Monday, November 12, 2012

Missing Penelope

(Summer and Bryanna - the summer babysitter)
I'm not sure if the title should be "Missing Penelope" as in, we are missing her, or "Missing: Penelope" as in, we are looking for her.  Or we are thinking about looking for her.  :)  
She hasn't been spotted for quite a while.  
(The unfortunate bang haircut.) 
Disclaimer:  Just heard election results, so I am not in a hopeful or exceptionally cheerful mood.
Penelope (insert snarly remarks about Scott and moving into new house) was moved outside.  This was working out for a while.  Then, shortly after we moved in, the garage door quit working, so Penelope lived mostly in the garage for quite a while.  (We just left the door open all the time.)  Anyway, the day we fixed the garage door was the last time I saw her.  
(Photography by Summer - one of her new favorite and most annoying habits.)
Anyway, hoping to go look at the duplex and ask the neighbor to look out for Penelope, in case she decided to go back there.  Thought I'd check with the shelter in town too, to see if someone took her there.  In the back of my head.....I'm not overly hopeful.  I've heard wild packs of coyotes howling at night.

(Lexi - favorite place to play - on top of the counter.)

(Notice Lexi standing on the counter....and Summer, for the first time in her life, I think, wearing something that I knitted for her.)  Anyway, so I didn't finish this post on election night, so now I should be in a better mood.  (Hopefully.) 
(The point of this picture was the kitchen table that Scott made....we have a little clutter problem too.)  Scott seems to be recovering from the house project.  He's moved on to some new projects -  lately he's been putting up some fences.  Maybe we'll have some animals sometime.  But pretty sure it won't be buffalos.  Read an article in Texas Monthly about cattle ranching in Texas.  Some old codger said the reason that it's not so lucrative is that people are using the wrong animals.  Hello, use native animals.  Like buffalos.  I thought he was pretty clever.  Scott did not agree.  So I presented my case to David Brummitt and Bill Z at church, who both laughed so hard.  Let me see if I can remember some of their comments......there were remarks about "meatless wanderers" (that may have been about another long horned native animal) and "buffalo can run like a deer" and good luck with the buffalo round up after they get out.  I did have a brief vision of Gil (aforementioned neighbor - not the commando one, the normal one) calling...."Say, I have a buffalo in my yard, I was thinking maybe it was yours." 
Today a serious cold front moved in.  I think it was in the 50s when we went to town this morning.  

(Lexi - being sweet.)

These pictures are from our trip to Ohio.  Lexi loved this water buffalo.

 This evil thing pecked me in the ear.  Who does that?  Some other crazy animal stole my whole bucket of food that I was hording for the right animals to feed.

I made a whole list of things that have happened since the last time I updated here.  Now I'm not sure where to start. 
Summer has started talking all the time.  One of her favorite things to say is "What's that?"  Every once in a while she says something funny.  Just today she was doing somersaults, and Lexi was watching her, and she said "Lexi wants to do Lexi-saults."
(These are more of Summer's photo shoot with Lexi in their car seats.  They face each other in their car seats, since Summer faces forward, and Lexi, at 15 months still isn't 20 pounds.  She's still in a rear-facing seat.)
(Lexi was an angel on the airplane and slept most of the way.)
Summer loves her cousins.  :)

My new favorite thing is a clear cannister vaccuum.  Our old vaccuum died.  The new one shows how much stuff you're picking up as you go.  Which is really interesting, and frightening, especially around here.  At least, it makes vaccuuming all the time seem worthwhile.
We went to Chick-Fil-A on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day, if anyone was aware of this....it was way back in August.  Even in the very liberal town of Austin, the restaurant was packed the entire time we were there.  We must have looked especially pathetic, because some nice old cowboy asked us if we wanted to sit at his table.  (There were none available, and I was holding both babies.)  I could tell he was a good guy because he was wearing a white Stetson.  (I've always heard the rule of thumb if you're watching an old Western....the good guys wear white hats, the bad guys wear black hats.  Maybe this isn't true....)  He was nice and asked about the girls, as they climbed on the table and dumped out salt and did all the things they usually do.  It wasn't until he got up to leave that I noticed he was wearing a gun.
Lexi turned one since I've updated last.  And now she's past 15-months.  Oh dear, how time flies.  She's a happy kid. 
 
Loves to ride her horse.
 
It was also one year since the fire.  Unfortunately I can't find my favorite picture from the fire.  Maybe next time.

This is what happens whenever Summer takes a shower.  She covers up all her babies (shampoo/soap/conditioner bottles) and put them to sleep.

That's all for now.  Don't have any funny stories to tell because we got the Jeep back (after 8 months, lots more money, and check engine light still on - nothing funny about that situation), crazy neighbor has been boring - nothing new out of him, and in general, life has been pretty tame.  (Thankful for that.)  Oh, I almost forgot - suicidal deer jumped out in front of Scott.  I think it was pretty alarming for him....mostly because his airbag popped out, sent out lots of powder, couldn't see for a minute, and all that drama.  Truck is taped back together.  (True story.)  Also, traded the bike for an impressive 14-year old car.  No paint on the roof, some dents, and one door doesn't open.  I was telling Mom about it, and her first question was...."is it 2 door or 4 door?"  which made me laugh.  That would be even more annoying if it was only a 2 door car.  As it is, it's the back right door that doesn't open.  Anyway.....