What a pumpkin

This post isn't going to be much but some adorable pictures.  Last month our adorable Gordon Setter Koal passed.  He was 14 so it was hard on all of us.  But I am comforted by the fact that he was 14 and had once hell of a life.  He traveled a lot.  He used to go camping with us when we were children, and then later with my parents in the RV.  He was the guardian of the feather comforter.  An outside dog for 12 years that adapted really quickly to being an inside dog.  Hoarder of toys, who loved to pull pop bottles of the table.  Unpacker of suitcases.  Wearer of silly shirts.  He was a pumpkin.  He was pretty loved.

Hockey & Puppy Sitting

OK, so I spent the better part of a week in St. Paul dog sitting the most amazing Gunther ever!  He is an amazing dog and we adore each other so.  We puzzled, we lounged, we cooked, we lounged, we watched hockey among other things.  We lounged.  Seriously this was pretty much the week.  Oh and we took bunches of short walks.  Anyways fun was had by all (and by that I mean me and G).




So while up there I went to 2 wild hockey games.  I didn't get a lot of pictures but that is OK.  So the 2 games where on the 29th and 31st.  And let me tell you they were like polar opposites.  It was bad.  On the 29th they played a pretty talented (and gigantic) Sharks team, and played a pretty solid game and they scored a lot.  Then on New Years Eve they played the Predators, a solid team but not a super fab one, but hey do have a wicked defense.  And it was the lamest game in the history of lame games.  What was sad was that the Preds scored twice into an empty net.

But there were some pluses.  After all I got to see some good hockey in one game.  And I seriously think that the Sharks are a good 3 times the size of the Wild.  Especally Joe Thornton, that must be the reason they call him Jumbo... At least I hope so.  I didn't get to see Joe Pavelski as he is injured and I do adore him.  So that was sad.  But I got to see Antero Niittymaki (my 3rd/4th favorite Finnish goalie depending on the day) but he got lit up (sad face).  But in the Preds game I got to see Shane O'Brien, Pekka Rinne, Anders Lindback was on the bench... so it was worth it.

I adore Shane from his Vancouver days.  He was a decent D-man then, but a bit of a wild child.  Nashville has been good for him I think, and he has turned into a more solid, mature d-man!  I was impressed, even if I missed the play and goal he assisted on.  Pekka Rinne was pretty solid in the net for the preds, he is my second favorite Finnish goaltender (my first plays for a team that shall not be named as I should not like him as I do).  And Anders Lindback is my goalie crush of the season (it was supposed to be Khudobin, but the wild went a different route) so it was great to see him, even if he didn't play.


  And I rung in the new year watching a lame hockey game (so glad I am not emotionally invested in the wild).  Going back to my brothers, watching an awesome Canucks game.  And having the best date ever.  Even if he wanted to sleep at midnight.  Gunther was the best!  So I will leave you with one more candid shot of the darling.

Lazy Days

waitin' for sunset- Lake Michigan

So yeah, I am horrible at this posting thing... I am gonna blame the holidays and school... It isn't that I don't want to blog, it is just I lacked the inspiration and what not.  I gotta get my bum out and start taking more pictures, but dang it! it is cold in Minnesota this time of year.  Yeah, yeah, I know not an excuse, it is not like I haven't spent most of my life in Minnesota... I am being lazy.  So what do I do, I come back and write a lazy blog post.  So I guess that is what this one is gonna be dedicated to... Lazy!

I guess you gotta start with the laziest dog that I know.  Koal, he is a Gordon Setter.  They are gorgeous animals.  Wickedly smart, and like most setters they hate listening to you.  Koal is, for the most part an, outside dog.  When we lived in the city he almost never wanted to be inside, cause we lived on a busy corner and everybody interacted with him.  But the older he gets, he doesn't mind being inside.  He is under the impression that he should get to go out and then come back in for a few hours... after all the feather comforter needs to be guarded.

We will pretend this is me being lazy...

The winter is a lazy time.  Don't get me wrong I love the winter, I love the snow, and snow sports rock!  But not much tops lazy afternoons, movies & hockey games to watch, cookies to eat and the like...  You know grand times.  The are much more common outside of Yellowstone!  And I am ok with that.  Sometimes you just don't want to do anything but laze about!

Grant Village (of the damned) YNP

So what else is lazy.  I think it depends.  Rocking on a porch gazing at a most beautiful lake... Probably.  Napping in overstuffed leather couches...yes!  Friends, drinks, late night chats... Coffee breaks and smoke breaks when you don't smoke... Sometimes lazy can be good.  Sometimes it seems like you need it in order to continue at a high pace... And maybe going places, where you can relax is lazy.  Not have to hike miles and miles just because.  But going somewhere that you can have as much fun, but don't have to always be movin'.  And it is not always a bad thing!