Faux-Tographer
Other attempts at pictures besides the baby
Now relegated to Blogblivion...Monday, June 20, 2005
Family Pictures: Grandniece Julia
Family Pictures: Jalenie and Her Grandmother
Family Pictures: Jalenie and Dan Wrestling
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Weekend Pundit Wedding, Part 1
Here’s the first part of the Weekend Pundit wedding pictures, which is enough to take us through the ceremony. Each one of these is a thumb, visible, which in a few cases will also be a cropped portion of the full picture. The thumb links to a 400 pixel wide version of the full picture. A text link below will go to an 800 pixel wide version, which in most if not all cases is much better than trying to use the small one, bandwidth or not.
Who is the older guy in almost every picture, usually right between the bride and groom like a third wheel? I have no idea. I didn’t realize I was getting him at the time, and unless he was somehow in charge of the function facilities or something, I see no reason for him to have been behind the “altar” so to speak.
Left is a shot of the crowd to theleft of where we sat. Larger version
Right is a shot of the crowd to the right of where we sat. The guy hidden in part by roses, behind the DJ table, was enough of a Jeff Soyer lookalike to make us both do double-takes. Larger version
The groom and his best man brother, ready and waiting.
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The lovely bride enters, escorted by her cool son, and now everyone is in place.
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The wedding ceremony taking place with no panic or objections.
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The wedding ceremony continues. Nobody has fainted or turned heel and run.
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The view beyond Deb and Sadie, and the best man and matron of honor, all looking on.
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The ceremony reaches its culmination…
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Yay for being married! I wonder if they’re feeling smug yet.
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Presenting the newlyweds, and the whole happy family.
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A nice look at the whole wedding party.
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This was a gorgeous place for a wedding/reception. It’s a place called The Italian Farmhouse, in Plymouth, NH 4 3.5 miles east west of I-93, exit 24. Out back they have an actual greenhouse, available part of the year for functions. I was telling Deb it’s about the same size as the greenhouse at my high school, where I took four years of horticulture. Except that was full of benches and stuff.
The food was excellent, and I wouldn’t mind going to the restaurant itself sometime if I’m in the area long enough.
Anyway, more at some point, picking up where this leaves off. There are more “crowd shots” and some pictures of people dancing, wedding cake, that sort of thing.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Driving to New Hampshire, Part 2
This is a continuation of this post.
Here’s the approach to downtown Boston, with a downright pretty collection of buildings. Darn sign. Uncropped, 800 pixel wide version
A little closer, without the sign blocking the view. Uncropped, 800 pixel wide version
Getting warmer… Uncropped, 800 pixel wide version
Seeing the smokestacks here reminds me when I was a kid and we had to roll the windows up, no matter how hot it was, drive through Boston, then roll them down after getting past the smoggy, smoky, disgusting air. During this approach, the stacks, and there were more then, would be actively belching smoke. We’ve come a long way, and owe it to technology as much as anything. The pollution factor was one more reason I grew up with such a negative attitude toward citites. As recently as 1986, when I lived in Florida for a big six weeks, people would hear me speak and say “you’re from Boston!” I’d bristle and explain I was not “from Boston.” In 1988, when it was time to look for a post-college job, I refused to look for work “downtown” and that might have made a difference in my finding something that wasn’t grunt work. But I digress.
The approach to the sieve tunnel. It’s impossible to overstate what a difference it makes, in conjunction with the other changes, though I assumed it would be wider than it is, believe it or not. Just after this picture was snapped, I joked that we ought to roll up the windows so no water would get in the car. The cropped thumbnail opens a 400 pixel wide full version of the context. Here’s the uncropped, 800 pixel wide picture.
This is the bridge the tunnel empties onto. I just love it!
800 pixel version of the left picture
800 pixel version of the right picture
This is what can be seen of the Bunker Hill Monument from the highway.
This is what you see from the highway north of Boston, just past the Bunker Hill Monument. I believe the building with the flag on it is the Schraft’s Candy building, but I could have the wrong one. 800 pixel wide uncropped version
The rest of these are all in New Hamshire, in the order they were taken. They all open 800 pixel versions if clicked. After the rest stop, Deb rode in the back with Sadie, so you’ll notice a difference…
Driving to New Hampshire, Part 1
These are pictures Deb snapped from the car on the way to New Hampshire Saturday. Since there will be more than I would ordinarily put in a post and on a page, I will make the part you see on the page particularly small or a thumbnail, with links to one or two larger versions.
Some of them are fuzzy or oddly tinted, which was especially sad in the case of the otherwise cool bridge pictures. Here we go…
Left: The end of route 24 as it curves to merge onto route 128/I-93.
Right: Flags on an overpass in the Milton/Quincy area on I-93 north toward Boston. Uncropped 800 pixel version
Approaching Boston, near the JFK Library exit. To the right is the famous gas tank. To the left is the Prudential and then the Hancock, with the main part of downtown behind and to the immediate left of the tank. Click the picture for an uncropped, 800 pixel wide version.
