rabbit. I said "you've never heard of a Bunnysaurus Rex"?


Rabbit Rabbit.....here's to having a great month!!

I think I can do it

Remember back a few months ago I started a kitchen remodel? The wallpaper was stripped and walls and trim painted. New counters were put in and I got new bar stool covers and window treatments. I haven't taken pix and posted the results because the job isn't done. The hardwood floor still needs to be redone.

I was watching a home improvement show yesterday and I think I can do those floors. I really do. Have any of you tackled that job before? If so what were your challenges and do you think that I would be able to do it??

I think I can and I've decided to go drastic. I'll be going with a dark walnut stain. Mmmmmmm....rich. This is what I envision it looking like.


Yeah, I'm gonna do it.

I got a promotion!!

And new title.

I am officially a Benefits Tax Operations Accountant. That's the formal way of saying I still move paper from one side of my desk to the other. I'm actually very excited about this change and new opportunities that come with it. And the little extra coin won't hurt either.

Rescue Planned for Woman Trapped in Home by Giant Pig

No, this was not me:

A huge pig called Bruce has trapped a terrified woman in her home in Australia.

Caroline Hayes, 63, tried to leave her house in Uki, New South Wales, to use the outdoor toilet, but the animal bit her and shoved her back inside.

Bruce, who is the size of a Shetland pony, showed up at her home 10 days ago after his owners were unable to cope with him and let him loose in the rainforest.

Hayes began feeding the beast, but he became more aggressive, demanding more food and biting her on the leg when she tried to go to the toilet.

Local rangers tried to rescue her but could not capture the huge animal.

more

I know it's not funny but it did make me chuckle. That's my sadistic nature.

Only at Boo's

Do you own a pig??

Saturday night after Sam and I had hiked all day we decided to have a fire in the pit and just relax. It was a perfect night. Temps were hovering around 60 and no wind. Crickets were chirping and it was just a nice evening.

About 7pm we hear a car come up the driveway. It was dusk so it was hard to see who it was. Sam walked over to the car and I heard him talking to the guy. I meandered over and Sam asked if I knew anyone who had a pig? "No why?" Because there is a pig at the bottom of our driveway. HUH?

Sure enough...when I glanced toward the streetI could see the pig moseying up the driveway. It is a steep drive so he was having a rough time. I knew a couple of neighbors who had raised pigs in the past so I ran in the house. First I grabbed my camera (always have to take advantage of a photo op) then the phone book and my cell phone. BY the time I got back outside the guy was gone and so it seems was the pig. I called several neighbors and finally got one who answered.

"This is Boo from down the road, do you still have pigs?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There was one loose in my driveway"

"What color is it?"

"Pink"

"How big is it?"

I didn't realize it was going to be 20 questions. I don't know how big it is because quite truthfully it was just dusk enough that my eyes may have been playing tricks on me. And that's pretty much what I told her. She said she thought it may be a guys up the road but she didn't know his name. SHe was going to check her own pigs and if one was missing she'd be down and if not....well...then she won't.

The pig must have vaporized because I didn't see him after that. Sam wondered if it belonged to someone on the railroad bed since he had seen a sign up for a pig roast. I told him if that was the case I wasn't helping them find Wilbur.

We kept an eye out yesterday too and still saw nothing. Sam and I both saw the pig in the driveway. At least we think we did.

So out of my league (Tumbledown Mountain)

It was a nice start. Shelby and Sam were eager to get started. I on the other hand had to make a quick pit stop at the outhouse. Oh, that was one of the great things about this trail, it had a VERY NICE outhouse at the trailhead. Seriously.


I wish you could hear what this little brook sounded like. I would have loved to pitch a hammock and just lay and listen to that all day.


See me smiling here? Yeah, I had no clue what I was in for.



This is the trail. Where? You ask? Ummmm....right there! Can't you see it? Well, if you look at the trees you'll see the occasional blue paint splotch. Those mark the trail. At least now we know why they call it Tumbledown.



Sam is a little leary. Can he make it holding Shelby (which he had to carry her through about 3/4 of the trip because it was just too rocky for her little short legs) and would I be able to follow as well. This still wasn't the worst part of the trail.



THIS was the worst part. I tried a half dozen times to get up over that rock. Finally a couple came along and I watched where the lady put her hands and feet and with the help of her husband I was able to finally conquer the mountain.



The views were great though and the little pond was very peaceful.



The map said it was an easy trail. Sam says "not so much". Shelby didn't think it was all that rough since she had a pretty smooth ride.


