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Sadie's been at it again
January 31, 2007 by Adam in Sam
 Sadie's been at it again.
Yesterday in the mail, I received a mysterious package. Inside was a box for Sam with the simple note to play the game and if he wins, give him the second box. The game was Mastermind and he miraculously won in three moves, guessing all the right colors the first time.
Inside the second box was a vial. Inside the vial was a small metal tablet that unscrewed to reveal a strip of rolled-up paper. On the paper was a code key, which I won't display here for fear of disclosing a future secret. Sam, of course, thought the whole thing was incredibly cool and now awaits further packages in hopes of decoding it.
On another note, Sam finished the second Harry Potter book. He now plans to get through the rest of the books in hopes of getting to the seventh book when it comes out.
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It has been kind of nice having family around...
January 31, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
It has been kind of nice having family around so much lately. Isa has been a bit sad now that she doesn't have bunk mates any more.
We went to visit Bob over the weekend. All of Mom's reports about his miraculous recovery are true! It might be awhile before he's throwing Lumpy tennis balls, but he's pretty chipper.
We had a lovely visit with Dad, Yayoe, and Hanni on Sunday. We took them over to see the new house, and they all promised to come back up and help move. Yeah!
We will probably start some peliminary moving this weekend, depending on Destin's birthday plans (Jenny - keep us posted).
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When I talked to Bob about an hour ago, he an...
January 30, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
When I talked to Bob about an hour ago, he and Cousin Ron were making a beeline for the exit of the VA Hospital, keeping a low profile and not making any unnecessary noise!
He had a bit of an infection, but it is apparently improving and they decided to cut him loose.
It will be awhile before he's good to go - for example, no driving for six weeks - but there's nothing that has to be done tomorrow. Anna will come down for a little while, unless she gets a job in place right away. Many hugs, and
thanks, Sadie and Yayoe, for your cards, which Bob appreciated. Love to all, om
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We should finalize our house buying this week...
January 29, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
We should finalize our house buying this week! It's been a long road and I don't think I've allowed myself to get really excited about it yet. It will just be nice to have it done and over with!
But, if anyone wants to come and help... moving day is Feb 10th. We'll probably get started at 9 or 10am, and have tons of goodies to eat. If there's anyone who wants to come up to hang out with kids, more then move, that would be equally appreciated!
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It was an interesting morning
January 28, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It was an interesting morning. We did a massive cleanup and organization push of the basement. In particular, I cleaned up a lot of my books that I'd hidden away from Emma's curious little hands. It's nice to have things feeling put together after a couple years.
Afterwards our family went out to 5th Street Market as a reward, eating treats and playing games. Sam and I played a game of chess. Emma played Cooking Mama on her Nintendo DS. Then we ran around checking out the place, which I hadn't seen since the big remodel.
Somehow we managed to wander over to Autzen Baker Park and chased the geese. Emma found a feather for her dreamcatcher. Now we're back home, taking it easy, and wrapping up the weekend.
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Seraph, Robbie, Isa and I went for a quick co...
January 28, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Seraph, Robbie, Isa and I went for a quick coffee at AJ's, the neighborhood coffee shop, then drove in to see Bob. The new aerial tram, which goes from the hospital complex on the hill to an additional complex on the riverbank, was
free to the public, but on a ticket basis, so we decided we'd have to save it for another time. Bob continues to mend, and we feel very lucky. I have to go back to Eugene today to catch up with my office. Love to all, and Jamie, I'm anticipating the minestrone soup.
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I did a bit of housekeeping for the site today
January 28, 2007 by Adam in Adam's Projects
 I did a bit of housekeeping for the site today. I put together an rss feed for the site. That means that crazy people who want to get instant updates to this site can get it by using an RSS reader.
I also added a simple search box to the home page, something I hadn't gotten around to for the last eight years since I made this clunky thing. It's sort of fun searching for odd phrases like "monkey" or "weasel" and seeing what comes up.
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We're incredibly delighted to hear that Bob i...
January 28, 2007 by Meg in Lytton
We're incredibly delighted to hear that Bob is doing well. All our prayers (Quakers call it "holding you in the Light") go with you all. I'm glad I called you last night, Sue. Please don't feel guilty--there was no way you could have recognized an aortic dissection and things turned out for the best--you clearly got him to the best surgeons. I can't imagine they would have had the same technology in Prague or as readily available in England (I have a patient who went to an excellent London hospital after an India-London flight, told them she had had a pulmonary embolism en route--they didn't believe her, took them 5 days in hospital to make the diagnosis).
