More Purchasing

I bought a cute little magnetic stud finder for $5.99!



I'm very pleased with it because it works beautifully
and it's totally mechanical/magnetic rather than
electronic, unlike the $19.99 one that the hardware guy wanted
to sell me.

And then I got a free ice cream, box of mints, sunscreen,
and chapstick from American Express, who are doing a
promotion on Spring Street.

Jimminy Kick-It

Well, my first kickball season and Christopher's final season as coach closed out yesterday. We had a great season. After starting off 0-3 we did not lose a single other game (one tie). At one point we went 30 straight innings (6 games) allowing only a single run.

Unfortunately, in the champioship game last night we were defeated 9-2. The other team had our number as we continued to struggle with offense. It was a terribly tragic day in my first year in Washington. I am hoping that it signals the low point in my string of bad luck here and things will start to look up. Christopher is preparing for his extensive travels in August. I am going to Sen. Pat Robert's daughter's wedding this Saturday (yes, the tux is ready) with Deborah so I hopefully can do some tactfull networking. Deborah's family is very close to the Senator's family.

On a different note, I must say that I am beginning to feel inferior on blog as I am the only one who is unable to post pictures. I feel like a children's book author who can't draw.

Lonely E

Hey, am I the only one posting here or what? I know that Mom has a new hair-do to show us, at least.

I know--let's make this into a shopping blog. Here's the new ceramic wastebasket we just bought for the bathroom:



We have the light blue cylinder with the finger holes on the sides.

Things to Come

I have a great post in mind showcasing our new dwelling unit, but for one (temporary) problem: no Internet for E & J! This is a real lifestyle cramp for us given our previous habits, but we're managing, and high-speed something or other is on its way. I think we've decided to go with cable over DSL, and as I understand it, the set-up is pretty quick. We might even try out wireless.

The other thing is that we'll likely be changing email addresses soon, so get ready to update your address books.

Grey Fox

Last weekend we went to the Grey Fox bluegrass music festival in the New York portion of the Berkshires with our friends Kendall and Rob. The lineup for Saturday was great and escalated in quality as the day went on. It ended very late with a kind of all-star jam, unusually heavy on the fiddles, with Tim O'brien, Laurie, Lewis, Darrel Anger, et al.

Click on this cool chick from "Girl Howdy" for a slideshow.



Sadly, this weekend won't contain any such outdoor fun. The Move is about to commence over here. We have about 30 boxes, as yet empty, that are calling to us.

Pizza Results

Sorry for the delay, but here are the visual results. As for the taste, it was pretty good, although next time I will work on getting the crust a bit thinner.

~~New Home~~

Update the books, everyone (list-master Dad in particular)! As of some time in the next two weeks, we'll be residing at:

61 Hancock Street, #3
Brooklyn, NY 11216

It's a sweet little brownstone in which we'll eventually be the 2nd floor occupants, although transitionally situated on the parlor floor until renovations are completed upstairs.

Interesting fact learned last night about renting in New York: toilet seats are apparently only very atypically provided with residential leases. Who knew?

Pizza

Lizziebear, I will be trying to make the pizza tonight. Results to follow.

Soon-to-be Californians

Last weekend Karen, Ben, and their three small ones stopped in to celebrate the fourth with us en route to their new home in San Diego. The little boys were good sports about being cooped up in 450 square feet with us although they kept asking, "But do you have any toys?" Baby Elisabeth was easy to entertain however, especially when she had a first taste of chocolate ice cream. Here's some cuteness for you, a baby-slideshow.

How to... Goof off in the workplace

Here's some fun. I like the "How to Make Pizza" one, because it claims pizza stones are unnecessary.

WAKA in the WSJ

There's a piece on the cover page of today's Wall Street Journal about a conflict between two DC adult kickball leagues, one of which is claiming that the idea of adults playing kickball and drinking beer is their intellectual property. I'd link to it but for that paper's obnoxious "subscribers only" web access to articles. But any comments from the kickball players?

An Unexpected Family Trip on the Rugged Plains

For a most unusual Father's Day, the family suprised me with a visit and a three-day visit to the Roman Nose state park (which is named after an Indian Chief and has nothing to do with the Romans, as far as one can tell). Here's a link to the photos taken with my new toy: Out on the Plains