Not Technically a BBQ

I'm not sure what you're supposed to call these. Here in Texas “Bar-B-Que” has a very specific connotation. It involves smoke, brisket, and a heck of a lot of time. Instead, we just invited a bunch of people over and made hamburgers and hot dogs. I called it a “Grill Party”, but I just made that up.

The weather is in that sweet spot of very nice between the colds of winter and the blistering heat of summer, so Jess decided, despite being very pregnant, that it would be a good idea to invite over some families (mostly friends of Tyler from School and the neighborhood) and feed them. It went really well. I'm getting better at grilling (via practice) and the 'Sausages in Beer' were a big hit. The kids liked playing in the tree house, we brought out our “bucket 'o trucks” and dumped them all in the tree house. The kids also had a great time chasing each other around with Frisbees and ringing the bell and making huge noises. Then we all went inside and Tyler and his friends spent the afternoon chasing me around the house with foam swords. It's a good exercise routine if you can manage it.

Casey will be here in (at most) two weeks and 3 days. So close! We've done most of the big preparations: the room and crib are ready for her. We're going to have a bunch of help for the first few weeks, so I'm not too worried about the little things. We could always give the house a going-over to re-baby-proof it after letting that slide as Tyler got older. Past that, we're just going to have to wait her out, she'll probably just be a baby for a good long time, one that needs a lot of attention and lots of sleepless nights.

I am getting excited to meet her, though.

-N

Good Party, Good Race

I didn't really give Mom and Dad a choice about this party. I was of the impression that they should make some time to see some of the far flung family and friends who have been peppering me with questions about their move, and I thought it would be a high note of the trip.  So, I scheduled the party, invited all the local friends and family.  And then they changed their tickets so they could attend as well.  Heh.

After a scant two weeks to unpack- which is just enough time to realize you don't have enough forks, but not quite enough time to invest in stocking the kitchen fully- the house is in good (enough) shape and Mom and Dad graciously entertained a heap of friends and family at the new place.  It was a good turnout, including Great-Uncle Bob, my mother-in-law, their real estate agent and lots of our friends.  Mom gave house tours, and everyone happily mingled (not just in the kitchen!), taking in the views from the dining room, the library and even the yard.  We made everyone take home leftovers and the remaining cookies were frozen.  It made us excited for Thanksgiving get-togethers and to see Mom's new furniture.

Matt had his first cyclocross race this morning.  For reasons that don't resonate with him, people don't do mountain bike events in the fall, but there is this odd tradition of riding road bikes on grass and mud in the fall.  He was skeptical for many reasons.  The traditions of road riding don't seem like they would translate well to a trail: a peloton, drafting, the sprint.  Spandex seems like idiodic gear for mud, and frankly a mountain bike is already set up for these conditions.  So we went to Magnusun Park in Seattle to join a giant sea of cyclocross riders.  I've never been to such a big race event.  In typical fashion, Matt took a bike better suited to his view of the condition (ie- had suspension and nobby tires) and gear (baggy shorts, hair on legs).  He did very well- he'll find out his place tomorrow.  He hadn't seen the entire course until after the start gun, so it was a bit of an adventure.  He might do a few more races as the season continues, since it's nice to have events to participate in, especially through the winter.

Still writing. And a spotty egg.

Still chugging along. I think I am on track to give a rough draft of the introduction to my coworkers with week, and hopefully get feedback and get it to the boss the week after that or so. Part of the reason for this break-neck pace is that Dr. Boss does think I should finish up that experiment- so I need a couple days back on the bench. And I am giving a seminar this week (what?). But more than that, I am enjoying writing. I figure I should do what I can while I don't hate it.

I am getting flustered with the other things I am apparently supposed to take care of- it's hard to feel like I've made sufficient progress for the day writing when I should have put together some slides for a talk, or planned an experiment too... so I planned to work straight through the weekend. Matt agreed to give me some momentum by going out for breakfast this morning. I woke up, made some figures that had frustrated me yesterday, and then we walked up the hill. It kinda ruined the glow to see Dr. Boss at the restaurant - eek, guilt attack! I stopped working for an hour!- but breakfast was yummy and gave me a chance to clear my head. I've got a reasonably short list of things that need to be written for the first time, before I'll turn to the business of making this one coherent document. (It current reads like a long list of heavily referenced facts- readability needs work).

