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Slush and snow were falling from the sky this...
February 28, 2007 by Adam in Adam
Slush and snow were falling from the sky this morning as I rode into work. A few sprinkles were stuck to our lawn as I headed out. As always, I felt pretty "hardcore" as one of the few cyclists on the road. Still, after the thrill was gone, I started thinking positively about driving to work once it moves across town.
Half a lifetime ago, I went to the mall with my then-girlfriend and got my ear pierced. It was one of those "whim" things that teenagers often do, part of a Halloween costume, as I recall. I wore an earring all through college and graduate school, but stopped wearing once I went out to get a job. I'd occasionally wear one, like last Halloween for my pirate costume, but it's quite rare.
A couple weeks ago Emma was playing with my old jewelry container and wanted me to always wear an earring. Since then, I've had one in my ear. What's really weird is that virtually no one at work has made any comment about it. These are people that I know really well and am very comfortable with.
The only person who said anything was my coffee buddy Jim, who once had earrings as well, but is now over 40 and the father of two twin toddlers. He jokingly said I looked "Totally badass."
I can live with that.
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Robbie and Isa are home this morning, as it i...
February 28, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Robbie and Isa are home this morning, as it is again snowing in Portland! Isa has a 2 hour delay, and Robbie is home all day. This is more classic Oregon snow then what we had in January - wet and slushy.
Life continues to be busy. Things are picking up again at work, as everyone overseas is retuning from Chinese New Year. The factories won't be open for another week or so, but office life is returning to normal.
We will be in Eugene on Saturday for Dad's birthday. I can't wait to see all of my "Royal" family then.
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The Royal Tenenbaum Party is not yet blog-wor...
February 28, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 The Royal Tenenbaum Party is not yet blog-worthy, as I haven't gotten full buy-in from the cast and crew, nor set a date for said event. But I had such a lovely 25th birthday with Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land that I thought another film-themed party would be a nice way to venture into my late mid-twenties. No final decisions have been made, and going to Cuba by myself is still a possibility.
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Mischa gets his teeth cleaned tomorrow, but a...
February 27, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Mischa gets his teeth cleaned tomorrow, but all his tests
show he is a very healthy cat. So sorry, Seraph and Robbie.
But I'll send lots of cat food. Love, mom. PS. Sadie is going to try to rope us into putting on (yes, as in "acting
out the parts") of The Royal Tennebaums the next time she's home. Just a Heads Up....
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The weekend has come and gone
February 26, 2007 by Adam in Family
 The weekend has come and gone. It was pretty good, ending with Dave doing a redneck impression that nearly made Jamie and I pee our pants.
The highlights were a solo visit to the library, returning with movie and reading treats for all. I got to take Emma swimming without Sam, which was fun. She spent some time swimming around without her floater, doing surprisingly well in the water. She liked doing flips under water and slowly walking forward until the water was over her head.
The only down side was that Jamie and I were both somewhat under the weather. I can tell that I've got a cold, but I haven't been particularly sniffly.
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Great time at the Coast! Even enough sunshine...
February 26, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Great time at the Coast! Even enough sunshine for a brisk walk on the beach. It rained hard coming and going, and we even had a little snow on the way from Ptland to Seaside. Jamie, thanks for taking care of Mischa, and chasing out That Bad Pumpkin, the cat from next door. Mischa and I are headed for the vet, and his 100,000 mile check up before he goes to Seraph and Robbie's. Love, and sorry I sounded so morose.
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A little Friday night book review
February 24, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
A little Friday night book review. A writer named Joan Didion wrote a book called, I think, The Year of Magical Thinking, about the year after her husband died, and all the
pretenses she allowed herself, pretending her husband really was alive. I never let myself to do that, except one time, when I was with a date (not Bob) at a restaurant Dick and I liked. The date got up and left for the bathroom, and just that once, I let myself pretend it was Dick and he'd just be right back. Just that once.
But I have to admit that sometimes I go back to the postings
before Dick got sick, just to remember how good it felt back then. Much love from the old mom.
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A quick note - Bob's sister and brother in la...
February 24, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
A quick note - Bob's sister and brother in law rented a place at the coast, and we're taking Anna and Aric and going over tomorrow. We'll come back Sunday afternoon or evening.