My legs and arms and hips and knees and ankles and back are all screaming this morning. I took a couple of ibuprofens because there is no time for soreness. It's a beautiful day and brush needs to be hauled. It was a good hike and a better than good workout. I saw a heavyset woman climbing up on our way down. She looked miserable and I'm wondering if she made it up over the big ledge. She was greart motivation for me. If she can make it I can make it and not complain (too loudly).

9

I stepped on the scale at work this morning. I'm down 9 pounds!! And my bra still fits the same!!!

Yay!

Losing weight and not losing boobage is a very good thing. My pants are a little looser but I know I have a long ways to go. This is very motivating though.

I measured the walk I do at work and it is officially 1 1/2 miles. I can't do anything longer than that at work so now I'm working on reducing the amount of time it takes me to walk it. I did it yesterday in 28 min. Keep in mind my legs are short stubby things so it does take me a little longer than usual.

She's always on my ass

Balloon Season

Yeah it's one of my favorite seasons.

Sunday was a much nicer morning than Friday. It was completely clear. Lee was supposed to go with me and she did make it, at the last possible second. Seems she had a bit too much fun on Sat night and slept through the ringing phone for 45 min. But she did wake up and in a panic,called me up and asked if she was too late. Nope! Not at all!

Her sister Debbie and my friend Debbie went as well. This Balloon thing is really catching on.

For even more awesome shots check out my Flickr Badge over there --------> on my sidebar.

Totes are put away

Sam worked late again last night so I was able to get all the totes neatly stacked back in Heather's closet. I was going to go through them but they are hers and I didn't want to invade her privacy or take a chance on getting rid of something meaningful.

I got the middle room or family room as I'm hoping it will be eventually become cleaned out. I vaccuumed and rearranged. It's not too bad down there now. I feel bad now that I put off for 6 months what I could have taken care of in about 5 hours. Oh well, why do today what you can put off 6 months? Right?

I got up at 4:30am and got all dressed in my annual excitement. Yes it is Balloon Festival time. Too bad the fog was such a buggar this morning. I heard that the balloons did launch, about an hour after I had to leave for work. Lee and I are going back on Sunday morning and it is supposed to be nice and clear that morning so I will try again.

More Balloons

(pix are clickable for better viewing)

I went down alone on Sunday and I actually enjoyed it as much by myself as I do with company. I was able to walk around for the shots and that's what I did. My favorite shots are the ones with the bridge.


This first one struck me odd because it was like they forgot to dip the balloon in color. But maybe they accomplished the task of getting people to notice it because everyone did. Most had negative comments but I rather enjoyed viewing something totally different. Sometimes the beauty is in the plainness of it.


The early morning light, both as a sunrise and for lighting up the landscape is truly the best. I never thought of myself as a morning person, but I guess I am and this is why. The peaceful, serene waters with the magical sunrise greeting the day. Not to mention the balloons show their vibrance best in the wee hours of the day.



If only it truly were the dog days of summer. I know some of you have been experiencing a heat wave but here in the northeast, you'd swear is was Fall. I wore a fleece to the launch and I tend to be warm all the time, so that goes to show how chilly it was.


As you can see, the balloons were not the only things taking flight.




I didn't attend any of the regular festival activities. Early morning Balloons were enough for me. I'm sure I could have captured all sorts of sights with my camera but I just didn't make it down this year.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

I've waited all year

Anxiously, just like Christmas, I have been counting down the days. I started talking about it the last week of Aug 2006. Just a few days after it ended. Couldn't wait for this year. I charged both batteries, cleared my memory card, got to bed early, all in preparation for this morning.

The Great Falls Balloon Festival!!!!!



I tell you there is just no better time of day and there is no better light to capture this man made beauty.


It has been a bit of a learning for me though. No matter how much great equipment you have and no matter how much you practice with the settings, sometimes Mother Nature just doesn't cooperate. She was ok this morning with the exception of the wind. There were very light winds but in the totally wrong direction. I was not able to get a close up of a "splash and dash" nor are there any decent sunrise pics. But it makes no never mind. I was in my glory.

Lee went with me. We met at about 5:30am, stopped off at Dunkin Donuts then headed to Auburn. I told her that I need to find a man like her. She is always up for an adventure and it doesn't matter the time of day. No complaining about the early hour, just good old fashioned enjoyment.


I did manage an "early morning" sky pic. Not truly a sunrise but spectacular in and of itself.

I'll be back there tomorrow morning and Sunday morning. Mother Nature is bound to yield to my wishes if I'm patient enough.