Safe and Sound

Oscar and I are safe in Minneapolis. Thanks to everyone who called and emailed to check up on us.

Here are some pictures from our recent weekend up north. I had fun with the nephews and visiting with Bosco and his girls.

Lucas the boy scout:



Me with Emily and Dylan, trying to get him to close his eyes for a nap... it didn't work.

Jared and Oscar. Oscar really likes to herd Jared around, and Jared really likes to get Oscar to chase him around. They have fun together.

If I can figure out how to post a video, I will put on the short clip I took of Dylan swimming. He is amazing!

New Orleans

I went to a conference in New Orleans recently and thought I would post a few pictures from the trip. I was very busy and didn't get many opportunities to take photos. It was also very hot and humid, and rained every day.


This first one is from a bus tour we took. It rained all afternoon that day, so pictures from the bus were not working very well.

In this one you can almost see the levees.





We were able to take a short walk in one of the many cemeteries. The tour guide told us all about how burials work in New Orleans. What a process! The vaults are either owned by families or associations. They have pretty specific rules about how many can be buried within a certain vault within a certain amount of time. It was fascinating.

The vaults were really varying. They had beautiful decorations and statues. Some are taken care of better than others.

It may sound a little weird, but walking around the cemetery made me think of my Grandma Sylvia and all the visits she took to the cemetery in town. It is a different generation that takes such care of grave sites, and I wonder if people in my generation will keep up that practice.

This last picture is what is left of a lighthouse. It was sad to see how much destruction is still left in the city, but most of the French Quarter and riverfront areas were untouched.


I had a great time, and would love to go back and explore more of the city.

I'm going to London!

I just bought my tickets for Thanksgiving in London with my sister and brother-in-law! It is a few months away, but I am already excited to go and visit them again.

Here are some pictures from the last time I was up north visiting the family:

The little girl in green pants is Lily, my cousin's little girl. She has grown so much since last time I saw her.


Cute Ailee!

Dylan posing for the camera

Here is an Oscar picture for Mandy - Oscar and yellow:

NYT Librarian article

I don't usually write about work stuff, but there was this great article about librarians in the New York Times.

And of course, the required Oscar picture. He loves to chew....

Tired out!

sneaking around the couch

tired after running around the park

Oscar and I went to the dog park again and he was getting chased around by a tiny Jack Russel terrier. It wanted to run around with him, and he was not interested at all, he wanted to play with the big dogs.

This weekend, he had a bit of excitement. We were on our morning walk, and as he squatted down, a squirrel came up and sat about 5 feet away from him. Well, when Oscar saw the squirrel, he hurried up (as best he can) and took off after it. He was tripping over himself trying to get this thing. He came close, but the squirrel got away. But, Oscar the clown got a huge laugh out of the older gentleman sitting on the park bench watching the whole time. He was so proud of himself for chasing that pesky squirrel away.

Bathtime and flowers

Such a sad face on Oscar. We went to the dog park with Henry and his family and Oscar decided to stick his face in the lake. So, when we returned home it was time for a bath. He fits perfectly in the kitchen sink! He is really a skinny dog under all that fur.

The flowers are peonies, my favorite.

Oscar and Mandy

It has been a busy week for Oscar. Mandy and Andy were home for a visit. Lucky dog, he got plenty of snuggles and kisses from his second favorite girl. We visited them at Andy's parents home and we all went to Eveleth for a long weekend.

The second picture is an exhausted Oscar after a party we held for Mandy and Andy on Sunday night. We had at least 20 people in our tiny condo, and Oscar was very, very good. He wandered around with a dazed look most of the night, but he didn't bark very much.