Picture story for David

Once upon a time, like two days ago, there was a kitten that liked to hang out in the Funk's backyard and torture the black and white kitty who lived inside the house. You see Simon Funk, while very sweet to humans, has some serious issues and doesn't like other cats. It is suspected that he feels threatened, some times due to their cuteness and other times due to territorial disputes.

Recently, Simon tried to project himself through the sliding glass door, which he is want to do when he sees a cat in his backyard, let alone on his porch. On this particular day he turned it up a notch and ran to the kitchen to further stare down the furry intruder...it was rather comical...

Simon scrambled to get on top of the fridge and then worked his head around the high dollar paper curtain. Please note I have curtain rods up, so I am getting there.

The next photo is not of a ghost but of the illusive Mork, who wants to live at the Sray's. I added the scientific circle so that you could see the non apparition with greater ease.

Also, Mork was named by David, hence the name. :)

Meanwhile, Maevis could really give a rip about cats. Had it been a dog then Simon would have been lounging and Maevis would have tried to go through the glass door. Maevis loves her new plush Ikea rug and rather lay upon it in an unlady-like fashion than look out the kitchen window.

Here is the view from behind the curtain. :) Simon wasn't fooling around.

This is probably the cutest cat I have seen in a long while. It just sat there wondering what was up with all of the commotion.:)

I hope everyone has a happy Friday! Mork misses you David and says to come pick him/her up!

You should be able to click for a closer look at Mork. :)

Interviewed by Marsha...

I requested that Marsha interview me per her site's posting...(by the way it is great so you should visit it! http://themarshalogues.blogspot.com/index.html)

Interview rules:1. Leave a comment saying “Interview me.”2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.3. You will update your blog with a post containing your the answers to the questions.4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. What was the first car you drove? The first car I ever drove was an orange Datsun hatchback that we called Pumpkin. I was around 12 and would beg my mother to let me drive. So she would let me drive it around the pasture on the farm. She would last about 15 minutes at a time as it was hot and and I am sure boring. I thought it was awesome :) When I got a little older I used to get to drive to and from church. At that time all the roads were pretty much back country roads. I will have to see if I can find a picture of the car.

2. (from David) Talk about your passion for photography. Is it new or renewed? What is your goal with this talent? It is renewed. When I was in High School I got a hold of an old Pentax and some lens. Both my step dad and my dad gave me some of their equipment that they had purchased while stationed in overseas. It was much cheaper to buy overseas so I had the hook up. I still have all of what they gave me. I really got into taking pictures of football because I had a subject, my brother Daryl. I proceeded to take pictures quite often. My brother Daryl was on the yearbook committee and he was able to use a lot of my photos, which I thought was cool. At some point, after Daryl graduated, I was busy with work, school and handling life, taking pictures faded. Ultimately, my dad and my mother were a shutterbugs and they passed it on to me and my sister. I haven't decided what my goal is other than to improve. I am interested in being able to sell some of my work at some point. To have someone see what I have done and feel a connection. So an artistic path is what I am thinking. We will see where it takes me.

3. How did Maevis get her name? Simon? Heh. I named Maevis after I heard the name in a Xena episode. It was was a humorous moment in the program where the main character is off her rocker (I believe due to the Furies) and refers to her friend as Mavis, and the name just stuck in my head. I spell Maevis with an e in it because I wasn't sure if I liked the name enough and I could always call Maevis Mae, or Mae Mae instead. It turned out that she is a Maevis. Simon is named after a cat we had when my sister and I were little. He was Siamese and he disappeared, most likely with the help of coyotes. I just like the name.

4. Who is your favorite actor, male or female and why? I am not quite sure who my favorite actor or actress is. I think there are really talented people who are in crap and then there are not so talented people in great films. Hmmm. Then there are aesthetic qualities versus pure talent. :) So, I do not know. I will have to think on it and if I figure it out I will post my findings.

5. Talk about your favorite vacation. Where, when, what. A few years ago I went on a short trip to L.A. with a friend and I had a really good time. It wasn't over planned, there was great food, went to the Getty, took pictures, watched two plays outside in beautiful weather, got to see the coast, etc. Low key, relaxing and fun.

So if you have a blog and would like me to interview you, just send me a note.

