Halloween Silliness

Well, I didn't think I'd ever do this, but I'm caving in to pressure. Here are the latest pictures of our family, courtesy of yearbookyourself.com.

Me:

and Don:

And finally, Dasha: and Nash.

I know, I know. I obviously need a hobby!

Whose America are We?

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." Psalm 33:12a

In the video clip below, Barack Obama states, seemingly without remorse, that "we are no longer a Christian nation."



Do we want a president who believes this: that the nation our founding fathers built on Christian principles no longer matters? That God is not a part of who we are anymore?

Do we want to turn our backs on God? He has blessed this nation and made us great, and He can take that blessing away anytime He chooses to.

"You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: "See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?" Jeremiah 9:6-7

Let us never forget Who brought us this far and return to our roots and worship Him.

"Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!"

(from "My Country, ‘Tis of Thee", words by Samuel F. Smith)

I ♥ Pumpkins

I love pumpkins. They make me happy. They are one of my favorite things about fall. Every year I buy one, keep it and enjoy it for a while, and then cook it and freeze it in zip-lock bags so I can make pumpkin pies, bread and other goodies all year long. Then I can roast the seeds for a once-a-year treat. This process takes a while, but it is something I enjoy doing. Here’s how I do it:
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Wash pumpkin thoroughly. Cut a circle (approximately 6" in diameter) around stem and lift out. Cut a smaller circle (approximately 3" in diameter) in bottom of pumpkin and lift piece out. Scrape out pulp (save the seeds!) and cut pumpkin into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on size.
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Put wedges on cookie sheet(s) and bake at 325° for one hour, then turn to 300° for 2-3 hours, or until soft but not watery. Remove from oven and let sit until completely cool (an hour or more).

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Using knife, remove skin and any leathery parts from top and sides. Cut into chunks and puree in food processor until smooth. Put into colander lined with cheese cloth and allow to drain.
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I then measure out 1 and 2-cup portions to freeze.
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To thaw, take out of freezer at least 24 hours beforehand and place bag in bowl in refrigerator (it may leak as it thaws). Use in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin.
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Spiced Pumpkin Seeds (from allrecipes.com)
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1½ Tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds, washed thoroughly
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Preheat oven to 275°. Combine butter, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

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Cool Thing to Know: Allrecipes.com is a great place to find recipes for almost anything!

Halloween

I don’t know what I think about Halloween. Some years I think it is evil and boycott it altogether. Other years I go ahead and pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, thinking it really is a good opportunity to get to know and reach out to my neighbors. If I had kids, they would probably really resent me if I didn’t let them go trick-or treating. When I was growing up, I never thought of Halloween as bad. We dressed up as witches, ghosts, skeletons and other sinister things, though we weren’t Christians then.

Am I caving in to the world, putting cultural standards over God’s? I don’t know! What do you think? Is Halloween just a time to have fun or is it inherently evil?

Stretching a Wedding Budget

I read an article recently that said the average wedding costs about $27,000. Good grief. I think mine cost about a tenth of that.

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I’ve never had expensive taste, which is just as well, because I had a fairly tight budget for my wedding. Thankfully, I have been blessed with a wonderful and also talented group of family and friends who offered their help, which I readily and gratefully accepted.

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Invitations. Most craft stores now sell ready-made wedding invitations that you can print yourself. Of course, they won’t be "engraved," but I thought mine looked pretty good. I embellished them a little by buying some white ribbon and attaching a bow to each one with a glue gun.

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Dress. I started at the expensive wedding dress stores. All the dresses they had were strapless, which was "in" at the time but not my style at all. I just couldn’t see spending $800 or more for a dress I didn’t even like. Then I discovered Memories consignment store in Hermitage. I found a dress that wasn’t strapless that I liked much better. The cost: $200, including dry cleaning beforehand. It had been worn once and looked brand new. Someone loaned me a veil and a tiara. I bought some sandals at Shoe Carnival for about $12, I think. No one saw them anyway. I did my own hair, though I did get some tips from a stylist beforehand.

