Exploring Bastrop State Park

Our friend was up bright and early Saturday morning to try his hand at fishing.



We decided to take Mia for a little walk around the park to check out the other campsites and the cabins at the park.



Loved the beautiful forests & streams around the park.



There is a newer looking amphitheater here- maybe they show movies in the summer?



There was a small road race & a few dozen runners out on these lovely winding, hilly roads.



Then we hopped in our car & took the scenic 10 mile drive on a park road to Bastrop State Park. It seems much larger- with some bigger group camping areas, full cabins and a golf course.



They guys went canoeing- neither one of them had every gone before! It was quite humorous to say the least.



There was a Weim out there who was a retrieving fool. Mia went out once, but got quite a nasty snarl when she got near him.



She decided to fetch her own stick!



Late that afternoon, the guys tried their hand at fishing again.



The area had some beautiful fall colors & we had such perfect camping weather all weekend.



We even had some luck fishing!



Mia just wanted to play in the mud.



As evening approached, all these birds gathered in this tree to roost for the evening.



We were treated to a beautiful sunset before we headed back to camp to make dinner & roast marshmallows over the fire.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Mia graduated with flying colors from Basic Obedience class tonight.

Buescher State Park Camping

Two weekends ago, we had a lovely time camping with some of our friends & discovering a new state park (on our 101 List) at Buescher State Park, about 1.5 west of Houston.



Zoe had hurt her leg earlier in the week, so it was just Mia on this trip & good thing- she was a lot to handle in the woods!



We lucked out & I had rented a nice little Premium Shelter. It was very privater and very secluded, had decent view of the water & was perfect for camping in the spring/fall when the weather can suddenly get very cold or rainy.



Inside was very nice- tons of windows, lined with cedar, nice big fan with bright lights, big picnic table & a handy broom.



I loved opening up the screened windows each day & being able to keep all of our food inside without having to pack it up each night.



I think this was a fairly recent update to this particular site. The old picnic table was still there, plus a nice big new one, a grill and a garbage can.



It took Mia a while to figure out the whole 'being tied to a tree' thing.







She quickly learned the 'chill out in a chair' move.



But even better was the 'climb into H's lap' move while we waited for our friends to arrive after work on Friday.



She did great for the most part- not wandering off too far when we took her off leash, not barking at the many noises, and being semi-well behaved for a puppy.

Part 2 coming tomorrow...

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: All of our indoor Christmas decorations are up!

Millie Bush Dog Park

I am loving these little GIF movies!

Two weeks ago we took the dogs out to Millie Bush Dog Park to try something new. It's a bit smaller and further, so I doubt we'll go again.



Uh-oh! We've got company!



They both swam & Mia swam great, but didn't remember not to swim ON TOP of Zoe ;)



Zoe wasn't too amused.



But she kept chasing the ball in the water- which is a big improvement for her.



Such a pretty girl- I appreciate her so much more that I have a puppy who isn't as cool (yet) as Zoe.



Mia loves to chase balls & they were both begging hubby to throw the ball.



Splish splash



Mia would always swim out, but never actually get the ball in the water.



She loves bouncing and barking at Zoe as they run back together.



SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE



What a good husband- he went back out to the car to get their water. Zoe was confused and kept running around looking for him.



And of course, no trip to the dog park is complete without lots of mud.



And I can't pass up a shot of the ears in action.

Photos taken November 7, 2009 Mia ~ 5 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: 4 day weekend are awesome!

Sitting Room Renovations

We have a formal living room or a sitting room in the very front of our house & it's the first thing you see when you walk in.



It had housed my futon from my duplex days and some other older, assorted furniture that H hated with a passion.



Our front door was also rather plain. It was needing some attention. Instead of resealing it, we decided to just get a new one.

We've officially redecorated every other room in the house & this was our last one to tackle.



The only thing that survived the remodel in this room was the entrance table.



This really ugly light had to go....



This is the one that hung in our dining room and it was history too.



Something inspired me to paint the one big wall & so I went with blue.



So sometime in September- we had a bright blue wall. Then we were off in search of new furniture- a love-seat couch & 2 sitting chairs to match.



We found a new front door, and decided it was time to go ahead and change out all the locks/knobs on our exterior doors.



I was a wee bit nervous about having a front door that was semi-see through, but it's working out just fine & I love all the light that it lets in.



We went to many stores before we found the right couch & some chairs we loved. H didn't want an ordinary coffee table, so we found something funky & artsy.



I went through hell & back to get this mirror- including 2 broken deliveries, hanging nightmares & a local glass repair.



A new entrance rug & mom painted a glass art piece to mimic our table and patterns on our chairs.



I really like the new dining room fixture & our plants in the corners.



We love our room! I wished we'd done it sooner. We sit in here at least once or twice a week so visit after work or have a glass of wine. It's much more cozy and conducive to conversation than our living room with the TV & dogs running around.



We finished up with some landscaping the front yard to match the backyard.



The stones and pretty flowers are such a nice finishing touch, but I can't believe what a difference the new front door made to our house.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: DONE- I think we've officially finished with all the big house projects on our list.