Coyote....Ugly

As a girl raised in the low country, I didn't know much about coyotes when we moved here. My only experience with coyotes was on cartoon network on Saturday mornings. They were, however, one of the first things we heard about. Our first day here, our host told us about the coyote she saw in her back yard during the day. Oh....and the one that was creeping up on her while she was walking her dog....in the middle of the day. I started noticing that when people go on walks (even with their dog), they will walk with large sticks....to beat off or prevent the potential coyote attack. How freaky! In addition to that, a couple of months ago a coyote attacked my neighbor's cat just two houses down from us!

I needed to know more about these mangy creatures. What do they look like? How big are they? What is the difference between a coyote and a wolf? Where do they live? What do they eat? What do you mean they only come out at night and travel in packs...didn't you just say they've been seen walking the neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon?

So, this has been my little....weird thing since we have been here. I want to see a coyote... and two nights ago I got one step closer. The weather has been nice enough to sleep with our windows open and I woke up around 3:30am to the sound of howling. It was loud and it was close. It was scary. I have never heard real-life howling before. After a few minutes of howling, the pack went crazy with this really weird cackling sound. I insist that it was a ferocious attack on as innocent pet in our neighborhood, but Patrick thinks I'm "over-reacting"....whatever that means. :)

Why was a coyote so far from the mountain? We live in the foothills, but we are still a good 2 miles away. Isn't that a long trek into the neighborhood? How do they know where the animals are? Certainly there is an outdoor pet at a house north of us. Why did they come all the way down here? So many questions.

The Tradition Continues....

Last October we began a Mitchell family tradition of carving pumpkins and eating caramel apples. Our fellow Georgians, The Huxfords, were kind enough to include us in their tradition last year and helped us make it our own. We had so much fun, we invited others to join us this Fall. We started the night with dinner. It was my first time making home-made crockpot chili, and I must say....it was a hit. Patrick added this morning, "....it wasn't like I thought 'Lindsey made this...I have to like it'...I honestly think it was the best I've ever had." Of course this posed the question of how often he thinks for the former to himself.

After the chili, cornbread and sweet tea, we all moved to the porch to begin our carving creations. The Beckfords and Huxfords set out on meticulously detailed designs, while Patrick and I remembered how long those took us last year. We opted to keep it simple and quick....we went for an "M" for Mitchell. Needless to say, we were the first to finish. Lindsay and I then started on the apples and caramel while we all took frequent pauses to follow the Angels/Yankees game into extra innings (what a let down! I can't believe we lost on an error).

The rest of the night was full of more eating, laughter, story telling and many pictures. Even Bailey had a friend over...Hailey. She is our new neighbor and dogter (daughter....but a dog) of some friends from church. The Angels brought the only loss to the evening.




Busy at work.


We've got our teamwork down. I do the cleaning out and Patrick does the carving.


Bailey and his new friend Hailey


Didn't the Beckfords do a crazy good job on Shrek? And the Huxfords have the intricate spider web. Nice job! We'll stick with the "M" for now.


Our attempt to take a self-portrait. Thank goodness for Ashley's long arms.

Sleeping with the Enemy

This weekend marked the Annual Testing of the Mitchell Marriage. Each Fall I am reminded of the inevitable day of tension in our home. No, it may not be outright and obvious, but it is there nonetheless. It shows itself in small ways. Every Spring when I look at UGA's football schedule, there is always one game I find first.....the Georgia/Tennessee game. It is the first game I write in my calendar, and the game I actually have to prepare for. Why you ask?

My Knoxville native husband and I can put our SEC differences aside most every game of the season (unless a Tennessee victory directly effects the destiny of my Dawgs), but on this particular Saturday, every man (and woman) is for himself. On this Saturday morning my husband and I wake up and dress in two distinctly opposing colors. I adorn myself in Georgia red and black, and he in obnoxious construction worker orange. P.S.: Why can't Tennessee pick the same shade of orange for their helmets and jerseys?

Although the game was on the SEC network, which we obviously don't get in L.A., my savvy husband was able to track down the cords necessary to hook the Mac up to the TV and....thanks to ESPN360.com, we watched the game in all its splendor. Needless to say, Tennessee reigned victorious (the end). But....my husband was kind enough to take his orange off immediately after the game. I am a far worse loser than he.

And before I go, thank you guys for all of the musical recommendations. I plan on having a musical marathon at the end of the month!

Musicals

Somehow I have found myself engaged in musicals lately. It isn't that I have previously been opposed to musicals. There are a couple that I have loved for some time--The Newsies, Grease, and The Sound of Music. I even had my debut as Dorothy in The Wizard of OZ in 8th grade. Yes, a blonde Dorothy.

But I haven't seen much more than that. I have been so excited to discover where some of these songs I already know actually come from. Now I will actually know what I'm singing.

Patrick and I were actually able to see a musical live last weekend. We saw Evita, the story of Eva Peron, as put on by the APU theater department. And as I write this, I find myself watching West Side Story and singing along to songs I already know that I didn't realize were in the movie. So....what are some of your favorite musicals? Any you recommend I see while I am on this musical kick?