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Church/Reception. We got married at Don’s church (which I later joined). Because he was a member, the cost was minimal. We had the reception in the fellowship hall there. My family and friends and I came in the day before and decorated it. Don and I picked some songs we both liked and made a CD that we played at our reception. It is something we cherish now, as it brings back memories of our wedding day when we listen to it.
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Catering/Cakes. I was blessed to have my brother who is a chef volunteer to do the catering for me. He knew where to shop for good prices on food. He had several of his friends from work volunteer to help him, including one who made both the bride’s and groom’s cake for me for $8 total. He produced an incredible array of food (with help from the rest of my family), and threw in ice sculptures as an added touch. People are still talking about how good the food was at our reception.

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Photography. My sister-in-law has a friend, Angie, who is an aspiring photographer. She was thrilled at the opportunity to do a wedding. She said she would do it for free, but I paid her for costs, plus a small additional amount. In return she took hundreds of wonderful pictures, which she gave me on CD, so I was able to have as many of them as I wanted reproduced at a low cost.
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Programs. Not a requirement, but I made these on the computer and had them copied for a minimal charge. I folded them myself.

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Flower Girl Dresses. My nieces were a part of it all, and my mom was kind enough to make beautiful dresses for them.

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Flowers. I did pay full price for these but kept them to a minimum.

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Music. We had a friend who is an excellent musician, but who refused to accept payment, play the piano for us. The congregation sang one hymn, and the rest was just piano music.

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We had just over 100 people come to our wedding. When I remember my wedding day, I don’t remember how nice my dress was or how many flowers I had in the church; I remember the people who came from near and far to celebrate with us and the things the pastor (who I had known for many years) said to us. I remember the way everyone pitched in and helped me make it all happen. I remember my niece Gracie, the flower girl, carefully placing each petal on the floor as she walked, and how cute Don’s nephew Daniel, the ring-bearer, looked in his tux. I remember the look on Don’s face when he saw me come in as my dad walked me down the aisle, and the way Don hugged him when he gave me away. I remember being in love but at the same time scared to death as Don and I exchanged vows and pledged our lives to one another.

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Half of all marriages end in divorce today. I’m not saying those who choose more elaborate weddings are necessarily those who will end up divorced, but have we maybe lost sight of what is really important in a wedding and a marriage? If I had it to do again, even if I had an unlimited amount of money to spend, I wouldn’t change one thing about my wedding day. Well okay, maybe I would remember to bring the clips for my hot rollers.

A Heart for God

"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." II Chronicles 16:9

In Genesis 18, Abraham pleads with God when He is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God ultimately tells Abraham that He won’t destroy them if Abraham can find ten righteous men there. You know the rest of the story.

It’s possible we are facing a similar situation in our country right now. With all that is looming, it is easy for me to fear that the time may be near for God to unleash His wrath on us. As a country, I don’t believe our morality is much better than Sodom and Gomorrah’s was. Suppose he is right now seeking out the righteous, trying to make a decision? If He truly examines our hearts, will He find those who are fully committed to Him?

The New Testament says our righteousness is found through faith in Christ (Romans 3). No one is without sin, but He offers salvation for those who believe: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

If God is seeking out righteous men and women, will you be counted among them?

"The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe." Proverbs 29:25

What’s Bugging Me

Bug spray makes me sick. Not the kind you spray on yourself (though I don’t like that either), but the kind you spray in your house. I finally made the connection when I was repeatedly having terrible headaches and nausea for days on end, that it was happening after Don sprayed the house for bugs.
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So I asked him not to do that anymore.

And now we have all sorts of little flying, crawling and hopping things taking up residence in our home, including my personal favorite, the brown recluse spider.

At least I think that’s what it is.

So what is the solution? If you think about it, bug sprays are poisons. What is poisonous enough to kill bugs can’t be very good for us or our pets, even in small amounts. Not to mention that it makes me sick. But is it worse than poisonous spiders?

At least the coming cooler weather should help the problem for now, but they’ll be back. They’re probably making little nests and laying little eggs in a dark corner of my closet right now. So I guess I will have to decide which is worse: being poisoned by bug spray or possibly being bitten by a poisonous spider. Hmmm . . .

