it seems to be the time for planting...

my mum looks all over the webbies daily looking at decorating sites and gardening sites and 'green' sites...ALL kinds of sites (of course 'aire-sites' too!) and she has noticed that everyone seems to be in the gardening/planting mode. so she and the 'large mailman' (this is in reference to 'Up' the Pixar movie...Ben is neither large or a mailman!) got in on the action.

there was the truck load of limestone edging...

the load of premium garden mix....eh, no pic. but you can imagine...brown dirt.

and LOTS of wheelbarrowing from the front to the back.

i preoccupied myself with a view of them sweating from the back doors in the aire-conditioning :) pretty smart eh?!

well, eventually they let me out to inspect their work and i must say it looks pretty great...

great enough to walk thru and lay in and pee on AND trample the silly green things they planted!!! ha!!

mum: this is true, but he doesn't know we plan on putting up some wire to keep his mustache out of the tomatoes!!

mums also got all DIY-y and upcycled some of her thrifty finds...$5 mirror circa OLD and these $3 brass beauties.

i watched as she diligently cleaned and primed them and then sprayed on the glossy coats of paint. what it really looked like was her rolling/crawling around on the big blue tarp on the front lawn spraying everything but the pieces. just my observations...she ended up with a blue hand and blue knees and white finger tips. she needed a bath stat!

but the stuff turned out pretty nice and now they need to be hung up/set out in the house somewhere.

anywoof, that's what our weekend looked like, how was yours?

oh, and how about another gratuitous pic of me in the garden. can't wait for these figs to ripen up!!

wishing you and yours a blessed Easter holiday! Rejoice!

WOOF!

it's here!

so, in the last post i specifically left out a little craigslist event...in early march i purchased a mid-century modern credenza/dresser. YAY!!

it was listed on the dallas craigslist so i quickly rallied the dryden family troops and conned my parents into driving "all over tarnation" to pick up this 9-drawer beauty.

while she isn't in the excellent condition category, the simple lines and minimalist feel to her make me glad she's in our bedroom. (yes, it's a 'she').

fast forward to last weekend when i FINALLY was able to get up to the metroplex and pick her up. it was about time!!! for a while i totally forgot i even purchased a dresser.

she was dusty, chipped and really super dry...but three hours later after a long drive south under a blue tarp she ended up in our garage gently soaped clean and then we gave her a long drink of some tung oil. literally we would wipe on an oil layer and it would be dry in 2 seconds. VERY DRY!

ben did some minor surgery on one of her legs last night and we promptly moved her in to her new home!

so, if you were writing this story for all of blog-land to read you would of course provide before and after pics right? yes. well, i forgot those oh so important before and during pics and can only show you the after. sorry folks. i was coming off a whirlwind weekend involving many social engagements and i will admit my brain was a bit useless by sunday night.

now for a note from Wally:

my mum finally came home after abandoning me and dad ALL weekend. she was even mia when a strange dog was dropped off at our home early sun. morning! turns out we are dog-sitting this "strange dog" until thursday. his name is o'malley and he's a yellow lab mixed with something else. he's supper good at fetching tennis balls and really love being the center of attention.

so much so that i have to intervene and push him out of the way and sit between him and my mum! she's mine!

update: we also had my neighbor girlfriend over for two days as her house was getting new pergo floors (mum is jealous!) her name is fenway and she is a beauty!

e are having fun being dirty, dusty boys playing in the yard all day. although i don't know what to think of him slobbering up all my cool toys...guess mums and dad will buy me new ones????

tail wags and slobbery kisses to all...i have a piece of furniture to inspect...

WOOF!

hello...it's not december anymore....IT'S SPRING!!!

no, i will not bore you with 2011 bluebonnet pics (which would look exactly the same as the 2010 bluebonnet pics here) but it is spring here in A-town as evidenced by the high temperatures 70's and 80's mostly and the green all around us. our trees are leafing out nicely and our winter rye is hanging on for dear life...if only the zoysia will come back. cross your fingers.

mum has been playing with me outside more and i have a new rubber chicken toy that is my current favorite. i can even distinguish when she asks me to "get the chicken" versus "where's your ball?"...that's how cool i am.

you know how else i know i'm cool? just look at all the pictures my mum takes of me!!!!

tons of them.

you'd think she knows what i look like after 3 years...guess she just can't get enough.

(really i'm taking headshots b/c i want to make a nice silhouette to hang on my wall!)

but back to SPRING...or rather what has been going on up until this much sought after post :)

i'll give you a quick breakdown of winter and the beginning of the new year:

X-mas

we flew to NYC for some great family time with the hub's side of the family in the historic and lovely town of Goshen, NY known for harness racing/trotter racing (it's a horse thing). also note, that when we arrived snowless.

fast forward to the sunday after Christmas at lunch: consistent large snow flakes falling

later at dinner: wow!

the next day: holy moses!

that's right, we were in NYC for their worst blizzard (in recent years) ever. shut down airports, trains, large corporations....you name it, all closed. pretty much.

BUT, we were not deterred (nor did we want to lose $400+ on the pricelined accomdations) so the hubs and i trekked to the train station (thanks paul!) and endured a couple stoppages due to fallen trees and some re-routing. we got out at our station and came out onto the street and bam!! snow drifts over 4 ft tall! (in some places...maybe not in this pic)

previously clogged 4-lane streets narrowed to 2-lane slush paths with nary a car, cabbie, or limo on them. the city that never sleeps was...snowed in! seriously, we walked on a few streets and we were the only people on them, this at 7pm in the evening. crazy.

ok, back to summarizing.

the city was great without the crowds (only lasted the night, buy the next afternoon it was back to usual) we shopped around, saw some of the sights we missed last time and ate some spectacular food. hello lydia's restaurant Becco.

if you go to NYC and don't eat there you are missing an experience. sooooo yummy!!

sorry wally, no bones for you!!