The evil Boston Globe! Click for the whole building from the highway, less extraneous asphalt. It’s actually kind of cool with all the dishes and such. Inside is cool, too. I got the grand tour way back when I won driver of the month, nominated by the customers I delivered to.
I’m not sure what this place is called, but it’s on the right as you head up I-93 toward Boston, and hasn’t changed much since I was a kid. The red brick building in the distance to the right end is, I believe, part of U. Mass. Boston.
Another overview of Boston approaching from the south, just a bit closer. The thumb size links to a fuller version still only 400 pixels wide. Here’s the 800 pixel version
And another, nearing Mass. Ave.
Closer still, a ways before the exits for the Mass. Turnpike and Logan Airport. We’re facing the Hancock Tower almost straight on. What you see is heavily cropped, linking to an uncropped, 400 pixel wide perspective. Here’s the 800 pixel version.
More to follow!
Update:
Part 2 is here
Monday, June 06, 2005
Your Daily Sadie
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Photoblogging Preview
Yes! There will be pictures, wedding and otherwise. I’m just being a bit slow preparing them. Here’s an obligatory picture from the Weekend Pundit wedding to hold you for now. Click for an 800 pixel wide version of the full image, rather than a 400 pixel version of part of the image.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Before and After: A Hair Razing Experience
Deb had the idea of taking before and after pictures of me when I was going to get my hair cut a couple days ago. Seemed like a good idea to me, especially since I was finding my hair especially hard to control, even though I have had it longer many times.
Apparently I did too good a job of brushing it into place for the picture, because it doesn’t look that bad.
By the same token, the barber didn’t cut it as short as I really wanted, which was “regular men’s haircut, very short, but still combable; not quite a crew cut,” so in the “after” picture it looks like there is little difference. Believe me, it’s a lot shorter and easier to control. I just don’t like the job the barber did, beyond that it’s an improvement over how it had been before the cut.
Next time I’ll try to go back to my usual barber, rather than a more convenient one the next town over. It’s just that it’s an extra 2 - 3 hours of my time to do that, between the drive and the long wait.
Looking at the pictures again, I think it’s also a matter of perspective. The after shot is more of a closeup.
Anyway, here you are, rare pictures of me, rather than Deb or Sadie. At my messy desk no less. Click the pictures for larger versions.
Before
After
Thursday, January 27, 2005
More Boston Pictures
Some of these will seem a bit Warholian, but what the heck. These are some more views from the 15th floor of the Park Plaza, where we stayed for Arisia, and beyond, last weekend, coinciding with the blizzard.
There are five, shown chronologically, that are at an angle in the direction of the statehouse. One in particular is great for showing what happened to visibility in the storm. One or two of those
are from a very small number of shots in which I experimented with zooming. I didn’t expect it to work very well.
The next two show the building across the street, but pointing down toward a large balcony/rooftop area created by the building not being the same height everywhere, It also shows part of Arlington Street.
Finally, one as straight down as I could manage, focusing on the street early in the storm. Guys down there started scraping the snow away immediately and apparently kept at it all night. The last one points down the street at an angle to the right. These give a good idea how far up we were.
Anyway, here we go, a post that’s the bane of dialup users and folks who dislike photoblogging…
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Blizzard Pictures and Slackerness
There are more, but here’s a first pass at some of the blizzardy pics from around the house. As usual, click the pictures for a larger version in a new window.
First, Slacker Dude’s idea of a proper path, great for walking with a baby and luggage:
Which is why Deb and Sadie waited in the car while I dug out the back door, which didn’t take so long, thanks to the landlord having plowed extensively. Including a large chunk of the lawn by the upper driveway and steps, so almost all the digging Slacker Dude had to do was a several foot path to the back street, pictured above.
Here’s what my poor Sentra in the front driveway looks like, but what might not be apparent is that the landlord plowed to within a couple inches of the rear bumper. When I went looking for penetrating oil and tools to help the heating guy who was unable to bring all his stuff, all I had to do was swoosh some of the snow off the trunk to make it less heavy, unlock and open. I thought I’d be fighting with a snow bank.
Slacker Dude managed not to move the remaining three trash barrels back by the garage before the storm. Trash gets picked up Wednesday morning. Sometimes he puts the trash out, but even when he does it sometimes takes until Sunday before he moves the empties back off the side of the road. There were four, but one was lost to heavy wind a few weeks ago. One I moved by the garage Friday, rather than being “cute” and putting rubbish in it on the side of the road. The other two barrels, one standing and one on its side, are buried in the snow as pictured here:
Finally, a general view of the back of the building. You can see Deb’s truck covered in snow, the van, and the van the heating guy drove. I took the pictures while going back and forth into the cellar to check on him and see if he needed anything.
I don’t know if he knows it yet, but yesterday was a bad day to be Slacker Dude. The landlord learned yesterday that he’s been skipping or doing a lousy job of shoveling, that he lost one of the barrels, and that the barrels were left to get buried in the snowbank. Then Slacker Dude caused filthy water to spill down into our kitchen and into the cellar, damaging the wall, probably damaging the ceiling invisibly, damaging what is luckily some fairly neglible stuff of ours, and causing us a somewhat disgusting cleanup job.
Maybe our friend will get to move into that apartment after all.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Hotel Views
Here are three views straight out the window of our room in Boston. Beyond the building across the street is the Common. Originally there was nothing between it and the Park Plaza, and briefly the Park Plaza was the tallest building in Boston. The street between the two buildings is Arlington Street. Click each picture for a version 800 pixels wide in a new window.
The first one was the initial view before it ever started snowing. The third one was during the blizzard. There are other pictures out the window, but these are for comparison and to show the primary view we saw without trying.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Sadie and Deb
A bonus Sadie picture that’s also a good one of Deb!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
More Reruns
First…
Mahwidge Is What Bwings Us Toghethah Today
So on the third of January last year, I hurriedly put up this post to confirm what Deb had said in her original post, rerun here. I find it cool to go back and see the comments. Not rerunning that one, as it is not a post of substance except in what it confirms.
Then:
I’m back
On the seventh I posted about my arrival home, sans bride, and some more about the trip, wedding, and followup plans. Around this same time is when Sadie was working on getting herself established and making the cross country commute more exciting a few weeks later.
And Also That Day:
A Few Las Vegas Pictures
Views from our hotel room and of the outside of the hotel. Only a few of the bunch I took. They still look breathtaking to me.
And Now the Biggie, which I rerun completely here, though it is worth seeing the original (note that any links to Deb’s old blog are broken unless I’ve updated them to point to reruns at AV):
Jedi Wedding 04: A New Hope
I can’t begin to say how happy I am, and how lacking in hope I was before a couple months ago. I’m married! To a beautiful woman who adores me and sees me as the most wonderful guy in the world, as much an antidote to past hurts for her as she is for me.
It all started with blogging. In a sense, it started around March or April, when I was still new and Deb first noticed and was intrigued by me. I first noticed her blog sometime after she moved to Blogmosis, as far as I can recall. The big thing I remember is she went straight from new discovery to one of my favorites immediately. Before long (on July 6, to be exact), I read her About page and commented that, alas, I was too old for her. She replied that she should have said “likes older men” there, which made me go “hmmmmm...” Indeed, I might have wondered more about “I appreciate the compliment more than you would probably suspect” had I been thinking straight. One of her concepts on her about page was the “house test.” Could she bear to share a house with someone? The answer for me was yes before we ever met in person. That still astounds me she knew without meeting, but as far as we can tell, it’s absolutely true. All that time together in her apartment and hotels, and hours on end in the car, left us dying to live in the same house and happy with the idea of driving across the country together.
A couple times I commented on her blog, and she e-mailed me in reply, but I was a slacker about e-mailing back. Finally, on October 3rd, in response to a funny comment I left, she e-mailed me with a subject of “fan mail,” and said: “One of these days I’m going to provoke you into answering when I send you a silly little note. 
”
That got a reply from me, naturally, and could be considered the real beginning of things. Still, there was October 15th, when she appreciated that I was the only one who really seemed to “get” what she was saying - ironically - about marriage. Finally, there was the foot post on October 20th. Wow! My reaction to it was far more inexplicably visceral and intense than the comment “Ooooh, yummy feetses!” could capture. Or for that matter the “…inspiringly purty feet” comment subsequently. That to me was the big milestone.
That started some “virtual flirting.” We’ve exchanged somewhere over 1000 e-mails since then. Our first AIM chat was 4.5 hours. Our first phone call was 8 hours, and it is seldom we have talked for less than 2 hours at a time since then. By the end of October, the plans for my visit at the end of the year were underway, and we were discussing marriage in Vegas, her moving here, and so forth. The phone thing is funny, as getting me to talk on the phone these days is like pulling teeth.
I have never been so anti-nervous with anyone in my life. It was like meeting a new best friend and simply hitting it off in a “shared brain” way. It’s uncanny how we agree on most things, think of the same things at the same times or say things in unison, and can finish each other’s sentences or answer each other’s questions before the other one finishes asking. For instance, “Is it just me, or did they…” “Yup.” *Funny look* “If you’re asking did the wedding chapel people treat us extra nice, then ‘yes’.” We both had the impression that the wedding chapel people thought we were particularly cute and genuine, and so were especially nice to us rather than doing the rote in and out get ‘em hitched thing.
Almost everything that comes up we either agree on or can live with the difference easily; usually the former. She likes my puns and jokes! Now that is compatibility.
The sense of rightness and complete lack of nervousness was amazing for me. There was no doubt or nervousness, ever. I am all about nervousness, to the point where I almost never dated because of what it does to me. Between already “knowing” each other, a little boldness by Deb, and the comfortable nature of online communications, that helped get it going. But there was more than that. It was as if we’d always known each other in lifetimes without measure.
It wasn’t falling in love. It was finally discovering the whereabouts someone we’d loved forever and saying “oh, there you are! You’ve been hiding on the opposite coast.” Nothing like making it difficult, being separated by a continent and thirteen years.
