Godparents

Last Sunday, Ken and I became godparents for the first time! My best friend Kate's second son, Will is the lucky guy. We're planning to get many cards featuring the words "Godson." Happy United Nations Day, Godson. Happy Grandparents Day, Godson! Happy All Saints Day, Godson! Happy National Depression Screening Day, Godson! Happy Easter, Godson! Happy Hannakuh, Godson!

apple picking

Ah! A crisp New England day.



Rows upon rows of apples. We tended to favor red and golden delicious for eating, and cortland for baking. No photos of the two pies made later, but we were all rather too sick with culinary delights to photograph the scene.



YUM.



Eve tries to persuade Adam. He looks pretty complicit.



It was the serpent's idea anyway.



Apple pickers in attendance: Emily, Ken, Abbye, Emily D., and Beth.

I wish I had taken a photo of the "hayride." If you read Kara's blog, you have had an account of a decent hayride. The one offered at our orchard was so pathetic! There was a tractor pulling this flat board on wheels. Upon the board, there were 4 bales of hay in the middle. That was it! So you could sit on the bed of the trailer and lean against a hay bale, but sheesh, how sad! Hayrides should have at least a few of the following elements: hay (lots of loose hay), hay bales stacked up to make benches with backs, horses, pumpkins, etc. Right? Am I a hay ride snob or what?

new obsession?

We've been thinking... and considering all the advice from those we've asked... it's probably NOT the best time to buy a house. Boo-hoo! What will my new obsession be? I like to have a project that I can think about (outside of the never-ending project of my dissertation)...

Any suggestions? I'm thinking of researching and figuring out how to best invest some $ for retirement. Roth IRAs? I've heard good things. Any financial advice out there? I love advice about these things.

But the process of looking at houses has left me knowing a bit more than I used to know. I know that I truly LOVE old houses. They don't have to be too old, but just a wee bit old. I like that. I also like reproductions of old houses, but those are usually mucho expensivo. I also now know that I'm very picky about where the house is located... I like quiet country settings. I also like neighborhoods that aren't too new or too fancy, but not too icky-hicky (duh). I'd love to live near one of those lovely New England town greens.

The good things about waiting to buy:

-we can continue put money away for the down payment
-we'll be buying when one of us has an actual JOB job, so we'll probably be able to look at a wider variety of houses
-we'll know what our commute will be BEFORE buying
-the market may continue to go down, so our housing options might look better and better
-the house we love may still be on the market, at the rate houses are selling in that area

Ciao!

E

to buy or not to buy...

Hi Loyal Readers (loyal you must be if you're even still bothering to check this)--

Well, I'm in love, and he's WAAAY too old for me-- about 120, I am guessing. a while back a former grad student in our program let the department know that she and her husband were selling their home. It started us on this whole house-hunting thing... and after seeing a little bit of what's in our price range, I keep returning to that first house that sparked our interest...

Here's a link to a listing:
http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1086595264&sid=#Detail

I hope it works! What do you think? I've seen it twice, and it's very lovely...

But... we don't know how long we'll be in the area, it could be one year, it could be 3, it could be 40... we just don't know. While I HATE paying rent right now, I do fear getting involved with our first real estate project without knowing how long we'll be around. I want to buy, but I think that's mostly because it's such a sweet house, and it could be a really great investment. I keep dreading the day when we find out that the house has been sold, and we've missed our chance.

My only real concern is that it has a basement that is OLD-- and unlike any I've ever dealt with. Basically, it's just a fieldstone foundation, and the floor is gravel and dirt. All that is down there is the furnace -- it's not a storage area or anything. It doesn't seem wet or anything, but just different from what I'm used to. But, I suppose if I LIKE old houses, I better get used to the idea of old basements. Right? I don't know.

Most of the houses in our price range would need a lot of work before they seemed like home to me. This is a house I think I could really enjoy living in from day one...

Any words of wisdom or warning?

E

Washington

Ken here.

After Norm and Krissa's spectacular wedding bash, we headed west through the Coquihala Mountain Range and then south into Washington State. We stopped in Coupeville, a small, quiet town on Whidbey Island. We stayed in a great bed and breakfast called The Blue Goose Inn.


After we got situated in our room, we took a walk into town. Man, this town was quiet! We didn't see anybody. I guess Sunday night is not the time for wild debauchery in Coupeville.


After a stroll on the wharf (or whatever it was) we found a great restaurant called The Mad Crab, where we indulged in shellfish to the extent that the law allows. Next, we found dental floss at a local convenience store and headed back to our room. But the excitement didn't end there. Nope. We channel surfed until we found the University of Washington's cable station and spent the rest of the night grooving to a lecture on child psychology. Did you know that most 2 1/2-year-olds can't think symbolically about objects, while most 3-year-olds can? We didn't either!

The next day, we took the ferry from Whidbey Island and headed for Seattle. The drive was spectacular!

