Away for Too Long

So....this is pretty sad.  I've been away for months.  I won't use the 'I've been busy' line.  Because we're all busy, right?

I guess I've not been in the blogging mood.  That's lame too!

Summer is going by WAY too quickly...in just a few weeks, the boys will be back in school.  Seems like they just got out.  What is wrong with this picture?

Last week were in Carolina Beach, NC on vacation.  It was heavenly.  We stayed at the same condo as last year.  The weather was HOT (just like everywhere else in the US).  It only rained one evening...and that was a true blessing. We had a great time just doing nothing.  Sat under beach umbrellas and listened to waves crash against the shore and let the breeze put us into 'relaxation mode'.  It was wonderful.

Oh, by the way, Riley has grown up quite nicely.  He celebrated his first birthday last month.  Here are a few photos.

He is still a puppy in many ways.  He is a sweetheart and a big baby.  We felt really bad leaving him at the kennel while we were on vacation.  He did okay....and we called to check on him a few times during our week away.

These are a few of my favorite ....

Little Guy, Crafty Mom, Mr. Teenager and Riley

It's Going to Look Like Christmas

Happy Black Friday! (Oh...I truly don't like how that sounds.)

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. The Crafty Dad family made the annual pilgrimage (no pun intended!) to Auburn, IN for the big feast. A good time was had by all. Lots of food, fun, family and laughter. My favorite combo-package.

After we got home, Crafty Mom made her way to the basement to supervise in the traditional "carry-the-Christmas-decorations-upstairs" event. The boys helped out as we made several trips up and down the stairs -- good exercise after eating so much turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, etc., etc.,

A foyer-full of decorations.

Riley is not sure about all this!

Today is the day: decorate the house. It's become a tradition. And I enjoy bringing the house to life with all the decorations. My mom was a HUGE fan of Christmas and always make the house look so nice. She passed away 14 years ago...and I miss her. Especially during the Holidays. I'm guessing she's looking down from heaven and smiling as we do what she did for so many years. Miss you Mom!

The tree will be decorated tonight. Jennifer and the boys wait for my help on that one. I am the official tree light guy. I started wrapping each individual branch of the tree with lights a few years ago. Wow! Talk about a brightly-lit evergreen. I think it looks great and we continue to wrap lights from year to year.

I'll share some photos with you later this weekend.

In the meantime...hope you find all the bargains you were looking for today. Don't forget the ONLINE sales. Speaking of which, my Etsy store is having a 25% sale on tissue holders -- that's $1.00 off the regular price!

Have a great weekend,

Family Photo Op

Hey bloggers....Wow..three posts in the same week.  That might be a record for me!  LOL!!

We were at one of our county parks the other day for a little outing.  Unfortunately, we had so much rain the past few days the walking trails were so muddy it was impossible to use them.  Fortunately, the sun was shining and I had my camera (never leave home without it).

A little bit of editing via Picnik (I really like that program) and voila, we have a photo:

Crafty Dad, Crafty Mom, Riley,
Mr. Teenager and Little Guy

Here are a few more:

Hope you're enjoying the Autumn season.

Take care!

Just Checking In ...

Yes, I'm up a tree and wondering where to go from here! (Kidding of course, I mean I'm kidding about the 'up a tree part'). I'm always wondering where to go from here.

Riley says "hello".

As always, it's been a hectic time. Work has been extra-full of challenges. But..I'm happy to have a job. Don't get me wrong, okay?

We're off to a soccer match (Little Guy's first one of the season). And, Mr. Teenager has a band contest 2-1/2 hours away. He has to be a the high school at 10:45 this morning and (get this) won't get home until almost 1:00 A.M. on Sunday. THAT's a long day. And he (we) get to do it all over again next week. Wow!

The marching band is looking good. I got a little choked up watching them perform at last night's football game. They are good, very good. It's not the marching band that my wife and I were in when we were in high school. No no no. It's very different. But they look good and they sound good. Hope they do well when they perform for the judges tonight under the lights in Lafayette, IN.

BTW: both my boys were elected to Student Council yesterday. This is Little Guy's first year (he's pretty psyched up about it).

Have a great (safe) weekend bloggers!

First glimpse of Fall. A leaf on the shore at the lake.

P.S. In case you haven't notice, Fall is right around the corner.

Puppy Power

Exciting times at Casa de Crafty Dad these days. For the past several weeks, there's been lots (and I mean LOTS) of conversations where the subject is dogs, puppies, and all things Canine-related. We certainly miss our Hershey Girl and she will never be replaced. She holds a very special place in our hearts.

Hershey Girl

Rather than get another Lab, we've been looking for Weimaraner puppies and found a reputable breeder in Wisconsin. Crafty Mom has been corresponding with the "Puppy Lady" and has made arrangements to go pick one out. Woo Hoo! So...it's road trip time for Crafty Mom and the boys.


Here's a Weimaraner puppy video I found on You Tube:



Which pup will the boys (and Mama) pick out?

Will it be Blizzard, Spot, Frosty or Burleigh?

Here are some photos the breeder sent us. They are all good looking pups aren't they?

Burleigh (in purple collar)

Blizzard (in blue collar)

Frosty

Spot

Chow Time for all the puppies!

Vote for your favorite puppy by leaving a comment.

I will let you know what puppy we pick.

Take care,

Snow Day

It is still snowing. It's been snowing pretty steadily since Friday. The boys and I have cleaned off the driveway 3 or 4 times. I [heart] my snowblower.

[Image: Uriah Welcome through a Creative Commons License on flickr.com]

The wife is getting ready to head back to Cleveland this afternoon. She has another appointment at Cleveleand Clinic. Her headaches are way better, but they still give her fits every so often. Hopefully this will be the last time she has to drive 5 hours each way to see the doctor.

Oh yeah, I'm working on a story on organic cotton yarn and LYS' (local yarn stores) that sell it. If you have a favorite LYS, please leave its name in the comment section of this blog post. I'd be happy to include them in the short article I'm doing to Eco Child's Play.

I've been a closet writer for a long time and this year I decided to take the plunge and start writing 'publicly'. I just signed on with ECP a few days ago. I'm writing craft-related blog posts for them at least three times a week. It's a great green site, so click over and see us.

Take care!

Another Member of our Family

Let me introduce you to Hershey. She's one of the four-legged members of our family. Umm, yeah, we also have two rabbits. She's a super-sweet (no pun intended) Chocolate Lab . We love her dearly and she loves us back -- big time.

Here's a picture of her on the deck at the camper. She looks tuckered out, don't you think? Must be all that fresh air My six-year-old shutterbug took this one. Good job dude!

[Hershey at the Lake - Mother's Day Weekend, 2007]

She loves to go camping with us. She nervously paces the floor as we pack the van for the trek to the lake. She is so afraid she'll get left behind. When we reach for her leash, that tail wags so hard you better watch out! She knows exactly what's next: the door opens, she prances out to the back of the van and 'ummmph', she jumps in and sits right down. Let the road trip begin!