Memorable Birthday Gifts: Hawaii

When I turned 30, my friend Laurie gave me an amazing gift: an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii for a week.

She didn’t always give me such generous gifts, but she had won a trip for two through her work, AFLAC, and I was the lucky person she chose to take with her.

Click below to see a few pictures from our trip.

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Mystery Tree

Does anybody know what kind of tree this is?
Here is a close-up of the leaves.
We inherited 3 of these when we bought our house. They’re all near power lines, and one is also near a big stump, so I’m guessing they’re something NES planted as a consolation prize when they chopped down other big trees that they considered to be a threat to the power lines.
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I think they’re ugly. I can’t find them in any tree book, so they may possibly be just overgrown weeds, though they are probably 20-25 feet high. If anyone can identify this one, please let me know. Maybe if I knew what they were, I could try to develop a new appreciation for them.

Dumb Blonde Learns About Fuses

1) Dumb Blonde goes to get her car inspected for tag renewal. Inspector says he can get no power under steering column to run test. Fuse that controls cigarette lighter must be blown and needs to be replaced.

2) Dumb Blonde goes home and gets out owner’s manual, looks up fuses in index. Good grief. Why does it have to be so complicated?

3) Dumb Blonde figures out fuse to control cigarette lighter is on passenger side. Finds fuse box and pries door open.

4) Huh? Dumb Blonde can’t make heads or tails out of what she sees. Looks at owner’s manual again. Finally, a light comes on in Dumb Blonde’s head as she sees how diagram relates to what is actually there. She identifies fuse that powers cigarette lighter and tries to pull it.

5) Fuse won’t come out. Dumb Blonde tries others. They won’t come out either. Dumb Blonde looks at owner’s manual again. It says "remove fuse with fuse remover found in fuse box under hood."

6) Dumb Blonde opens hood and props it up using rod (she learned how to do this on a previous adventure, "Dumb Blonde Learns to Check and Add Oil"). Using diagram in owner’s manual, she finds fuse box. Can’t get it open. Dumb Blonde reads owner’s manual again and finds out how to open fuse box, opens it and locates fuse remover.

7) Using diagram in owner’s manual, Dumb Blonde grasps fuse and pulls. Fuse comes out. She compares it to the diagram of blown fuse in owner’s manual. It looks good to her. But that means the problem isn’t solved.

8) Another light comes on in Dumb Blonde’s head. "Maybe I’ll just check the cigarette lighter and see if it works." She checks, and the car doesn’t have a cigarette lighter, just an electrical outlet. (Smart Dumb Blonde doesn’t smoke, so she has never noticed this before.) She has nothing to plug into the outlet to see if it works.

9) Dumb Blonde goes to O’Reilly Auto Parts, again removes fuse, and shows it to patient employee at O’Reilly. He says it is fine (so Dumb Blonde was right about that). Employee asks another employee what the problem could be. He doesn’t know so comes outside and runs a diagnostic test on the car and says there is no problem, try inspection again. Maybe they just didn’t know what they were doing.

10) Dumb Blonde goes back to Dumb Inspection Center and passes inspection. (Just to get if off her chest, she tells inspector that she didn’t pass the first time and nothing has since been done to repair her car.)

So Dumb Blonde has learned where her fuses are, how to remove them, and what a good vs. a bad one looks like. She would like to thank the friendly people at O’Reilly Auto Parts in Hermitage for their help and give a big "thumbs down" to the people at the Metro Inspection Center for sending her on this wild goose chase.

P.S.: If you’re wondering why Dumb Blonde’s husband didn’t help her with this, it is because she is very bullheaded and didn’t ask him to.

A Birthday Party and More

On Sunday night my family had a belated birthday party for my dad and me at my brother Andy’s house. We had pizza and a delicious chocolate cherry cake that my mom made.
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My mom had made Halloween costumes for the kids, and they did a "style show," complete with music and a DJ (my mom). The kids did a great job, and the costumes were precious!
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There was Gracie as Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast,"

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And Hannah as Snow White.


Abbie was Cinderella,


And Gabriel a cute little clown!


My dad and I opened our gifts afterward.
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I think everyone had a really good time, and the fashion show was a hit!

