tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32989592271651137742024-03-05T09:03:43.900-05:00Robin and LughRobinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-21821547946930482962009-07-06T22:21:00.002-04:002009-07-06T22:24:37.149-04:00When illegal is legal<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">It's the 4th of July and I have just have to say "wow, thanks!" everyone for buying fireworks. Normally I head off to a big fireworks show (love the glitz, even love the smell of the fuses) - but this time I decided to hang out in my own neighborhood. What a gift. I was treated to non-stop fireworks - like the old days in Newport where everyone was lighting up on every corner and the sounds of "pow" permeated the air. For so long I got used to living in a town where fireworks were illegal (even dorky sparklers) that I forgot what it was like to get one of those big boxes at the fireworks place (and a few top of the line goodies) - go home and rip into that package like it was Christmas. You never really knew what each thing did so you just lit it up and stood back. The extra bang here is that these are gooooood fireworks! Almost every one has artillery shells (I think in Newport we were excited to have bottle rockets) and all kinds of flashy stuff. Joy! </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">And clearly Lugh is my dog - he couldn't get enough of them - he'd hear the "whoosh" of the artillery shells and look up to see the explosion of light. Not super thrilled with piccolo pete's, but I don't blame him, they are annoying...</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">As for news on the garden - just ate my first zuccini's (the 3 plants I have are taking over and turning the veg garden into a jungle - huge square foot leaves with little ouchy prickly things) - and pulled up a few beets to roast. I planted the last of the seedlings - heirloom watermelons and cukes - and decided to go ahead and plant the pathetic brussel sprouts that I had. The sprouts I planted last year got to a whopping 1cm in size and were a bit bitter. </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Overall, summer is turning out quite nice. Lots of charm with the lightening bugs out every night twinkling away. And I am slowly whittling away at projects. Will try to post garden shots...</p>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-34511882386703111062009-06-22T17:42:00.002-04:002009-06-22T17:48:40.995-04:00Taking a time outWell, clearly I need to learn how to take time outs more often. When you stop and enjoy life these are the things you get to experience:<div><ul><li>Just how enormous one (yes only one!) squash plant can get with a little sun and rain (err...I hope people like squash I'll have lots)</li><li>A good song on the radio with the windows down</li><li>The smell of lightening and the boom of thunder while you sit out on your porch with friends</li><li>The "after storm" reduction in air pressure - and the gentle breezes that follow</li><li>Bonzai planting of herbs (not planting a bonzai tree but randomly sowing seeds)</li><li>Sitting out under the full moon and howling with Lugh </li><li>All my prairie flowers up, pointing at the sky, and ready to bloom</li><li>The big dragonfly that just buzzed by</li><li>The twinkle of lightening bugs as they play out in the garden - they make me smile</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-90960077878134946102009-02-15T12:00:00.006-05:002009-02-15T12:56:17.911-05:00Looking towards springThe weather this past week has been in the balmy 40-50s...I almost feel like getting back into my flip flops! I'm getting a sense that spring isn't too far away, yet realize that we're probably in for a few more snows. Either way, I've started to poke around for some interesting new ideas for the vegetable garden. I've decided to kill off more grass (yeah!) and double the size of my garden. If I get very creative I might even kill off all the remaining grass (yeah! yeah!) and do some more native plantings. I think I've been inspired by the grasses down at the State Park in <a href="http://dnr.state.il.us/Lands/landmgt/PARKS/R1/Prophet.htm#Natural">Prophetstown</a>. They are all these shades of ambers, golds, and rusts and when the light hits them its like a sunset glistening off the ocean. Lugh of course loves the park because he gets to go off leash and smell all different kinds of wild scat. In fact, we just walked there the other day with our friend Nadia K who was visiting from U Georgia. Nadia does wickedly cool things integrating engineering and art education all around the idea of complex systems. <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>As a catch up from past weeks (ok, months)...I was in California with family and went to Cambria with Jackie and Mark. It was my first mobile home trip - and I must admit I really enjoyed having a soft bed and warm covers, rather than a quirky sleeping bag and a hard floor to sleep on. I also must admit I couldn't pass up the option of using the microwave to make popcorn (normally camping food consists of cheese and tomato sandwiches and tea). In Cambria Jackie, Max, and I took off for a walk to town (we thought it would be a couple miles - and it turned out to be a 9 mile roundtrip), poked around in all the artists shops (I bought glass jellyfish that hang in my office), and meandered along the beach. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>This is a shot of the turkey vultures drying off their wings and warming up in the sun. <br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GHFeIvQgKfhaZ1gLHcTkqlz4cRh_88HDBmKdf0Ua3LyuFjEejbyCA5j4QRAAhb4mLzsF1VdQVZQOivDubkyBTonJA9TYWyyHn6GBJ_T2s5mavTMH0G3BMvj1KWXW8DoP4rMx16r30FeC/s320/IMG_1907.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303081707935970530" /></div><div>This is a shot of Max (with Jackie in the background) climbing around some rocks on the shore. I of course took the opportunity to add to the texture wall at home. Ah, yes, another project... </div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQZzTiWg-zx81vb-xIQg8_nKJqlxEoSA8EVtLUg52mHQk48LxCUK7mf-lloQvX_w76OLHE88VwwKLIc7KWJhgRaxWKlaLs5-WuzOJBmV4zKVJy4g2rhuCcv2fkJ0q4DeKRK0g1tmDLNKb/s320/IMG_1932.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303081391012816802" /></div><div>Later on that weekend we went to Hearst Castle. The last time I was there I think I was 18 or something. I enjoyed hearing all the stories - and getting a new sense of Hearst beyond the newspaper mogul. One of the funnier stories was hearing how at the big mansion dinners he used paper napkins with ketchup and mustard as condiments. Go figure.</div><div><br /></div><div>We then went off to the beach for one last walk, and came across a rather large elephant seal asleep on the shore. At first I thought it was a really big rock, but then it moved and we could see it's big funky face. He (she?) seemed to wake up for a bit, look around, and go gently back to sleep. </div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm123uJVijTmQEO8x_IwYrWD2WuIPJfJLx6irf-JWxKJ2qVJRX7xlnG-gt1_NqvlmSpgbEYw8TgsMyT5ExDdlus_3lixv99VyDkdlF6lR2dnKF5BrMDQlI13144ndNcGUF8FnrJEDzppwA/s320/IMG_1981.