Sunday Brunch: Puppy!

Yesterday, me and my fella hopped on our bikes and pedaled our way downtown to enjoy the first outdoor farmer's market of the season. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day, too! I remember first outdoor market days of years past that were dreary and cold and rainy, so the 70 degree and mostly sunny weather was a most welcome change.

As we rolled up to the square and went to lock up our bikes, we caught a glimpse of this sleepy little boxer pup, who was so thoroughly zonked out in her mother's lap that I had to wonder if there was even a small trace of wild animal left in her bones. Anyway, the image was too friggen adorable not to share, so here it is, your moment of zen:
And a close-up:

The good news for Oct. 10, 2008

We could all certainly use some good news these days, what with the stock market plummeting, banks folding, whole countries facing bankruptcy (Iceland! What happened?!), an increasingly venomous presidential race, and unemployment growing. It's important to seek out rays of hope and goodness in the midst of all this, too, so here are a few recent items to help cheer you up on this sunny, gorgeous autumn day:

• [Reuters] The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, making it the third state in the country to fully legalize same-sex marriages. Go Connecticut! Now, I'm casting a critical eye on you, Wisconsin....
• [WISCTV] Tucked away in that otherwise shady bail-out bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush were a few really decent riders. We got Mental Health Parity (finally!) and a cool bike commuter tax incentive.
• [dane101] The Madison roller derby All-Star team, the Dairyland Dolls, won their first match in the Eastern Regional Finals this morning, defeating Minnesota 143-67. They now move on to face off against number one seed New York City tonight at 6:30pm.
• [CNN] Hundreds of wayward penguins were saved, rehabilitated, and re-released successfully into the wild down Brazil way. Hooray!