I’ve Been Tagged!

I have been tagged by Kay of Notes from the Wall, who I didn’t even know read my blog but found me through surfing (which is actually very exciting to me to know that anyone reads my blog by choice). Now I have to come up with 7 interesting things about myself. With all the blogging I do, there’s not much I haven’t revealed already (at least that I’m willing to reveal), but here goes:

1) I like to pop bubble wrap, especially the kind with the really big bubbles.
2) I only failed one class throughout my entire school career. It was a 1-hour course I took my freshman year in college, ironically called "How to Study."
3) I love looking at the stars and studying the constellations, but I can never see too many from my home in the suburbs.
4) I like pink and purple. I’m sure you wouldn’t have guessed that from my blog layout.
5) I don’t like talking on the phone. I am trying to find a part-time administrative-type job that is near home but doesn’t involve talking on the phone. Any suggestions?
6) I have never had "big" hair, even in the 80’s. My hair is fine and relatively straight so I would have to use gobs of gook to make it big, and I can’t stand to have gook in my hair. Plus, I’m a wash-and-go girl.
7) I don’t wear much makeup either. When I do, it’s eyeliner, mascara and blush. Occasionally a little tinted lip gloss for special occasions. Sometimes I forget to wear it at all.

Well, there are my 7 facts, for what they’re worth. Now for my 7 "victims" (which are some of my favorite blogs):

1) There’s Melissa, my sweet sister-in-law, at Jeter Journals, who is probably going to be upset with me because I’m tagging some of her friends too.
2) There’s Christy at Smith Stories, a mother of three who is working hard to get through college to become a dental hygenist.
3) There’s Britt at Let Your Hopes, Not Your Hurts, Shape Your Future. She is Christy’s almost-sixteen-year-old daughter, a young woman holding tight to her faith as she is making her way in the world through her teenage years.
4) There’s another Christy at God’s Girl Pearl, who is in my Bible study. She is a fairly new blogger and has some wonderful spiritual insight.
5) There’s Angie at Helton Happenings, a homeschool mom with a strong faith in God and a love for photography.
6) There’s Curry at Waiting Trusting Loving, another teenage girl with a heart for God, who believes God is calling her to mission work in Africa and is waiting to see what He will do in her life.
7) Lastly, there’s Shari at Encountering Ella, who has just adopted a beautiful baby girl from Guatemala and makes me want to do it too!

P.S.: Jennifer at Smelling Coffee would have been an obvious choice too, but she got tagged at the same time I did!

Abraham

"Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6

We are studying Abraham in my Bible study right now, claimed as a patriarch by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Abraham made some dumb moves: lying about his wife being his sister (twice) and putting her in very bad spots, and taking on a mistress to "help" God give him a son and thus keep His promise to make him a great nation.

But he is to be commended as well. God called him to leave his idol-worshipping family and go to places unknown, and he obeyed. He was also willing to sacrifice the son he dearly loved because God told him to. We see his faith grow as he journeys through life and God continually keeps His promises, sometimes in unexpected ways.

Isn’t it the same way with us? We do some dumb things too. We try to "help" God, but God has always been faithful. He has always kept His promises and taken care of us. It is sort of comforting to see that even a man held in as high esteem as Abraham was and is was just as vulnerable to sin as we are. I am so thankful for God’s character, as defined in Psalm 145:8, but actually repeated many times in the Old Testament: "The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."