Ice Cream :)

Well it has been a little while and thankfully things have settled a bit. Most importantly, my dad is home from the hospital and recovering. We are so very thankful for that. I ended my sentence with the word that and that is going have to suffice! :)

Simon is also at home and recovering. I am a little paranoid about him as he has been peeing a lot but then I need to worry when he isn't peeing so here's to lots of peeing! He has been very good as I have to give him strong antibiotics twice a day. So I pop the pill in and sometimes I have to pop it in again. :) Overall, he has been quite the sport. He has taken to the forbidden pillow as though it had a healing source and he dares me to say anything. I know better. I just cover the pillow or when foiled by his stealthiness, I just have to throw on a new cover. The other day I had to get up around 12:30 AM as he had been sick, on the bed, and I had to switch the sheets out. He laid there and I had to pick him up and move him to different parts of the bed, as he made it clear he wasn't gonna move. Mattress pads are a godsend. If he weren't sick I would have motivated him to move it. I think he may be milking it a little but he is such a good boy and he almost died, he deserves the attention.

I went outside and took some more photos, one of my favorites has the bee's shadow on the flower. I just like how that turned out. I also took a million photos trying to get a picture of a particular spider's web. It took two days to get the right lighting etc. I could do better but I suspect I would need a macro lens. Click on the picture to get a better view of the web.

I bought two rugs a couple months ago from Ikea's As Is section. They were discontinued and they were like $5 each. Well I finally put one out to see how long it will last. I am going to put flooring in my bedroom but for now it is concrete. I thought a little rug would be nice and it is rather cushioned and feels awesome. It is Maevis' new favorite place to pass out. I will have find the picture.

Let's see...I had my birthday and that was okay. I think next year I am gonna leave town and do something fun. I did that a few years ago and had such a good time. Birthdays are kind of hard for me and I rather just plan something then regret not doing something.

Here is a picture of a bad mama jamma. I wish I hadn't cut off the top of Stacy's head but it still looks cool. This picture says "Badass". :) I took this at our last co-ed game of the season.

I got hit in the esophagus last indoor soccer game and may I just say, I do not recommend it. I went down, laid there and decided there were just a couple minutes left in the game and the world could kiss my ass. That isn't nice but it was the pain talking. I walked off the field, my body shaking. After the game quite a few players from the other team asked if I was okay, which is rare, and that was nice. The person who did it apologized and it made me laugh because before she said anything, I hadn't known who hurt me. I have noticed that when someone takes a play too far that I have to back off and fight the urge to slam them into the plexi-glass. It feels odd to react that way as I really try to be nice but I attribute it to fight or flight. It rarely happens but when it does it is a rare sight. I am usually goofing around etc so it throws people off to see me as Angry Spice. Anyway, Stacy had warned me that I might experience some whiplash, which I couldn't fathom, I was too busy making sure that my trachea was still connected. Well, Stacy was right, lovely headache and a stiff neck followed the next day and has continued. I am trying to get in with Donna so she can work out some of the whiplash.

Marsha celebrated her birthday on Sunday, August 12th and there was a nice gathering. Jackson really, really wanted to open pressies and was very helpful when the time came to open pressies. A lot of the presents were in bags and he was very adapt at pulling things out. He was a good helper!

To left you can see a fun photo of Andrea holding the pressie king. You may notice that he is holding tissue paper that he liberated from a pressie, before the adults got wise and put the bags out of reach. Also, if you look to the left of Andrea you will see a cameo by Sarah Sray. I took the picture of me and Jackson and he is just chilling with his ribbon.









Marsha had a b-day pie as she was caked out from Jackson and then David's birthdays. Mmm chocolate cake! Cakie!!! - as Jackson says. The pie was actually very yummy!















Friday night I went over to the Johnson's and had wookies with lil bit cake. :) That's how she says cookies. Then her siblings came home and we watched High School Musical 2. Woooo. :)
It was cool to watch them watch something they were excited about. Where as Amy and I had fun making cracks about the program but at the same time talked about how talented the actors are.

The girls were enthralled with the show and progressively got closer to the TV and if you wanted to see the screen you had to ask them to move. :) I had a good time with everyone and it was fun to hang out with Amy and talk. Sooner than later I am supposed to go to the lake with them. We'll see. I am already sun burnt from Saturday.

So Saturday I went to the Whole Foods downtown and stumbled upon a cool event. I ended up staying and taking quite a few pictures. The guy in the picture below, I can't remember his last name but one of the other people at the event said he was a professional skater. I meant to get a picture of his back as he has his last name tattooed on it. It starts with a B.

