POOL TRICKS

I'm not sure why, but ever since we introduced our dog Lily to the pool, she loves taking a swim on the back of whoever will let her ride. She'll just lay her head on your head and bark until you start moving. Sounds silly, I know, but she loves it. You'll occasionally find her swimming or wading through the pool by herself if no one else will join her. She was a stray my son brought home over the summer. He couldn't stand looking at her sad eyes. She's a pit bull mix and a real sweetheart. We couldn't let her go once she came home that day.

*duchess*

SOMETHING NEW?

I've been away from Blogging for so long now....I'm feeling guilty. Then I started thinking about WHY I wasn't using the blog to share thoughts, etc. So...for my birthday, I treated myself to a new look. Do you like the new design? I still have lots of work to do to finish tidying up, but it's close. The designer I hired did a fabulous job. It was quite easy and painless.

Then I started thinking I might just be bored with the subject matter. Not that I'm bored with movies but that the movies being released lately have been really boring. I felt like I was writing the same thing over and over---boring, slow, etc. Where are all the creative geniuses that are supposedly flooding Hollywood? Or is it their producers and movie houses that are taking away their creative license? Who knows...

Blogs I read are mostly about Moms sharing their everyday happenings, women sharing their life experiences, and of course (because I'm an Interior Designer), I always browse the blogs related to interiors. I'll continue to browse these for sure...but what of my own blog?

I'm thinking my blog may need a bit of tweaking in many areas. I'll try to be better about posting, but give me some time to think and re-create what I want to share.

*duchess*

THE MASCOT AND HIS BROTHER

Last Friday night was the school football game. My oldest son is the school mascot. He had just gotten out of the costume when I took this photo. Poor guy was soaked it was so hot outside that night. He's giving his brother a loving hug--which doesn't happen often. Glad I got it on film... :) And yes, it's time for a haircut.

*duchess*

GIFT

This gorgeous flower kept me company while I was on the terrace in Montreal. The owner of the B&B grew them in various places on property and then placed them at the breakfast table for his guests to enjoy.

p.s. I was testing the photo option import program. I love the size and clarity of this photo!

Checking the text update to Blog. Let's hope it works! :)

MONTREAL

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL in Old Montreal. Horse drawn carriages are available at the plaza for tourist to enjoy.

CALIFORNIA AGAIN...

It has been a whirlwind month. I've been stressing because my blog hasn't had much attention this month--even though I'm always thinking, "oh, I need to blog about that..." Just didn't happen.

We spent the last week in San Jose and the Trampoline and Tumbling Junior Olympic Nationals Competition. This is also the only time this summer the 4 of us will be all together. Camps and what not will fill the rest of our summer. (School starts early August here in Texas.)

So how did my gymnast do you ask? Well, he came home with 2 Gold medals and 1 Silver medal (by 3 tenths). But I can't tell anyone because he doesn't want me to brag. Here's the champion:

The other big news is that a day after we got home, Kooza celebrated his 13th birthday (photo above). Yep! All this good stuff happening in one week. Bliss.