Little Fur Man

I was out on the porch today - and this little brave soul came right up to me

He was trying to tell me that the branch that had fallen earlier had knocked down the corn cob holder....

and there was no corn on his branch..... I was so surprised to see his cute little furry face, however, that I just kept snapping pictures of him - while he flipped his tail in agitation - and flapped his arms around and got closer and closer to me....

Til he looked me straight in the eye in disgust... and then I realized... No corn! What was I thinking!

Yes - I have a problem... I love squirrels!! There's just something about those funny furry feet that make me smile!

My Birthday - The Denial Years!

My beautiful daughters and loving husband celebrated my birthday with me yesterday! We had a delicious dinner at Hidalgo's - my favorite mexican restaurant... then came home for cake... which my husband loaded with trick candles... accidentally.... mmm hmmmmmm!

He did, however, do me the favor of NOT placing the entire number of candles on my cake to match the number of years I am celebrating...... something I stopped doing several years ago for fear I'd burn the house down!

But he's got to work on his

"You're HOW OLD?"

 face... dont' you think?

My birthday flowers
make up for it though!

Flowers - a new nail gun, mexican food, cake and family time!  It was a really good birthday!

A Whole Latta Regatta!

So It's rowing season and weekends mean Regattas! 

Warm days, friends and races in the sun!

Winning always makes the day more fun!

And having family there to cheer you on is vital to victory - of course!

Go Katie Go!

ATOMI-CCC!    Even the wild life enjoys rowing....  (ha - well - maybe not so much)

Scrap Wood Thingies....

The good thing about renovating a house is he piles and piles of wood scraps that are left behind... and being the recycler that I am - I can't just throw any of them away until I determine that they are just too small to make something out of.

Even the smallest scraps of wood can become a little bench. 

An old kitchen cabinet door - a funky table....

Shutters and a square of wood could be a plant stand

and all those scraps that are left.... make into a shelf to hold your knick knacks.... like we ALL need one of those!

I have decided that all I need to be happy is some wood, paint and tools...!

Life is good!

Just Hanging Out

At the lake the other day I saw this guy - hanging out on this log.... minding his own business

And as he turned around and watched Katie row by  I realised - he had the  Best Seat in the House!

Heading North for the Winter!!?

They're off  - my nephews are off to be with their dad in Alaska!  A whole country away!  

 It's going to be very strange not to have them here... although we didn't get to see them very much with school and work and everything keeping us apart during the week....

Just knowing they were here, close - where we could get together for a special occasion - like a birthday party - or christmas, thanksgiving, halloween... you know - all those family times when you usually see each other.... made it ok!

Needless to say - the boys were really excited to see their dad...... and those of us left behind will be ok..... eventually!

Puppy sitting Casualty

So last weekend we puppysat my sister in laws adorable... energetic corgi puppies so she could attend the UT football game....

They absolutely LOVE to play with our dogs and the four fluffer-butts run in and out of the house ALL DAY LONG!!  Which is great for them.... and works to keep the activity in the house down while they race around the back yard then come into the house to cool off for a bit - then do it all over again.

The next day, however, when I was outside feeding the squirrels - I happened to look back over my shoulder and saw THIS backing itself down our tree.....right off of our deck...

 My guess is that with all the wild furball activity the night before... our nightly masked visitor (who comes to finish off whatever the squirrels don't eat during the day) probably got treed and never had the opportunity to leave... then fell asleep in the tree when it got too late.... He was trying to sneak away when I caught sight of him.....

When I started talking to him, however... he quickly reversed direction - going back up the tree and started circling towards the back of  the tree to try to get out of sight.... but - it was bright out and he was tired... so I think he thought he was invisible... when really - - - I could see him quite clearly!

Even the branches really didn't really help hide him since I knew where he was - but after taking a few pictures - I left him to exit gracefully and just enjoyed the moment I'd had with this furry visitor!

Squeeker, Squiggles, Squigbert, Benny and.... Barbara?

We've had an invasion of cuteness at our house.......

 Not IN our house exactly.... in our back yard.... we had a visitor a while back - and apparently - she had a family.... and... well - you know.....