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303081942598883106" /></div><div>What a life - lounging about on the beach. Of course, I say this as I see Lugh asleep on my couch (bad boy) - and he looks up at me with a "what?" look on his face. I'd tell him to get off, but he looks so peaceful...and he puts up with me making him dress up for Halloween...I was trying for Clifford the big red dog but realized that would end up being a lot of red dye...so I stopped at fucshia and then added green spots to add some pizazz.</div><div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2b-dEj2GYB-x0uEwaORKLaTftKSFQRbl4-owiemctXXXOasa8IKsTdhLMX7pJkHmKACvRjabe4bWhpi4RTdtJb6GtLc_20P4wV3_jPcrDCkb_R3AKIkWLC-WGKFolUIRLt9Ouesit6rF/s1600-h/IMG_1903.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE2b-dEj2GYB-x0uEwaORKLaTftKSFQRbl4-owiemctXXXOasa8IKsTdhLMX7pJkHmKACvRjabe4bWhpi4RTdtJb6GtLc_20P4wV3_jPcrDCkb_R3AKIkWLC-WGKFolUIRLt9Ouesit6rF/s320/IMG_1903.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303084239958337378" /></a><br /></div></div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-71196471617954812832008-10-24T15:54:00.006-04:002008-10-24T16:20:03.317-04:00A good day!<div><div>Okay, this worked out to be a good week. So great that I had to stop and think "why". This is what I thought of</div><ul><li>Lugh did really well in dog training! Of course, there was only one other dog there so he wasn't as completely distracted as normal. Normally, we spend the whole hour walking around in circles and trying to get him to actually notice me (much less do what I say). On those days, I could be wearing meat and peanut butter and he still wouldn't notice me in the room. But yesterday - he and Ellie spent the whole day sitting down, laying down, getting up, following, not picking up something that wasn't his, and coming when calling (even off leash!). Wow. And no "argh argh argh" foot biting (almost, but he snapped out of it as quickly as he started). The only down side was Lugh's extraordinary gastrointestinal prowess. Stinky butt.<br /></li><li>My Design class was super fun (that sounds so Californian). Each student researched something that was personally interested and presented it to class. It was impressive the way everything fit together. For me, I got to dig into some things I missed about design and see it through new eyes. Because the students were in charge of class (and my other class was cancelled due to a conference), I actually got some extra sleep. Boy, that makes a difference.</li><br /><li>Shawn has narrowed down his dissertation topic into something that really seems to speak to him - and is heading off to a conference that will help him work out the details of his proposal. So fun to see the excitement!</li><br /><li>Shanna found a really cool way to take many many pages of results and put them into a short format for a journal article. </li><br /><li>Tiago and I are moving on the XD study, and I did some deep synthesis based on Tiago's work that's making me see some strong progress. </li><br /><li>Our research group got into a very cool discussion on "what is engineering" and played around in some really provocative places (big E, little e engineering) that really got me thinking. It was so much fun I rushed home to take Lugh for a long walk in Happy Hollow Park where we got to chase chipmunks and squirrels, play with dogs (even a dinky rat terrier puppy), and see the leaves turn. I'll have to take Mom here when she comes out next week :)</li></ul><p>The big question - how to sustain the "happy".... Play play play play play</p></div><br /><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260817356976845186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk5RQFoYG-va5Yw0TjisyeYPXaeGHUznjVfHUfSAeOfXyAolZfmf_ZtB9uaKH2y6qw5APjigW3Ddp3HKgXLHiPyM34yUIh3tAt_YroXkaqvwzSdkMHf1Tn6hCM4NG9D9FA1962xNoDimqg/s320/Lugh.jpg" border="0" />Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-45285126152255432032008-08-20T13:57:00.002-04:002008-08-20T14:06:02.651-04:00Oy! Time to go back to schoolWell, I haven't been so good blogging this year. It's been an intense year - of very good things (new nephew Ethan Wendell Gregory) and not so good things (my Dad passed away in June). Surprisingly, Lugh seems to have mellowed in his anxiety - he's found a bunch of new friends around our block (great danes, labs, irish setters, jack russell terriers, etc.) and discovered that cats, bunnies, and people on bicycles are super fun to chase.<br /><br />Looking back, I think that somehow everything was meant to happen when it did and how it did. And so we start the new school year (which starts Monday, yikes!) with joy, peace, and a renewed focus.<br /><br />I promise to blog more frequently....really really reallyRobinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-87571352738049819462008-03-10T14:23:00.005-04:002008-12-08T18:15:32.812-05:00Sisters in Chicago - "cheers!"OK - haven't posted for a while - whew, been busy.<br /><br />My sisters came up to visit me and we zipped all over the place - including lovely Lafayette and Chicago. Will post later, but here is a sampling of the good times...<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176181894806594418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_RUuGxMPpkTX9sIEHMh4z7Te4t-hsgP3s1VGuPhnXdVkADpvv_fmWM39ZcvmCIxmK8nR1Z0b-16xvtncCNhEh-lJx6Ml3b9lwcmIyltZU-Vr16s1CZyl2rRB77zMUwpSmtDrE62yW2Xu/s320/P3090097.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />The clincher, though was the last night -and yes, we meant to put that stuff on our faces :)<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176181284921238370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuSEGpGT_a_je7_-kE2Nm-ZkqVT63alr5WYMgPjCgUkWyLrwUsE_mmDbPY_YgGNlihm5_ld9cNw5duuf62Q_dFeTdBf_auLFPJevKLCPMqkigTUMlXbi8mnWcJlS7S7mgt07vQNqT5S9B/s320/P3090104.JPG" border="0" />Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-22501245985530982302008-01-19T10:54:00.000-05:002008-12-08T18:15:33.028-05:00A tribute to "Big G"Last Sunday Gary MacDonald, my mom's long time companion and partner in crime and my friend, passed away. Gary, or "Big G", as I called him was one of those rare birds - big heart, kind soul, odd sense of humor, a carryover from simpler times. Today is his memorial. Since I couldn't be there, I thought I'd do something of my own. So, for those of you who know him, enjoy the ride. For those who didn't, I hope it makes you smile about all the special people in your life.<br /><br />Gary the cowboy: Gary had one of those long legged cowboy gaits (he was 6'4" and all legs), and when he would put on this boots and cowboy hat your mind would think of all the cowboy movies you'd seen in your life and go "oh, yeah, so THAT's a cowboy". You know, those silhouettes of a cowboy leaning up against the a door frame with his hat off to the side or leaning against a corral fence with his hat pulled down to shade his eyes. It was a big part of how he saw the world and a big part of how he grew up (on a farm in Rushville, Ohio; working in a rodeo). He was a gentle cowboy - following some unspoken cowboy code of honor. Not the rootin-tootin' type but the type that was always a gentleman (tipping his hat), always willing to lend a hand. Soft spoken and actually quite shy. My nephew, RJ, just loved "Pops" - when he was little he was so enamored with all the cowboy garb he'd beg to wear his cowboy boots and hat so he could mosey around the house like Gary. Of course, when RJ went "cowboy" it came with some serious attitude - and a temper tantrum when it was time to take the boots off...