Happy New Year: 2011

So long, "oh-ten." It was a great one. 2011 will be even better, no doubt.

Photo Updates

aldy watching the "incredible dog championship"

aldy getting belly rubs

handy

work

set-up the new board

Winter film

Here's my first film. A test.

Alden winter_test from d strong on Vimeo.

music is from Catalpa Catalpa before permission
http://opsound.org/artist/catalpacatalpa/

A well-earned chill

weekend

new bike!
trip to the pet store! c is beautiful even when she's sick
cleaning broken glass on the bike path! this is one of a bunch of broken bottles on the bike path within a quarter mile of each other. punk kids need to get schooled

Alden - Birthday #1

Alden is 1 year old today! Here he is with the birthday card sent to him from my mom and Glenn. Wooha

The distance

In just a matter of time, A Day in the Good Life has shattered the 2000 mark and is plodding its way towards 2030 visitors. I feel like life has been packed full of eventful happenings and the internet has taken a backseat to more urgent matters. The most massive of these priorities has been Alden's flea problem. Fortunately, it's not a huge infestation-size problem--but it is a persistent one and we're going insane trying to find a remedy.

On a positive note, the fleas have kept our minds off the looming financial crisis. Other than our (fixed-rate) mortgage, we don't hold much (if any) debt and all our other assets are cash. I wish I understood better the pro's and con's of the governmental "bail-out." Supposedly it would be bandage the expanding wound that is the collective of our economic problems. Probably, it would be more of a tourniquet. As little as I make sense of it all, I suspect there is some irony in the whole situation. Capitalism is looking for a socialist solution; Wall Street is the new family on Welfare; stocks are the new food stamps; republican economic solutions are the new democrats' massive government. I know these formulas are over-simplified. I also understand that a lot of Republicans are opposed to the proposed bail-out--but I don't know why. The proposal doesn't appear to be a partisan issue. Why are people opposing the bail-out? Are they holding on to laissez-faires economic ideology? Or is it that they just want the bail-out restructured in some other way? What would that plan look like?

I am resisting the urge to get panicked. Carlyn's car is about to kick the bucket, as they say. I've been wondering if, in the name of simplicity, we should trade-in both of our cars for one new one, and learn to live as a one-car household. The question would be, would we get enough in trade to minimize our cost and save enough by eliminating car insurance, that we could afford a car with little to no debt and in fact save money in the long run? Thoughts?
--
In other news:
1. The glasses I ordered (pictured below) were too small so will be returned, just as I will return to search for the perfect pair of vintage frames! Wish me luck...
2. Carlyn's parents invited us to join them in Hocking Hills over the weekend. They rented a chalet with a beautiful hilltop view. We hiked the ~6 mile loop between Cedar Falls and Old Man's Cave--which is at least three times longer than the longest walk Alden has ever completed. He made it the whole way with no complaint! I was super excited and proud of him. Overall, the retreat was much needed and really appreciated.
3. This weekend, Carlyn's mom brought down another shipment of plants from her garden to get us started on our lawn-less landscape. Hopefully by this time next year, our front yard will be exploding with biomass/habitat/food/color!

What the dizzle?

Do you know what is a "bull pizzle"? Well we didn't either until after we bought one for Aldy--his reward for walking to the pet store to get a new type of leash. This "pizzle" smells as gross as it probably should, so tonight it's going in the trash! Sorry pup. But you should've seen him; he carried the thing all the way home from the store and was walking with the proudest gait I've seen.

I think C is gonna puke.

The Great Near-Blizzard of '08

Fun times during a Level 2 Snow Emergency.

Pupster

--Edit: "Meet Alden Paczki, born November 22 (Thanksgiving Day), 2007 and destined for greatness. "Paczki" (pronounced "ponchky") is a type of Polish donut--C and I learned about these on the CBS Sunday morning show the day we adopted little Alden. This was the name we almost settled on, but couldn't stop laughing everytime we used it--so we decided to find a more serious name for him. Alden means "old friend," and we know he will live a long and joyful life with us and always be a friend.--

C and I are trying to be patient with puppy training, but it's rough. Actually, the first 3 days were smooth, with minimal accidents inside and mostly gentle play. We're trying to learn all we can to teach him how to be an obedient dog. I also hope that puppy socialization will help "Aldo" learn how to play well with others.