La Dolce Vita

She only loves me for my warmth...

Friday Afternoon Team Building

On Friday afternoon we left work for some lunch and "team building". Far east of town there is a pretty big gun range. It has everything from a sporting clay course to target practice at pictures of Obama to a presumably large underground cache of weapons should the end of the world happen. OK, I might have embellished a little bit on the details to make a point in the previous sentence.

I have shot handguns, rifles, shotguns, and even sporting clays thrown by a friend before, but I have never attempted a full course with automatic sporting clays that come from all kids of directions.  More importantly, it had probably been about six years since I had shot a gun, and even longer since pulling a trigger on a shotgun or trying to hit a moving target.

I did pretty well considering my level of experience and rustiness.  I estimate I probably hit 50% of the targets if you don't count the end of the day.  By the last station I was getting tired and had developed a nice bruise on my shoulder and bicep. Owen wasn't able to make it since he was called up to the State Capitol building to be assigned to a committee, but he let us use his twelve gauge. It was a nice piece. One thing is for sure, this definitely beat sitting in my cubicle.

Daddy Daughter Time

This weekend Julia and I went up to the cabin for some hang out time. On the way up Julia kept saying that she needed a break from her little brother, since he takes her toys and chases her around the house. I just wanted to spend some one on one time with her since Jonathan is typically the focus right now, what with his feedings, doctor appointments, and terrible two shenanigans.

I left work a little early on Friday. Julia and Stacey were able to run and pick out a few treats for the both of us, making this weekend fun on many levels. Trying to leave was a little sad because Jonathan really wanted to come. He tried to pack his own toothbrush and wanted his shoes and hat on too. I could tell he wanted to come with us, but he'll have his own time soon enough.

The weekend weather was cold, and we got a few brief and small snowfalls over both nights we stayed here. Saturday morning we woke up and made smoothies and I taught Julia how to play the game of Life. She beat me handily the first time. We just sort of did whatever she wanted to do, which included playing with the snow outside. We "painted" different things around the cabin with snow, threw snowballs into the lake, drank hit chocolate, read a few books, played some other made up board games, and played with the walkie talkies.

Julia definitely had a good time. In fact, in addition to being silly, extra sweet, and loving, she actually told me something along the lines of "thanks Dad for planning or arranging (or similar) a weekend at the cabin with just you and me". Those are pretty big words coming from a 4 year old, especially since she knows and says exactly what she means.

Surround Sound

Trick Or Treat

Kitty Connection

Julia: "Mom, did you have ME de-wormed?"

Casing The Joint

Since we finished the basement I've moved my home improvement projects to the main level. There are three jobs, all involving trim, that I'm going to finish up this winter. Two of them involve the fireplace and television viewing area in the living room; the third, the openings to the dining room and office. As a side note, I'm typing this blog on my new iPhone 5 with a purring kitten in my lap.

The kids were entertained with markers on my materials. It was a good idea at the time. It wasn't such a good idea when I tried to paint over them. The areas where Julia colored took almost 10 coats of high quality paint. White paint just doesn't cover color very well, even at $60 a gallon.

Overall things turned out well, but I made many mistakes. Since the length of the openings were greater then the standard eight feet materials come in, each flat section has a seam. I was able to fill some huge gaps with wood filler, but I rushed the biggest one and didn't take the time to sand it down flat enough. If you look long enough in the right light it's pretty obvious. 

Initially I wasn't sold on how much white space it added, but over time it's really grown on me. It was something that hadn't been changed for over five years, so it took some getting used to. Next!

Happy Halloween

People Person

It only took kitty three night to find us and make herself at home in our bed at night. She's been sleeping between us every night since.  Who has who trained?

Over the past few days I've taken a few shots that were worth sharing. She likes my lap, the blankets in the bin (she wrapped herself up), and lending a paw for painting.  I had to put her on the other side of the ladder while I was painting after she thought the brush and roller were toys. She batted the roller with her paw. It's hard to get paint off of a kitten...

A New Friend

Freckles is my new buddy. The last two nights she has fallen asleep in my lap while I've been watching the World Series. She likes Stacey and Julia too, but I've been the only one around at night to pet her, so we've had more time together. She runs when Jonathan comes around, probably because he just moves too fast and is too loud.

Each night she has gotten progressively more comfortable around me. The first night here she stayed near me and periodically let me pet her. As I've already mentioned, the next two nights she's slept in my lap. However, tonight she also started licking my nose, face, and hands until I made her stop. Then, she followed me into the basement when I went down to play the guitar. She just laid on the chair and rested until I was done, then followed me back up the stairs. She definitely wants to be around people as long as they aren't wild and crazy. I just happened to be the one around at night this week. 

She also has a thing for scrambled eggs and black bean soup, but I stopped her before she ate any of it...