No I haven't dropped off the face of the earth

It's been crazy this past month. Problems at work with employees, re-adjusting to having my son back home. You know, the phone ringing more, shoes on the floor among other assorted items. Next weekend I'm fleeing the house for the weekend. I've been kinda being a hermit of some sort. I want to spend time with my son without crowding him, however, that's not a problem, he's usually out with friends. Every once in a while we get a glimps of him telling us about his military life. Specifically when he lost 3 of his buddies in Iraq. I'm sure he hasn't told us all but the fact he was able to talk to us about makes me happy. I still worry about what's going on in his head, is he alright. He's too much like his mom, tends to stuff things...eventually that "stuff" must come out. All in good time.

Another thing that has changed around the house and probably more responsible for my lack of writing or reading is the new addition to our household. Yes, my son brought the pitter patter of little feet with him. Specifically, 4 pitter patter of little feet, German, and 3 months old. German Shepherd, named Sasha. Hmmmm. While the little dickens is as cute as a button, boy I sure forgot how much work a little un-housetrained puppy was. Because while my son, carried a big gun, could lead a platoon of soldiers into a battle, find his way home when dropped from a plane from a topo map, he can't raise a puppy. The patience, time and in my opinon the desire to do what is needed just ain't there. I figure it's just a matter of time before it become our dog as opposed to his dog. I wonder if this is payback for leaving my dog with my parents and never took him back. Probably.



Sasha, the little furball, is quite cute though. She acts like she is trying to figure out what you are saying. Follows me around, but does have a little evil side. She knows when she is doing something wrong. For instance, she'll grab my shoe, she knows the word no, but if I catch her chewing on my shoe, she'll run....with the shoe in her mouth.....outside....towards the mud. I used to train dogs, never a puppy. I thought I was pretty good, but Sasha being 4 months has the attention span of a 2 year old child, or a knat. Oh well, she's really cute and it's hard to be mad at her. She loves our Yellow Lab and he's happy he has someone to play with. It's amazing how much energy a puppy has, they're like the energizer bunny.







The other reason for not writing so often, I'm stepping up from being a tourist photographer to a hobbyist. I've been online trying to find the best camera for me and my budget. So on the 10th, my new Nikon DSLR camera should be here. No more point n shoots for me. My new camera should be here before we leave for Arizona for a good mini vacation. Tons of pictures will be coming I'm sure. Now I'm no professional but I think I do an ok job when I try. Below is a couple of pictures, I think they would have looked better if I had a better camera for what I was trying to accomplish. Believe me, I'm a believer that the camera is only a tool and only makes up part of the equation of a good shot, the rest comes from the photographer and I still have a lot to learn.