Remember that the Egyptian exhibit at the Portland Art Museum runs only through Sunday March 4th.
Angie's brother Olin and his sweet baboo are going to rent the Polk Street house. He does contracting work, and is going to do some major internal refurbishing before he moves in. There's a little reserve built up in the rental account, and it's a good time to clean-up, paint-up and fix-up. He wants to put in a sky-light. He would have to hire someone to do the roof work at +/- $100, and the kit would be a couple hundred; he'd do that work for free. I think you all, except maybe Sadie, have lived there at one time or another, so do you have any opinion about the skyligt?
The prior tenant painted the living room and one bedroom (including walls) gray, and started to paint the woodwork black. And she went to law school? love from om
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Sam's had a rash on his face for the last few...
February 23, 2007 by Adam in Sam
Sam's had a rash on his face for the last few days. It's been getting better, but we've been trying to figure out what might have caused it. I was going through our Healthwise book which talks about various medical issues and I started going through the symptoms.
Eventually I got to the question about whether or not he'd eaten any new foods recently. I gasped as I realized I'd made him eat asparagus a few days before. "I've killed my boy!" I cried. We compared dates and it might have instead been the home made vanilla ice cream, though Sam vigorously disagreed.
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It's Mocha Friday, though I've yet to head in...
February 23, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's Mocha Friday, though I've yet to head into work to grab that delicious treat. This morning promises to be busy as well, with three sort of go-lives happening at once. I don't like making changes on a Friday, in case I make a horrible mistake and it gets paged out over the weekend. Hopefully these changes are pretty benign.
I took the kids swimming last night, after playing in the basement for an hour or so. Sam got a little upset that I wouldn't go along with his "airplane crash in the jungle finale", but I was getting play-pretended out.
After swimming, I whipped up pancakes and sausages for a quickie dinner, then helped get everyone to bed. Sam's started in on the fourth Harry Potter book, and will likely finish the fifth one before the movie comes out. I'm betting he'll finish the sixth before the last comes out too.
I can't remember what's going on this weekend. Dave's got a birthday. Jamie's off to do something with Emma's teacher tonight. I'm guessing there will be the usual library and swimming runs. Should be fun.
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I haven't left work earlier than nine at nigh...
February 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I haven't left work earlier than nine at night all week- the Paresky Center is like a casino of student energy. I've come to realize that if the place you spend most of your time eating is home, the quilt might be a little too on the nose for me.
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Emma's Potty Saga is finally coming to a close
February 22, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma's Potty Saga is finally coming to a close. After seven straight days of dry diapers at night, she switched to underwear all night long. The heavens parted and a host of angels flew down to join hands and do a potty dance around her.
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Well, Jamie couldn't get a babysitter last ni...
February 22, 2007 by Adam in Family
Well, Jamie couldn't get a babysitter last night, so it looks like we'll have to test the "Blondes have more fun" theory some other time. It's been a pretty busy week for Jamie, with gym and haircut on Tuesday, gym and helping at Emma's school tonight, and something I can't remember happening tomorrow night. Fortunately the kids have all been pretty good natured.
Seraph's possible 1st edition Harry Potter find is pretty amazing. Hopefully it'll pan out.
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Well, Sam finished up Zelda: Twilight Princes...
February 22, 2007 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Well, Sam finished up Zelda: Twilight Princess last night. As expected, the evil was purged from the land and peace now reigns over Hyrule. Sam ended up breaking his one hour computer limit, which didn't make Jamie particularly happy. Tonight is going to be a "no computer" night just to make up for that particular excess.
I'd have to say that Twilight Princess is one of the best Zelda games to come along, perfect for Sam in many ways. It required lots of reading and the puzzles were just about right for his level. Plus it gives him playground "creed". One of the first things he said when he finished was that he couldn't wait to tell his friend John.
Sam has a few unfinished computer games waiting for him. After a day or two of no computer, I'm betting he'll get into those.
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Hi Everyone, speaking of Harry Potter Books, ...
