Christmas at the Rockin K

Kash was enjoying retirement, Bernadette got to meet goats and chickens (and eat the feces of both), and Kolin helped his dad put out feed for the goats and steers. Always fun to spend some time on the farm.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Its Green, its Red...

Christmas cocktails with my friend, Sirobe, before leaving town! Merry Christmas to us all.

Green Light!

Konrad gave us the green light for Bernadette joining me for the holidays. She is packing all her favorite squeaky toys.

Triple Threat

Three friends celebrated their birthdays together today, DAM, Will and Manu. I was not fortunate to get a picture of each birthday boy, but had a great time. 

 Alex and Leo having some one on one time.

 Me and Emma, chatting about how boys are loud and kinda smelly.

 Grady learning some foot rub moves that the ladies love.

It's a Girl...

Her name is Bernadette, after my favorite Four Tops song.

Friends had nine puppies up for adoption.

They offered kennel care for when I travel.

She is truly awesome! Only two in house accidents so far, and those were within the first couple of hours of arriving here. Who knew I was worthy of such complete adoration?!?

Turducken VI

 This year, all three birds were brined. This is the big pot of flavor that started the process.

 Thanks to Ryan and Brett for making two of the three stuffings, and to Brett and Morgan for their assistance in putting it all together Friday night. Not as easy as one might think.

 It cooked for 7 hrs and below is the obligatory crossection. Yum.

All smiles when it was done and folks starting showing up. Monday morning head count revealed at LEAST 63 people were in attendance. Wow.

Julia's Kitchen

At the National Museum for American History, Julia Child's kitchen was an exhibit. It was very cool!

Domestic for a Day

While I was only home for 36 hrs or so after Thanksgiving, and before I left for DC, I found time to make and can (!) hot sauces. They turned out really well!! Sometimes I just crave domesticity, and by that, I don't mean cleaning toilets.

Good things were meant for Max

Just laying on the couch would be so, um, common. He was clearly meant for much more.

TN Thanksgiving

Lots of time over the holiday to spend with family, both the Brasfields and the Bolingers. Donovan and I went to visit Nathan to help him cook some food for work, and while there, I got to meet Milton, Xandi's rabbit.

Running on Empty

Time to run another race, I have been slacking on my training, so I am thinking if I register for something, I will have no choice. thanks to Leslie for sending me this picture.

Dinner and a Movie

Back in town and ready to catch up with friends. L&O aka Team Grady invited me over for dinner and a movie. I prepped a fall inspired salad of roasted butternut squash, apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, arugula and spinach. Great dinner, but not a lot of Grady time. I may need to go back to visit before his bedtime again one day this week.

Gardening Updates

So the redbud tree came down in September, and these fungi have erupted in the backyard. According to Erynn, there is a symbiotic mycorrhizal relationship between these two species. When the redbud was removed, these puffball mushrooms shot up to the surface and released their spores. Looking for love...hope they find it in someone else's yard.

The earlier blooming species of camelias are in full swing, and make the front of the house look great. My newly cleaned gutters are pretty nice, too. Enjoying a weekend of yardwork and manual labor after being on the road for two weeks straight.

Paul Revere

 His final resting place in Granary Burying Ground.

 The Old North Church that hung the beacon that started his ride that began the Revolution.

His house in the North End of Boston.

From a discussion with a colleague last night, we remembered the importance of Paul Revere being a "connector" from the Malcolm Gladwell book Tipping Point.  It wasn’t just that he went on his famous ride, and rallied the troops – it was that he was the kind of person who could galvanize others, who knew EVERYBODY, and everybody knew him …which is why it worked. 

Father of Waters

Snapped a couple of pictures of the Mississippi River on the flight from Jackson to Memphis last Saturday. Never fails to impress.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

This is one of my favorite pictures of you! Hope you have an amazing day, your gift should have already arrived. We all arranged for the Cardinals to win the World Series, just for you. I love you! 

Puppies looking for good homes

Philip and Elizabeth rescued a dog last spring and before they could get her spayed, she escaped from the fence. The result are nine beautiful puppies, now about 30 days old. If you or someone you know is interested, let me know. Adopting multiples is a fun idea!

Peace Be With You

All dressed up for the big event! Grady Vaughn Foshee Fields was christened today and he was sweet enough to invite me. I managed my speaking part without too much trouble, except I forgot to say at the end "The Word of the Lord." But Janie still let me have homemade pimento cheese. Such a beautiful day for it!

Sunday Snooze

This game would have been more enjoyable from a couch. The Titans-Colts game is usually exciting, not this season.

 We picked up some tickets from tailgaters, but failed to recognize they were THIS high up. I had a mini anxiety attack while standing to sing the national anthem.

 Skydivers dropped in as part of the opening ceremony.

 TSU's band performed at halftime, and were much more entertaining than the ACTUAL game.

 Ryan passed out from all the excitement. Or beer.

Arkansas-Vandy: More Football Fun

Who knew the Volvo had a bottle opener (Griff is not happy about this)

 Excellent seats, compliments of Team Slayton!

 The tailgating crew, plus a guy who was just passing through.

All Work and No Play is No Fun

In our new building, we had a hallway decorating contest. Ours came together late, but we managed to win 2nd place for our over the top Wizard of Oz. Some hid in the lab to avoid participation. Thanks to Michelle for sharing pictures! 

I headed up the tornado scene and dressed as the Cowardly Lion. I was planning to make a mane out of a string mop or some yard, but then decided I would just put a lot of hairspray in my hair. Then my deputy director called me to his office for a meeting. Some days you have to just shake your head...

Epicenter of Sports Excitement

 Made a weekend trip to Dallas for my first 5K with Leslie and Karla and while I was there, decided to take in a Cowboys game with a second trip to Jerry World with my best friend, who happened to be there for work. Her husband even came up from San Antonio to join the fun!

As the football game was ending, Game 4 of the World Series was just getting started. Logistically it was a mess, but as we walked the six miles (not really) back to our car, it was neat to be there!