I lost my bullets..

• A while back I was determined to customize my bullets for these lists, so I messed with my template, thought I was on the right track, and then found that I had totally deleted the link to the picture of what my bullets were supposed to look like. So now I have no bullets at all! And that's what the preview button is for folks!
• So just imagine there is a bullet in front of each of these little sections.
• Silas makes the cutest little ah-ooo! sound whenever he sees an animal. Bird, cow, horse, dog, sheep. Doesn't matter. He's interested. It's cute. We walked up a mountain to see the Holy Year Cross- it's not spectacular, but the view is pretty, and you can see the whole town. On the way back down we had the quintessential Irish experience of Frisian cows being driven down the road in front of us, for the evening milking. It's the first time it's happened to me here. Silas had fallen asleep in the backpack by this point, but then a couple sheepdogs came out to bark at the cows which woke Silas and got him ah-oo-ing all over again.
• I really love where we live, that we can walk to the mountains, a river, five grocery stores, the library, a bird sanctuary, swimming pool, etc. It's really lovely and it makes me happy that we can get by with only one car.
• Which reminds me- we are getting our new car on Friday. Yes, it does appear to be a mini van. I'm not too excited about that, but it's not any longer than the current boat we are driving around. (I know this picture makes it look super sleek and cool, but it's not, really.) Anyway, it's one of few cars that can seat 7, so with visitors coming, and a huge carseat in the back at all times, it just made sense to have something with a little more room. Plus, it's a diesel, and it gets something like 45 miles to the gallon (Orrin converted it from liters and kilometers) so I don't feel too bad about it.
• I just said I love where we live, but I meant the location, not the house. The house kind of bugs me. I think it's because it's a rental and I really wan too tear into things and improve them, but there is no initiative to do so. So I just whine about the cracked tiles, faucets with separate controls and spouts for freeze and scald, and pock marked walls.
• Nathan has been helping get the walls fixed up by pulling out old hooks and hiding many of the scars with pictures. We bought some plate hangers today and made a little tableau of china on one wall. It's not to granny-style to hang china on the wall is it? Maybe it is, but I didn't have anything else.
• I ordered some plaster of Paris and clay yesterday to make Silas's one year old hand prints. I want to make a plaster cast of his whole sweet body to save forever. Little hands as soft and pale as balls of fresh mozzarella. Feet the size and shape of plump, white, rosebuds. These things need preserving in three dimensions.
• And I seriously need to get working on getting the photos into the scrapbooks. I have this goal/deadline for myself that I not get more than a year behind, and in about half a week will be exactly a year of unorganized photos. Well, not entirely. They are semi-organized on the computer, but I should get them printed and embellished and glued and with sweet little remembrances about each and every photo. No, I have no remembrances. That's why I took a photo in the first place, so I wouldn't have to remember. Plus, whenever I try to write something sweet and sentimental in the album it comes out syrupy and ridiculous. Best to stick to the facts and the photos, ma'am.
• Fellow Cuisine at Home junkies: Do not bother with the pineapple meringue pie! It's not bad, but he's got to be kidding when he says it's a toss up between that and lemon. If you are making a meringue pie stick to the classic.
• Nathan built Silas a little fort/tunnel so Silas has been crawling around and around through the tunnel. What's the word I'm looking for...? adorable! And did you see the video of him laughing and learning to catch popcorn in his mouth? Oh, the supreme cuteness of it all!