today crystal and i celebrated my valentines day present with a couple's massage. it was the first real massage i've had. and now i feel like jello. it was amazing. a great valentines day gift. it definitely helped relieve a little stress. i needed that.

don't tell rachel...

so... remember how Finley was born on Elvis' birthday? and that we live in memphis now? well Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie had twins three months ago and named them...
Harper and Finley
how ironic!
here's a picture

I saw this in the news today. Forbes magazine has rated Memphis as the second most miserable city in the country. You can read the story here... it's pretty interesting. I hate to be so down on our city all the time. maybe it's just the winter doldrums and maybe spring will bring me out of it. it's like a whole different planet here. i bought Crystal some Mace pepper spray for valentines day. it's pink. and it fits on her key ring. practical and sentimental.

wonderbread

sometimes i feel like i'm trying to stay afloat in a giant bowl of thick lukewarm potato soup. i'm not even that crazy about potato soup. especially if it's not hot. i mostly like it as a dip for my grilled cheese sandwiches. but i don't have any grilled cheese. i only have hotdogs. that's my life.

the valley below

below us, originally uploaded by andyrobe.

home sweet home

- add "Car Bombs" to the list of reasons we don't feel safe living in memphis.
story: story on CNN

- and robbery
story: the mayor doesn't seem to care that there have already been 318 robberies in memphis THIS YEAR

- and carjackings... that too
story: here

this was the old gate. it was quite broken down. i put the bags of leaves in front of it to keep the dogs in. that bottom cross bar was so rusted that it was broken in half.

you can see the hole (between the two bottom bags) that the puppies most likely escaped through. i had a piece of plywood blocking the hole, but some wind must have blown it down the day the pups got out.

so after some work and a very bloody finger i got the new gate up. the new gate was a bit more narrow than the previous one. I had to install an extra pole between the original post and the new gate. I used a bar from the old gate. I just connected the old pole to the original post and then the latch from the new gate fit perfectly. you can see more detail in the last pic. I'm quite proud of it. we got a lock for it. and there is no way the puppies can get out, i've made sure of that.




it's supposed to be in the sixties this weekend, so i am hoping to accomplish more tasks. i love being a homeowner. i just wish it was anywhere besides memphis.

entry

entry, originally uploaded by andyrobe.

this is one of mom's favorite recent shots. i don't do many black and white. but i like this one. i will put up pics of the gate tomorrow. i am ridiculously tired. i can't really keep my eyes open. crystal is typing a lot right now. a lot. and i'm not sure what. i am curious. it is such a wonderful thing to be able to come home and sit on the couch with her. that makes my day. i am not writing anything worth reading. i am going to bed.

wonderbread

wonderbread, originally uploaded by andyrobe.

it's sunday night. that is sad. that means another week of school. i did fairly well on my first two exams this semester which is great. i installed a new gate on our fence for our backyard today. there is no way the pups can get out now. i cut my finger pretty badly. but no project is complete without some blood and sweat, right... i will put up some pictures of the gate soon. now i should be studying.