A Tribute to Pam

Everyone has things in their life that make a huge impact on them, that help define who they are. Among the greatest ones for me have been the life and death of my friend Pam.
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I met Pam when I was a shy teenager, at church youth group. I wondered why a "cool" kid like her would want to befriend someone ordinary like me, but true friends we did become, and our friendship lived on for as long as she did. She taught me to laugh at myself, to sing, and to be less serious about life and just have fun. She lived much more dangerously than I ever did, but I was able to enjoy the wild side of life vicariously through her.
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I saw her through a marriage and a divorce, then another marriage, producing a total of five children, who I loved right along with her. She spent several years in Germany while she and her husband were in the Army, but we continued to keep in touch. She moved back here after she was divorced, and I was able to spend the last several years of her life with her.
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My life was influenced by her in more ways than I can count.
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She taught me a love for God’s Word. Pam had a hunger for scripture like no one else I have ever met. She treasured it. She soaked it in. She read it and worked through it in her mind, and read it some more. Over time this rubbed off on me, and though I may process it a little differently, I believe I have the same love for it now that she did.
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She wasn’t afraid to be straight with me. When I told her I was dating someone who wasn't a Christian, she yelled at me. I mean, really SCREAMED. It made me mad at the time, but I think it did have a big influence on me ending that relationship. And she was definitely right. I can’t imagine where I would be right now if she hadn’t had the courage to do that.
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I always had a friend. With Pam, I always had someone who would listen, whether the news was good or bad. Don and I got engaged shortly after she died, and one of my first thoughts when we did was that I needed to call her and tell her, because that was what I always did when anything big happened to me. She would have been so happy for me!
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She gave good advice. She wasn’t there when I married Don, which was a sad thing on my heart on my wedding day. However, she had met him and liked him, so I took comfort in knowing I had her seal of approval.
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I understand better now what it means to be sad. After she died, I experienced a new kind of sadness that I had never known before. There was some self-pity in missing her but it was also sadness for a life cut off too early (in my opinion), and for children who would have to grow up without a mother. Since then I haven’t wanted to watch sad movies or read sad books, I think because I don’t want to take the chance that I will ever be that sad again. I can also relate better now to others who are going through sad times, because I know what it’s like.
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She taught me not to be afraid to age, Each year God gives me is a gift. Turning 40 wasn’t nearly as hard for me as turning 30 was, and one of the reasons was that I realized that Pam’s life had ended at 38, but for whatever reason, God has chosen to give me more time, and I am thankful for it.
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But not to be afraid to die. When she realized that death was inevitable, I think she actually began to look forward to it. Her body was failing her, but she knew she would be going to heaven and would be healthy and whole again. The day of her funeral I came home and was looking for some shred of comfort, something to hold onto. She had given me a book a couple of years earlier of scripture verses to read in various situations. I admittedly had not read the whole thing cover to cover, but on this day I picked it up and looked at the page about death. There I saw, for the first time, a note in her handwriting beside what had become one of her favorite verses, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." I wonder if she intended for me to find it at the time that I did. On that day it became a reality to me, that for Christians death is not an end but a beginning.
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One of the things we shared was being only a few days apart in age, and today would be Pam’s 42nd birthday. I doubt I will ever stop thinking of her on this day every year, wanting to call her and sing "happy birthday" to her, but there are no phones where she is now. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that she is having a happy birthday, dancing with the angels, and waiting for all of her family and friends to join her in that glorious place that we can’t yet imagine.
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Happy birthday, Pam.

Memorable Birthday Gifts: The Quilt

While it is October, I thought I would blog about a few of my birthdays that I particularly remember. One that stands out to me was my 35th, because my mom made me a very special gift. She is an excellent seamstress and made many of my clothes while I was growing up. Apparently she saved all her scraps through the years and for this birthday gift used them all to make a beautiful quilt for me. It brings back many memories as the fabric reminds me of outfits I wore as a child (though I don’t remember all of them). The yellow-and-white checked fabric around the edges was like my bedspread during my school-aged years. It touches my heart to think of the many, many hours she spent selecting and putting together the fabrics and trim, cutting, measuring, and hand stitching it all together. It is a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Thanks, Mom!

How Blogging Has Changed My Life

Well I’ve been blogging for around 3 months now. So far I’ve managed to write something every day. I don’t want it to come to the point that it’s stressing me out to do that, but it’s a good challenge for me.

It has made an impact on my life. I have found that now any events I attend, books I read or movies I watch, I am thinking about them from the perspective of "how can I review this on my blog?" I gather my thoughts and form opinions on things that I may not have otherwise. I am encouraged to get involved in more things so I will have something to write about. I carry my digital camera (along with extra batteries) with me almost everywhere I go. I’ve taken more of an interest in news and current events so I can blog intelligently about what’s going on in the world. I spend more time discussing ideas with others and researching topics on the Internet to broaden my knowledge and ideas. It’s also sometimes an outlet for me to vent my emotions.

