A Promise in the Sky

On the way home from work today the sun shone behind me as the rain fell in front. And then appeared the most gorgeous rainbow I think I have ever seen. So, so, vivid with a huge base. But pictures do it no justice. Though they try.

Furs

 This little guy fell out of his nest. He was soooo cute and tried to be brave and scary, but only added to his adorableness with every pounce. :)

 This is a blurry picture but I thought it was still really cool. See his little teeth? I bet they'd hurt if he bit someone!

The furs Lydia is wearing are some that my mom had growing up.

Old Salem

To day we made an impromptu visit to Old Salem. A gorgeous day to be out!

 The Salem College campus is so beautiful!

 The shed-like house in the picture below is actually a spring and was visited by our first President, George Washington. At least, so the inscription says.

Pizza, Anyone?

We have been making home-made pizza almost every Saturday that we can for as long as I can remember. A delicious tradition that I hope will not soon end. Every time we make it, our pizza comes out a little different. Sometimes we make Papa John's pizza crust and sometimes we make a basic bread dough. Most of the time it is whole wheat, but sometimes we get away with white. Sometimes we make the crust thick, and sometimes we make it thin and crispy. Our toppings vary every time from peppers, onions, tomatoes, or spinach, to pepperoni, cheese, beef, sausage, or bacon. But every time it comes out amazing! Well, almost every time.... My favorite pizza right now is as follows: the Pioneer Woman's Basic Pizza Dough, using white flour and cooked until crispy; stringy mozzarella cheese; and lots of pepperoni. Sounds delectable, huh? Well this is what I made this afternoon, except I didn't make it with only mozzarella cheese. And, yes! It was amazing!

Carolina Clay

My sister decided that she needed a mud bath....

My Back Yard

This is a very green post. Hope you like it!

'Quilla

This post is dedicated to Bethy. She is the one who gave me 'Quilla. He is getting big, is he not? When he is not sleeping he is eating, and if he is doing neither than he is chasing leaves, catching his tail, or trying to devour my toes. 

He hates bath time. With a passion. And when he is wet, he looks hilarious. After I get him out of the water and he is dry enough, he scrambles up my shoulder and grooms himself. I have to unhook his little claws from my shirt to set him down.

 He purs when I go to see him at night, 'cause he hates being alone in the dark. If I bring my notebook and pen out, he is sure to pounce on them, not letting me write. But of course that just gives me something to write about. He loves his chin to be scratched and will stretch his head, close his eyes, and almost fall asleep when I do it long enough. His fur is so soft and thick. Sometimes he is trouble, and sometimes I sigh when I hear what he has gotten himself into next, but I'm glad the little rascal is mine.

And, like most cats, he hates dogs.... I'm gonna have to work on that. This is Bruce, the neighborhood dog. He is on of the friendliest dogs I've ever met!

Texas

I spent last week in a very hot state: Texas. Almost every day reached the high 90's. But what is that when one is surrounded by amazing friends?

The food was incredible. Not only the Mexican food, but also the African food which we had one day and I failed to get a good picture of.

The squirrel below was either stuck or very content watching us swim. ;)

Ahh, that was some good ice cream!

Julie, Beth, and me. 

Sometimes I see things and I want to capture it exactly how I saw it. This was one attempt. I was lying on the bed (which I did a lot. I was very lazy on this trip. ;)) with my glasses off (therefore Tara's face was quite blurry) and when I opened my eyes and saw this I thought it was too cool not to capture. Its harder than you think to get a picture of what you see.... This one did not turn out exactly like I wanted. Sigh. Never stop trying.

Below is the building from which J. F. Kennedy was shot at.

Do you know which window?

And below is the X where he was shot.

I realize the huge grin on my face is probably not so appropriate for the subject being filmed....

In the back-ground is the Reunion Tower and the hotel to which it is attached.

There are many beautiful trees in Dallas. Quite a green city, as my brother pointed out.

A random little cabin in the middle of Dallas.

Below is the Old Red Museum of Dallas.

Yes, we went all the way to the top of the tower. The floor spins! Not too fast but fast enough to see all the way around in 45 minutes while staying seated. The view was incredible!

And so were the hamburgers! :)

Don't get dizzy looking down!

I found myself a cowboy! Too bad he didn't fit in my suitcase...

The amazing people I was with all week.

Me, Tara, Julie, and Beth.

Tell her not to jump and she won't listen to you.  :p

I also got visit my brother, Jesse, the day before I left Texas. We went to the Art Museum.

He might be a model. You never know... :)

I think that the most exciting thing we did all week was go to the stockyards. I not only got to ride a horse....

Ok, that's a joke. Sadly I didn't ride any horses....

But I also got to see my first rodeo!!!! A thrilling thing indeed!

The Dallas skyline at night. I wish I had a better camera....

I am thanking God for the beautiful memories that were made on this trip and for all the laughs that will give me wrinkles when I'm old. :)
A merry heart does good, like medicine. Proverbs 17:22