That aside, there has been some time for fun stuff too. I was in the studio over the weekend making stuff for our upcoming woodfiring(!) which I really hope I'll be able to attend AND enjoy. And one of my friends had an egg decorating party- not just any eggs, but pysanky eggs- you know, those crazy intricate Ukrainian/Polish designs on eggs? I was quite intimidated, but opted to go for Polka-dots, in a sorta-kinda Eastery theme. You can judge for yourself, but I'm pleased with myself.

Playing with Tyler

I got to play with Tyler a few nights ago. As is his custom, as soon as Jessie was lying on her side and was ready to sleep, he woke up and started kicking and punching or doing yoga or whatever it is little pre-children do in there. I put my hand on her belly to feel the bumps, and then I started pushing back. He’d push, I’d push, he’d push, I’d push. We actually worked up a pretty long rally back and forth. Jess and I would get completely giggly everytime he did it, a good 10 or 15 times in total. Tyler already understands cause and effect, that’s very advanced for a kid his age (-5 weeks).

While we haven’t had any dramatic weather since the snow closed businesses for the first half or so of last friday, the weather has been particularly un-Jessie-friendly. It’s been below freezing every night for about a week, and some days it doesn’t even get above freezing during the day. Given that Jessie’s only real form of exercise is going out for walks (usually with me) the frigid weather has kept her mostly outside, and it is only because I make her go (well, she asks me to maker her go, and then I do. And I go with her, too.) that she gets out at all. This cold thing is definitely starting to get on her nerves, though. She’s asked for a free quote on changing the house over to double-paned windows. No obligation, of course, but I think we all know where this is going.

The other Amaryllis is in full bloom and has managed to not fall over or anything, yet. But it does beggar the question: what do you do with bulbs after they have bloomed? Are they done? I could just do a google search and find out in a few seconds, but for some reason I haven’t yet.

People are going to come over on Saturday to play rock band and Dominion and eat food (probably pizza). I’m quite excited. It’ll be nice to remind people that we are here before we disappear for several months.

Oh, and also, there are some new neighbors down the street that moved in just a few weeks ago, and they have a 4-month old boy! So exciting! We met them and made them cookies, and they invited us out to dinner this weekend. We’re making friends!

-N

Pictures of more cool things

This one’s for nana, the Amaryllis she sent to us. I’m holding on to it because it actually collapsed under its own weight a while ago. Fortunately, we just put it in a cup of water and it’s been sitting there and looking pretty for about a week, now. The other one still hasn’t bloomed, but little red petals are starting to peak out of the bud, so it shouldn’t be long now.



King cake experiments. I got the little plastic baby jesus in the king cake last year, and so we get to host the party this year (unless the baby shows up early). So I’ve been experimenting with king cakes to make sure I am up to the challenge of making one. This one is, essentially, a cinnamon roll, except rolled up. The recipe actually makes too, also, so we brought one into the office and kept the other for ourselves.




A couple of shots from the completed baby room. I added a few more details to the tree and then did a little dinosaur collage up on the wall. Looks nice, yes? I think I can keep a baby in here.



My studio. The drums have been moved downstairs so that I can play rock band with them (I finally got the midi converter and I’m really learning to play the real drum parts. How cool!) But I include this one so you can see the picture I put up in the corner. I got a program called a ‘rasterizer’ that takes your picture and splits it up into 8.5 x 11 sized pictures that you can then print out and put together. I wanted a big version of this picture for a while, and now i have one.




This one is from the baby shower. Someone made us a t-rex cake that was actually shaped like a t-rex. We still have some in the fridge. Good frosting!