This picture is of a shopper who also stopped to watch the skaters. His hat looks like something you would see in a Kenneth Branagh Shakespeare adaptation/movie or maybe on Heehaw.



After getting a nice red base coat, as opposed to a tan, I then headed to the First Annual Austin Ice Cream Festival. I met with some friends and we all had a cleansing sweat while eating ice cream or sipping on $4 sweet tea. I actually had a cool thing happen there as I was in line to get tickets, as you had to use tickets instead of cash, a lady behind me handed me hers as she wanted to leave and not fool with getting her money back. So it was like her handing me $9 in cash.

I didn't have enough ice cream while there but by the time I was ready for a big cup-o-ice cream I didn't want to stand in line so the sweet tea served me well. There was a great turn out and next year they will be better prepared, more scoopers and more ice cream. Some of the vendors ran out before the mid-day. They even had ice cream for dogs! I had fun and the cool part about Waterloo Park is that you can find shade, which we did. I got to pet quite a few dogs and one of the cutest ones there was Buster. He was a rather larger dog and very sweet. He and I shook hands and he let me take his picture. I dig his collar.

There was a contest with popcicle sticks and the below was the coolest of the ones we saw.

Saturday night I had dinner with the Wanke folk and guests. The meal was awesomely delicious, and the company was great. Unfortunately, I didn't last too long as I had been outside or a good part of the day so I left at a decent hour. :) I must say not only was dinner excellent but they served two different kinds of ice cream cake! Yay ice cream and yay cakie! So not having but a small scoop of ice cream with root beer earlier in the day paid off.

Sunday I got to hang out with Allison and Andy and that was a lot of fun too. They have really worked hard on their house and I can only hope a bit of their domestic diligence will some how transfer to me. I need to send them some of the pictures I took.

I also had to register The Red Hots for a new season of soccer. So I am still trying to get in paperwork and money. So far it has been gone rather well.

Anyway, this last weekend was the best weekend I have had in a while and it consisted of all the simple things. :) Kind people, good food, laughter, photography and so on.

Starbucks coupon...

Some Target stores now have Starbucks in them. Click on the link for a printable coupon.

http://www.spoofee.com/coupons/page.html

~E

Please and thank you

My dad has been improving and he was able to go home tonight. We are all very thankful for his improvement and for your thoughts and prayers, they were and are appreciated.

Send up good thoughts for my meow Simon as he is pretty ill and staying at the vet. I had to rush him to the emergency care center last night and then I took him to his regular vet today. He has improved some but it is best for him to stay where he is for now.
Today is David's b-day and Jackson loved the b-day cake. Marsha made an awesome dinner which consisted of steak, shrimp, corn and salad. I wisely went and played soccer about an hour afterwards. Tada! Fortunately for everyone on the field, I did not explode and I even scored a goal! It was a fun game and a good stress burner. My team mates are fun and awesome people.

Marsha got her hair cut today and it looks very cute!!

I am tired and I have more to share but maybe I will do that tomorrow. I hope that all 3.5 of you who read this are well!

~E

ICCU - who knew?

I am currently sitting in a hospital room watching my dad sleep. He was admitted last night and it turns out he has a Bi-Lateral Pulmonary Embolism. Essentially, he has blood clots in both of his lungs. He seems to be doing well and they are starting him on blood thinner. They are trying make sure the clots attach and go no further and that may take a few days. So we aren't sure how long he will be in the hospital and we are hoping that the clots will be responsive to the medications. So although this is very serious, it is such a blessing that he is in a hospital and that the clots were caught when they were.

So we have recently passed the mid-year mark and in taking stock of what has happened so far, I think we are doing pretty well. The collective we, heh, more so those in my life. Even Marsha and David whose lives recently took a turn they would never have anticipated, are doing amazingly well. It isn't to say we all don't have our moments, but they are just that, moments. Obviously, some moments are longer than others. :) A key thing is to try to be positive and that can really, really help. I also think surrounding yourself with good people can also do wonders.

I feel like I am learning a lot and I have got to tell you, some times I want to take a vacation from all the glorious life lessons. :) So I am thinking of maybe taking a short trip somewhere. I have just recently seriously considered it and now I have to figure out a plan.

I went outside this morning as I am trying to get pictures of a particular spiderweb and its tenant. Let me just say it isn't easy and I suspect I need to get up even earlier than I did. I did get some pictures but I still need to see how they turned out. I also took some pictures of some more inhabitants of my backyard. I will post those later once I am settled back at my house.

~E