Thursday, March 29, 2007

BLUEBONNETS!



The Bluebonnets have bloomed. I love romping in them. Mom had the bright idea that we would take our pictures in them since they are so pretty. Also, since Laz is so dark, it is hard to find good places to take his picture. I, however, look good almost anyhwere. This morning while on our walk, we stopped at my friend Kim's house ( a husky who always meanly barks at me, but I try to play with her anyway!)because she has lots of bluebonnets near her house by the road. Mom and Dad took Lazie's picture first because he gets hot and his tongue hangs out. (Again, I do not do that so I agreed to go second) When it was my turn, I walked out into the bluebonnets, sat for a bacon treat and felt something tingly...then prickery on my paw. I saw lots of crawly things and tried to get them off... Dad kept calling my name to look at him but I couldn't stop these crawly things. Mom finally took a close look and started to get upset, ushered me to the road, and started wiping off all the crawlys...she called fireants. I hope my picture came out!! (sadly we did not get a picture of Moses)

After that, I got to run around as fast as I could in the empty lots. WHAT FUN!!

Lovingly,
Moses

Red Bud Isle - the happiest place on Earth



Mom and Dad took us to Red Bud Isle - my favorite place - last weekend. I just LOVE it there. It is a park where I don't have to wear my leash, I can get away from Moses, Dad plays with me, and Mom keeps track of us. I can run around as much as I want, but mostly I like to stay in the water. Around every turn there is a new beach to explore. I can beat just about any other lab there to any tennis ball - whether Dad threw it or not! I was the only dog who would swim out really far to retrieve the ball. There were lots of friends there too, and the other humans are usually really nice. Moses just runs around like a mad man, but my approach is much more calculated since there is so much fun to be had. I don't want to miss ANYTHING!

I am in the water in one of the pictures... you have to look to see me!

Your Pal,
Laz

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Devastation in New Orleans




As geographers, we don't only like picking up states but also better understanding the spatiality of the human condition. With that being said, we decided to stop in New Orleans on the way home. I had seen a presentation at the 2006 REP Conference and had wondered about the planning implications of rebuilding parts of the city after Katrina. We decided to go to the Levee district which is near UNO was along Lake Ponchartrain. It had been a middle class neighborhood that took a lot of damage. A year and a half later, it is still a disaster. it angered Julie and I to think about the billions of dollars spent by the USA on a misguided Civil War in Iraq and how many American Citizens have been forgotten. While it might not be the federal government's job to bail out poor residential choices and insurance coverage, but these people are Americans and should be treated better. If these areas are not going to be rebuilt, the structures should be demolished to avoid continued hazards from rats, mold, etc. The French Quarter was no different than the two other times I have been there, and the Garden District to the west along the Mississippi was at the final stages of recovery. Julie will be sharing these images with her Geology class and I will be talking about this in both my political geography and planning class.

Kevin

Monday, March 19, 2007

A Long Trip for Spring Break




Over the last week, Julie and I drove to Florida to see my family during Spring Break. Julie had never been in the Deep South before and was excited to "pick-up" a few more states. She is posing in Georgia (the fortieth state she has been in) in the SW corner near Chattahoochee, Florida. On our way, we also stopped in Gainesville and walked around the campus of the University of Florida. We took a few photos and moved onto Melbourne and then over to Venice. We were spectators at three Spring Training baseball games in Viera, Vero Beach, and Sarasota. We had a nice visit with my family. On the way back to Texas, we stopped in New Orleans. The city is not in good shape, and more explanation and photo evidence will come. We walked around the French Quarter a bit and also drove over to the Garden District. Those areas are a bit higher and sustained much less damage. The dogs were very excited to see us when we picked them up at the kennel.

Kevin

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Laz and Dad Hang Out


While Mosi and Mom watched Lost last night, Dad and I chilled out to the blues. I like it when he plays that guitar, and I have always liked music. I used to listen to easy listening a lot when I'd hang out at Daria's. Mom even got me a Dean Martin CD that I liked. Then, I liked bluegrass a lot, and I still like to listen to bluegrass on Sunday mornings. Lately, I have been into classic country and I like it when Mom sings along with Loretta Lynn and Johnny and June Cash. Dad has turned me onto the blues though, and I like to chill out on the afghan rug while he plays. It was a nice way to end the day and relax after swimming at the river.

Your pal,
Lazarus

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Recent activities




Dad and Mom have been busy lately as you can see from the lack of recent postings. Mom spent a lot of time filling in little circles last night that she kept calling an answer sheet. Her students are taking their midterm exam right now. I don't know what that is, but it has something to do with a blood bath and a curve? Dad left last night with his bone that he never chews and sounds funny (I think it's called a Guitar) and was gone for a little over an hour. It smelled like he had been to San Marcos, and when he came home, he played something called a 12 bar blues. I really liked it. Last night he smelled similar to Sunday afternoon after he and Mom went to see the Patio Boys band at Cheatham Street Warehouse. I guess Dad's guitar teacher plays in that band and is the one in the Red Hawaiian shirt. Anyway, I have enjoyed the warm days and cool nights lately-- a lot of outside play in the sun and snuggling in bed at night. I got to hang out with them on Saturday as they did some yard work. They are so proud of those silly painted rocks that represent institutions of higher learning that we have attended or taught at. At least our Daria's Place was included, but I guess one school is missing? Can anyone figure out which is missing? Well, I better get a good daily nap today because there is a rumor that we are going to the river tonight!

Mosi

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Our visit to Black's Barbecue





Over the weekend, we made a trip to Lockhart, Texas to go to dinner at Black's barbecue which claims to be the oldest continuous family-owned barbecue in Texas-- dating back to 1932. I had some brisket with mashed potatoes. Julie got a chopped beef sandwich with a twice-baked potato and Spanish rice. Black's also offers great deserts and we tried both the peach and blackberry cobbler. The food was really good, and we took some home for the boys. Pictured, you can see what we brought home-- a quarter of Julie's sandwich, a half order of blackberry and peach cobbler. Lazie and Mosi went nuts when they saw the to-go package appear and they shared the sandwich. For the cobbler, Laz got the peach because he loves all things peach (especially Blue Bell peach and vanilla ice cream) and Moses got the blackberry cobbler. As you can see, nothing was left after the dogs ate, and we look forward to going back to Black's in Lockhart. The Pack ranks their food favorably.

Kevin