The CC&R's

Mike and I received this letter in the mail last week ... needless to say, we feel like the neighborhood rejects. At least it wasn't a pink flamingo.

"Bring it on."

(and don't worry, we took down the offending lights)

Man vs. Swallow

A few weeks ago we noticed blue and brown birds sitting outside of our house. After consulting our "Birds of Kentucky" guide, we determined that they were either eastern bluebirds or barn swallows. We watched them for a few more days and settled on barn swallows. I was reading further on these birds, and I came across an interesting fact: barn swallows build their nests out of mud and straw and can make up to 1,000 trips in the process. Interesting, I thought, I wonder where these birds live? I then looked outside to see that one of my swallows had a muddy piece of straw in its mouth and the iron rod he was sitting on was quite muddy. Uh-oh. I looked around and soon found a nest about 400 trips through the building process right inside our entranceway. When Lianne got home I showed her and she was quite excited about the prospect of having out own set of barn swallows. So I let the nest construction continue. All was fine and dandy until a few days ago when the "swooping " began. I would hear a "chirp-chirp" and look up to see a swallow making a dive bomb run at my head. Lianne insists that they are not getting that close. But I stand a few inches above her, and I am not so sure. We discovered the reason for the increased aggression: chicks. I risked life and limb to get you the picture of the chicks, and I also got some video of a swooping attack. I hope the swoops don’t come any closer so I can continue to mow the lawn and get the mail.

Baby Swallows:
Mama Swallow with her hover attack:
A swooping run:

New Coche!

Well Lianne and I went out and made an extravagant new purchase: a Corolla. Check it out...





What do you think? Styling. Yeah I know.




OK, the real car is a little nicer than that. We got a 2009 Toyota Corolla "S". It is a big step up from to the car it replaces; my 1996 Saturn with a cracked windshield, taped up rear windows, a quart of oil leak per tank of fuel, dial adjusted tape deck and torn up upholstery. This new car gets 38 mpg highway and 30 mpg city (for me, I am not sure what Lianne will get, but if past cars are any indication it will be substantially less: she has a bit of a lead foot). The interior is very nice and quiet, it has a stereo that plays MP3s, an iPod input, alloy wheels, a sun/moon roof, a 6 year/100,000 mile warranty, 6 airbags and ABS among other things . All in all we a very pleased with it although it might be quite awhile before we buy another new car as the experience of instant depreciation, paying new car taxes, etc. was a little painful for me. Well, you live and you learn. With any luck I will be able to drive this one into the ground also.

It was ferry, ferry fun

Mike and I shared a milestone this weekend - our first ferry ride. We were driving around the countryside outside of Lexington (highly recommended, by the way - very beautiful!), when the road we were traveling on all of a sudden stopped. At a river. And there was the ferry (a free ferry, mind you), ready to take us across. It was kind of surreal, like - are there really places that have ferries instead of bridges? The answer in Kentucky is apparently, yes.  It was pretty fun. Just another glimpse into our new Kentucky life!

I (Mike) am going to be very busy as a PGY2 pharmacy resident next year at the University of Kentucky. So if you want to hang out with me you had better drop by before July 1st 2008 or after June 30th 2009;because in between I will be rocking 6 day a week rounding and generally just living my life at the hospital. Why you may ask do I want to take such I job: I am not totally sure, but it will probably open up some doors if I can survive the next year. Your prayers are appreciated!

From the UK Pharmacy Web Page (http://www.hosp.uky.edu/Pharmacy)...

Introducing Our 2008-2009 Pharmacy Residents

Post-Graduate Year One (PGY1)

• A. Kendall Gross - University of Georgia
• Daniel Johnson - University of Kentucky
• Stephen Lemon - St. Louis College of Pharmacy
• Katherine Malloy - Purdue University
• Ryan Mynatt - University of Kentucky
• Diana Yu - University of California, San Francisco

Post-Graduate Year Two (PGY2)

• Mike Farley, Pharm.D. - Internal Medicine
• University of Iowa and St. Claire Regional Medical Center
• Amanda Geist, Pharm.D. - Pediatrics
• Duquesne University and Pittsburgh Mercy Health System
• Anna Hitron, Pharm.D. - Hematology/Oncology
• University of Kentucky and UCSF Medical Center
• William Russell Judd, Pharm.D. - Infectious Diseases
• University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare
• Deanna McMahon, Pharm.D. - Critical Care
• University of Illinois at Chicago and UCSF Medical Center
• Tara McCabe, Pharm.D. – Pediatrics
• University of Rhode Island and Massachusetts General Hospital
• Chris Paciullo, Pharm.D. - Critical Care
• University of Rhode Island and Saint Joseph HealthCare
• Rachel Stratman, Pharm.D. - Critical Care
• St. Louis College of Pharmacy and UK HealthCare
• Lisa Thompson, Pharm.D. - Hematology/Oncology
• University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare
• Ann Wiesner, Pharm.D. - Ambulatory Care
• University of South Carolina and UK HealthCare
• Scott Wirth, Pharm.D. - Hematology/Oncology
• University of Illinois at Chicago and UK HealthCare