Woof-wonderful

Mom and I took Molly and Hannah (her border collie mix) to the Fort Woof Dog Park for the first time today. (Why don't I ever think to bring the camera for things like this?) The dogs were a little nervous and didn't quite know what to think about being off a leash and allowed to run rampant with a bunch of other dogs. The setup there is great. There are several faucets with large buckets full of water under them for all the dogs to drink. And there are strategically placed baggie dispensers with wooden waste bins underneath to help pick up after the pooches. I was a little worried about Molly getting aggressive towards the other dogs, but her hackles only went up one time, and then she and the other dog must have worked something out. She actually stayed pretty close to me the whole time, so we never even made it back to the back of the park where the obstacle course area is. There must have been around 25 big dogs galumphing around at one point, and this was during a weekday! I can't imagine what the place is like on the weekends. I was having such a good time watching all the different breeds and being proud of my Molly-girl that I didn't really want to leave. But Mom pointed out that the girls were exhausted from all the stress of this first time, so we packed up and went home. We all can't wait to go again!

Walking on the beach

I had a mother's instinct that Gabriel would start walking on our trip, and lo and behold I was right. At exactly 13 months to the day he started taking 5 or 6 steps on his own to reach either his toys or his grandmother. If I can ever remember to walk in here with the camera I'll download the pictures.

And after our family get-together last Saturday, Macy and Cade inspired him to start making the trek across entire rooms. He doesn't want to stay in his room and play anymore, and has been waking up early so that he can start marching about the house again.

I can't even believe it when I look at him. What happened to my little baby boy?

Busy Bees

We have been so busy lately, which is my excuse for not posting in such a long time. We had Gabriel's birthday party on September 29th. The following Wednesday, I had the book club over for dinner and discussion of ,"A Passage to India" by E.M. Forster. Then I was asked to help out with our Neighborhood Association newsletter when the woman who works on it dislocated her shoulder. I ended up over at her house helping six different days over the course of two weeks. A couple of those times I had Gabriel, who just decided to enter his, "I want Mommy, or maybe Daddy, and no one else" stage, which was fun to deal with. I've learned that a newsletter, or at least a good one, is alot more work than I realized! But I really enjoyed myself, met some wonderful ladies, and will hopefully get to help out some next month too.

We put up Halloween decorations the Sunday before last, which ended up taking almost all day, but we had a blast doing it. Then we went to Lufkin for the day to visit a family friend last Saturday (what a gorgeous day for a road trip), and finally celebrated Jav's birthday at his sister's on Sunday. We visited my friend Cobra Monday. We had our Neighborhood Association meeting Tuesday night. And now we are about to head for the beach (Padre) this coming Saturday, and I haven't even begun to pack anything yet.

AND in between all of this, I'm trying to listen to the last Harry Potter book in the car. My poor son will probably speak with an English accent for the rest of his life because I have been OBSESSED with finishing before we left for our trip. But the realization hit me today that not only am I missing out on some fun, quality time with Gabriel in the car, but also that I want to make this book last as long as possible. So with three and a half CD's to go, I am putting it aside until we return. Which took more willpower than anything I've ever tried to do, or not do, before.

Eventually I will get around to posting some Gabriel party pictures, Lufkin trip pictures, and hopefully we'll get some good beach ones too. Coming up after that we have Halloween, a trip to Fredericksburg with my Mom and Gabriel, and then somehow Thanksgiving has creeped up on us and we'll be heading off for Pennsylvania. Oh, and speaking of bees, that's what Gabriel's going to be for Halloween. I'm sure this will come up in one of his therapy sessions later in life, but he loves it when I make my bee buzz noise, so it seemed like the best choice.

A low in the 50's

My thermometer said 59 this morning. Finally, a break from this Fall heat wave! I actually turned off the A/C and had the windows open all day, although it's pretty stuffy now.

The oak tree leaves are falling off much earlier than in years past. I read in Neil Sperry's column it's because of the severe drought for a few years, then a very rainy spring and summer. It's just wrong to have to rake leaves when it's above 80 degrees!

We've been watching the squirrels alot lately. They started out digging up pecans and eating them. Now they are burying new ones. They've gotten very bold about coming down from the trees into our yard, sometimes right in front of Molly. She usually ignores them, although once she immediately dug up the pecan that the squirrel had so carefully buried and ate it. Gabriel notices them all the time running across the electrical wires and moving around the tree branches.