-N

Okay, I think we have enough bibs

Baby shower mark 2 has come and gone. One of Jessie’s friends threw it at her (cool, art-deco-esque) house. She’s got a great house with a great view and everything. And the party itself was a blast. She got some blank onesies and some fabric markers and had everyone draw on them for the baby. Mine was, of course, the best. There was also a competition to make the best possible collage of what our baby would look like by pasting together pictures from magazines. Mine was also the best there.

Someone made a fantastic t-rex cake (yes, I have pictures) and there was a scavenger hunt and everything, but mostly we just liked to hang out with our friends, get excited about babies, and let Jessie see just how big of an ‘extended family’ she’s developed in the short time we’ve been here.

We got lots of neat presents, a lot of neat clothes. Even a toddler-sized *track suit*. Jessie said she didn’t like it, but I said that if she gets to dress our baby in Winnie the Pooh clothes, then I get to pick some clothes too, and I pick track suit. The person who threw the party *also* made Tyler an *adorable quilt* with fuzzy bits and everything! Fantastic time, great stuff.

Also, now that we are done with baby showers, we can get all the rest of the stuff on our list. Big shopping day on friday, I suspect.

-N

Much to celebrate

Matt and I had pondered going camping this weekend, but ultimately decided to delay the plan, in part because we didn't know where we might go, and in part because there was so much else to opt into this weekend. Our good friend W had the committee meeting to set his defense date (this is a HUGE deal), one of my coworkers gave a talk at a local meeting which required him to overcome crippling stage fright, and best of all- our soldier friend is home for two weeks of R&R. All of these are of course party-able occasions, so Friday night we went out with the coworkers for pizza and beer, then picked up W to see Zombieland (funny and gross). Saturday, we went to celebrate Oktoberfest- under the guise of R&R, which was a good chance to catch up and see everyone looking happy and healthy.

It is probably for the best that we spend a weekend at home. I've got big plans in the otherwise neglected kitchen- we had pancakes for breakfast, I am roasting squashes for some soups and there are apples just begging to be sauced. Matt is watching the game, and we might even be able to tame the mess that is infringing on the living room. How domestic of us.

I'm still feeling too full!

Matt and I got to have a great weekend too. On Friday, our upstairs neighbor hosted a neighborhood and friends Pizza tasting party we called the G6, to figure out who had the best tasting pizza in Squirrel Hill. We got pizzas from the 6 pizzerias in Sq Hill and sampled from all of them while watching the first hockey game of the new season. Great fun!

Saturday I turned into a vegetable, a nice change of pace from the fast-paced month of September, and what promises to be another fun busy month.

Sunday we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. All the joys of American Thanksgiving, but it arrives in October. How could we say no? J hosted, we've been eating turkey everyday since- hot dang! Life is good!

Other news, Matt finally ordered his new Netbook- the toy he has been considering for weeks now. My worm bin is still a work in progress, especially as the weather fluctuates in heat and humidity. I am excited to start piloting some modules at the end of this month- or early next- with the HHMI fellows in responsible conduct of research and bioethics. Still a lot up in the air yet, but it is coming up quite quick! Much like my pending trip to Toronto for the Canadian Science Policy Conference.

Things to do while waiting for a party to start

Well, today we are celebrating Matt's birthday. We started with hefty breakfast at Pamela's (famous for their fried in butter pancakes- ooooo :), and then I surprised Matt with tickets to the Steel City Big Pour, an amazing event that benefits Construction Junction, and features breweries from all over the country. We chatted with some people, had great food and beer and headed home to prepare the house.

Right now, we sit with munchies in place, a sextel of Dogfishhead's 60 min IPA in the kitchen and a happy Matt on the couch. Should be a good night.

I am sharing a photo below from Papa's birthday party (lovely!), and also and album of pictures of Raoul. Betty make him a brand new kitty bed for his birthday, which, you can see, he enjoys a lot. The position on top of my dresser is where he has been settled in this summer- the new bed makes him really happy.

Anyone out there a gardener?

Hey,

I posted a new album with a bunch of pictures from recent events. I thought I'd throw up a few here.

From Roof, Party, Garden

Check out our new roof! It's been done for a while, and we upgraded to the neater-looking 30-year shingles. Very chic. We've already gone through our first rainstorm. It feels nice to know we have a good, protective barrier up while it's raining.