<br /><br />Gary the chiropractor: Gary was a hugger. Not a simple pat on the back kind of hugger, but the kind of hugger where he would hold you, squeeze you, and well, to be honest, squish your back into alignment again. And this didnt' happen on just those special occassions - it was an every day (and often 3 times a day) kind of thing. It was always such a giggle to watch him give mom a hug after a long day at work (she's 4'10", he's 6'4"). It was like a Gary blanket. This is a photo he took when he was in Seattle - he just loved it. Two snow people hugging...<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157234825748946930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 204px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 301px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="237" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwXrdiyyU7NG2D5Uno4zq5V6Pmtd47vWPnv3i1ThcFXAFSHVob42BTXnXCO0auJhy4u76mIgALPXg2I4srcNAcG3vGalYoxq4PuofMfPaQ2VrQW4D7gap4AHRl78aHC4bMf0P4TbU-Q0l/s320/IMG_0350.JPG" width="115" border="0" /><br />Gary the "mystery chef": Gary loved to cook - and he was good at it, too (thank goodness). He could serve up some mean pancakes (big fluffy cowboy style pancakes), an excellent chicken cacciatore, and wicked good peanut butter cookies. However, you always had to be a little bit careful regarding his "experiments". He always got a kick out of using leftovers in creative ways. Now sometimes, it was quite yummy. But othertimes, ick. I'll never forget the spaghetti meatloaf. There's just something wrong about cutting into a meatloaf and all these long wormy looking things pop out. To this day I'm always just a bit leery about leftovers...<br /><br />Gary the artist: Well, most of you who know Gary know he's an artist (painter, cartoonist, haircutter, DJ, two-step dancer, designer). Every Christmas for gosh I can't even remember how long he would create his own Christmas cards. Now these aren't some simple paper and glue kind of card - these were extraordinarily beautiful hand painted cards that told a story about where he grew up and what he saw as the spirit of Christmas. There was always a red cardinal somewhere in the picture - and most of them had something of my mom in there. He would begin designing these right after the last set was finished and sent off to all their friends. I'm pretty sure I have every one I ever received - and I'm not alone in this - most of us have kept his cards. I also have every other card he made for me. Most of these capture that goofy sense of humor Gary had that just made you giggle. My personal favorite is the one of me and my sister in our cribs - she's trapped herself in a boat canvas crib (she owns a boat canvas company) and she's yelling at me to get her out, and I'm busy being "engineer-y" in my crib (calculating, measuring, designing) to figure out how to help her out. These were his special gifts he gave to his family. But, painting didn't stop at cards - he also drew the illustrations for a children's book and painted portraits and scenes. And then there were the little cartoons he would scribble and leave around the house - something to just say "hello" or "the coffee's fresh". </p><p>Gary the punster: Gary had a, well, unique sense of humor. Most of the time you'd laugh, but other times you'd cock your head to the say and wonder what was funny. I think it was his shy way of making friends. He loved to play on words. And he loved to come up with new words - like "gramich" - which was a sandwich my mom (or "grammy") would make for him. And then there were the times where he'd start the day with his marine band CD which would be promptly followed by his ABBA CD. Just the kind of odd pairing Gary would enjoy. I guess what it says is that Gary found humor in everything and would always try his hardest to get people to smile or laugh. When he did, he'd get that cute sense of satisfaction on his face, like he'd done a good deed.<br /><br />Gary the sentimentalist: Even though Gary loved to joke, he was probably the most sentimental person I've ever known. Some might say he wore his feelings on his sleeves - I'd probably say it didn't stop with his sleeves. My sense is that this had long roots to when he was a young boy. Although he could watch baseball or football for hours, he was always a sucker for a sentimental old movie (especially if there was a cowboy theme). One of his favorites was "Tender Mercies" - I remember the first time I watched it with him and how he teared up. You could tell that he really related to the story. He knew every line in that movie (you could see him mumbling the words to the movie sometimes), and he knew every song. And sometimes if I was very lucky he'd sing one for me (he had a beautiful voice) - the one that talked about the wings of a snow white dove.<br /></p><br /><p>Gary was a giver: When I moved into my Seattle home, Gary immediately offered to help fix it up (it needed work). This was a huge job - we moved walls, opened up walls, and created new walls. Well, when I say "we" I really mean "he". Although he did teach me how to "mud" walls. It was one of those flashbacks to Karate Kid, you know that movie where the kid learns karate by washing cars and painting fences ("wipe on, wipe off"). By the time he was done, my house was absolutely gorgeous! But this is who Gary was - he was always offering to help, he'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Every day I see something that has a bit of Gary in it.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5z9Hq6s2HDGVlyXcfKIlY-WwrC1CfIGx4oMgrZkSbZiumITZ9b-HmFQpwu88xc6iJudV7SoKmqxGLS0usKl5a7YopnlWC0VvkUEoJ6Lc6C0lkQsu5b9ic-fOfzCZ54m8s4wA2NF4q_v3d/s1600-h/IMG_0316.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157238519420821506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5z9Hq6s2HDGVlyXcfKIlY-WwrC1CfIGx4oMgrZkSbZiumITZ9b-HmFQpwu88xc6iJudV7SoKmqxGLS0usKl5a7YopnlWC0VvkUEoJ6Lc6C0lkQsu5b9ic-fOfzCZ54m8s4wA2NF4q_v3d/s320/IMG_0316.JPG" border="0" /></a>This is Gary and me in Seattle - working away.<br /><p>As for last words - well, I'd prefer not to think in those terms. I will say that one of Gary's parting gifts was during my last visit with him in the hospice. He showed me how to milk a cow. No joke...but still funny.</p><p>Big hugs.</p>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-30794032882989890052008-01-19T10:05:00.000-05:002008-01-19T17:14:27.300-05:00Vanill-o-ramaWe had our own Iron Chef cook off the other weekend - inspired by Rocio's (one of our graduate students from Mexico) gift of a HUGE bag of vanilla beans to Llew. With the gauntlet thrown down - we all tried to out do each other with creating yummy food flavored with vanilla. Alice has a nice <a href="http://the-normal-life.blogspot.com/2008/01/liveblogging-vanilla-fest.html">overview </a>of all the goodies and the evening. You can visit Llew and Gemma's <a href="http://gemllew.blogspot.com/2008/01/vanilla-fest-wrap-up.html">website </a>to get details on the behind the scene cooking story.