We are thankful

for the love between us, the kisses of a little girl puppy, the overall health of our families, waking early on Black Friday to the crashing of ocean waves, the wonderful meal consumed this past Thursday, the tolerance/enjoyment of a puppy by the extended family, the nursing of our illnesses by the surgically impaired, and the power of tea. Reflecting upon the changes since last Thanksgiving we are also thankful for progress!

We are drunk

with puppy love! Despite her moments of teething and potty training terror, Lady Joy is our baby girl. She greets us with the great excitement when we return home, offers toothy kisses, and snuggles like a professional.





We have benefited from North Carolina's temperate Autumn. Beyond not having to dig through boxes for winter attire, we are able to picnic on our front steps with the little one prancing about. It has been nothing short of lovely.

Eventful acquisitions

The kitchen is mostly complete! We have some finishing touches that can be postponed for now and we hope to accomplish in the near future. Most important, we are properly prepared for the puppy's arrival.





This is the first capture of our Lady Joy. We endured about 10-15 minutes of cries but overall the ride home went very well. She climbed on me, slept on me, and claimed her room.
"Daddy" drove us safely home. Note the upright refrigerator in the pickup? Welcome to Carolina.







The proud papa and his little girl; he is loving his first puppy!

Kitchen revival!

The oven is scrubbed, the dark cabinets have been sanded and painted, the pantry somewhat assembled, and most importantly the adhered tar has been conquered! Photographs documenting the progress will be posted soon.




The visit with Mary Bonita could not have been more productive. In an attempt to accomplish as much as possible, Randolph and I focused upon the kitchen and she devoted efforts to the table and chairs moved by the above trailer. We knew that we had chosen properly once they had pulled up.

Halloween on the lake

October 31st began as a sunny day with Randolph going to work and me remaining at home. In anticipation of painting the cabinets, I hoped for the kitchen to be spotless or at least grime free! (I scrubbed the kitchen in my most stylish monkey pajama pants.) Later in the evening we dined on candy and some real sustenance, I baked pumpkin bread, we answered the door to distribute the candy remnants, and most especially we were so thankful that we are sans children on such a rainy cold night.
We were visited by a little inch worm. He was not very cooperative with the capturing of this photograph.

The stork is bringing us

a puppy! Her name is Lady Joy and she officially owns our hearts. We were hesitant to formally announce her arrival until all plans were solidified today. The ugly weather, the housework, etc has all been negated. One more week! (Well, 7.5 days)