This alacrity is not as strange as it sounds. Her parents, who are way cool, were married three weeks after they met, more than 33 years ago. I told my mother not to be surprised if there was no “real wedding” and I simply turned up married. Despite she and seemingly everyone but me having been irked at my younger brother for going to a JP and letting people know after the fact, she was totally cool with that. I learned that she and my father had done similar. Someone they knew was getting married at the Methodist church in Bryantville, so they borrowed the church and minister immediately afterward, and had just them and two friends for witnesses. I never knew that my parents didn’t care for having a big wedding. That, as with most things, is something Deb and I found a remarkable degree of agreement on.
Another indicator how fast the whole thing went is by her birthday on November 5th I was more than ready to send a present. That took the form of a wireless keyboard and mouse for her laptop, so typing wouldn’t hurt her. That was quite a nice surprise. I forget if it was that shipment or the next, but I also sent her a stack of print pictures. That was a big hit. After Thanksgiving, I sent another box. This one had goodies, gifts for her and her parents and, at the bottom of the box, the famous warm socks. I didn’t mean it to be the most romantic thing ever. It was more a joke about her moving to my cold climate. It just shows you never know, guys, if the context it right. Of course, she was thoughtful too, surprising me touching cards and notes in the mail a number of times.
The frustrating thing was she in Fresno and I in Massachusetts. When and how would we meet? I fairly quickly noticed the confluence of holidays at the end of the year and the fact those are surrounded by slow days for my big client. We looked at flights and timing. The marriage was better taking place in 2004, a new tax year, plus it fit the Star Wars episode numbering used in the title here. We’d originally planned for her to move to Massachusetts, which she declared the ideal scenario with no persuading by me, in June or July. Ha! It didn’t take long to know we’d never last all that time. Our phone bills sure wouldn’t take it. During a mere three weeks of separation, we are averaging at least two hours a day on the phone, plus several e-mails.
We settled on the flight that left on Christmas and returned on the 6th because it was over $100 lower than tickets for 12/26 - 1/5 we’d originally considered. That left me minimal coverage needed at the office. So by the time a month had passed, I had the flight booked, the move planned, and had put my search for a better apartment that would become ours into high gear.
We chose 1-2-4 chosen as a wedding date because it’s a neat number combination. Almost nobody on my side knew it, and one of the people I did tell freaked enough to cement my silence. It’s hard to convey how certain it’s the right thing I was. Deb told her family, which helped nudge her brother into planning a wedding to his girlfriend near the same time as ours.
I flew to LAX on American, then on an American Eagle flight to Fresno. At the Fresno airport, I came walking down the hall, saw her, grinned (as Deb put it, “I know you!"), made a beeline in her direction, shared a perfect hug and off we went. If there was any uncertainty at all, the moment we met in person ended it. We’ve had a wonderful week or so together, some of which I have posted about here. That included going to Monterey to meet Ith and Nin, which we highly recommend. They are amazingly cool people.
What Deb said about the relationship is exactly right. She’s my best friend, soulmate, lover, missing piece of the incomplete puzzle that is me. I feel lucky and amazed every day.
The wedding day itself was funny. We drove for 7 hours to get to Vegas, after getting our usual early start. Traffic sucked big time in places, if not nearly so much as it did for people heading the other way. The Strip is a sight to behold. Now that I have, there’ll be no particular need ever to return there again. Then again, the hotel is awfully nice, and the view from our window was wonderful.
I always say if it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would ever get done. We seem to do a lot of that. After looking at rings online for weeks, including unique titanium ones, we ended up at a jewlery store, Rogers, in a mall, just before closing the night before the wedding. We got matching, white gold bands that are nothing fancy, but are still gorgeous. Even if they do scratch easily. She didn’t want a diamond. Just as well, given my budget. Mine is wider than hers, as befits my size, and mine is 12 1/2 to her 6, but color and style match perfectly, just as we do. Despite the last minute, we had a perfect experience buying them. We both liked the sales guy so much of course we weren’t going to check any other stores. He was funny, personable, and treated us just the same as a customer making a fancy purchase worth thousands. Plus he was cute, or so she tells me. To avoid forgetting them, they got packed in the laptop bag. Thus they’d either get here with us, or we’d be even more seriously bumming.
After arriving in Vegas, we checked into the hotel and resisted the urge to collapse. Drove down the strip attempting to find Third Street at the opposite end. Managed to get confused after bearing left onto Fourth, but found Third anyway, and finally the marriage bureau for our license. Busy place! Luckily we beat the huge line.
If you ever do this, beware. Outside the marriage bureau lurk a pack of saleswolves on the sidewalk, accosting couples as they go into and out of the building to get their licenses. They represent some of the various local wedding chapels, and thrust their offers at you mercilesssly. Pick me! Pick me! We had planned simply to go to the nearby courthouse and get a civil marriage, rather than do a chapel.
The smart saleswolf got us on the other side of the road from the main pack, as we got out of Deb’s truck. He was a great guy, personable, well presented, not pushy in a subtle way that set him apart, and his chapel was closest. We managed to get past them on the way in for the license, but man, they tore into our susceptible flesh when we walked out with the marriage license. I have about five info packets with offers I kept for posterity. It was a riot.