Here's some pictures from the housewarming/rock band party we threw.

From Roof, Party, Garden

Here's me rocking out with some coworkers.

From Roof, Party, Garden

Jessie mostly played guitar, though she may have added some impromptu vocals every once in a while. We played till about 2 in the morning, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Yay for that!

But the real reason made this was to show off my awesome garden and maybe ask some questions.

From Roof, Party, Garden

The great part about inheriting a garden is that pretty much everything about it is a surprise. We didn't know this tree bloomed with flowers until...it bloomed! Pretty cool. It's actually getting to big, though, I'm going to have to trim it back. So, to anyone out there that knows anything about gardening (NANA!) how to you trim a plant? When should you do it? Does anyone even know what kind of tree this is?

From Roof, Party, Garden

Here's another close-up picture in case it helps with identification.

From Roof, Party, Garden

This one was a surprise too. It was just a bunch of dead sticks over the winter, and I trimmed it back a bunch where it looked like the branches were dead. Then a few weeks ago, this happened. I don't what kind of plant it is either, but it sure is pretty!

From Roof, Party, Garden

We think this is some sort of rose bush. I know you're supposed to trim rose bushes, I'm just not sure when you do it. I trimmed it back a little earlier in the year before it started blooming. Glad I did, because it's gotten a lot bigger.

From Roof, Party, Garden

And, of course, our favorite. The tree we planted behind the house is growing up just fine, so far, and is covered with leaves. We still water it pretty regularly, we want it to grow some roots and fast. And it even looks like we might be seeing the first signs of some acorns forming. That's a good sign.

So anyone with gardening advice should definitely put up a post or add some comments. Love to hear from you!

-N

Weekend in florida

Jess and I spent the weekend away from Austin in Florida, seeing family and doing little odds and ends to plan for the wedding. We arrived in Florida Thursday evening and pretty much just had some dinner and then fell asleep. But the nephews were, as always, totally adorable and obsessed with the DS. They're cute when they play, Jess says they remind her of me. :)

Friday we did a bunch of stuff, went by the location again to change some little details and meet the new person in charge (Her name is Sherry, and she's pretty nice) as well as getting our florists (the Mom and Sister) a chance to check the place out and plan their floral extravaganza. We also went by the local supermarket, Publix, to order our wedding cake. There was a very nice lady there who, evidently, is in charge of cakes, and she explained the whole process and took our order and was, all in all, quite nice. So that's one more thing down. Anything else I'm missing?

Friday was also BBQ and fireworks day. In the great traditions of families everywhere, we all got together and ate way too much food and set off fireworks. Good times were had by all. Also, it was nice to be able to sleep in the same bed as Jess for an entire night, the organizational requirements of our new Kitties mean that I don't get to cuddle her as much as I'd like.

Oh, and I got to meet Jessie's mom's new dog, Tea. He's a sweetie, and a definite lap dog. He fell asleep on my lap a couple of times while I petted him.

Saturday I mostly just hung out with the boys and played video games. Jess had a much, much, MUCH busier day. First she went out and got her hair done in preparation for the wedding. They did it up all pretty, and it looked real nice, even if there were about 50 bobby pins involved. After that, she went off for 'girl-time' lunch and then met up with some friends for a BACHELORETTE PARTY! They went off and had alcohol and rode a mechanical bull. I, for my bachelor party, merely played in the pool, did a few levels of Lego Indiana Jones (when the boys weren't trying to 'show me something' they could do) and then watched TV until the girls got home. Jess's sister got her belly button pierced and Jess that that was *so crazy*. Then sleep.

I woke up and hung out with the family some more, Jess, on the other hand, spent most of the morning curled up in bed with post-alcohol-consumption disorder. Quoth Jessie: "well, I'm getting married, so thank goodness I won't have to do this ever again.' I also got to be, and I'm quoting here, 'the Best Fiance Ever' by taking care of my girl while she convalesced and got up enough energy to get to the airport and fly home.

How was your weekend?

-N