O! Christmas Tree!

Taking his PhD exams has thrown dear Kenny into a slight identity crisis.

Imagine there's no John Lennon

25 years ago today John Ono Lennon was shot in New York City. Although I was too young to remember, John Lennon and the Beatles have given me so many happy memories. I'll always remember going on long drives with my high school buddy Shelley and blasting Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in her Jeep. I also will always remember being fascinated with that particular album cover that my mom had and thinking they were so STRANGE. I also remember listening to Maxwell's Silver Hammer and Under the Sea over and over again in my room in Pittsburgh. And Ken! Ken and I have spent more than one trip to Pittsburgh listening to al the Beatles albums we have in chronological order. In Scotia, my best friend Kate and I used to obsess about the Beatles (which got me sent to the principal's office for being disruptive during Math). She had a really cool Beatles t-shirt. The Beatles would never have existed without John Lennon (and the rest, but he was pretty key). So, if you survived that shooting, and are reading blogs from some remote location (along with Elvis), THANK YOU John Lennon. You changed the world.

Beatles memories, anyone?

Winter things . . .

Winter at the little red house

Well, winter has really arrived here. To welcome in the season I started weather-stripping (really, a good idea when the weather is nice, but a dumb one when you probably waste all the energy you may have saved by having the door open for gobs of time). Not as cozy as KT's cookie baking, but it felt good to get that done. I won't deign to belabor how many attempts I made at putting it up properly before finally (after lots of tacks and angst-y mumbles) doing so. I try to be handy.

And, Ken put up the Christmas lights yesterday! How festive!

Today was St. Mark's 50th anniversary mass. The bishop (one of the controversial ones--oooooo!) presided. It's so funny to see all the pomp associated with the guest. Some of it (like the brass quintet) I loved. Some of it is just FUNNY--like the pointy hat and the staff and the elaborate robes. Very THEATRE. It's like you expect a goblin to be a part of it. Or at least a wizard or something. Very interesting. Worth driving a little bit in the snow.

I'm going to watch the 1949 version of the film "Little Women" now.

Miss Marble helps Ken study for Exam #2

After Exam #1 . . .

Hunkering down

mustache gone . . . exam date soon approaching

Ken's first PhD exam is Dec. 2! Then 2 more generalists on Dec 9 & 19. He has remained remarkably calm and joyous.

Instead of working on my seminar papers, I'm baking banana bread and blogging. Can you tell it's about THAT time? I mean, I don't blog forever and ever, and then all this? It's that time when I know I have a ton to do before "the end," but tomorrow nothing is "due" per se. At least blogging is productive procrastination, right?

Thanks for all advice on Christmas tree, etc. Will get tree in a couple of weeks, or maybe a little sooner. And I'll stop worrying about Christmas cards.

Have you ever noticed that the spell checker on this blogger tool picks up "blog" and all associated words as misspellings? It totally freaks me out.

The man with the dark mustache eats turkey

contemplating the mustache at Jean's house

Occasionally, Ken does not shave for a while. When this happens, and I see him get out the shaving cream I always BEG and PLEAD with him to keep a mustache, just for fun. ISN'T IT FUN?!?!? I thought it would just be funny, like silly and freakish.... but I started to like it! What do you think? Errol Flynn?

Ken brought his mustache to Jean's on our Thanksgiving leftover day over the weekend. Which, by the way, was a delicious reintroduction to normal food for me. PTL.

Scott, Kate, and Andrew on Andrew's Baptism.

Couch!

back to blogging . . .

I was considering posting a photo that showed our new couch in full, but this photo kills me. So.... that's our new couch! We're completely satisfied with it--it's divinely comfortable, very pretty, and *so far* not all that attractive to the claws of my darling preciouses. We got to pick out the fabric of the couch and pillows from about a katrillion samples--how did we do? The pillow was from a totally different "set" than the couch, but we thought it would spice things up a bit.

It's been a busy & wonderful 2 months... my parents came for a visit, Sam and Anna's engagement party brought Ellie and Sarah for a visit, we've been to reunions, baptisms, I've handed in one 25 page paper and sundry shorter papers, while Ken has been steadily studying for his PhD exams. His first one is on Dec. 2! I had a blast writing about Anne of Green Gables, and the next big paper I am working on will be about Little Women and the 3 film adaptations (1933, 1949?, and 1994).

I won't belabor my pre-Thanksgiving "episode" with all of you sensitive readers, but I am feeling better now. Ken and I will be heading to Jean's to help her with her copious leftovers today. Wish my tummy luck.

