Fun Day

Max and Morgan visited us last Saturday for Fun Day :-)

Obviously they had fun taking out the squeakers from toys....

Taylor loves when she has friends here, and especially she loves Morgan! Max is still shy in front of camera but I have a great shot of him.

A week ago we stayed with Pasta (the Fox hound) and Jet (the Beagle) -- kids of our friend Tricia. Taylor loved them as well, and got pretty well along with little Jet -- of only 7 months and full of energy and play desire. Pasta is a very kind dog, she likes to think she is a lap dog; and she loves being in the same sleep bag with us .... Jet loves that too :-)
So, I slept like a "hot dog" in the middle in-between three doggies.

Outside is getting cold winter... and Christmas is around the corner, so it is the New Year...

Messy house after the toys were checked for squeakers....

MAX

Taylor having in mind the squeaker ...

Pasta, Jet, and Taylor

Jet and Taylor looking for squirrels

Jet

Pasta

Pasta, Jet, and Taylor at the window....

Add from SIUE students

Please check out the following link to an Aquafresh Tooth Paste commercial contest entry created by Cory Byers' MC 334 advertising class at SIUE.
The more views the entry receives, the better the class' chance to win the $10,000 prize.

International students night @ SIUE

Every November there is a tradition that International students' organizations present the International Night.
Every year it is different according to the organizers.
This year the food was not as diverse but the performances were. Then the Fashion how around the world was also almost all of it from Africa.
It is always a fun time for all.


Turkish belly dancing




Dances from Nepal




Song about gipsy




Russian dance

Romeo... & Taylor

Romeo is an outdoors cat in the neighborhood. It is a neighbor's cat but he goes around. We caught and brought in Romeo for 10 minutes. He seemed to be OK - he has two dogs at home and loves playing with Taylor -- but then went out on the doggie door and run away...


Taylor learned that she can jump on the little book stand next to the desk and bark at me face-to-face to make sure I don't only hear but I see her as well. That is a call to play!

The little blue lamb was killed in a minute and its squicker taken out very fast. But then there is all that stuff that MUST come out too!... all over the floor :-0



Once all job is done must see what are those squirrels doing out there....

Fun Day

Taylor loves jumping in a tree in the front yard of our friend Sandy. Squirrels are always going up and down on that tree and Taylor thought she can catch some :-)






Max and Morgan came Saturday for a Play date. After running in the yard and playing ball the two good friends were resting in the spot of the shinning Sun... yes, it it that time when Taylor will search now the Sun beam in the window and now we welcome the Sun rays in the house.

Max is very shy,
the moment when one picks up the camera Max is hiding-
- here is hiding under the desk.

Morgan got tired of chasing the ball and is ready for a nap...

Weekend fun

Cindy Medina
English riding instructor

Weekend is horse back riding class one hour with the most beautiful big animals :-)
I love Betty (the pony I ride in the pics below). She is a little faster than the rest of them, and we start getting along very well. We have kind of the same tempo, I guess that is why I love her. One other student cannot work with Betty and we laugh that she is great with me.

This weekend Cindy Medina (If you click on her name you can read an interview with her) announced us that she will leave Triangle H Farm to pursue other hobby - glass painting- and will continue with private training only. Cindy is One of only 18 female jockeys in the world to win 1,000 races, and she retired with 1,115 career wins.

I loved working under Cindy's guidance she is a very respected retired jockey.
On the Jockey's Room web site this is about Cindy:

Born in Pittsburgh on April 2nd, 1964, Cynthia is one of the leading women jockeys in the United States and very respected in the jockey community.

Cynthia is 5ft 3" and weighs in at 108 lbs (7st 10 lbs or 49kgs). Her first ride was a winning one on "My Darling Rosey" on December 1st, 1986.

Since then, she has notched up 1,000 career wins (to early August, 2002) of which the biggest was the $35,000 "All Sold Out Stakes" at Fairmount Park on "Tyke" on September 4th, 2000.

She was leading rider at Mountaineer Park in the Fall Meet of 1987.

Cynthia states that her favourite horse was "Jam`s Whambam" and that the best horse she rode was "That's Our Grey".

Cindy retired from being an active jockey and trained us here at Triangle H Farm

Lessons won't be as much fun without her!
I will miss her A LOT!
:-(

Austin, TX

I am exactly a week late with the news posting....
Last week I was at the Curriculum and Pedagogy conference in Balcones Spring, near Austin, TX.

It was so good to be in the Southwest again, with warm weather and happy people. It was good to see my friends again and spend a very short time together.
I miss so much the Southwest...


Aici e Gaby si Erika, Henry si cei doi caini Dubi si Lilly. A fost bine sa ne vedem si sa petrecem putin timp impreuna. Mi-a fost tare dor de vreme calda si desert.

Jerry & Don big B-Day

Jerry and Don are celebratin their birthday having the same day of the month (obviously different years :-)).
September 29th...

We had a Hungarian sour cream chicken, rice, and a traditional potato salad we use to make in my country.
Lots of fun...

New tree

Remember the little Autumn Flame Maple tree in my back yard that died in the heat of summer (till I was in Tucson, AZ)...