February 22, 2007 by Robbie in Cortez
Hi Everyone, speaking of Harry Potter Books, I went to the Goodwill the other day, and I came across four Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone books. I leafed through them and became intrigued with one of them. I looked at the ISBN and and a line of numbers that tell you if it truely is a first editon. The numbers 13567....usually it's a high number and it's not a first edition, even if it says so. SO anyway, I asked around the Goodwill if they could tell me anything more about the book, but nobody did. I hid the book, went home and did a little research. I found one book that had the same numbers and I was dumbfounded to see the price on it. I had found a U.S. first edition Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone book! I bought it for $3.99, and it could be worth over $6000.00. I still can't believe it and have to look at the book to make sure I really have it. I'm pretty sure it is a first edition, because all of the numbers matched. I might do a little more research and check with Powell's rare book section. They had one there that was an Australian First edition, going for $3000.
Aaaaah, You've got to love Goodwill! All Harry Potter Fan's please don't come running to become my new friend! Just joking.
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The week keeps moving along
February 21, 2007 by Adam in Family
The week keeps moving along. Sam's almost finished with the third Harry Potter book. After debating how much I'd supplement the book purchase, I taked about the library as a possibility. Though we've borrowed books since he was a toddler, it never occured to him that it would be an option. Perhaps tonight we'll pick up the next one.
Emma's cute as always. Last night she helped me make a salad while Jamie was getting her hair done. I think she ate half the baked tofu while dropping a few crumbs in my bowl to prove she was helping.
Jamie is now very blonde after a visit to the salon. We've got a date tonight, so I guess we'll test the "more fun" theory.
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Yesterday at noon I met up with Lohring and Y...
February 20, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Yesterday at noon I met up with Lohring and Yayoe at the Remembrance Day dedication of the sculpture and memorial garden next to the Hult Center.(I didn't realize that Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the date that then President Franklin Roosevelt issued the order to round up about 120,000 Japanese-Americans and put them in prison camps). The location of the garden is where Japanese-Americans in Eugene/Lane County had to assemble to be shipped off to a location unknown to them (I think, but I'm not sure, that it was the Tuley Lake camp.)
The service was moving. It was also lovely to see Misa Smith, Mari, and hear Mari's daughter, now 9, read a poem. It seems only yesterday that Mari and Jenny were budds.
The imprisonment of Japanese-Americans seems incomprehensible today, until I realize that I received at least one pass-on my Trashy Jokes list berating the US Postal System for issuing a stamp commerating the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.
I wonder if the world's population will stop fighting with each other in time to deal with global warming. Like Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and they are us."
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Emma has another funny potty story
February 20, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Emma has another funny potty story. She was watching a movie and decided she had to go to the bathroom. Since she didn't know how to pause the show, she did the next best thing and hauled her little potty in front of the television. Fortunately I intervened in time.
Emma's friend Dharam Dev and her mom came over for a play date yesterday. This was her friend from school, though they recently moved to Portland. Emma doesn't really seem to have a best friend at this point (other than maybe Sam), which I suppose is pretty normal for a three year-old. She also seems to be a social butterfly, chatting with anyone who will talk to her.
Last night we had fun watching old movies of the kids. Sam was especially mesmerized at how cute Emma was. His first question was "When can we have a play date with Winnie?" Winnie is the only baby we know these days, and Jamie said she'd ask Angie if they could come over.
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Seraph, can't you use that pink rug in Isa'...
February 19, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Seraph, can't you use that pink rug in Isa's room? No pressure though....
If we're invited, I'd kind of like to make a trip to Portland the first weekend in March; it's St. David's Day and the Portland Welsh Society meeting. Let us know, love, mom
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My computer died hard late last week
February 19, 2007 by Adam in Adam's Projects
My computer died hard late last week. For a long time now, it's booted up extremely slowly. Sometimes it would take forever and other times it was pretty quick. Finally, it wouldn't come up at all.
Fortunately I had bought a new hard drive recently and moved a bunch of old things onto it. I ended up purging lots of things I didn't need, consolidating it on one drive, and then reinstalling XP onto the new drive. Though it took awhile and I still have a few things I need to install, it actually seems to be working again. Boot up times are less than a minute and everything seems running smoothly.
I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe it was software or maybe the hard drive was failing. In any case, I think I can keep this computer running for another year or so before I hunker down and buy a new one.
