Feel a breeze?

With the Indian-summer weather comes opportunity for playing in one's birthday suit.

Note the multi-tasking: grabbing for toys while hand is firmly wedged in the snack container.

And the small tragedy of not getting to play with the lens cap. Guess who won that one?

Pre-1 prep

See here for explination.

Bye Bye Bocce

Well, the bocce season has about come to an end here in the Northwest. To wrap things up, Paul had one last BBQ at his house. Wonderfully, the sun shone, the berries were ripe, and Hood, St. Helens, and Rainier were all visible beneath the blue skies.



Here's me and Erin plundering Paul's harvest:


Like a Victorian novel, there was much lolling around on perfectly-tended lawns. No parasols or wet nurses, though.

Delicious Medicine

Just when I thought all the news was depressing, there's a reason to be joyful.  The one downer is that it's only 1/2 bar per week, not per meal as is normal for my diet.  Oh well. Primary article here. 

Walk Hard

Inaugural run of the new Radio Flyer Walker Wagon, early birthday present to the little mobile one:

Alcohol aversion

B: Hmm, not many comments on the post with the picture of Erin holding the beer can.

A: Yeah, people generally don't like seeing babies with alcohol. 

Call me a curmudgeon

Earlier this week I bought 4 apples for about $6.  On the same trip I bought 6 candy bars for $2. (I really like candy.) How is this possible? A gallon of milk: $7.  Two 2-liters of coke: $2.50.  Comparing calories the value is with the coke and snickers.  Comparing nutrition, the milk and apples.  But please someone* tell me the basic economics going on here?  Never mind the subtle and not so subtle health and social implications. 

* Yes, I've read all Michael Pollan has to say so I do know the answer.  I'm completely flabbergasted nonetheless.

While we're on the topic of despicable things,  there's this.  More here.   What is wrong with people?  There has to be a separate level of hell for people who would intentionally poison babes to make a buck.  Sick. 

"Barkeep! Another Beer!"

Yes, that's right, it's not just our phones and our toothbrushes Erin wants to mimic using...


She even knows which end she's supposed to put in her mouth.

Two pictures I like

The E, having eaten many tomatoes straight from the bushes, super ready for bed.

Last night's fantastic dinner. Salsa fresca made from above mentioned tomatoes by Chef Brian. 

The Eleventh-Month Boogie

She plays a mean stock-pot drum.

She boogies to Prince.

(yes, her version of dancing is heaving her tummy up and down.)

She boogies to the "See and Say". Hey, she's still a baby after all.

A sense of normalcy....

... is quickly resuming now that the kitchen is 98% finished.

This weekend produced marionberry and peach jam. Berries were picked in early August and saved for this purpose. Toast consumption can safely resume.

Maki and Me

Erin tried sushi tonight. 

All her rolls ended up on the floor.

We'll try again another time.

Anne Sullivan, I got your number.

We've been working on simple sign language with Erin. For the last few weeks she's been using her own version of "more" and "all done," very useful during mealtimes. Last night she was saying "da-da-da-da". We enthusiastically both said "Yes, Dad," pointing to Brian and making the sign. Her face lit up with understanding and she enthusiastically put her hand to her forehead. Tonight Steve the Cat wandered by and I named him "Cat, see the cat?" while doing the sign. With a huge smile she swiped her hand from mouth to ear, several times, looking right at Steve. I am half elated, half intimidated by how quickly she learns.

Advanced peek-a-boo

Erin made up her own game yesterday.

Mom needs how to learn to edit video. 

Trial By Flyer

I have had an epiphany on par with the transportation-revolutionizing Segway that has already changed the way we build cities and become so ubiquitous in our modern lives. Are you sitting down? Seriously, sit down. This is going to blow your mind:

Jury trials during trans-oceanic flights.

So I'm sitting there today in the juror waiting room for hours on end, legs getting swollen, finding excuses to go to the bathroom to break up the monotony, getting what started out to be good reading time, but ended up in fidgety boredom, while something like "The History Channel Proudly Presents: Two Hours on the History of America's Killing Machines" played not once but twice on the room's giant plasma TV.

Then, as it does to all genius minds decades ahead of their times, it occurred to me that I could be doing something useful while waiting to serve. Something, oh, like being bodily transported to another continent.

Yes, yes, I understand the crucial role we seemingly-unimportant members of the juror pool play in our democracy. It's just that I think that if I'm going to be bored out of my mind, I'd rather have something to show for it at the end of the day. Something, say, like a baguette and a saucily-tipped beret. Oh, and a wax-tipped moustache. Yeah.

People of America: Write your county commisioners!

Creavolutionism

 I  believe, in lieu of creationism or evolution, Creavolution should be taught in schools.  What's Creavolution, you might ask.  It's the real way science works.  I can tell you from my experience these last three weeks science is not just a matter of hypothesis-test-conclusion like we were taught in school.  Science additionally involves a belief in a mystical unnamed power controlling this universe. I know this is true because for some reason, some unexplained reason, a well-planned experiment working many, many times before, when performed for publication purposes will not work.  And it will continue not to work until the toll exacted by the unnamed forces controlling such things is paid - whether it be sweat, reagents, tears, goose-eggs from banging the head on the bench.....

... sigh.....

Maybe I should become a trash collector instead. 

Bath Time Chatter

Here's Ms. A to Erin while drying Erin off tonight:

Ms. A: Hi, cutie! You're so big now! Do you remember when you were so small?

Brian: Probably not.

Goooooooo Timbers!

Erin went to her first soccer game tonight. She plays soccer already but she doesn't know it. It's a game where Mom pumps her legs up and down, saying "Run, run, run run run... Kick the ball!" with a emphatic mimed kick at the end.  This makes her laugh.  Overall she had a great time, watching the game, the crowd, the folks we were with, and enjoyed staying up 2 hours past her bedtime.  We left at half-time, but when we did the Timbers were winning 2 to 0. Gooooooooo Timbers!!!!

"Blueberries are ruined for me forever"

Background: Erin eats a lot of blueberries.  A lot of them.  It's her favorite food.

While feeding Erin blueberries during dinner tonight:

Brian: "Oh, man, Erin just pooped another blueberry Clif Bar.  Yick.  It smells just like blueberries."

Ms. A: "Ugh, yeah. Blueberries are ruined for me forever."

First "meals"

Oven-roasted fingerling potatoes (that's convection oven roasted, thank you very much.)

One-bowl brownies (because I still only have one bowl out)

Martinis.