Just in case you were wondering...

...we survived Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene just fine.

It was wet and windy here yesterday, but that was about it. We lost power for a whopping 20 minutes. So now we have to find a way to eat all that nonperishable food we bought. Canned chicken recipes, anyone?

MA seems to have weathered things pretty well all things considered. I'm hearing of some nastiness in Vermont. We hope for a speedy recovery for those who got some damage.

Oh, and I talked to my friend Irene last night. She said all those people throwing her name around for a week made it feel like her birthday.

I'm such a sports geek

As soon as the NFL lockout ended, I started (impatiently) waiting for my football pool notification to come.

I've been part of the same football pool since 1995, when I spent a month in Milwaukee doing research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Back then it was sent as an e-mail with a lame attempt at an Excel spreadsheet, and the pool owner would hand-calculate the winner each week. My, how times have changed. Now it's on a hosted website with all kinds of bells and whistles.

I just got my activation e-mail today. I can't wait for the season to start.

Go Cowboys!

Trying to be a photographer--ha!

Our apartment building has these beautiful flowers in front of the leasing office. I had this dream in mind of putting S in a summer dress, plopping her down among the flowers, and taking perfect shots of her.

Then reality set in. We were traveling, or it was too hot, or raining, or why would I stick my kid in a dress?

Yesterday she wanted to go for a walk, and she was in a bright summer ensemble, so I figured I'd at least give it a shot.

On her way over to the leasing office. With her new purse. They're her latest obsession, and her grandmothers are indulging her every chance they get

I call this the Urban Shot

Contemplating her next move

The Riot of Color

Actually posing for me. Note the perfect purse placement

These are the flowers. Pretty, no?

Detour to check out the putting green

I just found this funny

My attempt at the garden shot. Gotta work on the shoe placement, and those shorts are too big. I saw a lot of diaper in my pictures before I cropped them

I bought yarn

While at Pennsic, I bought yarn. And I'm so excited to play with it.

I bought some cashmere. And just found a pattern from Japan for cable mittens. I can't wait.

I bought quite the batch of linen yarn. What the heck am I going to do with it? Make a market bag, of course. If my vegan sister in law is my Secret Santa pick this year, she may get it :)

And there's some alpaca, and plain old wool, all hand-dyed. I talked to the lady who dyed them, and now I want to try it too. We got really geeky about how one ingredient can change the color from a warm auburn to a dark gray. Be prepared for me to discuss my adventures dying with turmeric (yikes!).

So expect to see some new creations in the coming months. Some of the yarn is coming via mail from my mother in law (J left them with her for now, which is fine considering the state of this apartment). I can't wait to get my hands on it again.

Enjoying being homebound

The week has started off cold, and wet, and rainy. Which is just fine by me. We need rain. And I need a reason to stay in the apartment after running ourselves ragged for the last 4 months. Just hanging out, finding things to occupy our afternoons, and taking pictures.

S watching ESPN and carrying her purse. Don't you love the Ralph Lauren polo dress? It's my new favorite outfit (sorry to the grandmothers)

S's latest thing. She found Aunt Irene's blanket in the living room and scrambled up on the sofa with it. She loves to snuggle at least once a day under her blankie

A rare self-portrait wtih my little girl. Yeah, it's blurry. Sue me.

S watching Sesame Street. Yes, I let her watch 20 minutes when I remember it's on. Sue me. Again.

S is starting to figure out that your legs go into pants, how shoes go on her feet, and that your foot goes into the open part of the sock. I helped her put mine on just for fun. She's much better at taking them off.

Drawing with crayons. We spent probably 45 minutes doing this yesterday afternoon. So much fun.

Now that we've caught our breath we can get back into the swing of things. I have some freelance work coming in, which fills the quiet times. And I've picked up my knitting needles again. Wait until you see what I'm making. J is easing nicely back into work and we're looking forward to enjoying MA for a while.

War photos

Here we are at the end of another Pennsic War. J went out early the middle of last week, and S and I followed on Monday. S got 3 full days on site, meeting new people and charming them all. She loved it.

In her apron dress wandering around during lunch

Modeling her new princess dress that Grania bought her. An action shot, of course

Ready to go in her cool red wagon. Best $ we've ever spent for Pennsic. It was a sweet ride

Ready to go to Midnight Madness in our matching outfits

A view from the castle

Mid-battle

Another view, this one from our tent during a lovely summer afternoon

What 3 days at Pennsic does to a toddler

Home from War!

Pennsic XL is in the books. J got some great fighting in, S got to play dress-up, Grania got some time with her granddaughter, and I survived a solo RT flight from Boston to Pittsburgh with a toddler.

Pictures to come. I promise.