Both the Richmond, Va. and the Lancaster Pa. Sussmans helped Brenda celebrate her birthday this weekend. Happily, the weather played along and was beautiful both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, after a little front-yard football, we all went bowling, natch'. Then today we all went to Lake Accotink Park and watched spring move in, finally. Click the first pic below to embiggen, then click the right side of the picture to move through them.
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Here's something that gave me great joy about 25 years ago. I was a Trademark attorney in the USPTO and was assigned to review this two inch thick file that dated back to the middle of the Reagan administration. Turns out it was a Trademark application for the trademark "The Beatles," owned by Apple Corps. Ltd. Apparently, prosecution of the application had been suspended pending the McCartney vs. JohnGeorgeRingo litigation that went on for most of the '70's and 80's. But it was over at last, and Apple Corps. could finally have their Trademark to sell "Beatles" branded clocks, Christmas tree ornaments, whatever. The picture above is the resulting US Trademark Registration that is still in effect. Check out the name at the bottom of the Registration. I'm pretty sure you'd all agree that this means that I am, in fact, an official Beatle. Right? I mean, I don't see any other way to read it.
So, it's Christmas Day, and Maggie, one of our new cats, decided to climb about 50 feet up a neighbor's hickory tree. Then, of course, she can't get down. The temperature was supposed to drop to the low 20s tonight, so we can't just leave her up there, or so I'm told. We called Adam from Out on a Limb Tree Service and he came out on Christmas Day, climbed the tree and grabbed the cat. It's a Christmas miracle! Thanks Adam! Here's video Amanda made of Maggie being saved. Click a picture to embiggen and then click on the right side of the picture to run through them.
UPDATE: Maggie has a very large 2-3" gash on her belly. Looks like she may have been attacked by a hawk or some of our local Northern Virginia fauna. Brenda and Amanda took her to the 24 emergency vet. I'm taking bets on how many thousands of dollars emergency vet services on Christmas will cost. Does anyone know how to set up a Go Fund Me Page?
It's a beautiful winter day here in Northern Virginia. When I woke up this morning, there was about an inch of snow covering everything, but when I finally got around to walking Amanda's dog Artemis, most of the snow had melted. I took a few pictures with my Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera with it's Leica (branded) lens. I often forget how beautiful NoVa can be. Here are a few pics. Click the first one to embiggen, then click on the right side of the picture to run through them.
We brought 2 month-old Frannie, a Border Collie-Australian Shepard mix, home on February 2nd, 2002. And for the next 15+ years that she's been with us, she's always been a sweet, loving dog. And faster than hell; in her prime, she could outrun any dog I've ever had. Sadly, she passed away today. We'll all miss her. As Susan and Erin said, she's probably running on the beach with her sister Zoey right now.
Olivia stopped by yesterday. She's been having a great time visiting her old friends, Charlotte, Cam, and Abbygale, as well as Aunt Amanda, cousin Kelsey, and her "Bee" and "Papa." When the other kids left, Olivia helped Brenda and me walk Arty and Frannie through the woods and the park. We were worried that she wouldn't be able to walk all that way (about a mile), but turns out not only could she easily walk it, she ran almost the entire way! Then off to Costco, followed by a fine evening of bubble bath and bedtime stories. I'm sure today will be even more fun, and will add more pictures if Brenda takes any. Click on a pic to embiggen, and then click to go through them.
Here's Nick rockin' out on his new 3/4 sized Fender Strat we gave him for his birthday last weekend. He seems to like it. These things are not bad for the price, but stay in tune better if you replace the strings. He's had it for a couple days now and already plays better than I do.
Well, check it out. Looks like Amanda bought herself a Christmas present - a new car! She traded in her 2012 Nissan Versa for a new 2017 Altima. That's her old Versa just under her elbow. The Altima is really nice. It has all kinds of space-age, high-tech features. Sort of an iCar with dual exhaust.
I, on the other hand, bought a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup with 137,000 miles on it a few weeks ago. I put in a new radio today, because, you know, music is nice. And since I'm an idiot, I somehow managed to kill the lights on the instrument panel. Joy. That will probably take me a year to fix, give or take.
Anyway, Congratulations Amanda! That's one great looking car!
Julian had a terrific birthday party on Saturday. Lots of his friends and all of his grandparents, and others stopped by to join in the festivities. His parents had games and many activities for the kids set up in the backyard. Happy Birthday, Julian! Click on the first picture to embiggen, and then click the right side of the pics to run through them.
Here's a little video of Julian playing his new 3/4 size Squire guitar.