We ended up going with the original one, Vegas Wedding Chapel, which was as good a deal and nice a place as any. We gave the minister $50 instead of the recommended $15 - $30 because he was so great. We either hit a real nerve with them, or they do their jobs well there. They thought the way we met was cool.
I managed to start crying during the ceremony, while Deb stayed stoic. I seem to keep getting all emotional and doing that. Then there’s all the giggling we both did! There may or may not be any pictures. One of the guys takes a roll and sends the film off with you. Unless you pay a huge amount extra for digital. One service they provide that’s great is to get you your official marriage certificate in about a week, rather than waiting up to four months for it. Things like that add to the cost, so be aware you will inevitably not spend the low, base amount the chapel you use officially offers. You could, but it’s unlikely, and it is their job to make money by selling other services and goods. The certificate is worth it, as Deb has to use it to change her name on things in this few weeks before moving. As much as possible, anyway.
We had no idea at the time that Britney Spears was in Vegas, several hours behind us in her joke wedding publicity fling. No, it was not the same chapel. No, we didn’t see her. It does add a funny dimension to our own timing and story for posterity.
I already wrote of our first meal after we married, which was a variety of items from Nathan’s Famous on the food court of the Luxor, followed by ice cream. Mmmm… ice cream! Rather amusing first meal, but it was late and we were there for getting married, no frills, no other reason to be in Vegas. Besides playing the ring toss at Circus Circus, of course. We have both been duly yelled at by people we know at work for failing to take in the more costly culinary delights of the city. Heh.
We had a wonderful drive back to Fresno, with a scenic detour to Utah for lunch. On Monday the 5th her brother married a wonderful woman in a courthouse ceremony. It ended up being less simple than planned. While they married, Deb and I picked up their cake, took it to her grandmother’s, and helped setup for the reception there. It was fun, meeting the extended in-laws and getting to know Deb’s grandmother. It felt a little like having our own reception, but with the focus neatly on someone else. There might be pictures of us from that day, eventually. Deb’s other brother’s girlfriend, who is perfect and should not be allowed to escape, is into photography. Other people took many pictures too, including of us. Naturally I forgot my camera.
The next day I had to leave. That was unbelievably difficult! I surprised Deb by calling her after I landed in LAX. She wouldn’t have expected to hear from me until the next day, or maybe late that night, except e-mail updates from my phone. It’s the little things sometimes guys.
That’s the basic story. It arose from our blogging and being on the same wavelength on most things. It arose from Deb being just assertive enough with her nagging interest in me to get my attention and then ramp it up to self-sustaining levels.
I find myself having to explain what a blog is over and over when telling people how we met online, when I don’t simply leave it at “we met online because we both run fairly popular web sites, read each other and started talking.” Meeting online is right on the threshhold of being considered completely normal rather than odd. The reaction still depends on the person hearing the news, but most people think about how you can really learn plenty about each other ahead of time this way, and go in more certain. It also meant, for us, falling in love with an amazing mind and intriguing personality to such a degree that looks wouldn’t have mattered. Not that I mind being considered “cute” or “handsome,” and not that I mind her being beautiful, almost pixy-like when her glasses are off, but we were predisposed toward each other regardless.
I highly recommend meeting people online. I recommend being open to meeting people through blogging, if you are a single blogger. Who knows, you could meet the love of your life.
It really works!
--
And The Rest…
Wedding pictures from the actual ceremony in Vegas, at our rebel attire, family (and associated stress) free event.
A better picture from the fifth, at the wedding reception of Deb’s brother and his wife, pictured on the left.
A closeup of us at the same event.
There you have it; a nice retrospective. Memories for those who were following along at the time, and something fun to see for those who are new here.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
A Post That Doesn’t Resolve Anything
Speaking of plans and goals and being resolute for the year ahead, we have a terrible problem with lack of space and adequate organization for our stuff.
We’d looked at kitchen tables, small ones, before deciding this probably wouldn’t work in such a small space. Somewhere along the line, we saw a butcher block style island/organizer that would work perferctly to help with counter and storage space. Eventually we decided that would be what we’d do, rather than bothering with a table. We can get one of those when we have a bigger place.
So that was on Deb’s Christmas list; one of those floating counter/storage units for the kitchen. This was unabashedly our year of “for the house” presents.
I ended up seeing this baby in Wal-Mart:
It was different from what we’d seen previously, around half the price - a bargain, in fact, and had the advantage of being 19” wide with the extensions down, and 40” wide with both extensions up. Yay for extra counter space when making cookies!
It has three baskets that can hold much we have no other room for, and a supplemental drawer for some of the overflow of utinsels or whatnot. It’s mobile, with brakes if you want it to stay put. Part of what slowed us down getting something like this was the baby’s swing living in the middle of the kitchen floor. She’s growing so fast, its days will be numbered, and in the meantime it’s easy to do a “which thing hogs the center of the kitchen” dance as needed.
