My husband the carpenter..Part Deux

Ask and ye shall receive....I requested a pair of bookcases for our bedroom last week and Daniel built them for me last weekend! Well, I helped...sanding and painting. I got excited and took pics before they were both in the room, but I'm sure you can get the idea!

Men, men, men, men, manly, men....

My mountain man husband left at 2 am last night to embark on his first week long hiking trip in the Smokies. Below are some pics of him modeling his 45 lb pack and a map of his hike.







Never fear for my safety while Daniel is away. He left me with an amazing guard dog (as evidenced by the photo below).

I know the photo is dark, but there are actually 3 deer running right behind Bailey. She is so focused on the stick she's chewing on that she is completely oblivious. Wow, I feel so safe. :) Thankfully, I've got Anna to stay with me.

And now, another photo of my new 'Strike it Rich' roses! I'm really crazy about these!

Bloomin' flowers

I know you all have missed my garden blogs tremendously, so here's a little fix for you!

David Austin 'Generous Gardener' (sorry they are out of focus)


My new 'Strike it Rich'




My new groundcover roses 'Carpet of Color'


Some of my bulbs are finally blooming!


My hydrangeas



Be prepared, this is just the first of many garden/herb/roses posts you will be subjected to in the coming months!

My last dance recital....

for at least another 5 years. The dance instructor of my youth, 'Miss Carla', had her 25th anniversary dance recital this past weekend. She has begun a tradition of bringing back old dancers to perform in the milestone dance recitals. This time, I actually participated. The 'alum' group had rehearsal Friday afternoon at 5, Saturday morning at 8:30, then performed Saturday night! Miss Carla chose the aptly named "Everything Old Is New Again" for our dance. And, although most of us have gotten 'wider and wiser' and didn't have quite the technique we used to possess, this was a very fun experience. Kim Dean (and many others!) getting shushed in the dance studio for talking and giggling really brought back memories! I have never been a great dancer, but I have always loved it, and I am very thankful to have had this opportunity to perform in that spotlight once more! Anna and I immediately after our performance. (Yes, I had another 'I'm unable to apply sunscreen thoroughly' incident) The presentation of the past dancers. Can you pick me out? Here I am. I need to work on my posture! (I blame my computer) Can I please have Miss Carla's legs (she's in the pink). Who doesn't love a kick line? I'm working on the video...


* a special thanks to Kent and Corinne for driving all the way to Cleveland to watch the show, and to Daniel for yelling at me from the balcony of the BPAC. :)

Double Decker 2008

I think the photos below really speak for themselves. I will say, we rock at finding super parking spaces at DD. A good parking space is key since we keep the cooler in the car. Unfortunately, it's only when we go back to the car to fill up that we remember to take pictures.







Needless to say, we'd made several trips back to the car when this photo opportunity presented itself.


And then brother Pat showed up....



so we made sure he knew what to do...



Eventually we got tired of going back and forth to the car, and opted to sport the 'poor man's cooler'.


This little girl was obsessed with Bailey. Seriously, she chased Bailey around our feet for about 2 hours.


Back off ladies...Kent is a married man!


I love you Blue Mountain. I wanna ride with you in your blue canoe.


And truly, what night is complete without an Elvis spotting?