Toy hog

Hiking Postcard

Charlottesville this morning

Well, on my way to a Farmer's Market workshop this morning, I had to pull over to look at this. Enjoy the view.

That's fog.

Thanksgiving Revisited

In my previous post, I said we hosted Thanksgiving this year, but I unfortunately took no pictures of the event. The good news is: Mom did take pictures. She sent me some of the gems she took to share with the Hokieville readers. So let's revisited Thanksgiving day and recall some of the family fun.

Mom was on pie duty. We got a pumpkin and an apple pie. They didn't last long. Yum!

Whipping it up in the kitchen.

Dad carving the turkey.

At the table, getting ready to enjoy the feast.

Mom's plate. Looks good!

The day after the feast, we went to the safari park. Mom wanted to share this pick of a mama kangaroo and her baby. See it poking out of her pouch?

And here is a photo of all us together at the safari park. Adorable.

Whoa November!

November just flew by! Ian and I have been pretty active lately, and I've been taking lots of pictures. Let me show you what happened in November.

We went to the batting cages to get some swings in. We are working on Ian's technique. With just two trips to the batting cages lately, his is definitely improving. 

Hey Batter, Batter!

We hiked some of the "Most Difficult" trails at Pandapas, which basically sent us straight up a mountain, with a few switchbacks. We later came back with our running shoes and ran it. It was my first trail run back since my foot broke on me. It was really difficult. But the hike was nice, and here are some pictures to prove it.

 

Ian in his swanky new jacket.

Me on the trails.

 

We dog-sat Winston, our friends Bim and H's dog. He's just a little pup but he's pretty well behaved. He spent all weekend chasing Cali around the house and barking at her. We took him to the Blue Ridge Parkway to get some hiking in, mostly just to wear him out a little. 

Winston enjoying a chew toy.

Neit bummed out that Winston is getting all the attention.

Cali snuggling with Blue Baby for comfort from the little pup.

Ian, Neit, and Winston out for a hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Along the trail was this old cabin.

Inspecting the old cabin.

The inside of the cabin. Looks a little breezy.

View from the mountain top.

We went to The Avett Brothers concert at Tech. I bought us tickets on a whim, not really knowing much about the band. They were pretty great, actually. At one point in the concert, Ian leaned over to me and said "I think this band might be famous". The crowd enjoyed singing along.

  

We hosted Thanksgiving! Mom, Dad, Kalow, Mandi, Klayton, and Molly all packed into our little house, along with Vernie girl and Mozie. It was a pretty tight fit, but we all did alright. I unfortunately did not get any photos of the big Thanksgiving meal. The day after Tofurkey Day, we all went to the Safari Park. We do love that place. My camera died on us while we were there, but I did get a few shots in. Have a look.

Zebras that you are not allowed to feed. But Klayton did anyway.

Hairy cow thing.

Watusi cattle. Terrifying.

And here are some quarreling deer things. I'm not sure what the species actually is.

As you can see, November was a blast.

Ian and the art of home brew

Ian is getting good. He has taken his hobby of home brewing to the next level. He has invested in some kegging equipment and refurnished a freezer to refrigerate his supply. He is experimenting with flavors. He has even done a hard cider. Friends, he is good. This weekend he made a new brew. He has a friend that comes over to brew his own as well. They set up shop in the driveway. Here they were this weekend:

 Once the brew is done cooking, it is left to ferment. Once that is done the next stop is here: the new deep freezer that has become the beer fridge

The beer goes in to kegs and we don't drink it until it is done carbonating.

And once it is ready, let it flow! Here is the latest work.

So if you have a visit to Hokieville on the schedule, I hope you like home brews! We have plenty :)

Broken foot blues

Well, my fractured foot has made my life about as dull as...I don't know...beige. I can not really go outside and do anything. I'm stuck in the house trying to keep myself amused. Therefore, here is a post dedicated to our pets. They are all kinds of entertaining. At least I think so. So friends, enjoy this little post about how sad my life is with a broken foot, and how I've convinced myself that my animals are hilarious entertainment.

We got the animals a whole mess of new toys recently. Cali got a complicated new contraption that holds all of her toys. She has to fish them out play with them. We thought she could use the extra challenge to keep her entertained. Enjoy a video of her trying to figure it out for the first time (Note at one point, she is much more interested in my camera, which is cute):

Well it turns out, she did just fine. Here is what I came home to the next day:

She is also pretty content in my box of yarn. Awe...

Neit also got some new toys. One was a ball that talks. We call it talky-ball. The other was a ball the rolls on its own. We call it rolly-ball. Neit's reaction to both is the same. Frantic chasing and making horrible dog noises. Enjoy a short clip that captured Neit doing a little bit of what he does best:

 

Ian also was kind enough to buy me keyboard for my birthday. I had a hard time getting any time on it during the first week. I am on it more than he is now, but here's a pic of Ian not letting me play. Neit enjoys it too.

One thing we have been able to do, now that fall is here, is have some backyard fires. They are the best.

In fact, I think we are going to go gather some wood for one RIGHT NOW!