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6/26/12

Jeremy's here

Our furry friend is in his aquarium (with mesh top held in place by 2 heavy books) on Owen's dresser. He seems quite content in his new home. He enjoys fresh carrots and peppers and hopping to and fro. He does not enjoy his exercise ball or being kept in complete darkness 24/7 (In Julie's perpetual Battle Against Summer, she closed all the blinds and drapes in the house. Apparently, Julie had not heard that gerbils are so exquisitely sensitive to altered diurnal variation that there are reports of  solar eclipses precipitating global gerbil freak outs or that SADgRS -- seasonal affective disorder, (gerbil subtype)-related suicide -- is the  #3 killer of gerbils behind 'old age' and house cats .)

6/25/12

Archival maternity tips

These are from 1939, displayed at the Yale medical library. 31 in total but I'll give you some highlights


Well I guess that's true.... the modern era would probably advocate for more comfortable footwear in the process or perhaps none at all.


Look at Dad's body language!  Doc almost seems to be pleading with him. Three piece suit ... hat and paper in hand...Dad, why don't you grab a chair and chill for a bit?


And gossips are always b$tches in crazy hats....What kind of medical misinformation were gossips propagating in 1939?  "Now Edna, you know lead paint chips are the best thing to make your baby's bones strong."

6/14/12

Jeremy

Owen has reached that rite of passage of suburban child life: he wants to own a rodent. Lo and behold, our New Zealand friends need to give away their gerbil "Jeremy" because there is no way he could survive the 146-hour flight home. 

And so I am experiencing the suburban Dad rite of passage of considering the practicality of this adoption.

This is what we know about Jeremy so far:
He has to be handled with gloves because he bites.
You have to wash your hands after handling him because he carries disease(s).
He gnaws toilet paper tubes loudly all through the night.
Julie talks about him like he's a person, which is really unsettling, e.g. "When Jeremy's here ... " and "After you pick up Jeremy...."
His wood shavings have to be changed once a week.
Gerbils live about 2-4 years so Julie figures Jeremy will be dead in 6 months or so. ("After Jeremy's dead...")
But most important, Owen thinks Jeremy is "really cute."

So, yeah, come say hi to Jeremy but definitely some time in the next 6 months.

6/10/12

O nails it the second time

Video from O's latest guitar recital.  He is the only flat-picker in the group but  the most audible player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLxGbOGXvNM

6/5/12

update

Tacocat took the internet by storm...

The Becker/Parrs took Disney by storm. I was at my conference for most of the good stuff. I also sat out Peter Pan's adventure because of a misunderstanding about how EXTREME it might've been.  Owen loved Soarin' and Mission Space and scuba diving.

Orioles fell out of first after an awfully familiar awful 3-9 stretch.

I have plants in my office, intentionally, thanks to Julie.

Julie has a FANCY new job!

Owen loves MineCraft.

Julie and Will loved Allagash Craft Beers in a 5-course pairing of local Maine foods at Mikro.