Castle!

Mattie has been out of town this week, and thanks to the flexibility of a professor's schedule, I can do most of my work from home. So today and tomorrow that is exactly where I'll be! Lily and I started off this morning with a little castle building....you can see, she's very proud of it! She is responsible for all of the creativity and design, I generally follow behind her and "stabilize her vision".

Indignation

Poor Thatcher had to go to the Vet yesterday to have some work done. He had three growths removed, and his teeth cleaned. Fortunately, all the early indications are that the growths were benign. The Vet is sending them off to the lab just to be sure. The procedure went fine, but he sure was funny while the effects of the anesthesia lingered. He was so tired, but did not want to lay down, so I'd scratch his jowls until he just about fell asleep standing up! He seems much more himself this morning, as his look of indignation illustrates in the photo below. The problem is that Thatcher is a bit of a licker (I know I'm not shocking anyone with that statement). And he has already been licking his stitches, so the space helmet had to go on. We'll see how long he stays fixed in that spot on the stairs....and of course, how could you not feel better getting the personalized attention of our little doctor!

We "Heart" PB&J

Sesame Street Live

Several weeks back we went to see Sesame Street Live at Freedom Hall with the Harrelsons. Elmo was a highlight of course!

Snow 2.0

Fortunately, our second big snow of the year was not accompanied by any 6 hour commutes. Emily was safely on call at the hospital last night, while Lily and I buttoned down in the house. We ended up with about 4 inches....and by the time Emily's shift ended this morning the roads were clear. So since we were not stuck out in our cars somewhere, it left plenty of time to play in the snow with the boys this morning! After Lily and Thatcher were finished eating their share of the snow, I believe our net snowfall declined to 3 inches!

Note: the blur of black ears in the first picture is Thatcher....apparently the old chap still has some legs!

Goofy

Not sure what brought on this display of her "funny face" but she was quite happy to pose for a picture with it!

5 years

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die. -Thomas Campbell

It was a clear sunny cold day, just like today, this day five years ago.
I'm choosing to take comfort in that. I take comfort in my father's memory
every day.

Christmas continued

Assorted Christmas Pictures

Better late than never I suppose....

Saturday morning breakfast

Beth & Tim's wedding

GeoTagged, [N36.31633, E82.35223]

Too bad a still shot cannot appropriately capture the twirling!

I'm Dreaming of...

a white Christmas? Be careful what you dream for....Emily and I were thinking about a white Christmas and we each got a 6 hour commute home last night! I had Lily in the car for all that time and as usual, she did great. We sang songs, played games, and sometimes were just plain silly without rhyme or reason. You've got to admit, if you have to be stuck in traffic for 8 hours, you couldn't have prettier scenery or more fun driving conditions (we were in the Jeep).

Well, we all made it back safe last night (eventually). Emily is on call today and had to get back out on the roads which pretty good, and definitely had a lot less people on them. Lily and I went out for some supplies so we could go in the back yard and make a snowman. It would seem that fun and snow are not in short supply around east Tennessee right now...