All of a sudden, there are no cardinals in our yard. I did a tiny amount of research to try and find out if they migrate, and so far all of the sites say they are non-migratory. When I did the post a while back about seeing the hawks in our neighborhood and how neat they were, I should have done an addendum post. One of the neighborhood gentlemen who also walks in the mornings told me soon after I did the post that he can't stand having them in our area because they've taken to eating the cardinals and blue jays. These are the birds that stand out to them in daylight. I was pretty upset, and still am not really sure who to root for. After all, the hawks have to eat too. But they better not have come after the cardinals around our yard!

Introduction to the Great Game

We took Gabriel to his first Ranger game on September 22nd. He had a fan club of Jav and I, both grandmothers (Tita and Mamaw), and his Tia Sandie. Everyone in attendance loves to go to Ranger games, so hopefully the excitement rubbed off on Gabriel. We really debated about whether or not we should take him to the Saturday night game, or the Sunday afternoon game. We decided on Saturday night since the daytime temps were still hitting the mid-90's, which is no fun when you are sitting in the sun at a Ranger game.

First thing on our agenda was a new Ranger cap, courtesy of Tia Sandie. The infant ones didn't fit his big 'ole head, but the toddler size seemed comfortable for the approximate minute that he left it on without protest. We found our seats (third level, just to the left of home plate), and you could just see that little brain taking everything in. We had missed the top of the first, and the Rangers were already behind the Orioles 2 - 0. We missed the bottom of the first taking tons of pictures, with and without cap.

Gabriel must have been a little tired all the way through, because he didn't squirm around much. He just sat contentedly in whoever's lap he had been passed, watching the surrounding kids, listening to all the music in between innings and snacking on crackers and "Nilla Wafers. Every once in awhile he even seemed to notice the little men running around on the field. There was another 1-year-old sitting right behind us who was also at his first game. He had learned how to clap and say "Yay!!", which I think Gabriel was a little jealous of. Gabriel's new trick was handing things to us so that we could say an exaggerated "thank you" and watch him just beam with happiness.

At the start of the 5th inning and with the Rangers having pulled ahead, our happy caravan headed home. The Rangers ended up losing the game 9-11, but we all had a great time. Gabriel told me in his own special way that he can't wait for baseball season to start up next year and is practicing his numbers by counting down the days to the beginning of Ranger Spring Training.

First Ranger Game

Stanley's Garden

I wanted to do something special to remember Stanley, and decided that planting something would be the best way to go. Originally I thought about a tree, but we already planted a tree this year. I decided to take the spot where I had my herb garden and make a new garden. I wanted mostly perennials so that it would seem more permanent. I had been planning and arranging and changing my mind for a couple of weeks. When I finally found some Turk's Cap at Lowe's I knew I had my design started. I also decided after wandering around several nurseries that a trellis would be pretty in the spot, so I bought some Sweet Autumn Clematis. My Mom and Dad, wanting to help out to preserve their grand-dog's memory, contributed for the trellis. We already had our St. Francis statue, and I knew I wanted to use it in the spot somehow. What greater symbol than the Patron Saint of animals for Stanley's Garden?

Two Saturdays ago I got down to work. I wanted to dig down a foot and mix the existing soil with some organic compost. I also had some great earthworm-filled dirt from my big bucket of oregano that had been growing for a couple of years that I mixed in also. This was much harder work than I have done in a LONG time, and I realized I've let myself get pretty out of shape since I had Gabriel. But it felt so good to be outside, sweating, and working really hard, especially for a good reason. I worked for four and a half hours (thanks to Jav for watching Gabriel all morning!), and I'm just so proud of the way it turned out. This was my first attempt to design a garden, and I think it went pretty well.

Garden pictures

I had been searching for Turk's Cap since spring, and didn't realize the nurseries don't offer it until late summer or fall. Even then, there wasn't much left when I got there. I'd love to find someplace to plant more next year. I can already tell how hardy it is.
I want to add some smaller annuals along the front each season, starting with mums within a few weeks.
The happy trellis. I feel so peaceful everytime I look at the garden. What a great way to remember my faithful sweet Stanley.