Meet Patryk's new friend Steve

My nephews are off school this week so they are spending their days at my house with my dad and me. Christian is pretty much in his own world most days watching cartoons or playing video games. Patryk on the other hand......

This is how Pat spends his time......creating new friends out of my back roller for physical therapy. Too funny...I'm telling you, you must spend a day with this kid, he will brighten even the darkest days!

Meet Steve and his favorite hats for all occasions.....

His Knight-time hat

Hat for when it rains...
and his hat to keep the sun out of his eyes...

**Steve did have different attire, but he didn't want me taking pictures of him in his boxer briefs!

Celebration with my cousin Mike

My cousin Mike graduated from college and to celebrate he had a party at his house with the family. I'm proud of my cuz...Mikey is like a brother to me. He worked hard to get there and deserves a post to remember his achievement.

Baby Jade is 6 months

Jade is 6 months old today. She is approximately 55 pounds and nearly as tall as Timber! I can't believe how quickly she is growing. She is very feisty and full of energy at home. In public and at the dog park, she is very shy and a real push-over. She is just like her mom when Mama Jade was her age. If she continues to be like her mom, it'll be a long time before she calms down, but she 's a good girl.

Mama Jade had her first heat cycle at about 7 months and I have a feeling Jade is about to get her first...she is showing some of the physical signs. I'm at quite a crossroads with this issue. As much as I'd like Timber and Jade to breed one day, it's not easy to find quality homes, raising puppies is a lot of work and keeping the two apart during these times of heat for the next couple years will not be easy. I have a way to separate them physically with the outdoor kennel, but curbing the behavior that will result will not be easy. My quandary continues...

Halloween in San Francisco...one to remember

After a late afternoon at the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park, Yuliana and I decided on a whim to check out what was happening on Haight and Ashbury. She's never been there and it's been ages since I cruised the streets. There were a lot of people out, some with friends, some with dogs, some with kids, some just too damn old to be out asking for candy from the store fronts!

After checking out a few local shops, grabbing a bite at McDonalds and people watching as we wandered Haight for about 5 blocks...we stopped off at a small local pub. It was quiet, the only bartender was dressed as a serving wench and she had her beautiful Samoyed dog there hanging out at the bar with her.

Sometime after 9 pm, the bar started filling up and Yuliana and my glasses were empty! We met a group of people there and chatted and drank for a while. They invited us to a private Halloween party several blocks away so after a stop at the liquor store, we were headed over to the party where we hung out and met tons of characters.

Here is a glimpse of our fun evening in San Francisco and some of the nice people we met, including a guy I graduated from Chico State with in the same major! Small world, even in a big city.

A pretty cool store front we stumbled across

I had to do it!

Yuliana and I being silly at the pub

Halloween party

I love fog machines! The smell brings be back to all the Haunted Houses I went through as a kid...

And we are headed down the steep, foggy staircase to go home....No worries, I was sober and taking good care of both of us!

Japenese Tea Garden...Golden Gate Park

Yuliana and I drove out to San Francisco the afternoon of Halloween. We drove the long way over the San Mateo bridge and the Golden Gate due to a closure of the Bay bridge for repairs. We had decided earlier in the week to go check out the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate park since we both love Japanese architecture, tea and design.

As usual, I had to get a picture of nearly every opportunity I saw...I'm addicted to taking landscape photos. I also have a difficult time sorting through the photos and chosing just a few...so here are twenty-two images from the afternoon out of...oh, over 125 images!

When we saw this sign, we just had to laugh at our good luck! We arrived at the gate at 4:45 pm, Saturday, October 31st! Had we put off the trip to the next day, and arrived at the same time, we wouldn't have made it in time! (in case you can't read the sign, begining in November, the garden closes at 4:45 pm)

I would love to have this as my backyard...although knowing Jade and Timber, they'd destroy it!

The branches of these trees are incredible!

I love bamboo!

Mochi (a Japanese sweet...very gooey, sticky and squishy)

Yuliana and Me enjoying our Jasmine Tea (I absolutely love the smell of Jasmine and now I can comsume it!)