It was impractical to sneak this in and wrap it (or wrap it at all), I couldn’t leave it in the back of the truck, didn’t feel like hiding it at the office, and didn’t think of hiding it in the cellar. So it was an early “present” that was really for the house. She had it on the list of stuff she wanted, and was thrilled. With the other stuff too, like the new mixer, pans, etc. Which was why I got a book too. There had to be something that was neither edible (mmm… Lindt truffles) nor for the house.
I managed to improve our storage slightly around the same time, just by taking some hooks I’ve had for years, screwing them into holes that were already there on cabinet ends and such, and hanging things like pans and cutting boards from them. Yay for creative simplicity.
Speaking of gifts, another gift she especially liked was this shirt:
Heh. Her brother sent that, and you can see how pleased she was. Ah, the old alma mater.
I’ve been tempted to do some kind of post about the year ahead, goals and such, but haven’t been able to come up with something yet. Doesn’t help to be slogging through a sickness-induced fog. I am not one for “resolutions,” but it does work as a demarcation time for evaluating things and planning or pondering what’s next. I’m certainly doing some of that, if quietly.
Heard At Our House On Christmas
Me,while holding block for Deb to see:*
“Look, it’s Frank J.!”
* Sadie got a set of nine wooden alphabet blocks, and some of the sides of each one have the cutest critter pictures on them, one each of different types like domesticated, wild, insect, and sea. Santa tells me they can be purchased in one of the shops in the mercantile building in Stowe, Vermont for $15 the set.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Only A Year And A Day
So a year ago yesterday (sorry, a day late doing this) (and some, because it’s taken me much of the day to go through pictures in between being too sick to function), the Monterrey monsoon was over, and it was a fine day for driving from Gilroy back to Fresno, via some stops.
Marina Beach was one of those. San Juan Bautista was another. Plus Donut Nation in Los Banos, but no pictures of that. At the risk of tastelessness due to current world events, here are some pictures.
As always, click for larger versions. The beach pictures were inherently smaller and so the larger size is the original full size, less than 800 pixels wide. Older camera. The Bautista pictures are a full 800 in the larger size. A lot of it is simply scenic, perhaps not anything outrageously special.
This is before you scramble down to the beach, looking roughly west toward the peninsula. The water in all of these is rougher and colored differently than it might have had there not just been such a storm…
I was impressed with the surf. This was my first encounter with the Pacific. I waded in the Gulf of Mexico in 1988 or so, in Galveston. And of course I grew up near the Atlantic.
It didn’t seem to bother the duck, or whatever type of bird it was:
Sometimes you just have to get wet. Luckily there was a convenient place to change pants…
Finally, the obligatory pictures of each of us, including one in which Deb appears to be fleeing the big waves…
San Juan Bautista was one of the early missions, many of them setup by one intensely dedicated priest. It’s noted for being right on the San Andreas and yet… being there still. I am enough into the geology thing that seeing the San Andreas was more of a thrill than it would be for most of the population.
Here are the bells as they appear from the vicinity of the San Andreas exhibit…
Here’s a plaque on a rock about the San Andreas exhibit, most readable if you click for the 800 pixel wide version…
The nicer looking of the two directions down the walk that goes right along the fault…
Another look down at the fault, along the line of brush where the land drops off on the other side of the walk. It’s really not much to look at, but it doesn’t need to be to command respect…
Finally, some pictures in the gardens behind the mission and its exhibits. The second one is fuzzy, but still nice in an almost impressionist sort of way…
And that’s it for a year ago December 30th. We did nothing special the 31st, and on the first we bought the rings:
At least that’s the day we think we remember doing it. We were trying to get to the jewelry stores before everything closed early that day. We checked one we’d been recommended, that was not in a mall, and it was actually closed for the day. At least we had some idea what we wanted, having started looking at rings online long before I went out there.
There you have it, a bit of boring history and some relatively cool pictures. No doubt there will be more along these lines Sunday, so watch out.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Snow. Lots of Snow.
I am trying to psych myself up to go out and shovel the eleven inches of snow from around the cars. Not to mention cleaning it off the cars. Yay for snow rakes!
The cool thing is that the end of each driveway has been plowed quite well. If I wanted, I could hop in the van and back right out. Walks? It should be interesting to see what kind of job Slacker Dude did on those.
I’m going to leave my Sentra where it is in the upper driveway, until after Slacker Dude and the other tenant have shoveled out their own spots. Help get them used to not stealing mine after it’s the only cleared spot, as happened last winter. They’re less likely to steal a spot in the lower driveway, and I can always leave it obstructed by moving the truck slightly. It’s worth the trouble to train them.
Meanwhile, Slacker Dude didn’t put the rubbish out two weeks in a row, and before we put out any Christmas trash (besides the box for the rolling butcher block-like counter/storage unit I got for “Deb” for the kitchen, which I used to make a shelf across two overflowing barrels to hold more bags on top), it’s already as bad as it got last time he went this long. Except the animals haven’t torn into it this time. So now the mountain of rubbish is buried under mass quantities of snow, and will be even more fun. I feel bad for the trash pickup guys. The week after Christmas is already the biggest of the year. From us they’ll have the Christmas excess plus two weeks worth.