All's well here. We went to the peace march in Washington yesterday. Tons of people, probably not much effect energize and teach. We spoke with a Quaker from Rhode Island, who spent Friday speaking to their Senator Reed, liberal but still reluctant to take forceful action against the war. I think we need to keep pushing. Write your legislators!!!
Lots of love,
Meg
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Emma had her first ballet class today
January 28, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma had her first ballet class today. I took Sam along, who seemed mesmerized by a dozen pink-leotarded little girls. Emma had a great time and would periodically dance over to me and give me a kiss. It was over pretty quickly, but she had a great time. I took lots of pictures and made a little movie about it.
Afterwards we all went to the swimming pool, where Emma seemed to have a better time playing with all the other parents except me.
Emma's been doing pretty well lately. Her French is improving and she's often saying "Merci" or counting to herself. This Fall she's going to be signed up full time to school, going about the same amount of time at school as Sam. Jamie's trying not to make a big deal out of it, but I think all that extra free time is going to make a big difference for her.
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Well, I finally finished the Neverwinter Nigh...
January 26, 2007 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Well, I finally finished the Neverwinter Nights 2 official campaign a couple days ago. I was really sick, and playing through kept my mind off things. There were some surprisingly fun moments towards the end. The final battle felt truly epic and the Siege was great. Most games start with a bang and then have marginal endings, but NWN2 seemed different. The ending felt like it had a lot of attention paid to it and it really showed.
The kids continue to play games too. Seraph got a gift certificate for EB Games. Sam got Trace Memory, an old-time adventure game for the Nintendo DS. It involves a lot of puzzle solving and using the stylus to immerse the player in the game. What's cool is that Sam's pretty sharp. He saw a baseball and said, "Aha! I can use that to knock down the briefcase." Sure enough, he was soon tossing it up to try and knock it down.
Emma got Cooking Mama, which she plays off and on with Nintendogs. She's still only three, so her patience for games is pretty short. Emma's also a fan of NickJr.com, which she'll visit once a week or so.
More often than not, though, the kids and I hang out in the basement to play physical games these days. Sam usually sneaks in some computer time each day, but it's interesting how they have the most fun jumping around when I get home.
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Mocha Friday, as usual
January 26, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Mocha Friday, as usual. Not much excitement to report these days. I'm still a little sick, a weird tightness in my stomach. There's a part of your brain that translates physical state into emotion, like if your heart is beating fast, it decides if you should be scared or excited. I've strangely become more aggressive than normal and I wonder if that's why.
There have been funny little moments over the last couple days. Sam and I had a great father-son conversation about what it's like to get older. He doesn't like thinking about it, and having to make his own decisions about everything. I let him know that there was lots of time and we'd be around to help. He's also growing like a weed, and his PJ's last night barely went past his knees and elbows.
Emma is as cute and funny as always. Last night we all pretended to be super heroes and she was "Glitter Girl" for awhile, putting glitter all over her face and hair. Plus she was super-strong and enjoyed throwing me around the play room. Good times.
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Big relief; I left Bob yesterday afternoon co...
January 26, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Big relief; I left Bob yesterday afternoon complaining about hospital food, so it appears that he's on the mend. Hospital staff people still are dropping by and saying things which usually include the word "miracle", and I am
in fact quite convinced. In the meantime, I am most grateful to Seraph, Robbie and Isa for sharing their household. Love to all, mom
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Hi, I'm in Eugene, and doing a quick posting ...
January 25, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Hi, I'm in Eugene, and doing a quick posting before heading back to Portland with clean laundry. I left Bob looking quite good yesterday, and understand he had lots of company yesterday afternoon. Eric and Mollie had done a fine job of house sitting, and Mishca looked well fed and only mildly pissed off at being left behind. I got over to see Jenny and the boys, but missed Adam and Jamie. Adam, thank you for your posting help, and I hope you are feeling much better. In the meantime, I'll try to keep up with postings. Much love, and give a little thank-you prayer to your god and/or goddess of choice.
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I'm back at work, after being pretty sick yes...
January 25, 2007 by Adam in Family
I'm back at work, after being pretty sick yesterday. All I really did was try to stay still and play on my computer. I attempted to pitch in with the evening kid watching activities, but I'm not sure I succeeded very well.
It's been a pretty quiet week and will likely be a pretty quiet weekend. Emma starts ballet on Saturday, and I'm the designated "ballet parent". I may take Sam along with me and we'll all go swimming afterwards. Hopefully I feel better by then.
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Hi, Seraph, Robbie and Isa have all left for ...
