Picture Post

It occurred to me that I haven't posted hardly any pictures in the last 2-3 weeks. You know that life is feeling chaotic to me if there are no new pics on the blog! I can always find time to take a few pics, but if I'm feeling "blah" or overwhelmed I don't think about the camera. A handful of photos have made it onto the 'ol camera (thanks in part to Miss Taevy), so I thought I'd do a picture post. =-)
Taevy and Eric burned some brush yesterday. She took the camera to capture the moment when a sun beam came down through the trees, through the smoke.
It's been VERY hot here since mid-July, and very dry. I'm so ready for Autumn! The other night we were delighted to see this beautiful cloud formation. It looked like it could turn into a quick storm, but didn't quite make it. Still, even a big cloud is exciting right now!

Our house is super hot upstairs in the summer. On days over 95 we allow the kids to sleep downstairs. We offer them nice cushy couches and recliners, but no. The preference is to pile up on mommy and daddy's WOOD floor to sleep at the foot of our bed. It's very "interesting" when I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom (add two dogs in there, that aren't there in the moment during this pic). Thanks to Aunt Sherry and Grandma B. for the sleeping bags! And in case you're wondering, yes those are all of our drawers part way open. Funny how you don't notice that stuff until you see a picture documenting it.

This next pic is ESPECIALLY from Grandma B., who insists that we fold out the couch bed or make very cushy pallets when we go to visit at her house. My kids don't care! Give 'em a hard wood floor and they are good to go!
Little Man Jake (our recently adopted runt puppy with brain damage) had an AWESOME week! His last seizure was on Monday. Maybe he grew out of them? This kid is totally different from two weeks ago when a clump of grass made him fall over. He hops and skips and jumps just a bit now. He's probably put on 50% more in body weight. He recognizes his name, and is generally getting into all the puppy trouble he should be getting into at his age. Don't get me wrong--this puppy is not ever going to be typical, in looks or behavior. His limb differences keeping him from running around for long, and I don't know if he's ever going to be high functioning enough to potty train. But he is just the most LOVABLE puppy! It's been 8 years since Eric and I have allowed a dog to sleep in our bed. This guy sleeps right between our pillows every night. =-)

So....we didn't REALLY get two new dogs in two weeks. I didn't REALLY adopt another one. It's just that...well...our neighbor had two many dogs in her house, and she had this puppy that was left from a litter that was born in April. Poor puppy had to live in one room because of aggression issues with other dogs in the house. The neighbor asked if maybe Scarlett could just come over and play? And then, just maybe....if we ever wanted her to....she could sleep over. =-) That's how Scarlett joined the pack. I guess you could say it's a "shared custody" arrangement! She goes across the street to visit and play with her mommy, Tipsy, whenever she likes, but 95% of the time she's hangin' with the Gillispies.
And did I mention how GORGEOUS she is? And lovable. And QUIET. And how she doesn't mess up the house or chew non-toys or dig? Did I tell you how she's SUPER-submissive so that even super-dominant Akita/Husky Ki-Ki has to give in to her cuteness and not kill her? These are all reasons that she's still here even when Eric will absolutely NOT admit that she is a Gillispie now. Tonight, as he was cuddling HER on OUR bed he admitted, "Yeah....she's a pretty cool dog." That is the highest praise ANY dog gets from Eric. =-)
If something happens and Scarlett has to go back to her original family, they are ready and waiting. In the meantime...I could just sop her up with a biscuit she's so cute!


A benefit to having two puppies in the house (Jake is one month younger) is that they play with each other. Scarlett is super gentle with little Jakey. She goes to check on him in his little "crib" several times a day (his crib is a magazine bin--that's where he sleeps his day away).

Jake really thinks he's top dog when Scarlett allows him to attack her from up top!

And just to prove that I haven't TOTALLY forgotten about my kids, we have Sammy. Poor Sammy came down with a rash on his leg about 3 days ago. Since then it's spread over arms and legs and back and stomach and FACE! Ouch! This face pic really doesn't do it justice. I couldn't capture it's oo-gooeyness!We think we hung out with a Poison Sumac bush last weekend at Gma and Gpa B's house, but we aren't for sure. Other possibilities for infection include clearing away a ton of (HUMONGOUS) overgrowth on one side of the backyard.
I used to be super allergic to poison ivy. This doesn't look like that to me. Not sure what it is, but I'm assuming it's an allergy to one of the "poison" plants. Anybody have a guess? The bumps clump together sometimes, but in lots of areas they are just single bumps--no lines or clumps. It itches. Bad. Poor kid.

Well, that's the sum total of the pics on my camera since the beginning of the month. Nothing to write home about, I guess you'd say! Oh, but I have to tell you this. A few weeks ago a neighbor dropped by to ask if her teenage boys could mow our lawn and keep our yard trimmed up. They needed volunteer hours for school, and thought our family could use the help. Now, in all fairness, our backyard was a MESS. Eric stays up on the front pretty well. We smiled and told them we were open to that, but Eric was about to blow his stack when they left! He did NOT want to be someone's charity case! He can take care of his own lawn, he says! I gently reminded him of the condition of the back...and that they were only trying to help. Well, I think they DID help because ever since then Eric has been a yard maniac! LOL! Not only have our front and back lawns never looked better, but he tackled the "wild" side--where there is no grass (for real!) but trees and 10 foot tall weeds and wild flowers grow in abundance all summer. My man is takin' care of business! LOL! Next time I want some work done around the house I might just have to ask someone to pretend like they want to come and do it for us. When Eric gets fired up, he gets fired up! Our yard never looked so goo!

In about 3 hours Eric is heading to VA for a business trip. I'm thankful a colleague will be going with him so I don't have to worry about him navigating the airports by himself (you know...that legally blind thing he's got going on). I hope he has a fun time. Here at the homestead it will be a relaxing week since we don't have to transport dad two and from work. I daydream that Eric will come home to a completely organized home--that we will have put our time to great use. Or...it might be that we just sleep more than normal and have no reason to shower since we don't have to go anywhere. No way to tell! =-)