The Day's Intentions

 Guess what time it is!  That's right, Photos From Years Past!

The big move-in to Ethan's house was arriving in a couple months so I was savoring my little apartment that much more.  I really loved that big-windowed oasis.

Of course there were some cool skies that month.

We got a new plant and pot for the front porch.  The plant starts with the letter E so we named her Eunice (all our plants have names like that), and she's still thriving a year later!

We had a lovely Mexican Easter celebration, complete with margaritas, tamales, street corn, and a big bowl of guacamole!

Ethan was inducted into an academic honor society at his university.

And we picked out little Ollie!  It was a couple months before we could pick her up, but look at that cute little baby fluffball!

(photos by e.hunt)

Space Paintings

 Good morning from me and my magical unicorn sparkle computer!

This was actually from a few days ago because after the hail-tornado-wind storm we had last night, it is definitely not sunny and pleasant out today.  We went down to the basement when the sky turned green, but luckily no damage was sustained by us or our house.  Hopefully you all experienced the same.

Ethan was out of town at a conference for a couple days so it was a girls weekend here at the ranch, just me and the little horse-dog, Ollie!

We went to the dog park, got a new toy, played fetch in the basement, took a ride over to my parent's house, had cuddles on the couch, and went on many long walks.  So many activities!

(photos by e.hunt)

The Big Sleepover

 And while we were away, Ollie was having the time of her life at my parent's house.

She got new toys, all the long walks, off-leash time at their neighbor's fenced-in yard, and eventually she was allowed up on the couch.  It's hard to say no to that cute puppy dog Ollie face!  From the official report, they said she was very good, barking when she needed something, sleeping through the night, following them around everywhere, and not being too much of a dinosaur.  Ollie had so much fun that she was a little mopey all the next day.  She missed them!

(photos by g.hunt, and r.hunt)

Storming the Corner

 Happy April, my good blog readers!  I hope you all had a lovely start to this month of springtime and optimistic weather.  We rang in the weekend with a rainstorm, resulting in lost power for about an hour and our neighbor's yard littered with large fallen tree limbs, but overall it wasn't near as bad as the hail and tornados they were predicting.

The rest of the weekend was quite balmy, so much so that we all got well over our ten thousand steps due to all the Ollie walks.  She is happy almost all of the time, but especially when we are outside on walks.

(photos by e.hunt)

Good Golly, Little Ollie

The little dinosaur turned one year old about a week ago, so happy late birthday, Ollie!  She continues to be a clumsy, energetic, cuddly goofball who alerts us by loudly bark-howling whenever one of the surrounding houses has a package delivered, demands her mid-morning bone every day before Ethan goes to work, and crosses her paws when napping.  She has been such a joyful addition to our lives.  It's been hard too, but there's nothing quite like coming home to her little wiggles, hops, and tail whipping around like a windmill.  Bark!

(photos by e.hunt)

A Late Valentine's Greeting

 This post was meant for last week, but better now than never!  You know what they say: "heroes get remembered, but [love] never dies.  Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong."

Or something like that.  Ethan and I had a relatively low-key Valentine's celebration.  Nothing fancy, but a few little things to make it just a tad different than a usual Tuesday.  He got me flowers (notice the plate it's sitting on!) and a gift card wrapped in the tag that he finally pulled off the couch.  He's had this furniture for much longer than the 3.5 years that I've known him, during which I've subtly (and not so subtly) tried to get him to remove it, and last week was that day!  Might seem odd, but a very thoughtful and fun gift indeed.

I happened to be off work so my gift was a plant to replace the one I got him for our first Valentine's, and making the day as easy as possible when he got home from work.  Cleaning, Ollie care, trash detail, dinner in progress, putting up some twinkle lights and little cut out hearts to make it all a little festive... everything taken care of.  And we had weird-cool rainbow skies as a backdrop from a brief storm that passed through that afternoon, so all was good.  Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day as well!

(photos by e.hunt)

Getting Our Steps In

 Good evening to all, here I am getting my weekly post in last minute!  I hope you all had a good week.  I happened to have an extra day off work, which was quite lovely.  I used it to clean, run errands, and take care of the little dinosaur, of course.  We did check out a new antique store yesterday; Ethan found a book and I found a couple pieces of dishware. 

