House finches are being kicked out

We put new seed in the bird feeder and that has attracted a new kind of lbj. The chipping sparrow is a pretty little lbj and easy to identify by the markings on his head. Now the house sparrows have some serious competition at the feeder.

How one can benefit from careful packing

These two items were the kind that usually get left behind in a cross-contintental move. They are the kind of item that is sadly found in the dustbin, or on the most unwanted shelf in a second hand store. They don't match with anything, not even each other. They are doomed to be abandoned. The first is a wine glass that was K's xmas present and he loves it. The second is a glass cutting board decorated with brussel sprouts and I love it. We are not the type to abandon such beloved items and the great thing is, I know there are other people who will be glad to see that here they are in our kitchen!

What makes my working day worth it

In the middle of a stressful day this week, I went and hung out with these two to destress. I know they look like one and the same dog, but I swear they are two. They were adopted together on Friday, the woman who adopted them is a very lucky gal.

A cat called Shy, with a wonderful face

I have been thinking to myself this week of how perfectly she would fit in with our two. Her colouring is exactly like a combination of Oleo and Henry. Just a half of each! Of course we can't have another cat...

Violet

Violet, if you remember, is the cat who is supposed to live in my office but doesn't really like me. She has been warming up to me recently, coming to get snuggles in the middle of the day when there are no babies or dogs in the office to scare her off. She really is quite a sweetie.

A post from my desk

Hehe, Sammy just made a dog cry. It was a mastiff/pitbull/labrador mix. Poor baby.

A book recommended, but not for the faint of English.

You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll cringe. You will wonder how you could ever have put an apostrophe in some of the places you did. If you are a psuedo-Englander living in the States, you will wonder how you are ever going to write again.

A good movie

K and watched a few movies this week; American Gangster, The Jane Austen Book Club and Catch and Release. Each was good for our particular mood of the eve but the best was Catch and Release.

The plotline is simple, it's a romantic comedy and it's sweet and a little cheesy. What makes it a wonderful movie is what is going on around the romantic. In fact, it is the comedy part that allows the movie to be more than just another romantic comedy. K and I chuckled our way through it, the humour is smart and quick and quirky. In actual fact, I think silent Bob is why the movie is so great.

So, highly recommended by K and I for a Friday night after a stressful week.

At dawn in the backyard

How I lost my husband to taxes

K has been at his laptop on the dining table all day trying to work through and out of our taxes. This is one of those times where I am eternally grateful that I married the man I did.

After two days he has just completed our federal taxes. Here are some questions that came up related to that. Must we pay taxes on scholarships? Were we domiciled in Namibia? WHERE is our "tax home" and is that the same as our residence? Did I pay into my 401K and do I have an IRA? (The answer to that last is - a militant wing of the Irish government? No, I don't have one of those)

So now that he has completed the federal taxes he only has DC, Virginia and Maryland left! HOW on earth did we manage to live and earn in this many places?

We have learned many things today, including the following from the IRS publication 54: (Hopefully I won't get arrested for reproducing it!)
The term "foreign country" includes the seabed and subsoil of those submarine areas adjacent to the territorial waters of a foreign country and over which the foreign country has exclusive rights under international law to explore and exploit the natural resources.

Just in case you lived on the seabed off the Namibian shore and were wondering where to pay taxes...

Monticello from our house

Henry enjoying spring

Some colour in our Neighbourhood

Reasons we cannot have a dog:

K and I have been telling ourselves these things since I started at my new job. In fact we were telling ourselves from before, now it is just worse because I fall in love with a new dog almost every day.
1. We don't know what continent we are going to settle on, and when. Moving a dog is expensive and traumatic.
2. Oleo would hide under the bed.
3. Neither of us wants to call the landlord and ask.
4. We are gone from home between the hours of 8am and 7pm most days.
5. Dog poop.
6. Getting up even earlier to walk the dog.
7. No fenced-in yard.

Bond

Bond has been my office mate a few days this week. He was a stray for many years and is terrified of humans. He is also quite old, and a big dog, he is a little bigger than a labrador but looks like a hound in terms of colour and shape. He is incredibly shy of humans but adores other dogs. He will lie quietly in my office and keep an eye on me, but shies away when anyone tries to touch him. He has advanced with me as he will now sniff my hand when I offer it to him. Also when I ignored him for long enough while working he actually came to stand next to me and see what the fascination with my screen and keyboard was. I feel that once he has figured out that people are not going to shout at him, chase him or hit him he will be a really sweet companion for someone who is incredibly patient and wants a dog who will adore without being needy. In other news, JJ in on the adoption floor and I expect that by Monday he will be gone because lots of people have been interested. Freddie is still around as we want to be careful about the home he goes to.

Soon after

Wife: "I have discovered one too."
Husband: "what?"
Wife: "Husbands can't pee in the dark."

While brushing teeth at night

Husband: "I have discovered a fundamental difference between husbands and wives"
Wife: "Which is?"
Husband: "Wives have a catalog of household bedding in their heads"
Wife: "And husbands?"
Husband: "Don't"

My office

One photo is the before and one the after - can you figure out which is which?

The men's bathroom has a new occupant

His name is JJ and he is tooooooooo cute. Tiny pitbull/boxer baby. I have been very well socially trained to think that pits are ugly dogs, but JJ would melt anyone's heart and mine is a puddle of chocolate when I look at his little crumpled face. He is in the bathroom mostly cos he is too young to be adopted but he likes human company and to pee on the carpet. (The second is why he isn't under anyone's desk)He even still has puppy breath.... everyone all together now.... aaahhhhhhh!

DC weekend

We went up to DC this weekend and were excited about the cherry blossoms. Of course we underestimated how long it takes to get anywhere in the area and so had about 17 minutes between social appointments to get around the tidal basin. which cannot be done so we had to settle for just looking around sort of, and then taking a cab to the next thing. K still managed to get some excellent photos though!