X-mas was a wonderful, restful vacation and it was so nice to see everyone and hang out with ben's mom, cousins and aunts and uncles and of course Gammy and Gamps!

2011:

we rang in the new year recovering from our snow-zilla drama and celebrated at home. january came and went uneventfully. (really mum was waiting for jan to be over so she could celebrate her birthday in feb.) maybe. we did do some light hiking around the area. as per usual the center of attention and the focus of the majority of the photos was...ME!!

february went by quick, stopping to celebrate my birthday with my parents that came down to visit, thanks! and some tooling around austin showing them where we like to go and what we like to eat.

march was brisk with some cool weather and with the installation of a new storm door with a screen, the windows were opened and the cool breezes were blowing thru our house....blowing the dog smell away (sigh, i thought it would never happen to me, but alas the wall-inator is a big hairy dog and sometimes he just does not smell like roses!)

actually wally got a h-airecut and looked all spiffed up for a while. seriously, when his hair is all grown out, he looks like he has his own gilly suit after romping in the backyard. sticks, leaves, bits of dead grass are all stuck to his hide and he drags it all over the house. ugh.

so NOW it's april and we just finished a weekend spent camping at enchanted rock state park with some out of town friends. it was hot, dusty, windy, and generally the wrong weather completely for camping but we had fun. we saw a snake, crawled thru a cave and scrambled over granite boulders all weekend. we did succumb to the heat and during the hottest time of the day we drove over to fredericksburg and enjoyed the convenience of restrooms and airconditioning. yay!

so peeps, here's hoping your winter is over and you are enjoying the spring renewal in your neck of the woods.

oh yeah, i also helped mum sew up some curtain panels...she couldn't have done it without me i'm pretty sure.

WOOF!

Closing out 2010...

Merry Christmas!

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and hope it is filled with family, love and laughter. we are heading to the east coast this year to be with family. we are really excited to see some real winter weather....SNOW!!! i hope there is enough snow for at least one snowman :)

We are so thankful for the many blessings we have had this year; my dad is nearly recovered from his accident in april; ben has passed his licsensure exam and is a registered landscape architect, he also received a promotion this year at work. ben and i were also able to visit sweden and be a part of a dear friend's wedding. we also got to travel to arizona and see the world's most beautiful natural wonder, the grand canyon. it was incredible! we have had many visitors to austin, family and friends and have enjoyed each visit immensely.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year!!

Love,

Ben, Aileen & Wally

WOOF!

turkey come and gone...

Thanksgiving 2010 has flown by! My pinkies hauled me three hours north to Brock, TX to celebrate with mum’s family. The drive started out in Austin at around 74* and by the time we rolled in to the ranch it was a chilling 38*!!! Good thing I’m naturally insulated…mum had to walk around in her “puffy” the whole time (her NEW down jacket...it’s soooo warm!)

(Audra looks cold doesn't she?...wally was unphased by the cold weather...yawn.)

Mum’s family from Kansas decided to celebrate the holiday with us (we get to see them twice in one year…yippee!) as well as our other cousins that live in Grandbury. My own cousin, Bryn, the French bulldog was even there!

It was a great gathering and a feast was had by all: two turkeys cooked on the grill, stuffing, sweet potato pie, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry salad (yum), apple salad, black olives (a must), green olives, dinner rolls….so glorious! (it should be stated that I did not get to eat ALL these wonderful foodies…I was stuck in my kennel so that I wouldn’t table surf the crowd with my giant all-smelling snout…I did get some turkey with a tiny bit of gravy after everyone ate though so that was yummy!)

We had a brief respite after supper as we were all over stuffed and the tryptophan was starting to kick in. a group of us went outside to catch the horses and feed and put blankets on them for the cold weather. My pinkie dad supervised me as I was quite worried that the giant 4-legged creatures would surely eat my momma!!! I had to be on a leash, which usually at the ranch I’m allowed to run free as long as my pinkies can see me, he also took some pics of the horse preparations.

my sister, flexing her muscles :)

i know this one is a bit dark, but i like it anyway. after 6 months my dad is walking without an aid and is doing great!

that's me and my pops, i'm not usually on the leash when i'm at the ranch, but i was REALLY concerned about those giant creatures being so near my mum. i'm her #1 body guard!

Finally mum put away the giant 4-legged monsters and came to play with me some more well, actually she spent most of the vacation in this position…

Picking out sticker burrs from my hairy legs. (what a pain!!! I was tempted to just shave him right there with the horse clippers!!!) there is a never-ending supply of stickers on the ranch.

We all went inside again to thaw and to eat dessert of course! Pies, pies, pies!!! Pumpkin, apple, chocolate pecan….oh my! Ginger apple cake, double chocolate brownies! We stuffed our faces again and it was delicious. After dessert it was time for a friendly game of dominoes while the football games were on. Speaking of football….HOW AWESOME WAS IT THAT THE AGGIES WON?!?!?! Too awesome, that’s the answer!!! We were all happy that the maroon and white pulled out a victory over the dreaded burnt orange team that shall not be named here. It was a great ending to a really good season.

my uncle kenny from kansas...dominated the dominos...until i decided to join in!!! :)

some football watchers...

the entire group! thank goodness for our mini-tripod and the timer on the camera!! it was really great to see everyone.

Mum and dad loaded me up sat. and we drove back home to Austin where we proceeded to veg out the rest of the weekend. Although, mum did convince dad to get out the Christmas decorations on Sunday. She also found time to study for her upcoming licensure exams…(bleh).

So to everyone out there, hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend with your loved ones. We had an excellent time, it’s always fun to see the family all together.

WOOF!