Someday he’ll learn. I was a twenty-something “kid” once myself.
In case you’re curious, here is the original Mount Trashmore. There is this much there now, so it’s comparable. We have a big green bag, three grocery bags, the box the spice rack came in, and will soon have another big green bag to add to the pile. Pickup is Wednesday.
Perhaps I’ll take some pictures of the snow here and post those eventually…
Friday, December 24, 2004
Not-The-Baby Pictures
This will mostly be pictures from Edaville Sunday night, and most of those I am putting “below the fold” so those who have modems can choose to load them or not. I decided I needed a post with various pictures that are not Sadie, as I have accumulated some and been meaning to post them.
First up, food porn. As opposed to foot porn. Deb made her Best Meatloaf Yet the other night, and memorialized it with a picture. Perhaps next time she’ll make a quantified recipe of it based on what she did this time, and that’ll get into the recipe carnival. As usual, click each picture if you’d like to see a larger version…
Next up, the older two of my three grandnieces. I’ll probably put the youngest in with some more Sadie pics soon. The first one is Katherine, attempting to escape the camera for a cool result. The second one is Emily, the oldest, who was absolutely crazy about Sadie and vice-versa. These are Sadie’s first cousins once removed, to be exact. As opposed to my cousin Joyce, who is my second cousin once removed. That is, my great-grandmother, Sadie, was her grandmother Bertha’s sister. But I digress…
Sadie does make a cameo in this one, which is in a caboose on display at Edaville. That’s my brother Gary behind Deb and Sadie. He turned fifty on Tuesday, which I believe makes me officially “old.” Okay, not really. It makes me feel old though. There are five of us, born 1954, 1957, 1961, 1967 and 1971. I’m in the middle, and maybe it makes me feel old, but no reason it should make my two younger brothers feel especially old.
I wonder… does it make my mother feel old?
This is a big bear or whatever it’s supposed to be, at Edaville, which just begs for posed pictures.
This is our minimalist tree. We have ornaments I still haven’t gotten hangers for yet. Sadie’s stocking says Sadie Rose on it. It came with a glitter pen, which took about two days to dry for some reason. The present in the front is for me. Deb is the master of curly ribbon and went all out on that, and I have some pictures on the camera of Sadie latched onto the ribbon playing with it. It’s the most she has ever latched onto something like that. She also managed to knock it over last night, laying in front of the pile of gifts.
Indeed, she’s being frustrating because of the teeth coming in, but she’s also exhibiting new things all the time. She figured out she can propel herself along the floor on her back using her feet. She pushed off the blanket, onto the rug, and against the recliner in the living room, and in the computer room she came to a halt head-butting the spare car seat. She also specifically asked to play with her baby gym last night. She’s never done that. The closest thing is when she makes it fairly clear she’d like the Pooh mobile to be wound up. She seems to love the giraffe that’s posed on the gift pile, and she will now hold things like dolls in both hands. She did that for the first time when one of the previously pictured cousins handed her one at their house. Yesterday she held her fancy rattle for an extended time and shook it in what might have been an intentional manner. She certainly let go of it intentionally.
But I digress. The tree, stocking and presents…
The rest of this is pictures from Edaville, like this one:
Okay, strike the “below the fold” part. I have never used that in Expression Engine, so I just tested it. I found that there was no way to view the “extended entry” portion, and it didn’t even show using the permalink or comments link to the post. That is just wrong. So here are the rest of the pictures, right in plain sight. We’ll figure out what the extended entry problem is later.
This next one is an attempt to capture the train going by across the water from where we were in the main part of Edaville. The string of small lights marks the top of the train, and along the lower sides there are floodlights that show the passengers the unlit scenes along the 5 1/2 mile route. None of the pics here are from the train itself, which is quite amazing. The part of the park shown has a mass of lights and displays, obviously, and a bunch of rides oriented mainly toward kids. There’s a store, a gift shop, pictures with Santa, and a museum/exhibit on cranberries and cranberry picking and cultivation techniques and equipment. My mother got to point out to Deb the dry pick machine she used to run; the one that used cranberry boxes. Later they started using burlap bags and that culled out any harvest work by people who couldn’t lift them. Eventually most bogs went to wet picking, which gives you juice and sauce quality berries. Dry picked berries are the ones you buy for cooking. But I digress.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Visits Are Tiring
I am behind still, again, in getting pictures posted. My father and stepmother visited this past weekend, and we dropped by my grandmother’s house last week. These pictures are circa that time period, until a few days ago.
Funny thing. I was snapping pictures and my father pointed out to my stepmother, Kathy, that her picture was likely to end up on the internet. She did not approve, so I have taken pains to “hide” her in the pictures of which she is a part. Frankly, I think the coverup is worse than it would be to have them as was. Which adds to the fun.
The 800 pixel wide version is what you get by clicking the thumbnails. A smaller, 400 pixel wide version can be had via the text link below the picture. I may add descriptions under each pair if needed.
She slept through the visit with her great grandmother, but was happy and awake for the grandparents.
That’s one of the best pictures of my father I can remember ever seeing. On the right is yet another example of my tendency to try to get angles that are different.