January 24, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Hi, Seraph, Robbie and Isa have all left for school and work, and Ripley and I are left to update everyone on Bob's condition. He was out of surgery about 4:00 a.m. on Monday morning. He was awake if not really alert by Monday evening.
Yesterday he was awake and sitting up, able to spend time with his sister and her husband, who drove down from Seattle, and his cousins Ron, Bill, and Bill's wife and daughter. His brain seems to work fine, and they didn't have to cut out all his sense of humor. Aric and I will meet this morning at the hospital and I'll take Aric down to Eugene. One of Bob's doctors made an off-hand remark about being released on the weekend, but I'm going to wait and see. Much love, and remember the fortune cookie. You are protected by the silent love around you.
At Sadie's suggestion, I did talk with one of the counselors at the hospital; I was having some strong memories of when Dick died, as well as a lot of guilt. (Since Bob and I both had some food poisoning, we took Cipro, but Bob stopped after a couple of pills. I thought he was sick because he stopped taking his Cipro, and chewed on his sorry little butt all the way from Prague.) Much love, and thank you for your good thoughts and phone calls.
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Thinking and wishing and hoping for a Bob rec...
January 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Thinking and wishing and hoping for a Bob recovery!
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Sam put together a class presentation on Uranus
January 23, 2007 by Adam in Sam
 Sam put together a class presentation on Uranus. Sure enough, preparing the night before seemed to have endless giggles, most from Jamie of all people. Supposedly it turned out pretty well when he gave it today. One boy said it looked like he'd worked on it for a long time, which he sort of did.
Tonight Sam got a pretty good bonk on the head. We have this jumping game where he lands on a "Foof" (which is basically a giant pillow). We decided to mix it up a bit, and there was a trampoline which launched him upwards after the first jump.
Well, Jamie had carefully purchased well-padded floors, but somehow forgot to equally pad the ceiling. Sam knocked his head on a low beam and was pretty miserable afterwards. He's mostly better now, having iced it and taken Tylenol. I'm feeling guilty for helping it all happen. Sigh.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ISA HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
January 23, 2007 by Jenny in Jenny
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ISA HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
Well i'm glad to hear that bob made it threw surgery, please keep us update on things.
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I'm sitting here with Seraph and Robbie, and ...
January 23, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
I'm sitting here with Seraph and Robbie, and we're about to go out to dinner to celebrate Isa's birthday. I haven't slept since yesterday morning at 7, so I'm here for a rest cure. I left Bob with Anna and Aric, being quite articulate
and amazingly cheerful. I don't have any explanation for why he lived through being very sick the night before we left Prague, four airports, and three plane changes.
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Isabell is 6!! I'm always amazed at how fast...
January 22, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Isabell is 6!! I'm always amazed at how fast the time goes. We spent the weekend with 2 of her friends at a cabin near Mt. Hood. It's the same place Robbie & I went for our anniversary. We went sleding, exploring, and had lunch up at Timberline lodge. She declared it the best birthday ever!
We got home Sunday afternoon, and took Mom's car up to the VA Hospital. Bob was still in surgery, and Mom and Anna were waiting for news. Mom called when Bob got out last night to say that things went well.
Mom just called again - Bob's still pretty sedated, but is begining to be aware of his suroundings again. Mom will be at our place latter today to catch some sleep while Anna and Aric are with Bob. Feel free to call here if you'd like.
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We have news on Bob, much of it rather amazing
January 22, 2007 by Adam in Family
We have news on Bob, much of it rather amazing. He made it through eight hours of surgery for an aortic dissection. Evidently the chance of surviving such a thing is pretty slim, and all the doctors are saying how lucky he is.
I talked to mom and it sounds like he's still unconscious, but they're hoping he wakes up fairly soon. I'll try to keep everyone updated as news comes in.
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Emma has a cold and she sounds incredibly gro...
January 22, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma has a cold and she sounds incredibly grown up. I had her do a recording session for my personal amusement.
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The weekend went pretty well, with the usual ...
January 22, 2007 by Adam in Family
 The weekend went pretty well, with the usual lots of time with the kids. John was over Friday night, and I took everyone swimming on Saturday. Emma and I went out to redeem Seraph's Christmas gift card, returning home with a couple new Nintendo DS games. Cooking Mama was for Emma, and she's been busy chopping vegetables and stirring soup. Trace Memory was for Sam, who's busy unraveling the mystery of Blood Edward Island.
It was so nice out that we actually spent a lot of time outside. Sunday we did some house projects, pulling down an unused telephone wire from the side of our house. I also took the kids to the park, where they ran around for far longer than I thought they'd make it.
Sunday evening, Sam worked hard on his class presentation of Uranus. Somehow we got through the standard Uranus jokes, and he ended up making a nice poster of the planet with various facts. Jamie did a great job helping him out, though it seemingly took forever. Emma was so excited that I had to help her make one of her own, with important facts like "Uranus has 5 moons", complete with an artist's rendering.
We're still waiting on news about Bob, wishing for the best.
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We've heard from mom that Bob is in the hospi...
January 22, 2007 by Adam in Family
We've heard from mom that Bob is in the hospital in Portland and it's extremely serious. She has her cell phone if you'd like to call. He's in surgery for heart issues. Hopefully we'll find out more soon.
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All is well in nearly-snowy Williamstown! I l...
January 19, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 All is well in nearly-snowy Williamstown! I lost my winter mittens and am borrowing Janet's, which I like a little too much. I'm plowing through a thousand things at work to spend the rest of the day in Northampton, though I do have a meeting there. At least it's in my favorite coffee shop. Hope all is well with all of you!
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It's Mocha Friday, though I still have awhile...
January 19, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's Mocha Friday, though I still have awhile to wait for that sweet, sweet elixir.
The last few days have been pretty uneventful. Jamie went out with Angie yesterday. The kids and I played treasure hunters in the basement. Sam continues to play Zelda on the Wii. Work's been crazy busy. Same ol', same ol'.
In terms of this weekend, Sam's friend John is coming over to spend the night. I have no idea what we're doing, other than the usual swimming and library trips. These days I usually go to the library myself as the kids aren't really into it (they just like the Humble Bagel run afterwards).
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Adam, I agree with Seraph
January 18, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Adam, I agree with Seraph. Thanks for all your hard work in keeping up this site. We do take it for granted now. Apologies, Seraph, I completely forgot about your weekend at the cabin, and we appreciate being able to sleep before heading south. Would you give Isa 48 hugs and 48 kisses? We'll leave her presents at the house. And how could she possibly be six years old. It seems a moment ago that Robbie would bring her in to work and, bad grandma that I am, we'd made her crawl. Much love, mom
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Note to Mom - (thank you to Adam for allowing...
January 18, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Note to Mom - (thank you to Adam for allowing us a site for this kind of stuff!)
We will not be in town on Saturday. I will drop your car off on Friday - near the elevator on the level with the skybridge. I'll leave our house key in the car - please crawl into our cozy bed and relax. I'll leave yummy coffee on the counter!
Have a safe trip - send our best to Bob (and his stomach).
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Hi, we arrive 1/20 at 10:50 pm
January 18, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Hi, we arrive 1/20 at 10:50 pm. American Airlines 2266 from Chicago. Seraph and Robbie, we may ask to stay over with you guys that night. Bob is being a brave soldier, but he definitely has some intestinal bug, and I'm not sure how he'll feel by Saturday. I ate the same stuff, but started to take my Cipro right away. (There was a brief moment of neurosis when I thought, Aha, a quick way to lose ten pounds, but it passed.) Bob is taking his Cipro too, so I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow. If you'd rather leave the car at the airport earlier, we'd still have to call when we got in, but at least you wouldn't have to be out late at night. Love you, and it's very strange to imagine you all getting up and getting going, when it's five p.m. here, except of course for Sadie, who's about ready for her 11's.
Love, mom
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Well, it's hog heaven for them of us who are ...
January 18, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
 Well, it's hog heaven for them of us who are interested in pre-history. We spent yesterday afternoon at the National Museum special mammoth hunters exhibit as well as their amazing permanent exhibit. The museum says that this was the original home of the Celts, who then expanded their territory about 400 BC. The Museum owns many of the artifacts you see in text-books, and on loan to other exhibits.
We haven't gone out today yet, as Bob seems pretty under the weather. Our goal for today was to go to the Communism Museum and the Sex Machine Museum (I kid you not, gentle readers, there is a Sex Machine Museum in Prague. Travel is so broadening!) Even weirder is that there are literally 500 TV channels, with only the BBC and a bunch of evangelism channels in English, and about 10% are soft core porn channels in Italian or Arabic.
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I asked Emma if she wanted a bednight kiss to...
January 18, 2007 by Adam in Emma
I asked Emma if she wanted a bednight kiss tonight. She gave me an impish smile and said, "I want a bednight kick." I sighed and dutifully poked her with my toes a couple times.
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Bob's snoozing away gently; we walked around ...
January 16, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Bob's snoozing away gently; we walked around Prague Castle all afternoon in distinctly nippy weather, and he's still getting over a flu bug from Shimla. Prague Castle was once home to Good King Wenceslas, and you all remember
how "brightly shone the moonlit night, though the wind was cruel" and believe me when I say I could identify with that
"poor man, gath'ring winter fu-u-el". I had on three pair of socks and three jackets! The castle is amazing, apparently the largest continuously used castle complex in the world, and on the World Heritage list. Prague is hog heaven to an architect.
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We're all home for a snow day
January 16, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
 We're all home for a snow day. There is a good 4-5 inches outside so I stayed home too. Here's the park next to our house. Robbie, Isa, and some of the neighbor kids have been playing, and are now warming up with some Lion, Witch, & the Wardrobe.
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Yesterday was fun
January 16, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Yesterday was fun. Sam and I went to Hendrick's park to play in the snow. I managed to knock him backwards with a massive snowball, and he immediately wanted me to repeat the performance. Jamie read in Little House on the Prarie how they'd make candy from dripping boiled maple syrup on the snow. She repeated the trick for a tasty treat. I think she's scheming to put together a pioneer meal for all. Angie and her baby came over, mesmerizing the kids as they played with her. Winnie's only five months old, so she's still tiny and cute.
This morning the snows started again, so I bundled up and walked to work. Hardly anyone is here, so hopefully I can catch up on all my work in peace.
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As you can tell, we were both much taken with...
January 16, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
 As you can tell, we were both much taken with India. It's a place on the world with such extremes of weather that people have learned to survive only through cooperation and a hoarding and careful use of resources. There is also an artistic bent which is so old it must now be part of people's DNA. Having seen how things are made, by hand and not by machine, I will never again sneer that something is a cheap trinket.
We are in Prague, and for the first time have good wireless. Hopefully this will last, and I'll post more. I do want you to know about Bob and the Monkeys. Monkeys in much of northern India are everywhere, sort of the equivalent of squirrels in Eugene. Well, on our way back from Jaipur, we were stopped at the roadside for a photo op. Most of us took cute pix of the cute little critters. Bob, however, managed to offend one of them, obviously the Monkey King, and the two of them had a face-off, with perhaps a bit of posturing on both sides, and at least some hissing on the part of the monkey. Try to picture Bob in a face-off with a squirrel, and you have the idea. He grumbled around about Bad Ass Monkeys for the rest of the time in India. (He just wandered by and told me not to portray this as all his fault. "Everyone always takes the monkey's side in these things. I'm tired of it."} So, love from us both, winning friends for America in foreign climes.
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Isa has been growing like a weed these days
January 16, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
 Isa has been growing like a weed these days. The other night it was cold enough for us to get out her really warm PJ's- only to find they didn't quite fit anymore!
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Well a good sunday to all
January 15, 2007 by Jenny in Jenny
Well a good sunday to all. I'm tired of the cold. I did enjoy the snow, we had no school for two days. Jamie sorry i missed the nail appointment my guy was running behind as always. Mom glad to hear all is well abroud. Adam thanks so much for the camera, i'll try to post new picture's tomorrow. Well just wanted to say a hello to all now that i'm up and running with the high speed internet, i love it.
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It's been a fairly pleasant Saturday, filled ...
January 14, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's been a fairly pleasant Saturday, filled with kids. I was worried the pipes froze, but when I got all geared up to go outside, it turns out it was fine. Jamie made a tasty pancake breakfast and we puttered around all morning.
Around lunch, we went swimming. Emma played with a young woman "with a pierced cheek and belly-button!" Sam and I did a lot of ring catching and playing about. Upon getting home, everyone was starving and exhausted, so we ate and watched movies until Jamie left for her pedicure and dinner out.
This afternoon we expored outside and put some lemonade in containers to freeze into popcicles. Sam had a great time sliding on icy patches. Good times.
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Hi Mom! Glad to hear you guys are having suc...
January 14, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
 Hi Mom! Glad to hear you guys are having such a great time! Could you e-mail, or post, your return info? Just want to make sure we're there to pick up :)
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We are sitting in a wonderfully shabby hotel ...
January 13, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
 We are sitting in a wonderfully shabby hotel in Delhi, much better than the Imperial and the Sheraton. I walked out the door of the hotel onto a narrow street teeming with
the shops the ordinary people frequent, food stands, an occasional cow or pig(pigs, not being sacred, don't seem so plentiful, but they still are one of the primary garbage systems.) People are incredibly lovely, speaking, asking questions,"Tell us about yourself" one young man asked, practicing their English. This reminds me of Africa.
We leave for Prague tonight. We saw the Himalayas near Simla, and had lunch with our driver's sister's family in
Chandarigh. She has a son, eight, who, along with his friends, took me for a walk. I'll post more later. Love, Om
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Mocha Friday
January 12, 2007 by Adam in Family
Mocha Friday. I ended up brewing my own this morning, one in a normal mug and a second in an insulated one for the walk into work this morning. It was cold and icy, but otherwise quite nice. I'm starting to enjoy my winter walks to work.
I think the kids went to school today, though it was delayed a couple hours. I'm not sure if we'll do more snow playing tomorrow. If it still sticks around, it might be fun to take some sled-like objects and go down a hill somewhere. I probably won't spend too much time outside as the kids tend to get cold pretty fast.
Jamie has all sorts of plans tomorrow, so I'll have the kids for most of the day. We've started going swimming around lunchtime, and might do a park hike in the snow somewhere too.
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We saw the first of the snow last night, when...
January 12, 2007 by Adam in Family
 We saw the first of the snow last night, when I went to pick up the kids from dad and Yayoe's house. Jamie and I had a very nice date night, cooking and watching Coupling. Coupling is a BBC comedy that's extremely funny, filled with very inappropriate humor. It was perfect for a night away from the children.
This morning I woke up to snow everywhere. School was canceled and Emma was very excited when she looked out the window. The neighbor boys invited us to an across-the-street snowball fight. Emma built a snowman with a bit of help from her parents. Eventually everyone got cold and went in for cocoa.
I walked to work, which took a bit longer than my usual bike ride. Once there, I worked non-stop, eating a quick lunch at my desk. I really need to start being less useful, as I find myself at the center of so many things.
Now I'm back and Emma is watching the Little Mermaid. Sam's off playing with a friend and Jamie's at the gym. Tomorrow is going to be very cold according to the predictions, so I may end up staying home tomorrow.
Update: Here's a short movie that shows off the fun we had today.
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Snow!!!! Sorry Sadie, but this year the snow...
January 11, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
 Snow!!!! Sorry Sadie, but this year the snow came here! Robbie and Isa are home for the day as we brave a whopping 2" of the white stuff.
We do have some good news on the home front. We had an offer accepted on a house early this week, and an inspection yesterday. The house will need the kind of work that all NW 100 year old homes need, but nothing major. We are looking at closing at the end of the month, and moving shortly after. Yeah!! The house is not far from where we are now, and I'll try to post some pics by the end of the week.
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Jamie came and visited me at the gym today
January 10, 2007 by Adam in Adam
Jamie came and visited me at the gym today. It was pretty fun being able to show off to her. I think her eyes got big with a couple of the weights, making me feel like a burly man.
Long ago, before we had children, we used to work out together regularly. I think it was mostly stair-step classes, with me stumbling over myself for the first six months. I miss having a gym buddy. These days it's mostly me and a book on the stair-stepper.
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The week is rolling on
January 10, 2007 by Adam in Family
 The week is rolling on. Work is less crazy, or at least I finally made it through my email inbox. I'm doing some nifty things with the Google search appliance, making the massive quantities of documents and database records more easily searchable.
Both kids were somewhat grumpy last night. I think it's because they were incredibly hungry, putting away massive quantities of food at dinner. I had to send Sam to his room, which I almost never do. His highlight of the evening was this impromptu "training" game where I had him leaping about the playroom onto pillows, avoiding spinning obstacles.
Jamie's coming to work out with me during lunch today. I had to pry her away from her Britcoms with a frowny face, but she's coming along. Tonight we have a date night as well and the kids are going to my dad's house for dinner. Should be fun.
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I'm back at work, buried in e-mails and only ...
January 08, 2007 by Adam in Family
 I'm back at work, buried in e-mails and only now barely recovering. Jamie made it back safe and sound, pretty exhausted from a full day of travel on Saturday. She had a good time, filled with much relaxation. Sam's mostly over his fever and cold, though he occasionally coughs a bit. Emma continues to be as cute as a button.
Sunday was fairly uneventful, just getting back into the swing of things. We went for a family walk down to Willamette street, the kids filling up on ice cream before the trip back home.
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We were opening up the windows to our enclose...
January 08, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 We were opening up the windows to our enclosed porch this weekend because it was so warm in the house. This picture (of Janet in an awesome Cat and Girl T-shirt, www.catandgirl.com) from our apartment is just to show how creepily lovely the weather is here!
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This country is amazing! We saw the Taj Mahal...
January 07, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
 This country is amazing! We saw the Taj Mahal and various resplendent buildings today, the Agra Fort, with breathtaking marble and sandstone carving and marble inlay with malachite, turquoise, lapis lazuli and various semi-precious stones. Right now we are sitting in a hotel which
in the past was the palace of one of the governors, and in the background, we can hear the reverberations of a drum,
sounding a lot like the drums at the summer drumming festival, announcing a Moslem wedding.
The two lane road from Agra to Jaipur was crammed not just with buses, trucks, vans, three wheeled vehicles, tractors pulling all manner of wagons, vehicles constructed entirely
of parts from a variety of other vehicles, but cows, herds of sheep and goats, camels pulling wagons of logs and overfilled bags of fodder, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, and an occasional monkey. We saw our first snake charmers yesterday. Dez, look these cities up on your map!
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After a lovely farewell dinner here in the ho...
January 05, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
After a lovely farewell dinner here in the hotel, we bid a very fond good-bye to DP and Rama, their younger daughter Swati, an art student in Paris, and her boyfriend Fredo. We leave tomorrow morning for Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. Bob is muttering and swearing at his suitcases, in the apparent hope that his wrath will make all the remaining unpacked objects shrink and hop into his bags. He has brought to India, in addition to three pairs of shoes, three jackets, miscellaneous clothing, an additional two pillowcases, a towel, plastic knives, forks and spoons, 2 freeze dried meals for two, a glorified bunsen burner,beef jerky and many beef jerky products (one of which is
called something like Beef Steak Chunks)and innumerable bags of food. And you guys worried that no one could come close to Dick. Love to all, mom
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The week continues to be exciting
January 05, 2007 by Adam in Family
 The week continues to be exciting. I was all ready to haul Sam off to school, but his whining got to me and I took his temperature just to be sure. It was over 100 degrees, so he stayed home with me while Emma went to her school. I gave Sam some Tylenol, which worked wonders, and took him shopping with me.
After we got Emma, we watched the new Ice Age movie. I then declared it was time to get out of the house, so we went to the Beanery to hang out. Strangely, it seemed almost identical to when I used to do homework there nearly twenty years ago. We played cards, drew, and I got a mocha. Emma was really funny, pretending she was writing in a diary. I fiddled with my camera and captured a short movie about it. Sadly that's all my 16 MB memory card will capture. Jamie has the big one.
Afterwards we explored Down to Earth, the kids enjoying running around the old granary. Then it was back home to make dinner and hang out. Sam continued to be grumpy, so I checked his temperature again and it was still over 100. I ended up giving him Tylenol and later cough syrup when he was still coughing at nearly ten o'clock.
As for today, we'll see if Sam's good enough to get to school. I threatened to send him along unless he was bleeding from both ears. "What if only one ear was bleeding?" he replied. "School," I responded dryly. "What if everything but one ear was bleeding?" "School."
I think I'll do a library run today in hopes of getting in some swimming tomorrow. The kids seem to be doing okay without mom, though they periodically ask when she's coming back. Emma cried a lot the first night, but I guess I'm an acceptable fill-in.
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I'm sitting here in Indian dress, which broug...
January 05, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
 I'm sitting here in Indian dress, which brought smiles, compliments and nods of approval everywhere we went today.
When in Rome, wear a toga!
I can't even begin to describe the chaos of the streets of Delhi. There are no lanes, and the correct way to pass the vehicle in front is honk your horn and wait for them to signal if it's not safe. Given the volume of traffic, this method leads to a chorus of horn honking. There are rickshaw cabs, cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and in the old sections of the city, an occasional horse or donkey drawn cart.
We have enjoyed Deepti's family and friends so much. The reception last night, with all their family and friends, was a visual feast as well as a literal feast, as all the women came in their most sparkling sarees and gold jewelry.
I think I said earlier that Bob's ex-wife, Debbie, loaned me a couple of outfits, the one which I'm wearing and one,
more formal, which I wore last night.
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Isa started ice skating lessons yesterday - a...
January 05, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
 Isa started ice skating lessons yesterday - a Christmas gift from Alex & Carolyn. It took a few minutes, but she was off and skating in no time!
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I had a wonderful time at home, and now home...
January 04, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I had a wonderful time at home, and now home has come to New England! Instead of our usual biting January, it continues to rain and occasionally pretend to be June, or at least winter on the west coast. After a bout with a cold that was long enough to be the flu, I am getting back into the swing of work and Williamstown living. Most notably, I went to a great party at Nick Baker's house to celebrate the birthdays of David Bowie, Elvis Presley, and Stephen Hawking. Lauren even brought fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches!
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It was another wacky day yesterday
January 04, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It was another wacky day yesterday. Sam woke up with a fever of 102 again, but after some Tylenol was feeling normal within 30 minutes. He thought it was funny that the day before he had tried to talk to me by blowing bubbles through his front teeth (he didn't remember a thing). I kept him out of school yesterday and hauled him along to Border's to redeem my gift certificate. The store's wily advertising got to me, and we ended up getting four movies (for the price of three!).
Emma had a fine time at school, despite the fact that I drove by it twice while everyone in the pretended we were in the Dukes of Hazzard. Emma can do a pretty soulful "Yee haw!". Her French teacher is so nice and energetic at later that night Emma and I were exchanging pleasantries in French.
I'm thinking both kids will make it to school today, giving me time to go to the gym. These last few days have been fairly tiring, but pretty wonderful in an odd way. Being woken up at five thirty in the morning when Emma crawls into bed with an "I love you, dad" is pretty nice.
As for Jamie, we haven't heard a peep. The only evidence I have of her existence is the Visa fraud unit calling to wonder why her Visa card is making all these charges in Mexico.
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We are well, going to the third wedding event...
January 04, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
We are well, going to the third wedding event - first evening was the girls' henna party, the next day the wedding, and tonight the reception. Delhi is overwhelming in every single way - traffic, people, noise, smells, religion, beauty and ugliness, all crammed in to the same space. Bob is a wonderful travelling companion, and we are
having an amazing time. The Imperial is an oasis of colonial denial in the midst of chaos. We rent a car and driver for about $30 for eight hours. It's like Africa; people time costs nothing. I'll post more later. Love you all. Mom
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It was a bit rough yesterday
January 03, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It was a bit rough yesterday. Sam was really sick, not wanting to do more than watch television. I was reduced to feeding him chocolate in order to get some food in his body. Towards the end of the day, I checked his temperature again and it was close to 103. I'm going to check again this morning, but it may end up being a stay home day for him.
Emma was generally cheerful, which was a good thing since I spent the whole day with her. We went to the park and she had a good time there, though Sam wasn't interested in staying very long. She also seemed to be doing much better with Jamie gone, telling me she was glad mom could have a vacation sometimes. She had a hard time getting to sleep, though, and I'll probably have to wake her up when seven o'clock rolls around so that I can get her to school.
I got a new digital camera yesterday, which is handy since Jamie ran off with my other one. So far, it seems pretty good, though I haven't properly run it through its paces.
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Happy New Years to all
January 03, 2007 by Jenny in Jenny
Happy New Years to all. Well my new years resolution is to post more. I'm now up and running with high speed so it doesn't take 10 min to log on. Well we had a great new years at home with, 4 of Destin's friends and thier parents. My job is going well!
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Happy New Year! We had a quiet holiday - bar...
January 02, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Happy New Year! We had a quiet holiday - barely making it to midnight.
We took Sadie shopping around PDX on New Year's Eve. I think we managed to impress her - or simply wear her out! We got her off to the airport that evening, and I hope she had someone cute next to her to ring in the New Year!
Now it's back to work, and it's kind of nice. Even Isa was excited to get back to school. Another 365 days under our belts!
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Emma got a little kitchen set for Christmas t...
January 02, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma got a little kitchen set for Christmas that she really likes. Last night, I was busy making dinner for everyone and she really wanted to help. Soon enough, I had given her some mushrooms and baked tofu to chop up on her little cutting board with her plastic chopper. When dinner came, she was quite happy to much on the tiny tofu squares she'd made.
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Well, Jamie got off safe and sound
January 02, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Well, Jamie got off safe and sound. The kids did pretty well that afternoon. Sam's still sick, coughing a lot, but he seemed pretty excited to go have a special dessert on the town. Sadly the Beanery was closed, so we zipped over to the Zenon Cafe for a fancy-shmancy dessert of cheescake, a decaf Mocha, and a vanilla Italian soda. Emma loved the lemon cheescake.
That night, Emma had a bit of a hard time going to sleep, as she missed her mom. I gave Sam some cough syrup to tide him over. He was up again at midnight, coughing away, so I upped his dose and he's still asleep this morning.
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Wow, next year we're all coming to |Prague fo...
January 01, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Wow, next year we're all coming to |Prague for New Years Eve! Fireworks, music, and wall to wall people! We're in the Prague airport waiting for our flight. This city is crazy cool. We'll be in Delhi tonight, and will be at the Imperial Hotel. Love, from the imperialistas.
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I'm going to cabo!!!! Hasta la Vista babies ...
January 01, 2007 by Jamie in Jamie
I'm going to cabo!!!! Hasta la Vista babies ;-)
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