Marley and Me

Christmas was one of the best ever. I spent it with my friends Mark and Mary, Mark's mother, and an 83-pound lab puppy named Marley. First he went for a run in the morning with Mary. Then he ate three of his presents while we opened ours. As we were cooking dinner, Mary gave him a Flinstones-sized bone. Later as we set the table, he grabbed half of the Christmas ham and made a run for it. He ate his fourth present just before bedtime. In Marley's world, that had to be the perfect day.

Heading home

Today I'm heading back to VA. I'll miss seeing my family and spending time with the horses, but will be glad to see my friends again. If only I could convince DeeDee to get in a suitcase. . .

Buzz kill

The condo isn't finished, so I'll be checking into a hotel again when I get back home. Sigh.

Santa baby

Santa's bringing me a condo for Christmas! As of yesterday, the place will be finished in time for me move in when I return. The only thing left to do is line up housekeepers to clean the place.

After living like a gypsy for 8 weeks, there's no place like home.

Mecate

We ride DeeDee in a mecate. The mecate consists of reins and a lead rope, made of horse hair (ironic), that are attached to the bit with leather slobber straps. She looks like she belongs in a western movie.

Mmm furniture (the sequel)

My friend Angela's puppy has tasted his second piece of furniture. He seems to have a taste for chairs. This time, it was a dining chair.

Dashing through the sand

A friend at the barn asked me why I love to ride DeeDee. Every time it's a gamble, and that's my kind of risk.

Phoenix, here I come! (and Waterproofing Update)

Heading to AZ today for the holidays.

The condo's starting to shape up. The walls are up and finished in the living area and dinette. The cutout on the dinette ceiling has been framed and the drywall is up. The primer is up on the living room and dinette walls.

They're tearing out the dinette and kitchen tile floor to replace it. There's a bit more work to do in the kitchen after the floor goes in. Cabinets, lighting, etc. At this point it looks like the granite won't have to be replaced.

The back wall is up in the laundry room. The laundry room floor still has to be put in, and they may still need to patch the hole between the kitchen and laundry room.

Hoping that Santa brings me a finished, clean condo for Christmas!

Have a great holiday!

Waterproofing update

Good news and bad news. While I was in Vegas the contractors fixed the rusty pipe. Yay! They also started installing the walls. They were supposed to remove the insulation and studs, and place the new walls against the cinder block. As you can see, they slapped the walls right on top of the insulation and studs. Takes a full 4" out of my living space and looks terrible. Oh yeah - and light switches be damned.

So today they said they'll fix it and I'll be back home next week. Fingers crossed!

Pubcon conference

Just got back from the Pubcon conference in Vegas. Stayed at the Wynn - gorgeous. Great to see everyone there. Here are a couple of pics - check out the rest on Flickr.

Yahoo!

Last night I hung out with new friends from Yahoo! - Daniel, Danny and Will. It was their first time in DC, so we were on a mission to see the sights.

First we went to Georgetown. Saw the pre-revolutionary house and ate at Manhattan's. Then we drove by the Iwo Jima memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery. The Iwo Jima memorial is breathtaking at night. The cemetery is impressive even though it's not lit and you can't go inside at night. The markers seem to go on for miles.

On a mission to see the pentagon (mission achieved), we stumbled onto Lady Bird Johnson park and stopped to take in the gorgeous view of the monuments from the other side of the river.

We drove through Falls Church on the way home. Checked out the Cherry Hill Farmhouse, and stopped to see the site of the hangman's tree.

All of that without a map - my personal best for driving in DC. It was a blast, and great to make new friends!