Now, a few surveys for whomever is still sweet and kind enough to check my blog after a horrid 2 months (or so) time away.

One: Last year I over-purchased Christmas cards, and now I have a bunch left over. I don't know which card I sent to which person. On a scale of one to ten, how offended are you when you get the same card in the mail from the same person 2 years in a row? (Ten is "egregiously offended"--and let "x" stand for "it's never happened {i.e., I never noticed)".) (Did I punctuate that properly?)

Two: When putting up a fresh Christmas tree how long does it last? (Assuming you cut it yrself and put it in water.) Is it safe to leave it up in a house with kitties for 4 days while we travel? If not, on a scale of 1-10, how depressing is it to take down a Christmas tree before Christmas?

Enjoy the pretty snow. I didn't even put my bulbs in yet.

The Two Emily Dickinsons

THE Emily Dickinson picture (1847, age 17)

Although I SHOULD be working on my paper about the biography of Emily Dickinson that I just read (Richard Sewall), I couldn't help posting these two pictures. In the biography there is the picture we all know to be E.D. But in the back in an appendix, there is this other photo, found at a bookseller's in Greenwich Village, that is labeled (in unknown handwriting) "Emily Dickinson, 1860." There is a lot of debate as to whether the found photo is THE POET E.D., as there were other E.D.s in the Amherst area at the time. Anyway, this photo freaks me out! I can't stand NOT KNOWING whether it is really HER or some imposter! See, I think it would change the way people read the poetry written. Because, let's face it, that early photo of E.D. makes her look VERY strange. I mean, it preserves the idea that she was "child-like" and all these other weird myths about her. The other E.D. looks like a real grown-up, someone with whom you might want to converse. Even though they don't look a lot alike, I think it is possible that they are both the real E.D. How many of us, at the age of 30-something look a lot like we did at 17? In E.D.'s case, I think the change as distinctly for the better! Anyway, with photo technology, it's not like the 1847 photo would be a good representation of what she really looked like--maybe it was just a bad day. The biography said she was sick quit a lot when she was at Mt. Holyoke (where the photo was taken). What do you all think? I'm going to do a little research. This book was last published in 1980, so maybe the mystery has since been solved.

Oooo. I just found yet another photo. Check out this link:
http://www.unc.edu/%7Egura/dickinson/index.html



Is this also Emily Dickinson? (1860ish)

Curtains!

Something new & light & airy & oh-so pretty (and this time I'm not gushing about my cats)

Oooooo.... pretty things are happening in our family room! SOMEONE very nice out there gave us a gift card to Country Curtains for a wedding gift & we've started to use it! We simply cannot believe what a difference these curtains make! I love to walk into that room! (Which is a good thing, if I didn't, I would have a hard time getting from the kitchen anywhere.) We thought we'd get some lace panels, but when I saw these on display I had to have them. Do you think we made a wise choice? I mean, not WISE like quilted-insulated-roll-up-energy-saving-shades-type-wise, but YOU KNOW . . . one of my secret goals in life is to have a room as cozy as Auntie Ellen's living room. (Not the Depression Room, which I do remember, and I like, but it had afghans covering the windows, right?)



Up-close & Lacey!

Pumpkins from the farm up the road

oh what a pretty world it is!

"Moo" say the cows in the woods across the street.

a week in the life of Kemily

Lula attempts to eat a sunflower that is 4x the size of her head.

Wow, it's Wednesday Morning and I finally have a minute to update the blog. With the school year here, lots of things are going on. From a previous post, you saw the ladies I had over for dinner! I was just tickled to be able to have my mentor, her mentor, and my mentee from the English Department over to enjoy pie and gossip. We represent all different stages in the graduate program... Laurie is working on her dissertation, and expecting a baby! Jennie-Rebecca was her mentee, and my mentor & she too is dissertating. Me, in my last year of coursework. And Emily who is just starting the MA this year . . . and just graduated from Gordon, Abby's college! Incidentally, Jennie-Rebecca also went to Gordon, AND her father is an English prof there.

The day before we had guests, Ken and I were walking down the road, past the farm, and we saw out neighbors there. We talked for a while, and walked through their FANTASTIC ENVIABLE BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC ENORMOUS FANTASTIC veggie garden. We walked out with HUGE stalks of sunflowers of all shades and sizes, as well as a bag full of ripe tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, hot peppers, carrots, and the beets that were made into the soup I posted the other day. We feel very lucky.


