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Been listening to the new MercyMe album for about a week since it’s come out and of course after the first listen, nothing immediately jumped out at me. Since, however, I’ve really come to like the album in it’s entirety.

It’s not the most “original” album, but honestly, I like my artists to do what I like them for (ahem Norah Jones). The Generous Mr. Lovewell is definitely original enough that the songs don’t sound rehashed, but it’s still got that melodious MercyMe style. I haven’t identified each track but I like almost all the majority of the songs.

Here’s a sample, in no order:

The Generous Mr. Lovewell – the title track .. would be great for a good times video, very uplifting, works well for driving/moving scenes. Verse/prechorus/chorus dynamics are very polished.

Crazy Enough – Slower, darker.. reminds me of the mellow alternative music that I was a fan of. Some Beck or Eels, The Refreshments and other kinda fringe alternative bands.

All of Creation – probably getting the most air time on the radio, the most worship-worthy, but verse is mercyme-range singable. Chorus is catchy.

I also like Move, Free, Beautiful, This So Called Life.. etc. If I had to sum it up, I’d say it’s an excellent roadtrip album as a number of the songs are good driving songs. Don’t look for something to blow you away, but definitely enjoyable listening.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 rolls!

It feels like Burton’s been here forever,but really we’re only coming up on our 6th week with the little guy. He’s still just 14 weeks old and as far as he’s come.. physically and behaviourally, there’s still so far to go.

He’s 13 inches tall at the withers (shoulders) , and when fully grown he should be between 18 and 20 inches. He’ll actually only grow another third of his height again, so he won’t actually end up that big. He is getting rather hefty now and with some rough weighing on the bathroom scale, clocks in at around 20 lbs.

On Saturday, Sam, Burton and I made the 1 hour drive up to Barrie and knocked on the door of some people we’ve never met or even talked to other than through e-mail. The door opened and dogs growled and barked at each other. About 15 seconds later though, it was over. For the next two and a half hours straight, Burton and his brother, Gibson, wrestled and played as if they had never been separated.

Everyone had been wondering for the past week whether or not they would recognize each other as siblings, or even the same breed, but it was unmistakable that there was some kind of connection. They played exceptionally well and balanced, both taking turns to dominate and never needing any separating or intervention from us. They play, while at times quite animated, was very quiet for the most part.

Gibson was definitely taller and weighed more, but Burton seemed to be a little.. I suppose.. chubbier. I suppose it’s time to exercise him more! Likewise Gibson’s parents have vowed to feed him more! It was fun to discuss training progress, methods, similarities and differences between them. We’re definitely looking forward to future play dates!

Burton looking VERY mischievous.

The morning started off around 7:30, Burton and I went for a run around in the little field area downstairs, when an 11-month old sheltie came down, who we’ve bumped into a few times. Venus, her name, wanted nothing to do with himl, but Burton was quite smitten! Eventually she ran around in circles with Burton trying desperately to catch her. He would bark at her as he ran.. but could never quite catch up. As it continued, his barks began to combine with a sort of whine until he was whining at her rather than barking. It was pretty amazing that when she did stop and still didn’t really want to play in typical dog fashion, Burton didn’t try to goad her on or jump on her etc. He also stopped and sniffed at her and was quite gentle. They’re about the same size, but Burton probably outweighs her already and continues to grow like a weed.

We did manage to go to the Yonge + Finch area and using cheese, Burton’s new found ultimate weakness, we distracted him from all the garbage along the street. Luckily (for us) there was a fire alarm in one of those big condos right next to where Futureshop used to be, and three fire trucks came right up to us with sirens going, perfect socialization opportunity! He didn’t even flinch, very fixated on the cheese. We had to stop feeding him just to make sure he was paying attention to things around him. He continues to grow like a weed, and seems to be progressing on most fronts, but training is about consistency and patience, so we’re not expecting him to turn into an overnight sensation.

It’s a little harder now that his pen doesn’t provide a very effective timeout. Time to upgrade.