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I'm back at work, while the kids get a day ou...
February 19, 2007 by Adam in Family
 I'm back at work, while the kids get a day out of school. I think Emma gets a play date today with her friend that moved up to Portland. I'm guessing the kids are also wanting to devour the chocolate pudding pie they made over the weekend.
Sunday was low-key and pleasant. Jamie took the kids to the Pioneer Heritage Festival while I hung out at home. Emma returned with a clothes pin doll and beads. Sam came back with a leather pouch kit that he immediately started sewing together.
As the afternoon moved on, Jamie went to King Estate wineries with Angie, then later went to her house for dinner. Sam went with my mom and Bob to see Bridge to Tarabithia, with dinner afterwards. Emma and I hung out, making pizza together and doing our normal bedtime routine.
After my usual bedtime cereal snack I headed to our bedroom to watch Upstairs, Downstairs with Jamie and rub her feet.
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Hi Mom - we'll take the box of Life Mag's
February 19, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Hi Mom - we'll take the box of Life Mag's.
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Okay, Sadie said she'd take picture frames
February 19, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Okay, Sadie said she'd take picture frames. Let's see a little more stepping up to the plate...
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We had a nice day yesterday, enjoying the inc...
February 18, 2007 by Adam in Family
We had a nice day yesterday, enjoying the incredibly warm and sunny weather. I took Emma to ballet while Jamie and Sam practiced baseball. Later Sam got dropped off and we all went swimming. Emma chatted up the other adults while I tried to pull Sam off a foam noodle. Good times.
We later went to the Asian festival, which was fun and crowded. Everyone was pretty exhausted, so we headed home early and took it easy for the rest of the day.
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The near brush with death has prompted both B...
February 17, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
The near brush with death has prompted both Bob and me to do some redding up (for the non-Pennsyvania Dutch out there, that means tidying up and in this case, trying to get rid of stuff.) I keep thinking that you kids would kill me if I died and you had to go through all the junk I've accumulated. I did throw out ten years of old holiday/
Christmas cards last year. I'd like to get rid of the following(meaning, "Do any of you want....?"):
1. The rose colored rug which used to be in Seraph's bedroom.
2. The Millenium stuff I collected, (magazines, t-shirt, Millenium countdown watch, napkins, candles, etc.) which, in another 993 years, will probably sell on e-Bay for big bucks.
3. Some perfectly nice Christmas tree balls in pink, maroon, silver, and peach - perfect for someone doing a Martha Stewart tree.
4. A little fewer than four dozen antique Christmas tree balls.
6. Dick's Smith-Corona manual typewriter, which seems to be in good working order.
8. A square and a couple of straight edges for drawing/drafting.
Sadie, if you want any of this stuff, I'm glad to save it for you. And Seraph and Robbie, I'll deliver anything you want, since your Papa-San chair is here and needs to go to Portland anyhow. I still have lots of clothing to mend and refurbish, going back to the late 1800's, but I'll try to get that stuff all fixed up and then try to find one of you who wants it, or some of it.
I'd like to try to sell some old medicine bottles on e-bay
and maybe those Pennsylvania liscense plates. How much longer will it be before I can sell my CPT (complete with
disks which actually flop!) as a collectible?
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I have moved into my new Office! Or rather, t...
February 16, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 I have moved into my new Office! Or rather, the new Center for Community Engagement. The Paresky student center appears to have everything anyone could ever want, if one was a college student looking for leisure and leadership development. Hopefully, things will calm down next week, but it has been a very, very busy day in Paresky. Many dozen of my cookies were eaten, and almost every student stopped in front of my flip chart to wonder aloud, "What on earth is Community Engagement?" But we have to be up with the times- "service" is so last century.
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I'm rather tired this morning - and like Adam...
February 16, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
I'm rather tired this morning - and like Adam's Friday's waiting for a coworker to arrive for a coffee run.
I left for LA yesterday at 5am and returned home at 11pm. It was a long day, but strange to think that I occasionally get paid to fly to warm places and go shopping with other peoples money. To bad I don't get to keep any of the clothes, most of wich will end up cut into pieces!
