Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Sixteen degrees. No kidding.

What a day to stay in and snuggle with a blanket and a cup of tea! Short of a tornado, it's as windy as I've ever seen it and it's spitting snow outside. I don't want to stick my nose out there only to have it frozen off. I'm thinking I should make a pot of chili and some brownies and just gaze at the Christmas tree for the rest of the afternoon.

Here are some pics I took when I went to Arkansas to visit in October. The first one is Reece and his beloved dog, Dooley. For the past five years, Dooley has been Reece's best buddy. Dooley is the sweetest, friendliest dog. Sadly, Dooley is very ill and we're not sure if he's going to make it much longer. He's not responding to treatment and my brother and sister-in-law were told that they might have to make a tough decision about Dooley within the next week. My heart breaks for Dooley and the family, and especially for Reece. He's being very mature, and trying to accept the possibility that he may lose his dog, but he's also extremely sad. I wish there was something I, or anyone, could do.





I love this one of Reece, Emily, and Dooley:



Emily was trying to show us Dooley's teeth and his "mean" look - but he is too sweet and is having quite an effect on Emily:




One more thing: the link below is for a website I enjoy. Take a look and enter their contest if you'd like.

Photobucket

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Cold December Day!

So. I really had good intentions to start posting more often. Really. But life keeps getting in the way.

I've been watching a lot of old movies lately, particularly Bette Davis movies. "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and "The Letter" were the last two I watched. Just love the overly-dramatic acting in those old movies. Also watched "Mildred Pierce," one of the best Joan Crawford movies. Anyone else in love with Netflix Instant? It's so simple with an HDMI cable. In fact, Pete and I called and canceled our cable yesterday, because we never watch network television anymore. As long as I have the internet I'm good.

Almost finished with the Christmas shopping. We put up the tree earlier this week, and I wrapped all the gifts, so now we are thinking about doing some baking! Pete bought some cookie cutters and I've been looking up recipes.

Speaking of food, we had a fabulous Thanksgiving meal! I worked for a week on it, and Mom and Don came up to celebrate with us. We had a good time eating and shopping at flea markets. Don bought a very old dresser and took it back to Arkansas and refinished it. It looks wonderful from the photos he sent me. Pete and I refinished a table and a chair recently. Found a Danish Modern end table at the Salvation Army that I want to refinish now. I'm having fun doing that, and I'm looking to buy a sewing machine so I can learn how to sew and make some fun stuff. I don't know where this creative bug came from, since I hardly ever did anything creative or crafty in the past.

Still, still, still looking for a library job. I start a part-time job on campus next week, so I'll have a paycheck again and an excuse to get out of the house, but I'm still job hunting for a library position. I'm planning to apply for the Ph.D program for next fall, which will give me something to fall back on if I'm not hired someplace by then.

I'll be back sooner than later. Promise to try to post more frequently, but right now I need a nap.