Our family being the pet rat owning type... we've had a little trouble knowing what to do with them..... but when one  turned into two then three then five - we decided we'd better make some choices before they decided to move INTO our house this winter.  And, as much as I love our domesticated pets... the thought of a non-domesticated rat in my house (cute as they may be) really icks me out!!

 So - we have been trying the Haveaheart - catch and release trap... in hopes of catching the whole family and relocating them to the woods away from peoples homes..... so far, however, these little critters have outwitted us - taken the bait and run laughing into their holes....

life is but a dream...

Katies new Passion ... rowing .....katie has been practicing with the oak ridge rowing team the last week in hopes that she'll get to be a young 7th grade rower on this years team! And finally - yesterday - we got the news.....

She made it!! She'll be a reserve this season but the coach assured us that everyone would get to race. Plus.... Next year she'll be one year more seasoned and a year ahead of the other 8th graders that will be just starting!

So - now - it's daily practices on the lake - with blisters and sunburns - and a lot of smiles and camaraderie! Can't wait to watch those long boats fly!

DJ

Graduation number two last weekend - my nephew

DJ - Devin Jack Sherwood.....

Not only did he graduate but he played an integral

 part in the entire graduation ceremony....

Devin also put together a video that ran - with a

commemoration of several important people that could

not be there on this special day.....

 The ceremony was short but meaningful - and Kelli would

have been so proud of her son!

I know his dad was proud - and drove a very long

way to be here to see him graduate!

Nana and Pawpaw were there to cheer!

And baby Nana - so very sweet!

Overall - it was a very special day!!

A Weekend for Graduating!

This weekend was a big weekend for graduating!  There was - of course - the graduation of my oldest daughter from the University of Tennessee!  Something amazing and wonderful and so totally great in itself - but to see her name listed under the Outstanding Graduates - under the Deans Student Advisory Council and also listed with Summa Cum Laude honors.... well....  I shed a few tears....!

The ceremony was beautifuly done - with just enough dignity to seem important - but not so much so that it seemed snobby.   For such a large school with so many people it went off pretty seamlessly.

And there were a LOT of people.... they seemed to read names for a very long time.......

After calling names in no obvious order - to the stress of the waiting family members (who didn't have a clue when to cheer until their graduates names were actually called - and so had to wait on the edge of their seats .... so to speak.... for the whole time).... They finally called Jessicas - and she was at last a UT Graduate!!!!!   The Graduates did NOT throw their hats into the air... much to my dissappointment... although.. the batteries on my camera went dead at that exact minute... so .. it was probably for the best - as I would have missed that fabulous photo op anyway!

Thanks to the miricle of modern cell phone technology - we actually managed to meet up afterwards.....

For a picture......

Or two...

Our family is so supportive - taking time to be there for Jessica's important time- even though it was at the unheard of hour of 8:30 on a Friday morning.....

Aunt Kay drove a long long way just to be here! 
We love you Aunt Kay!!! 

And no occasion would be completely special without our
sweet Aunt Sadie!!

And so - Ms. Graduate - now that you have your diploma what are you going to do.....?

"I'm going  to  5 guys for  burgers and fries!"

see Jess.... I told you I wouldn't post that picture.. although... it would go perfectly.......

right......

HERE!!!

Feathered Friends

Shy and elusive - this ladderback, red bellied wood pecker took quite a few tries to capture clearly on film. 

His voice - however, is anything but shy - loud and raucious you can hear him coming a mile away!  But whip out the camera and he vanishes in an instant!

But what a beauty! - He was definitely worth the wait don't you think? 

Lunch with Friends

April is BIRTHDAY Month!

Mine and Ev's - so we went out for the "Perfect Lunch" at Bravos - our favorite lunch spot!

According to Phillipino tradition - birthday's must include noodles...a symbol for long life.... since I'm not Phillipino - I settled for pasta -ravioli to be exact  -  which should mean I'll  have a square life...(?) hmm - I guess I should probably have noodles on my actual birthday just to be sure!

Wednesday was Ev's ACTUAL birthday and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously! It was great fun to catch up and thanks to Ev's childhood friend Janine - we had some great pictures to prove it!  (Thanks Janine!)

Talking and eating and laughing - oh my!