June 12 of 12

It's time for June 12 of 12!!!! Thanks to Chad for the idea and keeping it rolling.

This month:

Issues, issues, issues.

No work pics this month. Maybe next month.

Old Mr. Sony Mavica gave out when I tried some pictures late this afternoon, but thankfully it was just a dead battery. So I was able to finish.

The back yard and pond. Probably about 8:15 this morning. Beautiful day in Seattle.

Yes, we are planning on replacing the fence. We just haven't figured out how to do it when the dogs are in the backyard during the day.

I don't think y'all have met our Indian ringneck parakeet. This is Boo Boo. He's adorable. He says "Hi Boo Boo", laughs, and can imitate the telephone being dialed. Drives houseguests crazy. Sometimes he talks like Cousin Itt from The Addams Family. But he's a sweetheart.

Late this afternoon. It's about 68 degrees and gorgeous. Heading to the store - Marion Street (a block down from our house) has been torn up recently, putting new gas lines in. At least it's open now.

Heading up 23rd Avenue toward Safeway. This is a major north-south street that goes from the University District in the north to Rainier Avenue in the south, connecting to Rainier Valley and all the way down to Renton. No one wants to live on such a busy street (we live just a block off of it on 24th) - but there have been a lot of remodels lately, with houses selling in the $400 - 500K range. On the left, just past the last few houses, you can see a sign for Collins' Gold Exchange (now closed). The sign used to flash "G - O - L - D" and then "GOLD". Then the "G" and "L" burned out. For years it flashed "O - D". We thought it was funny. We're pretty sure they sold crack there. Like a lot of places in the neighborhood. And you can buy a "Good Time, Mister?" still for $5 within a few blocks of our house. Maybe I should have gotten a "12 of 12" picture of one of the Good Time Ladies.

Waiting at the stoplight at Union Street. A couple of major bus routes come through here. You can't quite read it on the Union 76 sign on the far left corner, but they're selling regular gas for $3.39 per gallon. They tend to be a little pricey, but it's not that out of line with the rest of Seattle.

Coming up to the Safeway. It's a little less than a mile from our house, which is nice. They built big ol' condo units above it, which isn't as nice. There's a grocery store closer to us that was a nasty neighborhood place for years, until the last one shut down and they renovated it. We were hoping a Trader Joe's would end up there. We got a Grocery Outlet instead. Some of our friends' kids dubbed it the Gross Out.

Back home. And now introducing another family member ... Schotzie, the blue and gold Macaw. He's big. He's bad. His beak could tear your finger off - easily. He laughs at the television - often before we've even realized something was funny. He eats peanut butter from a spoon - while holding the spoon (he likes Adam's crunchy). He's cuddly - with Scott. Macaws mate for life, so in captivity they tend to bond with one person. It wasn't me. He only gives me the time of day when I feed him grapes. But he's amazing.

Heading upstairs. Hunter The Amazing Cat With Thumbs (seriously) loves his perch on the stair landing by the window. He's big and soft and cuddly and still has a high-pitched kitten "meow". He doesn't like to be held unless he's calling the shots. You can't tell from this picture, but he's always wearing little white socks.

Took a trip out to the back yard to take pictures of the puppies. Stoli hid behind the California Lilac. She's a little shy. She's also one of the smartest and most loyal, lovable dogs ever created. She's almost 11 years old. But a real lady never reveals her true age - so don't ask her.

Kitty basking on the deck. She's the same age as Stoli. She loves the sun, long walks on the beach, and being cuddled. We almost lost her a couple of years ago. We adore her. She didn't make that horrible mess on the deck - that was Kali the Amazingly Large and Resilient Puppy. Kali drags anything she can find onto the deck, sometimes by ripping it out of the ground or off of the house. We've given up on trying to keep the deck clean, or in one piece. We've also given up on keeping the back door clean, obviously. But we have happy dogs. That's more important, isn't it?

Kali (the Amazingly Large and Resilient Puppy). Kali is almost 11 month old now. She's huge. Probably about 75 - 80 pounds now and still growing. She still thinks she can curl up on the bed with us. Scott and I have probably both woken up on the floor more than once because of this. She's hyper, she's a chewer, she's a digger, she's incorrigible, she's KALI! We can't imagine life without her. I love the way her eyes are closed but her mouth is open. Imagine waking up with that face in yours and her (large) tongue in your nose. No really, imagine it.

The theme for the Bonus Pic this month is "Secret". I tried taking Kali's picture about eight times before I got that last one - she always got away as I was trying to take her picture. This is one of the pictures of the Elusive Yet Amazingly Large and Resilient Puppy. It may seem like a picture of nothing, but it's where dogs have been, dogs will return, and part of our home. And it's a Secret as to where she is right now ...

(P.S. Thanks to UriZone! for pointing out that my "secret picture" looks like it spells out "12". How cool was I. Secret even from me ... )

Happy 12 of 12!!

Don't forget to take a peek at Scott's first 12 of 12!