Can I go to work with you?

Libby is hiding out in the lunch box waiting for Richard and hoping he'll take her to work, getting her away from the other oppressive cats.

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween time again! We've got the decorations up and we've added some floodlights this year to highlight some of our spooky areas. I also made some really spooky sound effects on my Mac. We're hoping for a good turn out this year despite the fact that the neighbors have scaled back on their decorations. We really need a good turn out as Richard can no longer consume whole bags of the Halloween candy. Speaking of Richard, here's a photo:

Hehe. Just kidding. He hasn't actually lost that much weight. Here's a new skull we bought to add to our decorations. Thanks to mom for talking the people at the Railroad Museum into shipping some new hats :-)

I'll send some updates on Trick Or Treat totals.

An evening with Nanci Griffith

I had a great concert experience last Saturday evening. Richard very thoughtfully bought tickets to see Nanci Griffith at a new venue they are trying to set up called Arrington Vineyards. Arrington Vineyards is a local winery founded by Kix Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn, a fairly popular country duo). The winery has free jazz concerts and wine tastings every weekend, but this was their first real concert. It was a very nice evening for it, nice full moon and fairly warm for this time of year. Nanci was as amazing as ever. She seemed to really enjoy the small venue. It was very cozy. I basically could sit as close to the stage as I wanted, which was very cool.

The other cool thing is that Kix Brooks himself kindly chauffered me to the top of the hill on one of the little people moving carts. We had a pleasant chat about the concert and the winery. How's that for service?

Staining the Fence

The stained fence makes a good backdrop for my hanging baskets and my other flowers!

A picture of the painted fence next to an unpainted section.
The darker stain makes the fence look much less rundown and old.

Staining the fence has been an ongoing project for me this summer. Despite rain, extreme temperatures and an upper respiratory infection FROM HELL, I have persisted. I have put stain on about three-fourths of the fence. I have two sections left, plus a few spots where I am going to have to wait until the foliage dies down before I tackle them.

Once finished, I plan on also staining the deck the same color. I think the stain really improves the look of the fence and I think it'll also make the deck look snazzy. Although there has been a lot of effort involved, the cost for the project is actually on the cheap side, so I'm getting a lot of value for the money. I did have to sacrifice a shirt and a pair of shorts to the project. I haven't quite perfected how to stain something without looking like I've rolled around in it.