It has deepened many of my relationships. People, even my own family, tell me that they feel like they know me much better now from reading my blog. I do write about a lot of things that I wouldn’t necessarily talk about. It has also gotten me to read other people’s blogs and get to know them better. I love opening my blog and see that my "reader meter" has clicked up a few notches, or, better yet, someone has left me a comment. Then there’s the high compliment of having someone add me to their blog list.

Is it taking too much of my time? I don’t think so. Most of the things I blog about are a part of my life anyway. The majority of my blogs are fairly short and only take a few minutes to write. For the reasons above, I believe it is time well-spent.

Where will this take me? I don’t know. I am discovering so many new things I can do and enjoy doing as well as a new way of thinking. In a world that is becoming more and more influenced by the Internet, this is at the very least a positive way to get involved.

Fasting and Praying

"So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer." Ezra 8:23

Don and I were talking this morning and decided that we would set aside this Friday, October 17, to fast and pray for our country, for the economy, the upcoming election and for God’s mercy on us. We have also been praying for revival in America. I feel like we are at a crossroads. The next few weeks are going to be crucial for our country, depending on the outcome of the election and what happens with the economy.

Will this election be an honest one, or will it be manipulated by those who don’t have our country’s best interests at heart? Will the government’s attempts to save the economy work or could they backfire and the country go into a depression, possibly worse than any we’ve seen in the past? Will we soon be too far down the road to socialism to turn back? How will the next president handle the terrorists who seek to destroy us? Will he continue to try to defeat them, or might he even aid their efforts?

These questions haunt us and keep us awake at night. We can’t answer them, but God is greater than any of these issues. I would ask you to join us as the election season begins, fasting on Friday if you are able to and praying without ceasing over these next few crucial weeks.

Rita's

There is a new little business that has opened up in Hermitage called Rita’s. It is at 4219 Lebanon Road, just east of Old Hickory Blvd. I had never heard of it before, but apparently it’s a franchise that first opened in Pennsylvania in 1984. This was the first one to open in Tennessee, but there’s another one opening in Mt. Juliet and several others coming soon around the state.

Their signature item is their "water ice," a slushy treat that comes in a variety of flavors, most of them fruity. They also have "cream ice," which is similar but with a creamier base. They serve shakes, frozen custard, gelatis, iced coffee and a number of other chilly confections.

Don and I got a coupon in the mail for 2 free ices, so we decided to check it out. He got the Alex’s lemonade flavor, and I got cookies and cream. We both thought they were really good. We’re anxious to go back and try some of their other goodies. I signed up for their birthday club/mailing list on their website and they sent me another buy-one-get-one-free coupon. If you’re a weight watcher, these ices are lower in calories than regular ice cream, and the water-based ones have no fat. Their nutrition info is on their website.

They have a drive through, a few tables inside and a few outside. I didn’t pay much attention to the prices since ours was free, but there was a steady stream of people coming in while we were there, so I’m guessing they’re reasonable.

If you live in an area where there’s one nearby, I’d say it’s worth checking out.

Haircut Time!

Our dogs are cockapoos, which are cocker spaniel/poodle mixes. Because they are part poodle, they shed very little but have to be trimmed about 3 times a year. This would cost upwards of $50/each at a groomer, so I have learned to do it myself. It is no small task.

Nash is by nature more laid back than Dasha, so he is generally more cooperative for this project, though they both fight me when I do their legs and feet. He got to go first.

That wasn’t too bad.


Have you ever tried to take a picture of a dog who won’t be still using a digital camera with a delay?

Don says Nash bears a striking resemblance to Richard Nixon with his hair short. What do you think?

Dasha is a pretty smart dog. She knew what was coming, so she set up camp under the bed.

"Dasha, it’s time for your haircut!"

"Come on, it’ll be fun!"

"Do I have to?"

"Maybe I can hide back here."

"Don’t just stand there taking pictures, Daddy. Save me!"

"Oh, it feels good to be done!"

If I knew how to turn this into yarn, I could knit myself a nice sweater!