Aaron and Emily @ the Bowery Poetry Club

Last Saturday was the launch party of our friend Patrick's new magazine, Oddfellow. So there was an event at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. Since Ken and Aaron both had stories in the magazine, we all went down for it. Ken also did a feature performance... and was, of course, the STAR of the show. Well, at least, it seemed that way to me. We walked around 'the village' for the afternoon--it was sunny and lovely. Although the whole city pretty much smells like trash, it was still fun. I have to say that the eating down there is pretty sweet. . . we had sushi which was scrumptious, and we also visited my favorite French Cafe, Le Gamin.


Ken at Le Gamin


Readers, I have a yogurt maker. It's one that makes yogurt in one big quart-sized container. I think I like it a lot. The first batch was a little watery, but I think that is because I did not let it sit for long enough before turning off the machine and refridgerating it. So I'll keep experimenting. To all those out there who have had acid reflux problems, or other stomach ailments, I'd really recommend eating yogurt 2 times a day for a month, and see how things go. I can honestly say that a regiment of daily yogurt has done wonders for my chronically troubled tummy. I remember taking all sorts of horrible pills like Nexium and all the other PPIs--bad side effects and little change in the way I felt. I haven't felt this good since I was a kid. Of course, the really sugary or fake-sugary kinds are to be avoided at all costs. Plain yogurt sweetened slightly by maple syrup or fruit is more palatable. I'm still in the market for a yogurt maker that makes yogurt in little cups.

On Sunday Ken and I took a really long walk along the Fenton "river." Is something still a river if the bed is all dried up? We walked up the rocky bed of the river. I was sad to see all the dead fish. I think rain is coming today or tomorrow, though. After the walk we went to "A Taste of Organic Connecticut" in Coventry. What a nice, nice time! There were some yummy samples, and some great music. I saw lots of the farmers from my Farmer's Market there. We bought a pumpkin and a tiny little tabletop Mum. I love mums in the fall. We listened in on a talk about organic gardening. I also got a houseplant. It is some sort of succulent.


Miss Marble

Bowl of Paint (Cold Beet Soup)

4 beets, boiled, peeled, chopped
Mix with 2 cups of plain yogurt (I used whole-milk yogurt)
Add some cumin to taste
Add salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle copiously with fresh dill

Serve to the brave.
Ken loved, loved, loved it.

Dinner Party


Laurie (and Cody is within), Jennie-Rebecca, Me (in vintage housedress!), and Emily--4 generations of metor-mentees!

Introducing THE LUMBERYARD

Ken tries to find his "radio voice"

Here is the official word sent out to a small but growing LUMBERYARD mailing list this morning...

THE LUMBERYARD: A Radio Magazine of Poetry, Prose & Music

www.thelumberyardjournal.com

On Tuesday, Sep 6, at 5pm, THE LUMBERYARD's first episode will be broadcast on WHUS 91.7FM, from the campus of the University of Connecticut. THE LUMBERYARD will continue to air in the same time slot on a bi-weekly basis through May 2006.

Vol I, Episode 1: Table of Contents

Edna St. Vincent Millay
Patrick Penta
Marilyn Nelson
Adam Blackwell
Amanda Cagle
Chris Dowd
Emily Dickinson
Musical Feature: The Damien Pratt

There are three ways to listen to THE LUMBERYARD:

1) radio broadcast on WHUS 91.7FM, Connecticut
2) streaming audio at www.whus.org
3) podcast at www.thelumberyardjournal.com

We hope you take a listen to our half-hour radio magazine. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to editors@thelumberyardjournal.com.

Happy listening,
Ken Cormier & Aaron Sanders
Co-Editors
The Lumberyard, WHUS 91.7FM

a recipe and a movie suggestion

morning is good, isn't it?

Finally the morning glories have decided to come out. It took them forever to start growing, and only one out of about 30 looks like it'll bloom.

We watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding tonight. It was really good (aside from the really cheesy guy from Northern Exposure playing the fiancee). It was FUNNY. Carolyn suggested it to me, and I suggest it to everyone reading this blog.

The greens at this time of year have been phenomenal. We had some collards last night that were bigger than the t-shirts my students wear. And much tastier. Below is some sweet swiss chard. Try this for dinner (Mother, don't gag).

