Odds and Ends

First of all, you may not have noticed on the last post, but I was included in last week’s roundup of Foreign Service blogs! I just discovered that this website existed a couple weeks ago, and I was amazed to see just how many FS blogs are out there these days. When Shawn and I started (has it really been almost 4 years ago now?), there were a few other blogs in existence, but nothing like there is now. And it must be an overwhelming job compiling these round-ups each week, but it’s been a great way for me to check out some new blogs.

In random life-in-Nassau news, I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but we have a security company that sends guards around throughout the day to check on all of the Embassy residences. While this is comforting, it can also cause some problems for us because Laika really doesn’t like strangers in the yard. And now our house is known by the guards as having a “scary dog.” I’ve seen guards turn and run at the sound of Laika’s bark. And they often enter the yard with their nightsticks drawn and ready for action. (All of this despite the fact that Laika is never out in the yard unsupervised, or not behind a fence that prevents her from actually getting to the guards.) One of the guards just came by and Laika was playing ball, which meant that she didn’t care that there was a stranger in the yard, just throw the stinkin’ ball already! So we could actually talk with the guard, who asked us what kind of dog Laika is. Apparently all this time, some of the guards have thought she was a greyhound, which quite a few people have mistaken her for. But my thinking is, if they’ve been that scared of her all this time thinking she was a greyhound, what are they going to think now that they know she’s a doberman?

And finally, look what came today!

My very own Kona Cotton color card! (Insert squeal of delight here.) I need to pick fabrics for my quilting guild challenge quilt and with my mom’s expert advice, decided that the only way I could pick the perfect set of blues (it’s a monochromatic challenge) was to have the actual swatches in front of me. A few of these colors are going to be making their way to my house pretty soon: