BONSAI

Here are my birthday presents to myself as suggested by Margaret and paid for by Margarets Parents (Thanks Baba Yaga and Jhon):

Happy anniversary, us!

It was our 6th anniversary yesterday, and now it is summer! We eat lunch together almost every day, but we went out to lunch for a treat and had a very pleasant time.

Also, Oscar loves summer camp. Here is what he got to do last week:

Monday: trip to Spring Canyon Park, gym class (in the gymnastics studio), swim lesson
Tuesday: Arts and Crafts, field games, water game, swim lesson
Wednesday: trip to Spring Creek Park, reading, gym class, swim lesson
Thursday: Karate at Trybz Martial Arts (but this was cancelled and they went to the park instead), walk to Dairy Queen (he had a chocolate cone), swim lesson
Friday: Movie (they watched Shark Tale), pizza lunch, swimming at Mulberry pool, trip to the library.

Phew! No wonder he's ready to pass out when he gets home. The counselors love him and he has lots of friends. It is the best!

Happy anniversary, dress!

I happen to have Mom's wedding dress, and it happens to fit me quite well right now. I thought I could get Eric to take a nice picture of me wearing it. Turns out, taking a nice picture of me is quite hard when I know what you're up to.
There was a lot of crying. By both of us.

And yes, it's a balloon, Penelope.

poem of the week

How happy is the little Stone

That rambles in the Road alone,

And doesn’t care about Careers

And Exigencies never fears –

Whose Coat of elemental Brown

A passing Universe put on,

And independent as the Sun

Associates or glows alone,

Fulfilling absolute Decrees

In casual simplicity –

Emily Dickinson

Cabin Trip for Fathers Day

Oscar and I made the trip up to the mountains to a friends cabin for the night on Friday.



Oscar had a good time bouldering and getting into the beaver ponds.

Also he got to sleep in an attic loft that overlooked the bedroom with a Christmas tree in it!


Also we found an ancient (~1960s) toy gun that he carried around and stuffed full of flowers so that his "pollen gun" would be loaded.




Everything was in full bloom and the rivers were high from snow melt.  All in all, a successful adventure!

Happy Father's Day

Eric went on an adventure with Oscar this weekend, and I will get him to post the pictures soon. In the meantime, here's an oldie but a goodie:

Blues brothers

Poem of the week

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

-Lewis Carroll

Baby name contender

Oscar thinks we should name the baby Bugabee Streetsign Stopsign. I'm not ruling it out.

Knock knock!

All three kids reading

Summer camp doo

Oscars counselor did his hair today...so fetch.

Science!

My second first-author paper is now available on the internet, and it's open access so anyone can read it.

And the paper Eric and I wrote together (Eric is first author!) is out too, also open access: read it here.

And another paper Eric and I are authors on is out, but it's not open access. But you can read the abstract if you want!

Dr. Chris Saski from Clemson visited last week, and we had a very nice meeting after which we all agreed it is a fine idea for me and Eric to be post-docs with him at Clemson. So that will be happening... if I get an extension of my current position then it will happen around next June, and if I do not then it will happen in January!

poem of the week

The Ant

The ant has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what?
Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?

Ogden Nash

poem of the week

Pictures coming soon, I promise!

Red Faces

Red flags the reason for pretty flags.
And ribbons.
Ribbons of flags
And wearing material
Reason for wearing material.
Give pleasure.
Can you give me the regions.
The regions and the land.
The regions and wheels.
All wheels are perfect.
Enthusiasm. 

- Gertrude Stein