The drive to NY was blissfully uneventful except for the accidental trip into Philly (we missed the exit to the NJ Turnpike off I-95). Riesling slept most of the way and a stop for coffee and hot cocoa allowed us to make the 9.5 hour drive mostly awake. :)

We arrived at 6am, so we whisked pup upstairs and managed to get three hours of sleep before she woke us up for good. Even though there was a lot to see and sniff, even Riesling had to take a short break.

She was very good with Jeter and when everyone woke up the next morning, Eric introduced Riesling to Holly (Neil and Nicole’s dog) by taking them both for a brisk walk.

Once everyone was fed, we opened presents… Mom was most pleased with her pastel painting.

We are happy for these few days in NY before heading out on our extended trip and we trust Riesling is in good hands.

Since we are leaving soon we had an early Christmas in NY this weekend, and this “Schnauzer Claus” was one of our presents:

Riesling is none-too-pleased with all the luggage we have out at the moment - she’s probably thinking that we’re leaving her behind again, so she’s taking matters into her own paws. Evidence:

Hopefully the long car ride to NY will go smoothly - we’re off tonight!

We have been making lists and packing for the last few days (when we haven’t been watching several episodes of Arrested Development to free up some space on our DVR), so that doesn’t leave much time for updates here. We do plan on posting periodically over the course of our trip, however, so stay tuned for some lovely shots of Cape Town and its surrounds.

My aunt mentioned in our last phone conversation that a friend of hers has graciously allowed us use of her car while we are in town in case we felt like “getting away.” That means I needed to get an International Driving Permit. I paid a visit to my local AAA office and ten minutes (and $16) later I was the proud owner of an IDP.

Wish me luck remembering which side of the road I need to drive on…

I’ve been experimenting with my new lens, and Riesling has been the model for most of my experimentation. A few selections below:

We are always asked how old Riesling is - when we reply "5" they think 5 months, not years, because of activity like this…

Just seconds after this shot Riesling lost her patience and attacked the window in an effort to get at the squirrel mocking her from the deck. Sadly, she was unsuccessful.

This most recent video installment features Riesling venting her frustration on a frisbee in the living room.

YouTube video link

The mini-schnauzer I had growing up, Mandy, used to do the exact same thing, though with more aggression! Beware a frustrated terrier…

Well, not really this lazy - we have a lot to do in the next week. Riesling was scared by a passing thunderstorm so a short nap session was in order.

I actually put the lights up just before Thanksgiving this year, so this photo is a little late.

You can click on the photo for a large version. Note that 1) our hanging ferns are still alive and 2) the shadows on the house are from the moon.

This one image is actually a composite image of three photos brought together with the HDR function in Photoshop CS2. HDR is a digital processing step that allows me to get a much greater tonal range than a “normal” photo would allow. See our Flickr:HDR set for the other pic I’ve processed with HDR.

My in-laws are celebrating their 38th married year today! In honor of this, here is a photo of them that Eric took at a wedding five years ago this holiday season (right after we got married!) and the inset is from their wedding day.

Happy anniversary you guys! :)