In Seattle we checked out the University of Washington's beautiful campus, had a great lunch with cousin Damon down in the Pike Place Fish Market neighborhood (sorry, no photos--we always forget at the crucial moments), hung out around the Space Needle...


...went up the Space Needle...


and looked at this strange building (the Experience Music Project).


Next, we drove to Volunteer Park, where the weirdest thing happened. It all started when we saw a woman getting dressed in full armor. Then we heard classical music coming from out of thin air. It was brass, and it sounded exquisite. Without thinking, we pulled over and jumped out of the car. We saw an idyllic-looking path leading to an old stone water tower, from which the music seemed to be emanating.


We went running up the path and found a cast-iron gate; it was pushed open slightly.


Without thinking, we just busted though the gate and began running up a spiral staircase. We didn't know if we were supposed to be here, but the music had us mesmerized and it drew us up and up.


Finally we arrived at the top, where we found a wonderful observation area. There were five horn players practicing, and a bunch of people like us looking a little dazed, but enormously happy to just stand and listen for a while.


Emily declared that this was the best part of the trip, and we both agreed that Seattle is a fine town, indeed!


P.S. On the way back to the airport, we were fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the sublime Mt. Ranier, which had been hiding in the clouds all day long. Doesn't it look like it's floating? Egad! What a mountain!

Krissa and Norm get married!

First things first. Wedding blogging must come before any other trip blogging. For those of you who don't know, Ken and I just returned from our friends' wedding in BC. Krissa was my roommate in the big converted barn for my first two years of grad school. For those two years, I spent way more time with the folks in her department (Ecology and Evolutionary Bio) than with the folks in mine. By the middle of that first fall, Krissa and Norm had found romance in the halls of botany.... and being at their wedding last weekend was a real treat.

The wedding was supposed to take place here:

Krissa was going to take a boat to the far end of the dock, and walk down the dock to meet Norm at the other end. Alas, after a day of brilliant weather, the skies on either side of the lake darkened and storms ensued. Here's the sky behind the house at about 3:30 pm, right before the 4pm ceremony:
Scary.

Luckily, Norm's parents' home was a great alternative location... everyone stayed alive, and the wedding was dramatically beautiful. Krissa was the most stunningly lovely bride! Instead of walking down the dock, she came around the side of the house. Here she is arriving on the scene with her Dad, Phil. As you can see, Norm looks very happy; Jay, the best man looks contemplative; Krissa's Mom, Kathy, has that mother-of-the bride look, a lot of happy, with a little nostalgic sad too.

And the band (awesomest band ever) played Tupelo Honey. There was not a dry eye in the house.

There were readings by some of Krissa's closest friends:

The official officiant was Norm's uncle who is a Supreme Court Justice in BC. I think this picture was taken when Krissa and Norm had to swear that they knew of no legal reason why they should not be wed. That is a little less intimidating than the typical question in US weddings that is thrown to the crowd. The grand old "If ANYONE HERE knows of any reason why...." I'm always afraid of the Jane Eyre moment. But from the looks of Krissa and Norm, there was to be no dark secret revealed:

And the best man was umbrella ready when the skies opened:

We all joined the bride and groom in the house for champagne after the ceremony:

We had so much fun at the reception that we forgot to take many photos! The food was fantastic. All local or organic or wild or something! Piles of fruit from the BC fruit capital, awesome local wines (Norm's folks live in the center of Canada's Napa Valley), crazy-good entrees! And the desserts.... heaven. The tables were covered with cool vintage-style fabric, and there were so many different kinds of flowers I could never name them all.... all tucked into little antique vases. Here's our table:


An unforgettable day. Congratulations, Krissa and Norm!

Ken

&

The White Whale

Have

A

Moment

At the Buttonwood Tree

Had fun last weekend playing a set of songs, stories, and poems at the Buttonwood Tree, a little bookstore/performance space in Middletown, CT. Lys Guillorn and Elisa Flynn were also on the bill. You can read a review of the show by Hartford Courant music critic Eric Danton.

A Day in Mystic

Spotting the white whale at Mystic Aquarium: May 9, 2007.

eileen the limbo snow-girl

Shouldn't this be impossible by the laws of physics?

Shouldn't we take our christmas lights down?

Had a nice visit with Grandma Maggie today. Very Valentine-y over at Brewster. We got to see the 1940 Hartford High yearbook... where the editors commented on her wonderful way with writing stories, and her love of reading! Still the same!

Miss Marble (for those of you following her dramatic emergency animal hospital incident) seems to be doing okay. I think she's taking to the Cosequin... though the ONLY way she'll get it is if we mix the powder with yogurt, suck it up in a syringe a shoot it into her mouth. Poor dear.

Still here

We are here and doing well! This is our first snowman of the year-- he was standing up straight when we made him at 11:00pm Friday, but he must have snuck out for a drink later that night, becuase he's been leaning ever since. Yes, our Christmas lights are still up, but it was pretty to see them in the snow. We'll take them down before we put our annuals in, don't worry.