Sunday, April 29, 2012

Half Made Plans And Family Clans

song of the day



let's hear it for ditty grooves!

Ketchup On The Carrots

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This is right before I let her put ketchup on her carrots.

Todd Helton thinks that is ridiculous.

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I think she's an innovator.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Blood Of A Half-Formed Bird Upon Me

song of the day


set aside for a summer evening


and if you liked that...


yeah?

Blowouts, Baths & Burning Tongue

This was my day.

We spent the entire morning retracing Laura's steps from yesterday because she lost her check. Her very first live check after cancelling her direct deposit and it has disappeared. It could be at Nissan. It could be at the outlets. It could be in the kitchen somewhere. I think we'll never know. But that was a debacle.

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Then in the last two twenty four hours both active sports teams I root for were demolished in heartbreaking and quite honestly, embarrassing losses. Mets by 9 to the Rockies last night and today the Knicks lost game one of the playoffs by 33 to Miami. This is going to sound like a bitter fan but LeBron James should be nominated for an Oscar. If that's how he has to do it to win, I hope he can convince himself it's legit.

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So tonight I made some eggs and toast and gave Yuula a bath. I gooped on the new pepper jam I bought from Ross & Ross the other day. There should've been a "no-gooping" warning because I spent the next 15 minutes cooling my tongue with a glass of ice. Yuula had strawberry.

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Now I wait for Laura to get home and we do it all over again.

A Dad & His Dog

Happy Birthday Pops!

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what's up with the awesome dog?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

As Pure And Strange As What I See

song of the day


that is all

Requiem For A Wake Up

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What a lovely day out this window. Getting warmer [again] and got a list of things to do a mile long. It's all come down together. Went to sleep halfway thru Requiem For A Dream and woke up pretty much right where I left off. I love when IFC plays one movie over and over thru the night. They know me. But that final montage is a rough way to wake up.


The sun will prevail!

Describe My Perfect Date

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Favorite birthday in a long time. Started off with a a surprise gift bag on the kitchen table containing new sweatshorts (since mine have recently been deemed unsavory to wear in mixed company), a case of ginger beer, and my very own boppy which I know is a baby pillow but they are so comfy and really help me not wake up with a stiff neck. So now everyone in the house has their own. No more middle of the night ransacking. Then a visit to Yuula's doctor where she got a clean bill of health and two needles in the leg. But she's a pro now. Shook it off before we left the office. Plus it was quite nice to visit their new office. So official. And as long as they still hand out pretzel rods, they're out pediatricians.

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We stopped in at Ross & Ross to see if we were fit to be tree owners and it turns out that we had more confidence in ourselves than we thought. Kathy spent about two hours with us talked us thru the whole process so we love her now. Plus she gave Yuula a little ladybug shovel. New favorite nursery. Three trees tagged and ready for pickup, hopefully tomorrow but right now the truck is full of bulk trash so...

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Couple tacos for lunch and some lite grocery, then home. Yuula tried to take a nap but I think she was more excited about my birthday than me. I tried to motivate to get outside to do a little yardwork but the rain was on and off and the bed was so comfy. But that was just a quick nap, then onto afternoon dance party and making dinner, of which Yuula was quite the helping hand I hear.

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Honey Bunny joined us for the meal.

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And, as it is in on an Estler birthday...

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She helped herself to this one, too.

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Not too bad. Laura let me watch both Mets & Knicks game with minimal groaning and they both won. I fell asleep letting her catch up on New Girl and getting an ear rub. Seriously, I don't know what more I could've asked for.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Proud Owners Of Tree

We bought trees! Finally! I've been wanting to bring some new life to the yard since foreva. And it's my birthday so this is my present.

One fuji apple tree, one wolf river apple tree and one okema cherry tree. Now I just got to kill all the deer who wander thru.


Throwing A Tantrum And Jumping Around

I remember watching this special 1,000,000 times
what a strange flood of memories


thanks Dani :)

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My Last Day Of Being A Third

in honor of... a tribute to


33 was pretty okay

Hoppy Girls

the video was dark so i took some colorful liberties...


...it's still cute

Monday, April 23, 2012

New Olds

We had planned to do lots and lots of yardwork this weekend but the sudden freeze and inclement weather (snow in the forecast for tonight) caused us to think otherwise. We decided to check out some new garden centers and antique shops on the other side of town and drove up 447 to the top of Newfoundland and headed down 191 see what we could find.

the breakdown...


Growers'Greenhouse: ?
We didn't stop because Yuula had just fallen asleep


Whitcomb Antiques: F
Looked like it has been abandoned long, long ago

Mountain Home Antiques: A
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A fine selection of wrought iron fence, a little pricey, and a tolerable mix of actual antiques, country furniture, and plain old weird shit. We bought a nice little pitcher, a new planter, and mountainhome custom candle holder, baby hankies and a scrap book.


Bloomin' Onion Restaurant: B+
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Easy to miss and easier to pass up on first glance, but the real surprise was the quality of food in this little woodland themed comfy shack famous for their abundant breakfasts. It was lunchtime so Laura and I had cheesesteaks (her cow, me chicken) and Yuula ate lots of delicious fresh fruit, almost an entire blueberry/banana pancake and some french fries. Cozy.

