Around the House...

Circumstances have made it so I've spent the last couple of nights in Topeka putting stuff up and getting things around. This is Ezmerelda, she guards the place. She was a long ago gift from a friend who thought she looked like me. He added the glasses. :)

Here are a couple of my new happy places (note the daisies):

Check out the strange shelving thing in my bedroom. What to do? I put up family pictures. (On the left, my granddad, my grandmother and me, and my mom; on the right a bunch of family photos, my bros' senior and wedding pics, and my Lily scrolls.)

And, I just love this pic of Lex looking out with her tail curled around her feet. :)

Drips...

Turning 96...

My grandmother turned 96 last week. We had a party this past weekend, which included the *whole* family--which doesn't happen very often any more. (One of the reasons I wanted to move closer was so that I could make these semi-spontaneous little family gatherings.) Above, my grandmother and the three boys. They're actually posing for Tom who is to my left.

Here's the one I took:
And here's another one of E, "Aunt Jenny, take a picture of me acting crazy!"

Chickens Everywhere...

We're about to put the latest issue of the magazine to bed. Last issue, I spent a large amount of time on a story about cattle breeds. Now, I like cattle, actually a lot. Grew up on a farm where we raised some. This issue, it's chickens. To put it mildly, I'm not a chicken fan. We had them on the farm, too, and I collected my share of eggs and walked through my share of chicken poo. (Bleh.) Enough to make a truly negative impression. My coworkers have been giving me no end of trouble about it. So, when we started setting up our demo on Saturday, and it was across the way from the chickens I had to get a photo. :)

Soon chickens will be out of my life, for awhile, so I roamed around and snapped a few images. This big boy was checking out Kato's shield:
And, Polish chickens are always a hoot:

They must be getting under my skin a little, because I thought this little girl was just pretty:

Last but not least, I think it's because he's not home as much, but KC doesn't get as much play as others do here. The look on his face in this photo so characterizes what my thoughts often are when I'm listening to Kyle...

No Pimientos, Please...

My scent trap tree has borne fruit. But these aren't the kind of olives you eat. :) (I am quite taken with the sun burst above, and the sunlight affects below.)

Unfortunately, the camera won't take a decent close-up.

A Room with a View

If I wake up way too early (like 5:30) in my new house, this is what it eventually looks like out my bedroom window.

A Different Type of Heraldic Tower...

During my 3 and a half minute commute (smug smug smug) I drive by the Topeka water tower. Look, clouds, sunrises, and heraldry...

Lex Looks...

There are mirrors in the corners of my new living room (no, I don't know why). This is Lex checking out the other cats. She's starting to get the whole mirror thing, because she kept looking behind her for the cat she saw in the mirror. She used to try to claw her way through the mirror to get at the cat. :o)

And here are the clouds on the way to the parking lot today:

New Environs

Slept in my own bed for the first time at the new place. (Commuted less than 5 minutes this morning. Wahoo!!) I was feeling kind of sad to leave the flowers I'd discovered in Lawrence, but I walked out in my backyard this morning and these were there waiting. And, my new favorite tree has *flowers*!

Customs and Boxes

I always put this framed saying up first in a new place. It's a gift my grandmother gave me at my senior recital in college.

Got a bunch of stuff moved, thanks in part to KC and TJ, who moved most of these boxes, and helped me with my bed and the hutch. :)

(Finished the Harry Potter book at 11:18 this morning. :) Sad it's done, but "a satisfying ending.")

Bird in the Tree

The tree outside my front door is quickly becoming the replacement for "my tree." I just really like it. I'm working on what kind it is. It's leaves close up at night, and it's all pretty and frond-y during the day. This isn't the cardinal that I saw in my back yard before, but this bird was making a lot of noise, and sat still to let me photograph him. :)

Wizards and Dragons Gone Wild

I believe Khaentlahn used the word "insane" to describe the Harry Potter party at B&N. I snapped the above as Michael and I were moving from the "pre-line" into the actual line to get our copies. (The timestamp is 1:10 am.) By this point we'd been there several hours, but we found ways to kill time. Michael had a new book about dragons.
Check out the amazing drawing he did:

We hung out near the Harry Potter Scene It area (seemed appropriate). After all the joy and sharing that I saw last night, I'd be a pretty hard sell that HP is anything but a wonder.

Got home ~3, and fell asleep on the book at 4:30. :o)

Handsome Boy

I'm in love with Bodhi, a new friend's Great Dane. He's beautiful, gentle, and just all-in-all a good dog. It's obvious he doesn't get enough love or attention, though :o) :
And he'll have to learn about great swords if he's going to be around the SCA. :)

Without the Soft Winds and Roses...

Cattails in the creek behind work, blowing in the Kansas wind.

(If the title seems mysterious, check this out.)

Solitary Beauty

Apparently this bush from this post is a flowering plant. Well, it has one flower anyway.

If you look closely, you can see other buds that will be blooming soon, but for now, this single blossom is getting all the attention. :)