-wild rice
-cannelenni beans heated up in a little veggie bullion
-Swiss chard cooked in olive oil, margarine or butter, and s & p

Pile up on plate. Eat. Not very fancy, but very yummy.


rainbow chard. heavens it's tasty.

summer food

mmmm... a BLT and a tall glass of olive oil

We love summer food. Last weekend we got some positively luscious tomatoes from the garden at Ken's aunts' house. My tomatoes (there were 3 in all) went from green to rotten in the garden. Ho-hum. Now that Martha Stewart can leave her estate, perhaps she can make a house call.

This semester I'm taking an American Lit I survey, and a Children's Lit class. I couldn't help being positively tickled to see that we'd be reading books like The Secret Garden, Goodnight Moon, Anne of Green Gables, James and the Giant Peach, and Where the Wild Things Are. I'm wicked lucky. Perhaps if I am this excited about the class, I've finally stumbled upon a dissertation-worthy subject. We shall see.

My friend Molly got engaged this past weekend. She went to our wedding with her (now) fiancee, and it was one of their early dates. Now she gets to (or is it has to?) plan a wedding! We're going to have lunch together soon, so that I can hopefully unload a small pile of somewhat useless books on her.

I want to buy a yogurt machine. I will not rest until I find one! Any suggestions? Should I go with one that has individual cups, or one that makes it a quart at a time? Should I buy off of e-bay? Is it gross to buy kitchen stuff from e-bay?

Weekend of Cousins

I hate to post photos and run, but HEAVENS am I tired! As you can see from the photos, Ken and I had a great weekend of visiting with family!

Ken's Nana Cormier turned 93 on Friday, so we stopped in Southington to give her our best on Saturday. Her memory is better than mine . . . and I hear that she, too, loves to play Scrabble. I'm going to keep playing and hope for the best.
Then we heading to Torrington and visited with Aunt Midge, Uncle Paul, Kara, Sean, Eamon, Elizabeth, Brett, Megan, Damon, and Egon. We ate yummy food (I finally got to taste the Kalhua Cake Midge makes [and even though I can't spell it, it tasted good!]). What a treat to see all of the Maddens! Elizabeth is even dearer in person than in photos, of course. Eamon had so much fun telling us the names of all the Matchbox cars Auntie Midge brought out for him.

Then Sunday we drove up to NH, where Carolyn and John were having a BBQ. Ken finally had a chance to start getting to know my cousins on the other side. We saw Carolyn, John, Isaac, Matt, Mel, and met their cousin Mike, and his wife Danielle. Phew. Isaac is such a sweet little boy--he loves to imitate adult conversations, complete with laughing hysterically at just the right moment. Their house in Durham is an absolute dream--we can't wait to go back!

Today was the first day of teaching for me . . . I'm sleepy & heading to bed.

Matt & Mel--happy as the day they were married!

Cozy summer meal with the Cortesis

Isaac . . . ready for the weather!

Carolyn, Matthew, Danielle @Carolyn & John's

Kara and Elizabeth--what a beautiful sight!

happy boat spray

skiing out of saginaw bay

the engine

dinner on the porch

The boat

The dock

At the Gazebo

Celebrating with potato chips and champagne

Cheers! This was our early anniversary celebration. It was chilly, but the champagne warmed us. Last night we had dinner at the very same place we had our reception. It was nice, but since it was a Monday night, it was a little empty. I think that made the contrast more dramatic than I expected. I mean, it was pretty and fun to revisit the place, but it really made me miss everyone! How can you compare a room full of your friends and family with a fancy dinner for two? I know, I am being SO dramatic, aren't I? But it was a little eerie... I missed everyone. The food was great, but I didn't have room for dessert! Horrifying. They gave us a little bottle of champagne to take home as a little first anniversary gift. That was nice.

To answer Liza'a question, no, we did not have the top of our cake last night. We enjoyed every last morsel of it on our honeymoon last year at this time. We just couldn't wait!

Mom and Ken's debut

Our Paper Anniversary

Oh happy day!

One year ago today Ken was waiting in the back of the church, and I was putting on my veil. Thanks to all who were with us that day, and thanks to those who wished us well from afar! It truly has been a beautiful year . . . full of good, good, good, good things.

finances, schminances

upon hearing that one should save for retirement at a young age

Meeting with a financial advisor put all sorts of new words into my vocab today. Perhaps they shouldn't have been NEW words--maybe that is part of the problem. But now I have heard of a Roth-IRA, 401K, 403B?, Mutual Fund, and other things that flew right over my head. Since we decided not to buy this little red house (something we are glad we decided not to buy--as there are plans for a subdivision to swallow the 22 wooded acres before too long), we also decided to do something to make ourselves more ready to buy when we are at that place...