Isa and I are feeling better, but I think a weekend of puttering around will be helpful. Robbie continues to keep our lives running smoothly, spendint 2 hours organizing the bedroom closet. I'm sure it was in part to stop my whinning in the mornings.
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Mocha Friday
February 16, 2007 by Adam in Family
Mocha Friday. Finally.
Home has been a little rough the last few days. My main computer is having problems, which causes me general angst. Jamie is sick and has mostly been resting these last few days. My stomach has been hurting (but seems mostly better today), which makes it not so much fun for me either.
I haven't had a chance to drive my new car around, except back from the credit union where I bought it. Jamie's promised to zip it around town to make sure the battery stays charged. Emma's switching to the booster seat, which should make switching between cars easier.
This weekend sounds busy. I'm going to dinner tonight with Jamie. Jamie's planning a dinner with Pat and a trip to a winery with Angie and Matthew. I'll probably do the normal swimming and ballet routine with the kids.
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Emma keeps hitting milestones
February 15, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Emma keeps hitting milestones. She moved her little potty into the closet as she now uses only big potties. I think it got brought back out to be used as a stool, as reaching the faucet is still a little tricky for her. Not for long, though, as she's growing like a weed.
Jamie threw out the last bag in the diaper pail, which was beginning to mutate and become sentient. It makes a great garbage can and has worked its way into the kitchen.
Still, Emma continues to find her way into our bed most nights. Last night I was woken by her not-so girlish snore, finding Jamie had taken refuge on the couch.
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Happy Valentines day belated
February 15, 2007 by Betsy in Betsy
Happy Valentines day belated. It seems so novel to see Sam in in Polar Fleece and hear about spreading bark-o-mulch when we are buried under snow and ice. It was -11 this morning. Course you had it earlier this winter. In any event stay warm, keep happy and post often....
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Happy Valentine's Day to all
February 15, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Happy Valentine's Day to all. I stayed home from work to hang out with the people I love. Jamie and I went for a walk, I played with Emma, and chatted with Sam. Good times.
I also bought a car today. After getting rid of my old Nissan Sentra, I purchased a 2005 Nissan Sentra. Since my work is moving across town, a second car seems to be required.
Nothing much else is going on. The kids are watching movies, Jamie's resting due to her cold, and I'm puttering about with my computer.
As for last Sunday, the kids and I hung out until Jamie arrived. We finished spreading bark-o-mulch in our yard. Towards the end of the day, everyone went for a really long walk. We ended up at the athletic field behind South Eugene. Sam ran around the track once, then tried the long jump a few times. Somehow he managed to keep up as we trudged home through the rain.
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Many thanks to Mom, Dad, Yayoe, and Hanni for...
February 13, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Many thanks to Mom, Dad, Yayoe, and Hanni for helping us move over the weekend. Everything was a mess and they just came in and made it all work!
Things are starting to get organized, but it will be quite awhile before we're really there.
Isa's cold is making a come back, and I'm trying to hold off a sore throat, but I think in another week things will quiet down.
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Well, Bob had his doctor's appointment on Friday
February 13, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Well, Bob had his doctor's appointment on Friday. The word is that he is recovering from his surgery with flying colors. There is a little cloud on the horizon in that there was some damage to the lower part of his aorta which
they didn't try to repair, and there may need to be additional surgery in the future. But that's a bridge for crossing later. So many hugs to all, and thanks for those cards and letters!
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It's been a good day with just the kids
February 10, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's been a good day with just the kids. Emma had a bit of a problem going to sleep, but still conked out pretty early. She crawled into bed with me some time in the wee hours, waking me up repeatedly as she tossed and turned.
I made a very yummy breakfast, which the kids made appreciative noises at. I had whole wheat pancakes with blueberries inside, along with a cafe mocha. It doesn't get any better than that. The kids had a great time playing together while I cleaned up.
Sam's started this thing where he has to do a little job before he can play on the computer. Today it was helping me spread bark-o-mulch in the garden. Both kids pitched in and had a good time getting fairly filthy.
After that we were off to Emma's ballet class and swimming. Emma was incredibly cute at both places. I had to practically drag them out of the pool as I knew they were starving by then. They both ate like they were starving, with Sam even eating a bowl of soup. Now Sam's friend John has arrived and Emma is watching her Barbie movie. I'm sipping tea and enjoying the moment of quiet.