Odyssey Booksellers & Antiques: D-
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Anyplace where you're "greeted" at the door by a suspicious looking elderly woman speaking in Ye Olde English with a hint of desperation who then lingers tho you've assured her you're just here to browse is already on shaky ground. Add in the enormous stuffed animals, creepy lifesize dolls, sequin-laden 80's evening wear and shockingly out of place 12 foot columns, no amount of country kitsch or quality knick knack can save ya. Good from afar but far from good.

Barn Door: A-
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Last stop on our way home, a small stretch mall broken down into two shops, the Barn Door is full of country style knick knacks along with some other impressive finds we've seen nowhere else. Giant iron chandeliers and interesting artifacts, great old kitchen implements and a cute little collection of itty bitty figurines, the relatively high prices wouldn't keep us away but might keep us from gouging. Next door the Quiet Man established a much more elegant atmosphere, flooding the room with classical music and focusing more on large authentic furniture than trinkets and in the back was a separate room just of books equal parts NY Times Best Sellers, classic and manga.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Rain Just Missed Us

The Trunks came over for dinner last night and Isabella brought Yuula a gift.

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She handed it to her so sweetly and as a return gesture Yuula threw it on the floor. What a sweetheart!

Laura somehow managed to whip up a monster meal last night including burgers, homemade fries, deviled eggs, beer battered brats, pasta salad, and cheery pie. I was full before I finished one course. And the rain just missed us. Come on up. We will do one for you.

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The girls had a great time with beads and trampolines and slides and flashing each other. Apparently they're both embracing the shirtless look for this summer. It's too soon to be concerned.

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Rainy day out today but we have plans to keep us busy.

Don't Stop The Rockin'

After spending last summer face down in the dirt with every finger pinched by heavy rocks I swore to myself that I was done with all of the patio layin, yet here we are.

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What started out yesterday as a day to clean out gardens and rework some garden framing quickly turned into complete overhauls of spaces and wide-eyed dreaming. But you can't hold it against us, okay.

And while I did all that Laura spent the day cleaning out all the gardens that apparently destroy themselves during the winter and now things are getting back on track.

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Full steam ahead!

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Sun's Sea & The Pop Song

song(s) of the day


because we're going

Her Lack Of Finer Moments

She has started her terrible twos. She was a handful all day. She had very few moments of the lovely little girl we've come to love. So few in fact I caught them all on film.

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Yup, that's it.

She also no longer wears a shirt.

Novocaine For The Sold Out

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Just a little minor surgery on ye old foot this morning. Right after we eliminated some lingering debt and then opened a new bank account. Pretty unexpectedly busy morning. I didn't know any of that was going to happen when we left the house. Oh and we bought a new shovel. Gots some diggin' to be done.

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This is what happens to Yuula when she's had too many lollies at the banking center.

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Oh and Curtis scored us all tickets for the Sigur Rós show in July. Sold out in about 15 minutes. Phew.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

You Can't Miss What You Forget

song of the day


reminds me of wandering the State Street Boston
one of the best ever written

Well Played Mayans

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This is a combination of mandarin orange and animal cracker chewed together and spat out, courtesy of our girl Yuula

Our router committed suicide last night. Really couldn't have been worse timing. But I did get a free day in the yard to start the white rock removal process. Got about 13/15 thru the one side. Didn't touch the others. Dirty work that makes the shower gritty. 

I talked with Curtis today, back and forth between his customer base. We made some ambitious plans for end of July. Let's see what happens. 

We've been drinking white because our reserves are low.

This happened...
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...and this will never get old...
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And Dick Clark dies the same year the world is predicted to end. Well played Mayans.

Her Darndest Bubble

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On Easter, bubble making proved to be an advanced task for our girl. We should've heeded the 3+ marking on the label. We're bad at numbers. Today we gave it another shot with decidedly.... different outcome.

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This went on for well over 15 minutes, bubbles floating past my head as I worked in the garden, til she got a handful of bubble mix and an eyeful of hand. Red eyes followed by a short makeup nap on the hammock cure all that ails ye.

That's right. I said ye.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Skinny Grass In A Public Pool

song of the day

Hello Dear Old Friend

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breakfast for dinner, it's been too long

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it's okay tho, because I fed Yuula dinner for lunch and Laura wore her socks on her hands today

The Dancing Lure Of Law & Order

this works out perfectly, meeting both our needs


I get to watch my reruns and she gets to dance

Up And Over We Go

She's gotta learn now so someone can climb up on the roof and spray down those wasp nests


baby steps

I Leave The Room For Two Seconds

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

At Least We Now Both Have A Story To Tell

song of the day

We No Longer Try To Keep Up


she runs like a muppet

Spring Rejuvenates, A Countdown Ruminates

OH! It felt so good to get outside in the warmth yesterday and get our hands in the dirt. Granted all we did was clean up some of the mess made by winter and plant a few flowers, but it really got our spring to sprung and now I can't wait for this weekend when we're gonna spend two whole days working in the yard. Who'd'a thunk it?

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Yuula learns to water plants instead of her pants

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just let us

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Yuula, can you say clematis?

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Laura never could resist a good tulip

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her aim's a little off but the intent is there

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I love a girl who's not afraid to get her feet dirty

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the grill open for business and may have customers every evening

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that bandaid is legit

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done


The only unknown now is how long will it take for me to give into the heat and shear my woolen coat.

The countdown begins...