EV

Well, we have been talking about getting another dog for a while now, and getting one before Rin really got territorial about the house.  But I never imagined we would fall for a little creature like this one here.  

Meet EV. 

Erics nerdiness took her shelter name of Evie and tuned it into Escape Velocity.  It fits, so there you go.

She is trouble, but she can hike with the best, cuddle your heart out, and Rin adores her.  

 So, there you go.

She is also a puppy and therefor not potty trained, or any other trained at that

It took some serious patience and gating off the house

but boy is she cute.

And now the cats are finally getting more comfortable.  Things seem to be settling down now.  As long as I don't kill her first, I think we have a great dog.  

Pretty stuff around the house

My phone is dying so these pics don't look so great, but it has been beautiful around here this fall so...

By the lake

Kimbyl and the dogs

The garden in fall

Storm coming in

I've got a new garden going in, it's a native meadow in a little hillock.  I hope it is pretty.

Newest art project

Here is my newest undertaking in art.  I am retaking the metal sculpture class for fun.  I found these bent pipes and decided to make a dandelion.

It is a heavy bugger, so the base actually took some thought.

At first it took 3 people to get these guys upright, but by the end I was doing it on my own.

The seeds took forever to make, mainly because I made a million of them.  Her are the first few on the flower

And then more!

It looks kind of cool, doesn't it?

More on the older flower

First attempt at putting blowing away seen on, but I hate it.  It looks heavy

Chopped off a bit and it looks better but It still needs a lot of work.  But it was due so this is where I stopped for the moment.  I'm a little afraid of getting it home.  It turns out using a disc break for the flower was a bad idea.  it is designed to resist heat and friction.  How well do you think it welds?  I can just pop those seeds off with my hands.  

We shall see what it looks like in a field.

Desmond

We lost my baby girl this summer.  I have had her most of my adult life so it has been very hard.  Here are some of my favorite pictures of my darling Desmundo

Wandering Istanbul

On our last day in Istanbul, we spent a lot of time just walking and exploring

This was on I think the museum of Islamic art building.  I enjoyed it

We waled past this building almost everyday.  It had a fun shabbiness

Pretty

this was a graveyard

different tombstones than I'm used to

I especially like the columnar ones

In a fancier more modern area

the guidebook says these are wildly popular in Istanbul

Man, that Blue mosque is spectacular

More street vendors

Again, the Blue Mosque

Some bath complex or school or something

We had lunch in a rooftop restaurant.  Nice view?

It was just below the Blue mosque.  This guy was dedicated to his photography

Balloon bread

More walking.  I bought a fez for Keith right across from here

I even liked modern gutters too

Less touristy street 

Suleymaniye Hamamı

Where we had our Turkish Bath experience.  I loved it.  Eric hated it.  Can't imagine something that would polarize us further.  Hot, and strangers touching you.  Poor Eric.  Spectacular bathing area though.  No pictures because the steam would ruin a camera, even if it were allowed.  When thy splash freezing water on you after you've sat on a heated slab of marble in a steamy room, I have to admit that was a delicious shock.

After the bath, I enjoyed this art installation

this area felt like it was for normal people, and didn't really feel touristy which was nice

These guys were running around everywhere.  Watch out

burquinis

I like the mix of old and new on this building

Istanbul is such a beautiful city!  I would happily go back again.