10.16.13

If only this party were real, it would be amazing.

Wait but Why is a really good blog.  This post is particularly interesting.

This dog enjoys playing in leaves.  Like, a lot.

Columbus was a tool, so why do we have a holiday named after him?

They can be a little bit slow, but The Civil Wars make great music.  Good as background music on cold nights.  I especially like this one.  (But their original stuff's good too.)

Kids having fun at their parents' expense.  Yes.

I'm glad Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake agree with my stance that hashtags are ridiculous.  We can still be friends.

Why have a baby when a dragon is so much more fun?

Note: Remember some of these ideas for posing with any celebrities you may someday encounter.

And finally, Jaime Oliver, you haven't tasted real poverty.  Cut out the tutting.  (And as soon as I can be sure I'm using it right, "tutting" is becoming a fixture in my vocabulary.)

We are trucking along.  Sweet Sarah rabbit passed away from a nasty fast bout of stasis in September, and it's been a sad fall without her.  She was tirelessly patient with my snuggles (even though she generally preferred to be left alone), and such a mellow, gentle girl.  Now it's just Freya, me, and all our boys.

The hubs and his little brother made great progress on building the giant garden over the past month or so.  There will still be some left to finish in the spring, but not much.  It looks as amazing as my wildest dreams, and I'm pretty excited to work in it next year.

New raised beds & paths : Yards :: The remodeled bathroom : Bathrooms

We did grape juice last weekend and got 36 quarts, and didn't even do all the grapes we had.  It's beautiful, dark purple almost black, and very grapey.

We're also redoing the living room right now, and have (hopefully) less than a week of construction left.  Apparently we like to do home improvement projects in the fall.  I guess things are too busy in the summer and spring, and in winter I'm not willing to open up the house and make it anything less than as cozy as possible.

And that's what's going on with us.  Pictures to follow, eventually, someday.  Probably.

Love, J

8.22.13

Okay, so this happened a couple months ago, and I'm way behind, but... Wow.  Where the heck did Rep. Tammy Duckworth come from?!  She's amazing.  I hope (and would kind of be willing to bet) she works her way up to a national office.  

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Her Wikipedia page is here.

Love, J

Post edit:  Erhg, the video link's not working right now.  Go to YouTube and search "Tammy Duckworth IRS contractor," and pick the longest video you can find, it's worth the eight or so minutes, trust me.

7.27.13

crash

We are so tired.  We're at the end of two exhausting weeks of something-huge-to-do-every-day.  Some of it was just for fun, some of it was just work, and a lot of it was a mix of the two.  In just the last 14 days, we've:

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Visited a few times with the "other" Jess, and finally met gorgeous Homegirl. 

Been out to River's Wish about a million times as we prepped for, threw, and then cleaned up after a very huge, very successful auction fundraiser. 

Kind of kept up with the garden.

Saw two Old Bear Mountain shows in one night, and were treated with my lovely friend Lauren's company for the night.  

 Went to RW a few more times.

Cashed in an Indian's game box seat that we won as a family at an auction at Step-Dad's church this spring.

Got to see some of but not nearly enough of our family at various get-togethers.

Celebrated our tenth anniversary and rocked it like a hurricane at karaoke night on a mini-trip to visit the sisters.  And again, Ms. Lauren joined in, both for the evening and for a wicked Sublime duet with yours truly which I must say, nearly brought the house down.  KT, B and I worked our way through lots of early 90's country - Reba, The Judds, and some Garth.  (Because it's always more fun to sing songs you don't even need the prompter for.)

Fun fact: The Hubs LOOOVES karaoke.  It makes him feel like a rockstar and he gets so into it, it's really fun to watch.

Love, J

7.12.13

This is EXACTLY what the Hubs and Freya look like when they wrestle.  My teddy bears.

Love, J

7.3.13

I got a new phone, and a way to share videos online!  Hot damn, this will be fun.  The hubs is building me the most beautiful garden in the world this summer.  More to come.

Love, J

Parsley

Parsley for Freya in the morningtime.

Love, J

RWAS spring pics

This visit to the sanctuary was a while ago, things are warmer and greener up there now.

We're gearing up for the first Art for the Animals auction actually AT River's Wish, and it's going to be so great.  Friday, July 19th.  We're holding the auction and dinner in the barn - just look at that photo and think "less hay, more lights and people and fun."

Love, J