A day at the races

Every year, a nearby town holds wiener dog races. This year we met up with some friends to watch the action. Despite their stubby legs, some of those dogs sure can move fast. The most entertaining ones were the dogs that didn't leave the gate or ran in circles! Our old friend Jack the wiener dog (the one we pet-sat in December) ran in one of the races. He came in third, which from what I've been told is his best showing to date. I guess last year, he got about half-way down the "track" and then turned and ran back to the starting gates!

The dogs at the starting gate

Run, doggie! Run!

Here's Jack--the superstar!

They had a petting zoo that had the most adorable baby goat! I want a goat now!

I think this is the fattest chicken I have ever seen!

Here's Jack in his race (with Vance, his owner)

Mystery seeds

On New Year's Eve, husband and I attended a "parade" downtown. I use the term parade loosely as it was more like a bunch of hippies, potheads and environmental crazies walking in groups down the street dressed like hippies, potheads and environmental crazies (The city we live in is for people who belong in Oregon or Vermont but like nicer weather!). One of the groups was encouraging people to beautify their neighbourhoods. They were handing out packages of seeds. I took a couple, brought them home and promptly forgot about them. The other day I was doing a bit of spring cleaning and found the seeds. I decided to plant them. I looked on the package for instructions on how, where and when to plant the seeds, but there were none. Then I noticed that there was no indication as to what type of seeds they were. Hmmm...mystery seeds. I planted them anyway. Three little pots now sit on my balcony, growing the mystery seeds. I have no idea what I planted; I just hope it's nothing illegal!

One down, two more to go!

My brother Ron got home from Peru yesterday (He was on a two year mission for our church)! One of the disadvantages of living so far away is that we were not able to be there to greet him at the airport. Nor will we be able to be there anytime soon to see him. But through the wonderful world of Skype, we were able to chat with him and use web cams to see him! He is thinner, and balder and looks older but he's still Ron! (As a side note he said I looked skinner than I did two years ago! Woo-hoo! He is now my favourite brother! Sorry to my 3 other brothers!) We are so excited to have him home and are now counting down until my sister gets home from her mission to Arizona (on June 23!!). Another brother, Jon, is on a mission in Houston and won't be home for another year, so we won't start that countdown yet.

This is Ron the day he left for his mission.

This is after about 20 months in Peru

Forget Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or even exercise! I'm moving to Peru to lose some weight!

Out and about

Summers here in Central Texas are hot! Husband and I learned our lesson last year and are spending as much time as we can outside before the heat hits. (Just so you know, spring is pretty hot too. What is considered summer weather in normal land is a typical spring day here). Today we decided to hike to the top of a hill situated in the heart of downtown. It offered us beautiful views of the Colorado River, the city skyline and very, very expensive houses.

The Colorado River and the very, very expensive houses!

Up close and personal with aphids.

These flowers were everywhere on our hike! I think they look like irises so that is what I am calling them. If anyone knows what they are, let me know!

One of the paths we took. Doesn't it look idyllic?

Us!

The city skyline. It looks crooked because I was standing on a very unstable rock when I took this.

If at first you don't succeed...pull out the frozen pizza

This lovely picture is our Easter dinner. Pizza was not the planned entree. Here's the story: In an attempt to cut our grocery bill, we sometimes participate in a program called Angel Food Ministries . Our participation depends on the food offered in a given month and how much of that food we would actually eat. We had a pre-seasoned roast from a recent order and I thought that would make a nice Easter dinner. I would make some mashed potatoes, throw together a salad, maybe make a vegetable of some sort, and we would sit down to a meal on our China dishes (with silver chargers underneath for that added touch of elegance). Fortunately, when it comes to making food, I can be a pessimist, and I was worried about whether or not we would like the roast (I am usually wary of things that come pre-seasoned because they never seem to taste right to me). So just in case, I had a frozen pizza as back-up. A few hours later, when the roast was finished, but before I made anything else, I cut into it and tasted it. I did not like it. I gave a bite to Husband and he didn't like it either. It didn't taste horrible, or even kind of horrible. It just wasn't to our liking. The pizza went into the oven and 25 minutes later, we were eating our Easter pizza on our China dishes. Because it was a special occasion, we ate with knives and forks. Holidays call for elegance, even when eating pizza.