That’s it for today! There are some especially cool pictures currently in the camera, so those’ll be up her soon, no doubt.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Wow.
[Thre was originally a ticker atop this post.]
Good God.
It was another uneventful week in babyland, I’m afraid. Or glad. Or having mixed emotions about, or something. Me, dither a bit? Never! LOL!
I’m starting to get tired very easily, which works well alongside the nurse’s recommendation that I try to lie on my left side as much as I practically can, to maximize bloodflow and keep my pressures down. My bp has taken to bouncing around some, going up when I’m up and coming right back down when I recline.
Is it any wonder? Look at me:
Once more, with blinding bare belly:
Of course, the coolest thing about the hugeness of the belly is that people keep telling me that I don’t look like I’ve gained weight. Even my OB remarked that I looked great, and like I’d not gained any extra. Woo-hoo! (For those of you who are counting, we’re at 35 pounds so far.)
In any case, I am definitely reaching that point of awkwardness where I’m starting to really look forward to getting her out of there. It’s not easy sharing a body with a nearly 7 pound baby. I have no idea how moms of twins do it, I really don’t.
Thank heavens she was considerate enough to drop this week. I may spend my life tinkling, but I can eat and breathe again besides having hope that she might just voluntarily make her exit sometime before the professionals decide to evict her.
Ah, well. Time for me to waddle off and clean up the mess I made working on the bedroom closets today. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!
Saturday, June 19, 2004
38 weeks
First, a pic of me a week ago:
I’m bigger now. I wasn’t sure it was possible, but I am definitely still growing. That’s one big baby in there, folks.
Last week was the kind of amusing that just didn’t inspire me to write. Monday my normal NST turned into a 6 hour ordeal, since we couldn’t get her to do her tricks on the monitor. Wound up making my first visit to L&D to hang out on their monitors instead. Joy.
Tuesday’s estimated weight: 8 pounds. Bejus.
Wednesday was the appointment with the midwife, wherein I received serious encouragement...my cervix is starting to change. Not much, but I’ll take “still pretty firm, but I can get a finger in it” over “hard and closed” any day. At least we’re moving in the right direction! This is especially happy news since I’ve started getting runs of little contractions, mixed in with the occasional one that feels like it’s doing something, and my back has been killing me in a way that suggests that baby might just choose to leave one of these days. Nice to know that it isn’t my imagination/is actually accomplishing something, IYKWIM.
We worked all day today on getting things ready for the little twerp. I got the laundry completely caught up, the bathroom cleaned, the sheets changed, and our room rearranged to make room for the bassinet (which is a great assembly story that I believe Jay will be posting soon...). Jay worked on cleaning out the room that will eventually be Sadie’s and organizing our storage space in the cellar. We totally made up for the way we goofed off yesterday. But it was good to spend most of the day in bed relaxing while we still could...very, very soon now we’ll have no peace at all. And I suspect we’ll be absurdly happy about it, too.
The “big appointment” this coming week is tomorrow, when we see the OB. Next after that is a week from Wednesday, which will be the decision point for kicking her out, if she hasn’t left gracefully by then. I’ve still got my fingers crossed that she’ll wise up and decide to leave…
Where We Stand So Far
[Originally published to the old baby blog.]
For those keeping track at home, here is an updated loot report list of things we have so far for Sadie. With a couple pictures!
I’m told we have a crib that my father and stepmother originally bought for my sister’s family.
We have a good high chair (or is it spelled highchair?) from my brother and his wife. Just needs a bit of cleaning and is currently in pieces in the disastrously messy storage room baby’s room.
We have an infant stroller with infant car seat transportation system. It’s a good one, given us by one of the lawyers I work for, pictured here:
After drooling over it for a few visits to BJ’s, we bought the 3 in 1 bedside bassinet changing table unit in the box pictured below. Luckily the picture gives a good idea what it is exactly:
We’re getting a big toybox made by my grandmother’s late brother, which for now will answer the “where are we going to store all these blankets” question.
Finally, some days ago we received a box of adorable baby clothes, things like receiving blankets, and even a cute rubber duckie (you’re the one) from the Jedi Parents. No pictures, at least not yet, but as we unwrapped and looked at each item, it made the baby so much more real and got us all emotional.
There you have it so far. I am thinking it might be useful to create a more compact, less editorialized list down the road, that we can update as needed, as an informational tool for family and friends who are eager to supply baby stuff. This will do for now. We may be getting more soon, from another lawyer I work for who has a whole laundry list of items she can pass on to us that will otherwise go to someone else or charity. We just have to make a point of stopping by her house to see what we want.
Barefoot Is Just Better
[Originally published to the old baby blog.]
Here’s another edition of pregnant Deb pictures for your clicking pleasure. It’s even on the baby blog this time! What a concept.
Here’s the best shot we could get that gives an indication of size at 25 24 weeks and 5 days:
Here’s a “barefoot and pregnant” belly shot she’ll be totally pleased that I posted:
That second one was totally unintentional, getting the feet in it, but it ended up amusing me. Not that it’s difficult to do that.