It was actually quite a splendid weekend weather-wise as well.  We took Ollie on two long walks today and spent some time outside on our front veranda letting her whip around, munch on, and reorganize her stick collection.

(photos by e.hunt)

Feb - Roo - Air - Eee

 Happy first day of the second month of the year of our time two thousand twenty three.

I hope you spent it well.  I myself had a bit of a domestic day: woke up early, walked little Ollie, did our weekly house cleaning cycle, went to Target for toiletries and Schnucks for sustenance, walked Ollie again, and made an early dinner.  

Cleaning nowadays has an extra layer of fun thanks to the little dinosaur.  She is a very curious little puppy, wanting to sniff every product bottle, paper towel, wipe, or tool that I am wielding.  The vacuum though, is of particular interest.  She stands in front of it, backing up and then moving in as I go forward and back over the rug, but it's when I convert it to the long pole arm attachment version for the hardwoods that she gets really animated.  Barking, pouncing, standing off against it, running away to hide then coming back to challenge it once again.  It's like a whole battle strategy!

(photo by e.hunt)

To Be of the Resolute

 Well, we're a week in to 2023, everyone still upholding their resolutions?  One of mine includes posting once a week on the dear old blog, looks like I made it just in time for this first week!

It's been unseasonably warm this last week, with the temperatures finally feeling more like winter the last couple days.  There were even some little snow flurries this morning!  I hope we have another good snow storm before the season is through.  One where the wind chills are not at -30 so little Ollie can actually play in it.

We spent the last few days at Ethan's parents' farm celebrating Christmas with both sides of his family.  It was a very social couple days while nestled in the peaceful, serene country landscape.  We saw many cows, horses, families of deers and ducks, and even an alpaca!

They have a neighbor horse that stands half in and half out his pen all day, sometimes venturing out for a drink of water or a little nap in the leaves.  We named him Grandpa George the Horse.

(photos by e.hunt)

Have an Ollie Jolly New Year!

 I hope you all had a delightful holiday season to wrap up the year 2022.  Between the festive decorations, gift-finding then gift-wrapping, all the fun family time, and a last minute blanket of snow for a white Christmas, I certainly did!  And since it's already the last day of the year, I hope you have a happy start to the new one!

(photos by e.hunt)

Leaf Lookers, Cloud Catchers

 I hope you all are enjoying this late Fall/early Winter weather.  We went to the Botanical Garden a couple weeks ago to revel in the last of the fall colors and it did not disappoint.

After a leisurely jaunt around the lake, back by the old house, and through some of the more forest-like trails, we ended up at the famous climatron reflecting pond area where giant Christmas trees and a net of lights had taken up residence.  We figured out they were getting ready for the Garden Glow winter light show, which we may have to go check out at some point before the holidays.  Looked pretty cool not lit up though too.

Afterwards we made up for little Ollie's kennel time by taking her to one of her favorite places, the dog park!  It's just a few minutes from our house, was a steal of a fee to sign up for, and she gets to run and play and do dog stuff.  Bark!

(photos by e.hunt)

We Lived in the Gaps Between the Stories

 And now for a little reintroduction!  A lot has happened in the last few years, in the world at large and at small.  Let's start with the small, shall we?

My name is still Erica and I still love fashion, travel, and art.  My plant collection has steadily grown, as has my list of movies watched.  I still love going on drives (the perfectly-colored fall foliage is an especially good excuse right now), and discovering new coffeeshops or antique places.

Things that have changed about me?  Well, I moved out of my little apartment this last June and into a rented house with my boyfriend, Ethan.  It's a little two-bedroom brick square with lots of windows and a big tree in front, and the area is well-established and offers much within walking distance.

We also got a puppy the week I moved in!  Her name is Ollie and she is a perfect little goofy dinosaur baby.

After almost eight years at the old Tesson store, I moved Starbucks locations to one that is closer to my new residence, and have felt very welcomed by fellow employees and new customers.  A refreshing new surrounding was just what I needed to not dread going to work everyday, although I am still on the search for a career-changing opportunity.

And there you have it: the updated version of me!

(photos by e.hunt, title quote by Margaret Atwood)