A tad toasty today. . .

It was a little warm today. Great day for the drive home with the roof down.

Wicked good thunderstorm last night. We got caught in it north of Leesburg while we were picking up dog food for the puppies. Huge amount of rain. Excellent lightning.

The Rambo movies couldn't be worse. Can't stand them. Just too much. . .

Looking forward to two weeks off in a couple of weeks, a week of work, then two weeks of training at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey CA.

Brian hates the sound of a Loon at 0300

Play this. . .

http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/loons/sounds/wail.au

Goose, Cooper, and Brian

Brian is back and other things

Brian is back from his Canadian odyssey. Interesting stories to tell. . .

So I found out what the summons was about. Remember the pistol that the Scouts found during the Eagle project? We'll, I guess they know who did it and he's upon felony larceny charges. I have to testify regarding custody of the weapon. This will be fun.

Drill weekend. . . meh

Tried to give blood today, but couldn't. My temperature was 100.2. Of course, it was 95 outside and the roof was down on the Jeep.

Mom is quite cute. . . Love her muchly. . .

I wish my Dad could have been there when I first enlisted. . . He was in spirit, I know. But it would have been nice if he'd been there. . . What do you call regrets that you have no control over?

An interesting thing on my door today

So, I got home today kinda early to take Cooper to the vet to check out his eye. He's fine, he just needs some antibiotics. SO, I pulled up into the driveway and there was an envelope taped to the front door. Interesting. I opened it up. It is a summons from the Fairfax County Circuit Court for me to testify in some kind of case against some guy I've never heard of. I really have no clear idea what this is about. We did, a long time ago, called in a drunk driver to the police, but that was ages ago. Could it be that they caught the guy who stole my car a few years ago? Doubt it. I guess I'll have to call the court and find out what's going on. . .

Update on Goose & Cooper

Cooper appears to have pink eye, so off to the vet's tomorrow. . .

Goose is now at 19.5 pounds

Mom is doing an excellent job training him.

Hugely active and bouncy, but now crashed and unconcious on the vent on the family room.

Let's see if we have a new picture or two. . .

The hurricane named Woody . . .

So you thought we always had a huge amount of Kelly droppings and Kelly leftovers whenever she comes by? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner. . .

A few examples:

- Service Dress Blues on the dining room table;

- empty insignia boxes on the chairs;

- Combat boots, one black shoe, a box of uniforms, USMC and VMI stickers, and miscellaneous clothes in and throughout the family room;

- A razor in the kitchen;

- A garrison cap on the counter;

Well, you get the idea by now. . .

Opportunity

As Woody leaves us tomorrow for The Basic School, I find that I envy him this opportunity. He has the unique chance to focus solely on his career at the start of his career. TBS is not a lockdown, like VMI, but an oasis. An island with manageable outside influences where one can orient himself in the proper direction. The best part is that he has minimal distractions going in. (He's so lucky, I can even put a cogent thought together anymore!!) Yes, he's getting married, but Spenser knows that this is the foundational piece of the Marine Corps chapter of their life, so she'll support him. But otherwise, he has almost nothing to preoccupy him. I told him at dinner tonight (the last supper?), that he should get into sync with himself, embrace this chance to focus undistracted to learn and master the basics of his profession. He needs to establish a routine that includes academic and professional study and enrichment, physical training, effective management of his personal finances, and of course, his personal life and his introduction to Marine Corps society.

I envy him. . .

By the way, my house looks like a Marine Corps uniform shop threw up in here as he packs up. . .

Pictures from Germany

At the special request of the lovely and charming Mrs Hall, here are pictures from her recent trip. . .

At the Brandenberg Gate, looking for Jimmy Cagney. . .

The castle of Count von Droste Schattenburg . . .

"It was destroyed during the war.

American Air Force?

No, Turkish calvary, 1683"

She's looking forward to going back