...digital photography...

My camera broke...which isn't really a great thing.  But, it got me thinking about digital photography and how great that is.  You can take as many pictures as you want.  When you have cute kids and dogs that is a blessing.  And really, it is great to have 100 pictures of the same sunset.  Until I can figure out how to take pictures of the new things I see that keep me happy, here is a link to some pictures of places I've visited in 2009.

http://picasaweb.google.com/trimarie1

...Halloween...

I love Halloween in our neighborhood.  It is so Americana.  Halloween in our neighborhood makes you think that, despite how they say we're going to "He-- in a handbasket", around here everything is a-okay.  Kids were running around the streets, mostly followed by adults joining right in with the fun.  We had lots of trick-or-treaters and the neighbors got a chance to come out and visit and chat. 

It makes me feel sad for the anti-Halloweeners.  They are so focused on the "pagan" aspects of Halloween that they miss what is really a happy and joyful time.  Halloween is about kids...being one and pretending to be one.  I love it.

Here's what greeted our trick or treaters!  She seemed very confused, but loved all the visitors!

...man's best friend...

Okay, here she is...

before...

and after.

She is way cute and too bright. If intelligence in dogs leads to excessive naughtiness, she must be the Madame Curie of canines! But those soft brown eyes are pools of repentance and the amount of forgiveness shown by her doggie heart is a lesson to all of us smaller hearted mammals.

"To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful and sagacious dog, I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable. There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man." - Edgar Allan Poe

...some really great kids...

Psalm 127:3

...Thursday afternoon sunshine...

I would not call myself a sports "fan", as in fanatic, but I always have been a sports enjoyer. One of my fondest tv memories is watching "Wide World of Sports" with my dad. That, the Olympics, an occasional World Series or Super Bowl and every once in a while some ice skating and gymnastics thrown in are my usual sports exposure.

But, I have recently been exposed to a whole 'nother world...high school football.

Sitting high in the stands on a beautiful Thursday afternoon, I took a look around. I saw a hawk circling above the stadium, airplanes coming in on approach, white lines and green grass, parents steadily streaming into the stands, younger people helping older people climb the bleachers, kids trying to hold a coke and nachos and pizza and climb the bleachers, cheerleaders trying to stay in precision while never breaking a smile, and my very tall kid in his bleached (almost) white pants standing on the sidelines.

I have found that I really enjoy these games. As long as I can stay out of the "ugly box" (this is my name for the group of parents watching the game for whom high school football is a religion) I find the game to be rather uplifting. All those people together in cheering on the team makes for a great vibe. Most of the spectators are very encouraging to the players and the team is good enough to make for some exciting play.


I'm glad my kid decided to get involved. The whole "Friday Night Lights" thing is something I did not participate in in high school. I'm glad to have the chance to experience it now. So, go check out your local high school team. L-E-T-S-G-O Let's go Let's go L-E-T-S-G-O uh Let's GO!