I was depressed to learn that SRIs (Socially Responsible Investments--the one thing I had heard of) don't do as well as horribly irresponsible ones. Why do all the bad companies that employ tiny children and destroy the environment get all the financial rewards? Maybe their reward is here on earth . . .

ANYWAY. We've decided not to send our future kids to college (I mean, education is not all it's cracked up to be, it doesn't really get you more money, as well we know.) We've decided that retiring is for the birds. We'll work till we're 100+. We've given up eating and shelter to save on costs and are going to join a band of wandering persons who seek out temperate weather.

The above photo is from Sunday night. Before we went out on the town with Aaron and Holly (a first for the 4 of us), I had a moment with Gareth and Eliot. This photo was shot before they found out that their work-study pre-school already had a 401K set up for them. In 2065 they'll be billionares.

Cats in the window, birds on the feeder

The birdwatching is excellent from up here.

After breakfast this morning we walked in on the cutest little scene up in the bathroom. Though we've only posted this one photo, we've documented the moment with 30 more if you happen to be interested. If one can see through the old & sort of grungy screens, there is an exceptionally good view of the bird feeders from this perspective, and the kitties must have been feeling loving toward one another to be in such close proximity. Lest you think they live like this always, the scene did break up with Lula chomping down on one of Marble's ears.

Last night as we ate some dinner on the porch, a doe and her two spotted fawns were eating apples from the tree in our backyard. What company! We may not have bobcats, but we've had such nice run-ins with the other locals!

We just finished our last full week of summer teaching! Yahoo! Now that I have a little more time, I'd like to put in a fall crop of greens (kale, spinach, lettuce, etc.). But I have THE WORST neck/back ache I've ever had. I think it's totally pathetic, but I cannot seem to look down at my feet without shooting pains! So I'll have to wait till that works itself out. Seems to be a bit better this morning.

Today we get to go to the Cormier family picnic! We're lucky to be surrounded by pool-owning relatives!

I'm sitting in the midst of the biggest study disaster area ever! I have a tendency to bring any junk that is piling up downstairs up to my study to "go through" at a later date. Sadly, the heat and humidity on floor 2 of a Cape Cod prohibits any sustained cleaning effort. But we're starting to lose things, so I must clean some day. Mother, would you like to come and visit me?

Sarah vs. the basketball hoop.

Noodles... not just for dinner anymore.

Family Picnic 1

Ellen and Liz discuss the pros and cons of being a member of the Frueh family. On the one hand, we are a very funny people; on the other hand, we have a propensity to worry, worry, worry.

To market, to market

Miss Marble eating flowers

I had to decide what to do with the towels about a minute after I posted my blog yesterday, and I am proud to report that I dried them! Genius! Yesterday I was the Market Master (I think I should be the Market Arbiter instead). IT really is a fun thing to volunteer for because it is a very social thing, and it means I can actively support something I really believe in without becoming a farmer myself. I set up a little table of info about local foods and local farms. I gave out free pencils printed with a Connecticut Farms logo printed on them, free bumper stickers that say "CT AGRICULTURE: KEEP IT GROWING!" and so on. It's great to be giving people free stuff isn't it? No dickering about prices; no over-charging or under-charging worries. And as a major bonus, towards the end of the market when all the farmers are breaking the tents down, many of them approach me and say things like "Do you like zucchini? Help yourself!" So even though I don't get paid, per se, I do get some nice yummy appreciative tokens. And the flowers you see Miss Marble munching on? They were market leftovers from the same wonderful organic gardener who did our wedding flowers! What a treat. Oh how I ADORE fresh garden flowers.

Last night we went to a party at our friends' house & we arrived about 4 hours after it started. It was a "Hunka, Hunka Burning Cookout"--Elvis themed, of course. So since we were arriving late (due to Farmers' Market stuff) we thought we'd just pick up a bottle of wine and be a little lame (no homemade dish, no Elvis outfit). However we just happened to be looking in the chilled wine cooler when we saw a "Blue Suede Chardonnay" complete with a photo on the label of the King himself rockin' out. Amazing luck. The wine was pretty good too--for our plebian tastes, that is.

