Dale Anderson

My new companion, Dale... already trying to run free.

I don't know what got into me - maybe all that babysitting of the awesome Pug, Gus.  Either way I would occasionally check online to see the Lakeland Terrier puppies that were available.  They were all too expensive.  Then we found another breeder who had just a few puppies, one litter this year and they were much more reasonably priced - so it was clear she wasn't making a living off of her pups.  She had listed Dale under the name of "pumpkin" which was what attracted me to this listing in particular. I love a good fall pumpkin latte and all things pumpkin.

Paul makes Dale look like a little bit of a thing.

Dale Meets Bari, Nancy and Josiah!

I showed Paul the pup and he of course was surprised and agreed the little thing was ADORBS. He was a grizzle too (meaning the dark and light coloring) which is what we wanted and are a little bit harder to find. Regardless, we sat on the decision for a day and then came to the ridiculous conclusion that we would get him.  WHAT?  I know. I have no idea.

Stinky Pup.  We named him DALE!

We were going to remodel our kitchen soon, so as destructive as puppies can be, we thought that would be a great place to throw him while we're at work.  And we have the massive dog park by our house which makes it an attractive place for a pup to live.  We talked with the owner and had him take a quick flight out to us.  When he arrived he smelled of farm and pee, but after a quick shower he was good as new and ours for the next 12 years!  Dale sure has been an adventure to say the least... he's currently gnawing on his kennel behind me as I write this, oh Dale...

Trying to teach him to hunt (ducks for now) from the moment he arrived.

Immunology Retreat

Du Fang! Post Doc extraordinaire!

It was a day of science in Pittsburgh, we had our annual Immunology retreat!  I mainly just wanted to showcase the members of my lab.  My brain hurt at the end of the day, but it was a good day to see familiar faces from the department. I just wanted to give you a quick sneak peak, I'm not about to drown you in science...

My partner in crime - Gerard!

Yep that's me - way overdressed for the occasion, whoops.

Nashville

Our wonderful hosts and Paul on a walk in the park.

Paul was deal searching online and came across some cheap airline tickets to Nashville.  So we decided to snap and take a quick weekend vacation to visit Dave and Jenny in Nashville.  When you have friends in the area with a couch, the vacation is really reasonable - and worth a weekend visit.

Trees grow in interesting configurations.

My husband and I on our first big vacation!

Once we arrived, Dave drove us around to the strip and showed us a few sites in the car.  The weather was great so we took advantage of the warm temps and went for plenty of walks.  We walked to Vanderbilt and saw the campus.  Dave and Jenny are also by a beautiful park which served as a great opportunity for photos and strolls. 

Birds and fountains in the park.

Beautiful church doors, I would love these in my house one day.

They took us to an excellent burger joint and followed it up with a large portion of ice cream which was absolutely delicious. The following day, Paul and I ran down to the strip and got caught in the middle of a Veterans Day parade.  It was a nice surprise so we stopped and watched all the floats and veterans walking through.  There were families out enjoying the sunshine and nice weather.  I found a store and almost bought three pairs of cowboy boots.  I am a HUGE country music fan - it took all of my will power to walk away from Nashville without boots and a hat.  I wanted to buy them so bad.  It's really an excuse to go down to Nashville again with my girl friends and do some shopping - their opinions matter when it comes to country apparel.

My dream store.  I almost bought three pairs of boots, a little excessive.

Oh how I wanted to go to the honky-tonks.

Jenny cooked a great meal with butternut squash and we also got in a few episodes of Sherlock.  It was a perfect relaxing weekend and vacation.  We cannot wait to visit again, I have always been a big Nashville fan for obvious reasons.

My date Paul. We'll be back to Nashville almost certainly!