<br /><br />Me - well, I wanted to push the envelope of something to do with vanilla that wasn't dessert yet in some way made you think of dessert. My first thought was to make crab puffs flavored with vanilla. However, Lafayette and fresh crab is not a real option. So I started playing around with a baklava type theme - except a savory baklava. Baklava is that yummy philo, nuts, and honey dessert that you find in the Mediterranean (Turkey, Greece, etc.). I poked around and found, yes, bacon baklava. It was just weird enough that I knew I had found my recipe. I will say it was darned tasty (lots of comments about how it tasted like mince pie). However, a word of warning, cold "bacon-lava" is not good. Imagining eating cold french toast with bacon bits. Yugh.<br /><br />I will say that the smell of the apartment was fabulous - not that cloying vanilla room freshener smell but a cornucopia of smells laced with real vanilla. Lovely.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-53550332298018833452008-01-18T16:33:00.000-05:002008-01-19T20:48:03.274-05:00Happy New Year!Cannot believe it's 2008 - what happened to 2007 (ok what happened to the last 10 years if we're going to be really honest)...<br /><br />Anyway, in keeping with the tradition of "going somewhere you've never been before and doing something you've never done before", I decided to have a New Year's party. Never done that before, and never been to one in Indiana (ha ha).<br /><br />The theme was "fondue" - and as you can see from the pictures Alice <a href="http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=11kctegf.89ezg38f&x=0&y=8ncxs4">posted</a>, not only did we slurp up much cheese we actually fought over the last burnt bit at the bottom of the pot. Llew and I went and bought champagnes from around the world (Spain, Italy, France, and believe it or not, New Mexico) to complement the evening. So there was much bubbly, and much bubbly talk and laughter. Alice and Steve rounded out the evening by bringing "crackers" (not the flat flour wafer types but the round noise popping type). Lugh (the dog) of course had to get in on that by chewing on the papery goodness of the wrapper. At midnight we put messages of what we hope for the new year in a bowl and then lit them on fire - then scrambled out of the room to watch the ball drop in NY on TV. Fabulous way to bring in the new year and say "adios" to the old one!<br /><br />Now the story wouldn't be complete without telling what also happened some time that evening. I had a couple dozen cans of soda and a few bottles of wine left over from the Aussie party. They were in the garage - and it was "on the list" to move them into the basement. Well, it was a cooooold night that night and I had left the garage doors open and the car outside. Didn't really think much about this until I walked out to the garage New Year's Day. At first I couldn't put my finger on what was different...weird bits of aluminum can everywhere...brown sticky stuff stuck in the snow...and then it dawned on me. While we were toasting the new year with champagne, the soda and wine decided to join the party and explode in the garage. Now that's a toast!<br /><a href="http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=11kctegf.89ezg38f&x=0&y=8ncxs4"></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-66035841951095129392007-12-21T16:04:00.000-05:002008-12-08T18:15:33.171-05:00Happy HolidazeWell, in the throws of the Christmas spirit Lugh and I crafted a new version of the "12 Days of Christmas":<br /><ul><li>On the first day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me -a lamp my best friend gave to me (very $$$)</li><br /><li>On the second day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 2 global passports (one Italian, one American), and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the third day of Christmas my Lugh dog ate for me - 3 sticks of butter (ewww), 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the fourth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the fifth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 5 pairs of shoes (well, ok, at least 5 pairs of shoes), 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the sixth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the seventh day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 7 draft proposals (thanks NSF!), 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the eighth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 8 plastic bottles (or is it 8 dozen...), 7 draft proposals, 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the ninth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 9 unpaid bills (I have no idea what they were or for how much, oh well), 8 plastic bottles, 7 draft proposals, 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the tenth day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 10 bags of mulch (yup, mulch), 9 unpaid bills, 8 plastic bottles, 7 draft proposals, 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the eleventh day of Christmas my Lugh dog chewed for me - 11 fluffy pillows (well, OK, closer to 20), 10 bags of mulch, 9 unpaid bills, 8 plastic bottles, 7 draft proposals, 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li><br /><li>On the twelfth day of Christmas my Lugh dog gave to me - 12 doggy kisses (and nibbles on my nose), 11 fluffy pillows, 10 bags of mulch, 9 unpaid bills, 8 plastic bottles, 7 draft proposals, 6 flower pots, 5 pairs of shoes, 4 yard umbrellas, 3 sticks of butter, 2 global passports, and a lamp my best friend gave to me</li></ul><br /><p>It's always nice to land on a high note - I'm very thankful that Lugh chose to leave the shelter and come and live with me. He has "issues", but he also has a big heart (and a bigger stomach for paper, butter, plastic, cotton, etc.), and he didn't eat my couch (whew!) or my computer (oy!). </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7UqqfmgCMjOv3izwtXwXEwrmCNLO-o3D5o2-7Mj1IKse86f9-v7e7DywFK1LFDxy6BtQz7LL6TY4DhGnp-0cu8mNf4e4E8BllmhPvOLUcjUwgRyoRtDdvcwE3NiOSLjsqqJV8EAD4buA/s1600-h/IMG_1734.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146526050645843826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 136px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px" height="172" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7UqqfmgCMjOv3izwtXwXEwrmCNLO-o3D5o2-7Mj1IKse86f9-v7e7DywFK1LFDxy6BtQz7LL6TY4DhGnp-0cu8mNf4e4E8BllmhPvOLUcjUwgRyoRtDdvcwE3NiOSLjsqqJV8EAD4buA/s320/IMG_1734.JPG" width="188" border="0" /></a>Lamps, passports, butter, umbrellas, shoes, pots, proposals, bottles, bills, mulch, and pillows are all replaceable.<br /><p>So from us to you, "<strong>Happy Holidays</strong>" - give kisses and hugs to those you love.</p><br /><p></p>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-83287055834925465782007-12-21T16:00:00.000-05:002008-12-08T18:15:33.871-05:00Snow!Wow - we've had ourself some serious snow these last couple of weeks. Big happy fluffy snow. It's so pretty...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146527631193808770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlu11jxEEfLjEbWrfpJH_hkW0C0L3bmiZYhfMXNSTTPJ5Huv26AcXw-AwI0JHIJ95z5hmbFe2okZG1D5pdcNnSB12AfOr9Qk5yRcfA_jVQbD4tbgNW3VP-4uYdoHhiosyOfgxUM43UQisZ/s320/IMG_1713.