All the couch advice has been fantastic. I think we'll head to Ikea on Tuesday afternoon and see what they have going on. Whatever stuff was on Auntie Midge's old couch that could be poked at with a pen and show no wear--that is the stuff we have too. I'll keep you all very posted.

Now I'm off to a parent-student-teacher picnic for Upward Bound. I hope we don't get too rained upon. Weather like this reminds me of my wedding day!



Lula settling in for a nap

at home on a saturday

It's so humid that our towels simply won't dry after we use them. Ick. Ick. Ick. So I've plunked them in the washer with HOT water (I never do that b/c of the dreadful cost of oil which heats our water) and bleach (no, not clorox, of which I am deathly afraid, but some earthy stuff that probably does no more than borax to kill germs but at least makes me feel like I am making some modest attempt at deep cleaning). So when the wash is done (and I put it on "soak" so that means it soaks for, like, ever and ever so it's not going to be done for hours which means you all [if you are sitting around on a saturday reading blogs (not that I ever would [I have much more pressing matters at hand]) have the opportunity to advise me) should I hang the towels out to dry and save electricity and keep the house cooler (b/c that hot dryer would not be running) or must I dry them in the drier to ensure they are the driest dry possible so as to prevent the development of unseemly odors? Will the odors just return immediately the next time we use the towels?

And couches and chairs! (This, as you all know, is an incomplete sentence [otherwise known as a sentence fragment] which in some cases can be permittable in writing provided it is used sparingly for rhetorical emphasis, which, in this case is somewhat unclear. It is, in one sense, an erroneous use of a fragment because it seems to refer to a new topic that I have not yet started, and thus seems to come out of the blue. Or [as I see it] it is rhetorically connected to the concept of a "rant" which is the hyperbolic mode of expression in this particular blog, THUS, although the topic of furniture is unrelated to the topic of towel drying, it is likely to be another rant, which makes it clearly a fragment that is emphasizing the ranting nature of the blog.) I have concluded that it is time for us to consider purchasing a new couch and chair. At some point yesterday (probably when we were sitting on our 100th couch in some godawful 5 acre store with a man wearing an italian suit and a pinky ring and Ken asked me how much we were willing to spend on a couch and I said "Well, if we've decided to get one, we might as well be willing to spend about [insert miserable figure in this slot], so we can get one we like," and he looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression and pointed out that we didn't decide this, I decided this, at which point I gave him an equally puzzled look because I hadn't realized this at all.) I realized that ugly and/or uncomfortable couches are cheap, and comfy and lovely couches are expensive. I'd have to dry all loads of laundry outside for AT LEAST the next 300 years in order to shave that amount of money off of our electric bill. Of course, this is a participatory blog, so let me know if you have couch buying tips. The only plus of the couch we have now is that is is upholstered in this INDESTRUCTIBLE and UNSTAINABLE stuff which I can only liken to plastic burlap. Our darling cats could (and sometimes seem to) spend 10 hours a day scratching at it and it has never ever ever shown one moment of wear. We found couch we like at a store somewhat locally, but we want to go to Ikea first and sit on their couches. Can a couch change a room? Or am I hoping for too much?

decisions

summer at the little red house

Our landlord told us that unless we are buying the place, he's not selling it within the next 2-3 years. So, we can stay... if we want to. After much discussion, etc... we have decided not to leave our dear little red house. But dear readers, it pained me so to call the owners of the charming stucco cottage with the "good news" that we were not forced to move out of our little red house. So now I'm in a small period of mourning the loss of that cute little stucco cottage rental and all the things I loved about it. I'm moping. But isn't our little red house cute too? Isn't it? Don't the plants make it look lived in?

Ellen reminded me that if we stayed where we were we'd save money which we would later be thankful for when looking to buy a cute house of our own ...

But oh readers! Oh! that other house just seemed so very very so very so.

Ferns & roses along a stone wall on our side yard

Silas visits

Looks like a blissful scene, doesn't it?

I looks as though Silas is starting on a nice mid-evening snack, doesn't it? We thought so. He had been happily and vigorously sucking on the bottle for quite a while, when we noticed that the bottle hadn't lost much liquid. However, Silas seemed content; he was drifting in and out of sleep. When Jonathan and Kristin came back, we told them he had sucked on the bottle for a while, but hadn't drank much. They thought it was very strange. As it turns out, the nipple was new, and the hole in it was not fully punched through. No wonder he was sucking so hard! For all that frustration, he didn't really seem too upset. 4 hours without food! What incompetent babysitters!