And here it is the brand new Patmore Ash tree planted this week. I really hope it will live. This is the same type of tree Ingrid has in her back yard, very hardy to AZ summers; hopefully will survive the IL summer also.

And here the "brand new" washed dog :-)

Colder temps

It is now time to use again our blanket and long pants pajama :-)
Taylor is curling up against my stomach when we sleep (not heard off in hot summer nights). Finally I had help and planted the five little bushes on the side of my house. I really hope they will survive the winter and grow fast (the purpose is to have them grow huge and keep shade to the West side of my house).

The nursery guys did not come yet to plant my new Ash tree... still waiting on them.

Saturday we had a small picnic with the international students at Steinman's family.
It got cold as soon as the Sun was going down, nights are cold now.

Picnic with students

Picnic for international students.
It was fun to see all the students and their host families. We sailed the little boats on Cougar Lake, ate, and students learned step dancing.
It was cloudy so it was not as bad, till rain came and everyone found shelter and danced or watched others dance ;-)

Labor Day trip

For labor Day I joined my international students and we visited the Meramec Caverns .
The weather was pretty warm in the mid 90s F but inside we needed sweaters.
We had a little picnic and then entered the beautiful caverns, in search of Jesse James :-)
We even found him... well, not quite, mostly .... his statue.
It was a fun day.

Dog fighting vs. fame & shame

I think I am not the only one who feels disgust in what concerns the top news on the NFL player Michael Vick:

"RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick will find out in December what prison sentence -- if any -- he will face after a judge accepted his plea agreement Monday to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge."

Then I see on TV the interview with Joe Profit the NFL Alumni president in Atlanta, who states that Michael Vick should be given a second chance and continue to play football, as other NPR listeners say that dog fighting has nothing to do with playing football and he should not be punished from playing just because he killed some dogs.....
He not only killed, but organized, played, killed, mutilated dogs and most of all enjoyed all the process!

"In criminal dogfighting operations, dogs are usually tested for aggression, fighting ability and continuing to fight when hurt. Those that don't perform well -- and might become acceptable pets -- are killed. Vick and his cohorts executed dogs that didn't measure up by hanging and drowning. [] Federal prosecutors filed court documents last month to condemn 53 pit bulls seized as part of the investigation into dogfighting on Vick's property." - read more

I know many people consider dogs, just some worthless animals and far from being something to worry about dog fighting and dog killing.

I am just surprised that all these celebrities can get along with no or very little punishment for the bad things they commit. Killing, mutilating, and torturing dogs or any other animals that cannot defend themselves should be punished with maximum seriousness. What does this tell to the young generation? What does it teach to those boys who watch football, and watch the wrestling channel (and dream about being a brute!)? How do we teach the next generation to be kind and considerate in what concerns the Earth and all living beings... What would be the punishment if instead of a celebrity Michael Vick would be just any person from suburbs?

All the celebrities that receive forgiveness just because they are admired....
This leaves me with a bitter taste and reminds me of the communists who were above the laws that were oppressing us the rest of the world.

Personally I believe that Michael Vick should be punished just as if it would be any average common person. He might be a great player, he screwed up, he must pay as anyone else would.

Kill the squeaker

U.S.A.
Sometimes Taylor is not as a good girl.... but she has lots of fun!

Travel with Taylor

Taylor is a very good traveler. She is sleeping a lot, but at times she likes to watch the scenery on the window...

twin mountains over the Ocean

On my way to Tucson   Iulie 10, 2007,  I-25 to Albuquerque, NM
Mountain that looks like Magura Uroiului

Host Parent with two girls

Tonight I picked up Niharika and we went to the International Student Host Parent reception at SIUE. Niharika told me that she has met at the student orientation a girl who is from Romania.
So, it was soon that once there Anca Costea was introduced by Niharika.

Anca is from the East part of the country, Buhusi, Bacau region, in Moldova (right opposite from where I life in the West part of Transylvania).
It was very nice to be able to talk again in my home town language. Also is good for Anca to have someone here sharing the same culture and not feel alone.

Now I have two girls, I hope we can organize some fun times even if school is at the horizon, and I know they and I will be busy once semester comes rolling like a thunder.

Zs -Anca

Zs - Niharika

Marea mi-a fost surpriza sa o cunosc in seara asta pe Anca si sa vorbim Romaneste si sa povestim. Ea a venit aici ca studenta la masterat dupa ce a terminat facultatea in Bulgaria.
Nu e prima oara aici in State asa ca nu e chiar asa de nou totul. Acum am doua fete la care sunt gazda de familie pe termenul lor de studentie. Sper ca o sa avem timp si de distractie nu doar de scoala o data ce incep cursurile (luni, August 20 deja incepe scoala).
Sambata merg cu Anca la cumparaturi a venit doar de o saptamana si mai are nevoie de una alta. Dar eu maine si vineri am tot felul de sedinte la scoala.

Ce mic este Pamantul :-) Din toate scolile din America numai SIUE a fost cea care se potrivea cel mai bine pentru Anca, si eu am fost aici ...