Hanging in there.

I have to admit the winter weather was getting to me. Last week it seemed like I had to be out driving every day when conditions were at their worst, and the areas that were the worst. I started getting grouchy. What to do, what to do....go walk in a Metro Park!

This time it was Highbanks.




Winter doesn't seem so bad now. I was also cheered up by seeing that Barry Douglas (AKA The Hunky Pianist) is scheduled to perform with the Columbus Symphony in October. To keep myself cheered about that I have to avoid thinking about the odds of a symphony strike.

I also changed my desktop to this.

It was taken April 20 - that's less than two months away. Which is about the length of time I agreed to keep working my job. My boss says to hang in there. I think I can.

Blogging etiquette - using someone else's photos

There are always newbies to blogging that may not be aware of the standards for using other people's pictures in their blogs. I found this link which sums it up better than I could.

Blogging photos from Flickr

The easiest way to follow protocol is to link back to the photo, and don't download it and then blog it as if it were your own.

Respect

Lately it seems like most of the things annoying me about other people all boils down to a lack of respect and it seems to be rampant these days. Occasionally karma kicks in immediately, like last night.

Husband and I went out to dinner. The place we went is very popular on holidays so we always make a reservation those times. As we were walking toward the door to the restaurant, another couple and their child were also walking toward it. We had a head start and were walking at a normal pace. They were walking very fast and it was obvious they were doing so just to beat us to the door, which they did.
We walked in behind them and heard them say they did not have reservations. The guy then asked us if we did and started to lead us to our table. He looked at the fast walker and said "No. Not you, them. They had reservations."

It made my day.

Beagles Rule!

Numero Uno

Thanks to Helen for the link.

Also, you can see his personality more here, from the CBS early show.

Hiking, Florida Style

These were taken at The Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center at the Alligator Creek site in Punta Gorda, FL.











I didn't see any alligators, but I heard one growl at me on the other side of some brush. I didn't stop to try to get a pic.

Banana Leaf, Beagles and a Bunny

Husband and I tried a new (to us) place for dinner last week. Banana Leaf on Bethel Rd in the strip center across from Microcenter. It was a nifty experience. It's pretty casual, but the owner goes all out for you. He asked if it was our first time and then he wanted us to try everything. He brought 7 different chaats to us, each one spicier than the previous. He wanted us to try both the mango lassi and the rose lassi and then had us choose which we wanted more of.
After all of those chaats, he told us everything that was in the buffet and we had huge thali plates to fill with as much as we wanted. After dinner, I had some chai, which he assured us was included in the price. We had some of the bread leftover so asked for a container saying we wanted to take it to our daughter. He then filled a to go container with lots of things from the buffet for her. We had no idea what to expect with the bill. Grand total before tip - $21 for both of us. We will definitely go back.

Before going on my trip, I stressed about leaving my dogs - Katy mostly, who has heart issues and bladder cancer. A trip to the vet reassured me and Husband worked from home and they did pretty well until I came home and then had to go to trainings the next 2 days. Katy acted confused and crazy Lucy became lethargic. Daughter started commenting about wanting her Crazy Lucy back.

Beagles are born to chase rabbits. A large rabbit found itself under our deck and the dogs went nuts. The rabbit was too big to easily escape through the fence. Lots of running and howling ensued. (No doubt the neighbors were thrilled). They kept going under the deck and running out.
Husband got a few pictures.

Here's Lucy doing her part, and having a blast.


Here's Lucy along with Katy, who I was so worried about. Although we make efforts to keep Katy from exercising much, Katy ran around like she was just a pup, and she was thrilled.


The good news is that Katy did not pass out from the exertion, and as far as we know, the bunny has escaped.