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p>Even my weird little metal flowers look pretty with the snow - like starts that fell from the sky.<br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146528077870407570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdetxrwp0BozpRvSf-Y1n-9Baij4K4xRWz0rwUGa1JCsmJYaQk8IcL9HcGYWIMPQUY3EkQynZVGfY2bGxNwhsr-JpPcOsvgVhD0RIDp-JQH4E5rl2Z3qQf4O9AC7eEfC6PYv0sKNkbE1ue/s320/IMG_1714.JPG" border="0" /></p><br /><p>Lugh loves the snow - he burrows in it and jumps around like a crazy bunny.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146528692050730914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W1sElTig0Nxv__PXQuyjWRShdS3BoqAc72h0eGftyoVmJX1jyLG6S3JZIiVsnpWkQDW2CFCJz20Pqg5xVaFYnq5mZeMGA1grdG4p4AKz1SUs1ytpjxRxS1EgrSTOQkGNXx2-1Hj33Hvb/s320/IMG_1724.JPG" border="0" /> In between the two snowfalls we had what is called "ice rain". Now, like most people I thought, ice rain is when rain falls and then it turns to ice. Well, that's sort of true. Here, when the rain falls it immediately turns to ice. So all the trees were covered in sheaths of ice. Absolutely beautiful. They looked like diamonds in the noon sun. At night they glowed - as seen on my cherry tree out front.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoDOkbaqaO-F5WsANhBIgAn-DAO0V8huuUxEMKTKE4cUkMCoQnLl-MOEVlJ4Nl11DIQCYoYQ8PsiBapSobYDYmFXVTkKygXIeBB11v2kF_LsE0B-lWtHkKIH8Y213sx42-EGtQeEtK5co/s1600-h/IMG_1731.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146529396425367474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoDOkbaqaO-F5WsANhBIgAn-DAO0V8huuUxEMKTKE4cUkMCoQnLl-MOEVlJ4Nl11DIQCYoYQ8PsiBapSobYDYmFXVTkKygXIeBB11v2kF_LsE0B-lWtHkKIH8Y213sx42-EGtQeEtK5co/s320/IMG_1731.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146530281188630482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKsvSHWPaowQZGeRSGwDyO-R6yM1nlrzQv8NlwL64MZvPM7X39vgLTvTZG289MvQsQFSCf-5lkjdVA3pgR3fcMRnY8sMF8M1U6mTrZXTgYo9Ol6rRPS-Rd7Ycr1Ek6EEf930-xMcYDqoU/s320/IMG_1733.JPG" border="0" />Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-37517517201938162602007-12-21T15:51:00.000-05:002008-12-08T18:15:33.988-05:00One small step...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQOTw7cU1vZFLl_d1Z4MTnsscl47JXALJL6bqMGsHqK6oQcgp52QxgS3uMaY3ZQh6nRVej8nYR7DuQmdhGFdFghxjcntDsTWokggWMbcaHTmYKfGFx5OcUa4mRMiq8i6-2Q-3Tu0ZSAdG/s1600-h/Chrissa+with+Neil+Armstrong.jpg"></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146533107277111266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQOTw7cU1vZFLl_d1Z4MTnsscl47JXALJL6bqMGsHqK6oQcgp52QxgS3uMaY3ZQh6nRVej8nYR7DuQmdhGFdFghxjcntDsTWokggWMbcaHTmYKfGFx5OcUa4mRMiq8i6-2Q-3Tu0ZSAdG/s320/Chrissa+with+Neil+Armstrong.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>Well, last month we launched our new building - Armstrong Hall. Purdue is very proud of their alumni who have been astronauts (something like 25 astronauts) - so a bunch of them came in all their glory for our building opening. Of course, the person EVERYONE wanted to meet was Neil Armstrong. You might imagine that this would be difficult...secret service men managing the crowds, and then poor Neil who is kinda shy. Well, thanks to my years of "Disneyland" I got to put my well-honed skills of "cutting line" into action. A friend who is a huge fan of Neil really wanted to meet him and and so I took her hand and winded my way through the crowd (in all my Space Mountain line-cutting glory) and "lo and behold!" got to the center of the crowd. This is Chrissa with Neil (I'm the one taking the picture). </div><div> </div><div>As it turns out - incredibly nice man. Very down to earth. When he gave his talk at the dinner that evening he said "I know what speech you all want to hear, but tonight I'm going to talk about something more important...Homecoming." It was Homecoming that weekend and one of the stories he told was how he chose not to go to MIT because they didn't have a football team - and then chose Purdue because they had a good one (as well as a good engineering program). The crowd hooted and hollared...gotta love someone who cares that much about football...<br /></div><div></div><br /><div></div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-8845161949274329662007-12-13T21:36:00.000-05:002008-12-08T18:15:34.118-05:00Happy Turkey Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgRPunO14KREbUyV55-V909TIlnF1vrMrGWsAIdJeycxYiBkuxA8787NJRyRfhkJpv7HmjTQ0HrilN6dikdMyF84vUSu71IwAi2ccZsuPtRiwR-lvckwshTKjaXb7ZcOrAJM3w_-3b8hx/s1600-h/IMG_1703.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143654916446845970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgRPunO14KREbUyV55-V909TIlnF1vrMrGWsAIdJeycxYiBkuxA8787NJRyRfhkJpv7HmjTQ0HrilN6dikdMyF84vUSu71IwAi2ccZsuPtRiwR-lvckwshTKjaXb7ZcOrAJM3w_-3b8hx/s320/IMG_1703.JPG" border="0" /></a> Well,Llew outdid himself again - we had a fabulous Thanksgiving feast of turkey, veggie loaf (yeah! a veggie alternative), stuffing, greek green beans, carmelized radishes, potato philo pie, yams with all the works, sugared carrots, brussel sprouts with homemade pancetta, saffron bread, cornbread...oh my gosh, so much good food that I'm having a food baby just thinking of it! It was quite the feast and it was so great to have such a lovely group of people to share it with. Here's the proud papa with his beautiful golden bird.<br /><br /><br /><div><br />Once we satiated our ravenous desire for Thanksgiving treats, we sipped liquor and played "fluxx" this game that's just my style: the rules change on every hand so you never know if you will win. You have to like a game that if you get the "cookies and milk" cards you win. Who comes up with these things...</div><div><br /> </div><div></div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-81512554635881807682007-11-12T20:17:00.000-05:002007-11-12T20:26:52.899-05:00Doggy bathsOK. So it's been a busy week (or so). Somehow that feeling of being on top of things quickly slipped away to "yikes, I'm so behind!" So, rather than do all the things I'm supposed to do, I'm telling funny stories on my blog.<br /><br />So, for those of you who have met Lugh...he's, shall we say, not fond of water (even little puddles). When bath times comes around it takes about a bag of Scooby snack treats to get him in the bathroom where I promptly shut the door and wrestle him into the tub. Then comes the 20 minutes of the most dejected face you can imagine, with his tail so far between his legs that it's plastered against his stomach. When it's all over he gets his revenge and drenches me with a few vigorous shakes of his body, takes off down the hallway wiping his big wet white butt all over every wall in the house. <br /><br />Imagine my surprise when in an effort to destress I decided to take a relaxing bath. Warm sudsy water with Lush bath bombs perfuming the air. Quiet. Gentle. Your eyes are closed. Your thinking of warm sunny beaches (even though you have a blueberry mask tightening up the skin on your face). So peaceful...until...Lugh decides that the bathtub is a big water bowl and he loudly slurps and slurps and slurps up the soapy bathwater like it's candy. Uck. You open your eyes in shock only to experience the feeling of a mask being licked off your face. Uck-o. <br /><br />Long story, short - Lugh is no longer afraid of the bathroom. However, now I am...Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-21087217036608517752007-10-31T22:57:00.000-04:002007-10-31T23:34:41.338-04:00Pumpkin CarvingWell, it's my favorite holiday - Halloween. First, I took Lugh (the dog not the person) to a local pumpkin patch. He got really excited - had to sniff everything - even had to drag me through the corn maze. I would have had pictures, but my battery ran out. I tried to get Lugh to pick the pumpkins, but he was more interested in peeing on them. Not good. In the end I came home with a bunch of quirky pumpkins and some gourds (by the way, don't try to carve gourds they're super hard).<br /><br />Then I picked up Llew and Gemma so they could experience their first AMERICAN Halloween. They dug right in.<br /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFATmmcsI/AAAAAAAAAYM/k-UNUYPJXYU/s288/IMG_1666.JPG" /><br /><br />As you can see, this was serious work - deep concentration.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFBDmmcuI/AAAAAAAAAYc/zbO-jafBHkM/s288/IMG_1667.JPG" /><br /><br />And "wallah!" our first carved pumpkin - look at the proud parents:<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RylE_zmmcrI/AAAAAAAAAYE/_nO0aZpFI8c/s288/IMG_1664.JPG" /><br /><br />Lugh was of course very proud - although he wanted to eat it.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFAjmmctI/AAAAAAAAAYU/JGndVJ-rr2U/s288/IMG_1669.JPG" /><br /><br />We ended up with 7 pumpkins (wow) - our own little pumpkin patch where we can await the Great Pumpkin.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFCDmmcxI/AAAAAAAAAY0/iz7XLiLPEW4/s288/IMG_1673.JPG" /><br /><br />We then ran outside and gleefully "lit them up". Wow - it was so cool to see so many different ways of carving a pumpkin. We're just so darn creative!<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFDDmmc2I/AAAAAAAAAZc/6Qe8f2MAvSg/s288/IMG_1700.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFCTmmcyI/AAAAAAAAAY8/-piYT9Vevo8/s288/IMG_1694.JPG" /><br /><br />This was a witch Gemma carved - very clever how she carved the hat into the top part.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFCjmmczI/AAAAAAAAAZE/gPmzMfKaaxU/s288/IMG_1685.JPG" /><br /><br />Llew used the idea to do this one - and even gave it a scar like in Harry Potter.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFDTmmc3I/AAAAAAAAAZk/NIaghkp7IOo/s288/IMG_1698.JPG" /><br /><br />This is "burp man" - his mouth reminded us of a cartoon "burp".<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFCzmmc0I/AAAAAAAAAZM/E_UNCGR_BaA/s288/IMG_1686.JPG" /><br /><br />This is one that we thought needed a bunch of eyes - it's a bit odd - but it looked very cool lit up.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFDDmmc1I/AAAAAAAAAZU/aKFfhhRbXy8/s288/IMG_1683.JPG" /><br /><br />Last but not least was a teeny tiny pumpkin that almost looked like glowing lava when it was lit. It was so hard to carve that instead of carving eyes we stuck some pieces of pumpkin on skewers and stuck them in the pumpkin.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFDjmmc4I/AAAAAAAAAZs/HFBiBHq6uAw/s288/IMG_1695.JPG" /><br /><br />As an end note - got lots of comments on our pumpkins Halloween night. Lugh handled himself quite well with all the little kiddies (and high schoolers trying to live out one more Halloween's worth of candy). Happy Halloween dreams...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RylFEDmmc5I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/_YzlsTH2lEE/s288/IMG_1697.JPG" />Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-88564633766534148812007-10-27T17:59:00.000-04:002007-10-29T12:18:39.259-04:00London October 2007<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/robinandlugh/LondonDTRS2007/photo?authkey=H1nm__72Bfk#5126115984971033218"></a><br /><div>Whew - I took my whole research team (Shanna, Shawn, and Llew) ...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfVDmmaoI/AAAAAAAAASw/N9x1xiGQpEo/s288/IMG_2550.jpg" /><br /><br />to London for the <a href="http://design.open.ac.uk/dtrs7/">7th Design Thinking and Research Symposium</a>. We presented our paper (and did a fabulous job if I might say so) and celebrated with a pint (or two) at some old pubs. </div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfcjmmawI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Ztp2_9Zb_ps/s288/IMG_1159.jpg" /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfijmma4I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/pKilAkwZe0g/s288/IMG_1635.jpg" /></div><div><br />The cool thing about these old pubs (besides being a part of every day life) - is that you can feel the history. In the older pubs they have movable glass screens where you can order your beer but you can close the screen so you can have a separation between you and the bar staff (wouldn't want them hearing anything confidential!). You can see this in the picture below - where Lugh is ordering us some pints -<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfhzmma3I/AAAAAAAAAGI/2CBK3jtTXPA/s288/IMG_1634.jpg" /><br /><br />Many of the pubs put great effort into silly names - this is the only picture we had that we felt comfortable publishing...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfdTmmaxI/AAAAAAAAATY/YuOBdln7Ppk/s288/IMG_1220.jpg" /><br /><br />Later we went to the conference dinner at the British Museum (probably the most intense historical art museum you can ever imagine - thanks to Britain's skill in colonizing). From mummys to the Rosetta Stone to whole buildings rebuilt inside the museum's walls. </div><div></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfaDmmatI/AAAAAAAAAE0/S_OHDn4ccbU/s288/IMG_2682.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfbDmmauI/AAAAAAAAAE8/gPuJGLhZRE0/s288/IMG_2685.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfbzmmavI/AAAAAAAAAFE/sp3Pjki4rGw/s288/IMG_2696.jpg" /><br /><br />This is the whole group having a lovely dinner - see if you can spot anyone you know :) </div><div></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfhTmma2I/AAAAAAAAATM/6Tm0f2fA9do/s288/IMG_2708.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfgTmma1I/AAAAAAAAATI/e3rSO-_Nn_A/s288/IMG_2707.jpg" /><br /><br />A good time was had by all... </div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfeDmmayI/AAAAAAAAAS8/056Z1CI4eU8/s288/IMG_2702.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfezmmazI/AAAAAAAAATA/X8MjV8Aw5A0/s288/IMG_2705.jpg" /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOffjmma0I/AAAAAAAAATE/EsGe15kPlOA/s288/IMG_2706.jpg" /></div><div></div><div>Once the conference was over - we took to the streets - and played around in Portobello Market.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfnDmma9I/AAAAAAAAATg/QWjpfkBVVxI/s288/IMG_1230.jpg" /><br /><br />Geez - makes me miss the farmer's market in Fremont. Oodles of yummy food - but perhaps our favorite was where we were told we could have "delightful cupcakes" (a bit strange to find one was photographed in Vogue magazine). We of course gobbled them up - and yes, they were delightful.