Curtis is 35 and Wub & Violet are friends.

Well Happy Birthday to Curtis; he's 35 today. We went to The Oasis for dinner, which is an Austin restaurant that has several balconies and they all overlook Lake Travis, which is beautiful.



Steven and Michele went with us, and we had a great time. Fun times and painful abs always abound when the four of us are together; we're so glad they're in Austin.






I want to mention my kids now.... it is of particular note for those of you who know Molly, Violet, or Plymouth, or all three. Molly has finally decided that Violet is trustworthy. This seems to have happened sometime over the summer when they were away from each other. I asked Molly repeatedly if she missed Violet, and every time she mustered, "oh a little bit, I guess." Well when they got back together they were fairly blase, but now things have changed. Molly at some point realized that even though Violet is 5 times her size and weight, Violet wouldn't hurt her if her life depended on it. And that's true. One of the things that always impressed me about Violet was how maternal she was to both Molly and her boyfriend Farq. Molly now finds time at least daily, but often more often, to go to Violet and whack Violet in the face with her tiny paws and say "Play with me! Right NOW!!" Violet always feigns annoyance, but she's quickly persuaded. Most often I see them on the couch with Violet wrestling with Molly's spritzes of neck hair, and Molly chewing on the underside of Violet's chin (where Violet has a big wart that Molly apparently loves to grab onto.) Why Violet doesn't fuss about that is beyond me, but I like to think that it's just because Molly is just as careful with Violet as Violet is with her. They've gone from the love-hate sister thing to just a love-play sister thing. They aren't tightly bonded, and if one is without the other they don't really care, but when they're together they're much more comfortable now. I'm thankful that Molly finally feels like she can let her guard down.

Plymouth, on the other hand, views both of the dogs as moving toys. It's his favorite game to sit somewhere high-up and lay in wait, and when the dogs walk by under him he jumps out and grabs them. He's now 8lbs, so about half of the time Molly "schools" him and screams and chases him away, and the other half she runs away herself. Then she turns around and starts following him curiously. Violet mostly looks at him the same way she looked at the puppies Farq and Molly who were tumbling all over her: "oh Lord. There's the young kid again. Boy he's annoying. Maybe if I just close my eyes and wait it will pass." She has a great attitude about his behavior. I love watching the thoughts behind her eyes.