The Front Yard

Lately we've been lamenting the fact that we don't have a really big grassy area for the kids to run on. (I know some of you are thinking we should have thought of that before we ripped out the lawn in the back yard but anyways...) I've always been concerned that one of the kids would trip and crack their skull open on the walkway or impale themselves on the palm. We also had those bushes with the little pink flowers that had gotten way too big and smelled like cat pee.


The bushes came out a while ago and the plan was to build a rounded planter for the palm, running the grass over to the fence. We decided to move the palm instead.


After a whole lot of shoveling, a little swearing, and a lot of wiggling it came out of the ground.


A really good yank (you can see the skid-marks in the street, we needed new tires anyways) and the tree was in front of the retaining wall.


Unfortunately the root ball landed about two feet closer to the sidewalk than the hole we had dug to receive it. The guys on the street converged to figure out how to slide a tree towards the fence. (Have I ever mentioned that I love this neighborhood?)


Thanks to a lot of muscle, it made it in the hole.


Now we just have to hope the poor thing survives the transplant.

Next up - the fate of the trees.

I see that the video I uploaded yesterday says its currently unavailable. According to Blogger this is a known issue (the favorite phrase of the helpdesk at work) and they're working on it. Sorry.

In other news, Big Bang Theory fans: Evil Wil Wheaton will be making another appearance soon. It looks like Sheldon's nemesis will be a recurring character. Yay.

Ah... Winter on the Central Coast

Our annual warmest-week-of-the-year came late this year. Usually we get it in January but this year, with all the rain, it was last week. Hopefully the strawberries will be ripe soon and I can officially declare spring has sprung.



This is what happens when you get a water- and shock-proof camera... you can hand it over and let the kids be their own photographer.

They were even nice enough to share.

The best part: notice me in the background - reading.

Even the dog enjoyed the day.

The Dog Can Stay

I just reread my last post and boy, is my opinion about the dog more positive than that sounds. He's actually totally awesome. He's figured out his dog door and now goes outside to "go" 95% of the time. He has given up on digging out so we don't have to worry about him escaping. He comes when you call him, stays when you tell him to and sits when you ask (if you're holding a treat).

He's my buddy.

Hairy Houdini

So the dog has turned out to have a personality, and it sucks. Ok, not really. Just a little. He is an escape artist extraordinaire. He can unlock cat doors, remove duct tape with his teeth and then unlock cat doors, and dig under fences. We've had him 3 days and he's escaped 4 times- not counting the 2 times he escaped from the neighbor's house after he'd escaped from ours. No wonder he was at the shelter as a stray. When we're home and he's inside he is wonderful- calm, cuddly and great with the kids. If we leave the house, he'll be gone when we get back. This could be a problem.

In addition, he has yet to "potty" (as the shelter's free training DVD refers to waste elimination) outside. This morning Steve took him outside and he stood there on the leash staring at Steve for 10 minutes doing nothing. He indicated he was bored and wanted to come back in so they came back in and within 2 minutes he had peed on the carpet. (The dog, not Stevo).


On the other hand - how cute is this? Can't get Spencer to read to me but he'll read to Bingo (Dingo? Deeno? Leo? Fred?)

And Bingo Was His Name-oh

We went to the Santa Barbara County animal shelter today just to see who was in residence. No plans, no expectations.

Meet Bingo.


He is a 2-year-old Cairn terrier and the mellowest dog on earth. He was in a room with a bunch of big dogs who were all barking and jumping and being generally obnoxious. He was sitting calmly and sniffing our hands and basically saying "dude, can you believe the crap I put up with here?" in the midst of the chaos.


He was a stray and had obviously been in pretty nasty shape when he arrived at the shelter. He was filthy and had gotten a haircut that consisted of cutting off the nappy spots. As a result he only has one eyebrow and a weird long strand hanging from his tail. We brought him home, took a quick walk and met some neighbors, and gave him a bath. He promptly curled up on the couch and crashed out for a nap.

We've been through several name options including Perry, Mrs. Chanandler Bong, and Smudgie. He was named Bingo by the shelter and it will probably stick.

Spencer + Sugar = Boogie!