Thursday, November 06, 2008
Hallowe'en! A scary ghost... 
...a Wattersonian pumpkin... 
...and a mighty knight! 
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Three photos taken from the same location, on a walking route from Belstone to Sticklepath in Devon. Click on each image to see a larger version.
2008: Jamie is 5 1/2 and AJ is nearly 4.
2007: Daddy taking the photo. Jamie is 4 1/2 and AJ is nearly 3.
2006: Daddy back in the US. Jamie is 3 1/2 and AJ is nearly 2.
2008: Jamie is 5 1/2 and AJ is nearly 4.
2007: Daddy taking the photo. Jamie is 4 1/2 and AJ is nearly 3.
2006: Daddy back in the US. Jamie is 3 1/2 and AJ is nearly 2.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
We had a pretty good flight to Bristol yesterday. The kids were so tired by the time the plane lifted, an hour and a half late at 10:30pm, that they fell asleep very quickly. And we had no hitches on the arrival end: got our bags and the rental car smoothly. If the M5 had cooperated, we'd have been at Jane's place before 1pm. Still, 3pm wasn't terrible.
Jamie and AJ have settled in here very quickly; both remember a lot about the place from their last visit. Today we did the classic Belstone-to-Sticklepath walk. Both kids managed to flood their rubber boots before we even left Jane's house, so keeping feet dry wasn't really a concern; mud was everywhere in any case. This has been a very wet summer in the West Country, I gather. We were happy to see our old friend the water wheel at Sticklepath, and very happy to play in the garden of the Devonshire Inn and, better yet, in the stream. There's a pile of wet, muddy clothing in the washing machine...first of many, I'm conjecturing. Soon I must wake AJ (and Paul!) from nap...and maybe I'll make tea.
See some pictures of our trip here. I'll add to the album as we get other fun photos.
Jamie and AJ have settled in here very quickly; both remember a lot about the place from their last visit. Today we did the classic Belstone-to-Sticklepath walk. Both kids managed to flood their rubber boots before we even left Jane's house, so keeping feet dry wasn't really a concern; mud was everywhere in any case. This has been a very wet summer in the West Country, I gather. We were happy to see our old friend the water wheel at Sticklepath, and very happy to play in the garden of the Devonshire Inn and, better yet, in the stream. There's a pile of wet, muddy clothing in the washing machine...first of many, I'm conjecturing. Soon I must wake AJ (and Paul!) from nap...and maybe I'll make tea.
See some pictures of our trip here. I'll add to the album as we get other fun photos.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Me: I hear a certain amount of quiet in here. Could it be that there's some good eating going on?
J: Well, it's really loud in our minds!
J: Well, it's really loud in our minds!
Saturday, May 03, 2008
My laptop has been getting slower and slower, glitchier and glitchier for some time. Today my brother Bill is coming over to help me rebuild it...or possibly to hold my hand while I push the buttons. It's not that I expect the low-level formatting process to be hard; it's just that I expect something to make life difficult along the way. Whenever I change anything about a computer's configuration, it always takes at least half again as long as it ought to. I've been dragging my heels about this rebuild for some months now, but since Bill is leaving Philadelphia at the end of June, this may be my last chance to benefit from his expertise (and moral support).
I ran across this lovely little item on a forum for like submissions yesterday. It's a very short version of a very long poem. If you understand it, you'll understand why it's funny. Makes me giggle every time...guess my geekiness is showing.
I ran across this lovely little item on a forum for like submissions yesterday. It's a very short version of a very long poem. If you understand it, you'll understand why it's funny. Makes me giggle every time...guess my geekiness is showing.
I can has peach?
O HAI MERMAIDZ! kbai :(
Friday, April 25, 2008
We're very happy to have our author/illustrator friend Jeremy Tankard staying with us again; he's in town from Toronto for a book signing for his new book, Me Hungry!, at Books of Wonder in Manhattan tomorrow. The boys love the book; Jamie read it to himself this afternoon, getting stuck only on the word "right" (and you should have seen his face when I explained to him that the 'ght' was pronounced 't' and also made the preceding vowel say its name...incredulity or disgust, or both!). I think Me Hungry! is absolutely delightful; check out a review that does it justice here. Of course, we are big fans of Grumpy Bird, Jeremy's first book. Don't know it? Check it out, particularly if you have kids under about eight.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Why does it seem to be an immutable law that when one is completely alone in the house and has just taken a tremendous, embarrassingly large bite of something -- the sort of bite one would not want even one's mother to see -- it never fails that the doorbell rings? Does UPS have some sort of sensor?