<br /></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfsjmmbEI/AAAAAAAAAHw/vjhg-xxf-C4/s288/IMG_1643.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfrzmmbDI/AAAAAAAAAHo/b7930yg9moU/s288/IMG_1637.jpg" /></div><div></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf9zmmbZI/AAAAAAAAATw/09p1q45cZcA/s288/IMG_2736.jpg" /><br /><br />While we were munching away, Shawn was tooting his own horn looking for goodies to bring home. </div><div></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOftDmmbFI/AAAAAAAAAH4/7P0NFtQHQAY/s288/IMG_1644.jpg" /><br /><br />You can imagine our surprise when Shawn found a book on Indianapolis in the market! </div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfnzmma-I/AAAAAAAAATs/9nyGmNBcIGI/s288/IMG_1233.jpg" /><br /><br />We also got a crash course in cricket (borrrrring). Llew explained the paddle and the ball - and even though the explanation was fascinating...sorry to say the sport itself still seems awfully boring. A game that lasts 5 days...ugh.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOftzmmbGI/AAAAAAAAAT0/RZSc-DgjR3Y/s288/IMG_1645.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfujmmbHI/AAAAAAAAAIM/QJL3qggvU0A/s288/IMG_1646.jpg" /><br /><br />Later that day we all headed off to the Hind's Head for Llew's birthday bash. This is one of Heston Blumenthal's restaurants (The Fat Duck is across the street and wayyy out of our price range). We had a lovely traditional (or as Llew would say "proper" English lunch). Llew was smiling from ear to ear - </div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf4TmmbSI/AAAAAAAAAJk/N5ugCTEDJKk/s288/IMG_1651.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOgAjmmbcI/AAAAAAAAAUE/sojLlFNeIKQ/s288/IMG_2748.jpg" /><br /><br />The rest of us got a kick out of the signs over the door...and well the size of the doors themselves! </div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOgBTmmbdI/AAAAAAAAAUA/2xA2x9bG9EI/s288/IMG_2751.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf5zmmbUI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/q_SUwgy3rE4/s288/IMG_1654.jpg" /><br /><br />Around the corner was a very cool old church - it seemed like the stones were almost like obsidian. They were glassy...I wonder where they came from. I, of course, took a bunch of shots in hopes of adding it to my texture wall. </div><div><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf6zmmbVI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/bb8ijL4lg9c/s288/IMG_1655.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf7jmmbWI/AAAAAAAAAKI/MjfUTVurjkI/s288/IMG_1660.jpg" /></div><div><br />While Llew hung out with family, the rest of us went sightseeing. One of the places we went was the track at King's Cross where they film the Harry Potter movies. More specifically, track 9 1/2 . Which doesn't really exist, although they were nice enough to put a bag cart at the place where it would be so you could experience rushing through the wall to get the Hogwart's Express.<br /></div><div><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfpTmmbAI/AAAAAAAAAUM/os9eKoxrTwU/s288/IMG_1262.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfqTmmbBI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/rtaLzTUhKjc/s288/IMG_1263.jpg" /></div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfrTmmbCI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Kz__2y1xyqg/s288/IMG_1264.jpg" /></div><div><br />Later that evening we ended up at what had to be the strangest place we've ever been. Words can't describe it (wall to wall "Stuff"). And yes, that thing above Shawn - is what you think it is.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf0TmmbNI/AAAAAAAAAUc/ZDEojp_D0VY/s288/IMG_1292.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOfyTmmbLI/AAAAAAAAAUY/hTK985zfR4M/s288/IMG_1287.jpg" /><br /><br />When we got home we were surprised to find Llew had...changed... (where'd his beard go?)</div><div><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOf2zmmbQI/AAAAAAAAAUI/chT6Z8ql9IQ/s288/IMG_1299.jpg" /> </div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-16254911383108312612007-10-27T17:47:00.000-04:002007-10-29T12:22:04.402-04:00The Lugh PhotobookOk - this is my homage to Lugh!<br /><br />Gemma told a story of Lugh that is one of my fav's (it's a story of Lugh helping in the yard, well, "helping" is perhaps too strong of a word). If you want to read it go to: <a href="http://gemllew.blogspot.com/2007/06/preparing-back-yard.html">Lugh the gardener</a><br /><br />These are some of my favorite shots:<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqFzmmbwI/AAAAAAAAANU/iT6stxPKKWI/s288/IMG_1133.JPG" /><br /><br /><br />This is where you get a sense of his "odd body" - I think he taught yoga in another life. Yes, the second picture - he's sitting on his head. Ouch.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqGTmmbxI/AAAAAAAAANc/0I17L3EA7y0/s288/JACKIE_MARK_WEDDING_10-7-06%20005.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqHDmmbyI/AAAAAAAAANk/CQYdVjkkW8I/s288/JACKIE_MARK_WEDDING_10-7-06%20007.jpg" /><br /><br />This is when he's a sweet little angel - sleeping as if he has no care in the world...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqITmmb0I/AAAAAAAAAN0/QmgvzMNMGPU/s288/lugh%20006.jpg" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqKjmmb3I/AAAAAAAAAOM/sG4fNwEUOso/s288/IMG_1454.JPG" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqJDmmb1I/AAAAAAAAAN8/XvE7eNvrpb4/s288/IMG_1266.JPG" /><br /><br />And then...the devil in him creeps in...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqJzmmb2I/AAAAAAAAAOE/BKMp-seMEKo/s288/IMG_1271.JPG" /><br /><br />Bad dog. Bad Bad Bad.<br /><br />Of course when a lamb bone from the Aussie party (see Gemma and Llew's post) is the prize - we're back on our best behavior. <a href="http://gemllew.blogspot.com/2007/09/aussie-party.html">Aussie Party link</a><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqFTmmbvI/AAAAAAAAANM/kvuSlGeR_90/s288/IMG_1627.JPG" /> <img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqMzmmb5I/AAAAAAAAAOc/WjCCBLEl8M0/s288/IMG_1628.JPG" /><br /><br />If you want to watch a video of Lugh in action - this is one of the low level anxiety attacks he gets...we're not sure what the story is...we sent an email to Cesar Milan and got no reply. Llew (the person not the dog) thinks we should send it in to that Funniest Videos show.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyHV8nqNytkh1_saiF9uBcAYJ0SqkQXAkkz3mEh8639taIepn0kRpPODQlbAl6cJpMB3qpUurzc9MrPZPXLsQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-50739092816682827902007-10-27T17:19:00.000-04:002007-10-28T12:43:17.573-04:00Stepping Stones in Sweden - June 2007Last June, <a href="http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/saf/index.html">Sally Fincher</a> and me ran our final workshop for the <a href="http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/cetuss/Events/2006-06/)%20group">Stepping Stones</a> through Uppsala University and CeTUSS. Mats and Arnold set us up in another lovely old castle, Wiks Slot, just outside of Uppsala. Very "castle-y" with an engraved portrait of some of the original owners carved into the wall.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqsTmmcGI/AAAAAAAAAP8/-_XX9oMd7C4/s288/IMG_1487.JPG" /> <img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqsjmmcHI/AAAAAAAAAQE/-e03ymsIGV4/s288/IMG_1488.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh3.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOq0TmmcSI/AAAAAAAAARc/ZbaqcUnhM6Y/s288/IMG_1533.JPG" /><br /><br />While we worked ever so hard during the day - we of course took time to stroll around the castle. Beautiful pastoral lands and old honey pots that were arranged almost like a bee hive version of Stonehenge (was it the bees or bee "owners" who set this up?).<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqvDmmcLI/AAAAAAAAAQk/1cDCUjOm9_M/s288/IMG_1498.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqujmmcKI/AAAAAAAAAQc/FiQosYqBJMI/s288/IMG_1493.JPG" /><br /><br />But what was most odd was that by the barn we found an artist studio...where...there seems to be a fetish for people's heads. It was a bit unsettling, but then it got a bit silly. Who are these heads? Where did they come from? Where are they going?<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh5.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqvzmmcMI/AAAAAAAAAQs/eIQpNZr8C4A/s288/IMG_1510.JPG" /> <img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqwjmmcNI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/DUw9L4Tl6qU/s288/IMG_1513.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 216px; HEIGHT: 288px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqxjmmcOI/AAAAAAAAASg/wEOT6fEseiw/s288/IMG_1517.JPG" /><br /><br />But of course - I had a field day taking "texture shots" such as:<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOqzDmmcQI/AAAAAAAAARM/awd_fLY7-Uc/s288/IMG_1528.JPG" /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh6.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOq1DmmcTI/AAAAAAAAARk/x_INN7TrXSo/s288/IMG_1541.JPG" /><br /><br />Once the week was over, Sally and me took advantage of the lovely restaurants - one of our favorites had incredible fresh fish, our other favorite was on the river ("Lingon") where we had the perfect dinner, the perfect truffle desert, but not a perfect cup of espresso.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOq2jmmcVI/AAAAAAAAAR0/urGtIVIw7bE/s288/IMG_1544.JPG" /><br /><br />We later walked around the river and came across the Swedish version of the American version of "get your picture taken on the pony" except in this case it was...<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOq3jmmcWI/AAAAAAAAAR8/c-HAt19qpFQ/s288/IMG_1546.JPG" /><br /><br />Perhaps the crowning memory (which was all the more richer since the only word I remembered in Swedish was the word for "beet") is the ice cream we came across along the promenade after having tea at our favorite bakery.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 216px" src="http://lh4.google.com/robinandlugh/RyOq1jmmcUI/AAAAAAAAARs/8HFiDeNpQPs/s288/IMG_1543.JPG" /><br /><br />Yes...beet and banana ice cream. Yummy. Reason enough to head back to Sweden :)Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-15888517125454257842007-08-21T11:22:00.000-04:002008-12-08T18:15:34.985-05:00LughThis is the dog - Lugh. He is big - very big. Apparantly he is a Kuvasz but I'm not sure.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLD8vH5Xqs5AUYJjJDvxx9sELl-OcFaxdBestSKUHii_-dKLLRnaHbhyQ_CJPVhbaSAkTzhQVL3WK1tzafLvbqEs0PSo4BnkHDGbH_KBpJ_xMe8xebojEVp77yw2iHhBNkZYrMlDV15Gr1/s1600-h/IMG_0870b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101177235399637842" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLD8vH5Xqs5AUYJjJDvxx9sELl-OcFaxdBestSKUHii_-dKLLRnaHbhyQ_CJPVhbaSAkTzhQVL3WK1tzafLvbqEs0PSo4BnkHDGbH_KBpJ_xMe8xebojEVp77yw2iHhBNkZYrMlDV15Gr1/s320/IMG_0870b.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />He loves his pillows. He doesn't really chew these up, just carries them around and shakes them side to side.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWeI0Bf2w4KtbEvHKPPOEjks8zJ4iOsk42TECGvE5awNx0lAL3cng_g48rexomrXKznC9FtOAk8g5K-V69IQMY1ilDXdlbX4ukwXEdhCCzYqRJxfVx72pO6ViAIf7140qOg6nuzfqxEyB/s1600-h/IMG_0873b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101177239694605154" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWeI0Bf2w4KtbEvHKPPOEjks8zJ4iOsk42TECGvE5awNx0lAL3cng_g48rexomrXKznC9FtOAk8g5K-V69IQMY1ilDXdlbX4ukwXEdhCCzYqRJxfVx72pO6ViAIf7140qOg6nuzfqxEyB/s320/IMG_0873b.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />There are a couple of steps here, but still he is almost as tall as me when he jumps up. Naughty, but he still does.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDb8rgatTxl_W3u6zvOCpE0zZuS6dOZJCEsEi5xkQINY4ZMvJBkWLS7YyIDZTO-7-pUKizqPTCrTu-Mc-lixX8FDS9VTmKFFKjQzOFTF_FtV_YpuHBWMclJCWlkKWllcZXAfTyG02DEWb/s1600-h/IMG_0875b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101177239694605170" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDb8rgatTxl_W3u6zvOCpE0zZuS6dOZJCEsEi5xkQINY4ZMvJBkWLS7YyIDZTO-7-pUKizqPTCrTu-Mc-lixX8FDS9VTmKFFKjQzOFTF_FtV_YpuHBWMclJCWlkKWllcZXAfTyG02DEWb/s320/IMG_0875b.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes he chews his toys, but most of the time it is cushions and paper and passports!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_iiZ9NplfFrdi7PDdobJsez0dm5H1OGxbrj7nvy_NM2yz51wjmzI0jVcCCo39341KC9GOKyTdtc3nx8jV5l0yQYKzeD0uf1Ncnx7aYyU41vQsqGL-V6wsVa7VsCNQ2F1_5a4e2K8rpbX/s1600-h/IMG_0881b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101177239694605186" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_iiZ9NplfFrdi7PDdobJsez0dm5H1OGxbrj7nvy_NM2yz51wjmzI0jVcCCo39341KC9GOKyTdtc3nx8jV5l0yQYKzeD0uf1Ncnx7aYyU41vQsqGL-V6wsVa7VsCNQ2F1_5a4e2K8rpbX/s320/IMG_0881b.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Unless I give him something special.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HiKhtGuZwYRqYDAxGaVmsm85jkwmzPYJjGDC9KJ0xJzXV9ZLX6iA4OdxJb7_tCXXbownoHNYrhDBJT1sOQDtG1Nh00N36HUAPLWs6qnWvAq5trPPbKxFveGX6AdQsLlhBBPzdVn_9mS9/s1600-h/IMG_0888b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5101177243989572498" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4HiKhtGuZwYRqYDAxGaVmsm85jkwmzPYJjGDC9KJ0xJzXV9ZLX6iA4OdxJb7_tCXXbownoHNYrhDBJT1sOQDtG1Nh00N36HUAPLWs6qnWvAq5trPPbKxFveGX6AdQsLlhBBPzdVn_9mS9/s320/IMG_0888b.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I love him and he is still just a puppy. He is starting to grow out of some of the bad behaviour, and now he knows 'sit' and 'down'.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3298959227165113774.post-29968147409405301332007-08-18T22:07:00.001-04:002008-12-08T18:15:35.129-05:00I've got a blog!!!!!<div>Finally, Gemma set me up on this blog thingy!!!!!</div><div>This is a photo of the process.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtnoYqQLP7mxsfQQdKuDUrzsGRotU8XjaF4mQ0Vy6nGCWnsLmi1vR3fKvoprysyO4YIojU8OPiqSFGc1mRu-Zns-FCMYvQeiFH5vGUi_qs3nRWNUi7EA_974Outq7m5YoJWPBCdI6bA0w/s1600-h/IMG_2135b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229413426821794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtnoYqQLP7mxsfQQdKuDUrzsGRotU8XjaF4mQ0Vy6nGCWnsLmi1vR3fKvoprysyO4YIojU8OPiqSFGc1mRu-Zns-FCMYvQeiFH5vGUi_qs3nRWNUi7EA_974Outq7m5YoJWPBCdI6bA0w/s320/IMG_2135b.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373514990201720652noreply@blogger.com0