ended the month with a great hike with two great boone gals, as well as finally doing the grandfather mountain tour (last week of 2 dollar days). the caged animals were fun to see, but truly not my gig. suspended bridge went down easier than expected, and then on to a great fogged in hike up to mccrea peak. fun ladder routes, fun conversation, fun foggy threesome.

great to be outside finally, in 60 degree weather. first bike ride of the season, with a chaser of yard work. tadpoles are brewing, dogs are playing and the plants are sprouting up.  i planted 100 tulips bulbs last year, so it will be fun to see how many come up. especially b/c i forget where i planted them...intentional:)

my sister, heather, was in town this past weekend. we had a blast, talked till the wee hours, about life, love and everything else. what a treat to hang out with just her for 3 days. she also taught me to make pillows, not something i had planned (want to make clothes) but this is a good skill to accessorize the studio. a great way to get rid of some old shirts too:) thanks sis, love you.

not sure if its too early...supposed to get into the thirties today. but the frogs were out croaking and laying eggs. i counted at least 20 made it through the winter and they got busy at one time or another because it looks like a killer crop:) maybe some frog legs this summer... can you eat bull frog:)?

for those of you who are not FB people (bravo btw) a preview of what is around the corner for me.... a new line of work. even though i had a gallery back in the late 90's (Mother Tongue) i didn't really look at it or have the skill sets to run a business. this time i'm adding recast furniture to the mix and going to make a creative push again, starting the first week in april.

i found an old building close to my house on the outskirts of boone. the landlord has given me freedom to remodel as i see fit and i have been working on it for a month. here are some before and after pics of the progress... stay posted for pics of the finished product. 

update on the new pup...

he has turned out to be a great dog, eager to please and learn and best of all he stays around the house fairly well.  he has 100's of acres to roam and he takes full advantage, but he is always at the door when he needs to be. he got a name change. using his name to train him, i found that max was a harsh name. i was calling him dude a lot, so the name stuck and he is formally " the dude".

dude has a very cute habit. he has a woobie, or a blanket he likes to cuddle with and even puts part of it in his mouth as if he were sucking on it. this week he learned that i was not opposed to him on my bed at night, so now i have a sleeping partner. love it:)

i have known about the squirrels in the roof for a while now but always imagined them, due to there ability to make noise, to be regular tree squirrels.  well last night the cover was blown and i have flying squirrels:)

i love these little guys, they are a lot of fun to watch if you get the chance as i did when i lived in dahlonega georgia. it wont be as fun come spring when i seal these guys out. maybe a flying squirrel house?