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Mocha Friday, at least in another hour or so
February 09, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Mocha Friday, at least in another hour or so. Emma's got a bit of the sniffles and so she's been a bit grumpy lately. I mostly followed her around last night, trying to keep her out of mischief.
Jamie heads off to the beach tonight with Dave. I'm not really sure what I'll be doing with the kids, as most of my family will be up in Portland helping Seraph move. I'll see if I can come up with a few interesting things to do, otherwise we'll probably just do our normal weekend routines. Swimming, a library trip, and some visits to the park may be in our future.
I had a chance to look at mom's India trip pictures yesterday, and posted some of them in her section. You'll have to go back a bit, like at the bottom of this page. I especially like the one with the elephant, though the monkey takes a close second.
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Did you know that the production of a single ...
February 08, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg
 Did you know that the production of a single gold ring generates, on average, 20 tons of waste? Don't buy your honey gold on Valentines day! I recommend Oxfam and Heifer International.
In celebration of Valentine's Day, my room mate Janet and I are organizing a Williamstown Hugging Brigade, and we're giving out free hugs on Spring Street and Main Street all afternoon, despite winter snow warnings. As the Paresky Center project manager said to me (as he was checking in one more time to make sure I was happy and doing well in my new office), "what's more romantic than hugging in the snow?" I couldn't agree more.
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Hi, Betsy, I'll send those addresses on; I'm ...
February 07, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Hi, Betsy, I'll send those addresses on; I'm not sure I have an address for Eric Stohl, but I'll check.
Life is returning to what passes for normal. Bob and I got out last weekend, Saturday night to dinner with his sister, down from Seattle, at the home of a long time friend of hers, and Sunday at friends' for Superbowl. Bear down, Chicago Bears! I guess it's "Bears Down". Cousin Sandy Lenton, late of London and now in the Phillipines, is in Portland with her boyfriend, who has a manufacturing plant there. The tentative plan is to go up for dinner tomorrow night.
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Last night Jamie pulled me away and indicated...
February 07, 2007 by Adam in Emma
 Last night Jamie pulled me away and indicated I should quietly look in the bathroom.
There, in the darkness, was Emma sitting on the potty, her face glowing with the light from her Nintendo DS. She was playing Cooking Mamma and decided to test the portability of her new gaming system.
It was incredibly cute.
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Well, the cable guy came and I now have a TV ...
February 06, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Well, the cable guy came and I now have a TV with cable which will pick up Channel 34, University of Oregon sports. I explained to the cable salesman why I was upgrading and he said, somewhat incredulously, "You like this guy enough to spend $240 a year so he can watch sports?" I do feel a little defensive. The problem is that after bitching at Bob halfway around the world that all he needed to do was take his Cipro, I feel really, really guilty.
PS Lumpy is going to stay for a trial run with Chuck and Joann, Bob's ex-wife's (very sweet) brother and his wife in
Portland.
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I need addresses for the following people:
A...
February 05, 2007 by Betsy in Betsy
I need addresses for the following people:
Ann Pontius
Judy and/or Linda Jones
Kathy Jones Swartzler
Eric Stohl
Phil Tuza
Kip and Otto Scherer
I have pictures to send all these people so if anyone has addresses I would appreciate. Thank you, P.
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Pretty much all I do with my computer, gaming...
February 05, 2007 by Adam in Adam's Games
 Pretty much all I do with my computer, gaming-wise, is work on my Neverwinter Nights 2 campaign. Yesterday I got completely sick of it and decided to play one of the games I got Sam for Christmas. He got so many that he never got around to playing Dark Messiah, which is based on the Half Life 2 engine.
I'd heard mixed reviews, but the demo was fun and I sat down to give it a chance. Sure enough, I ended up playing a couple hours straight and decided it was actually pretty fun. The physics are the highlight, with kicking orcs into chasms being the highlight of events. There's also many traps you can set off on your foes, such as breaking support beams to drop barrels on them. The story seems okay so far, though quite linear.
There's also a bit of character development in the form of a skill tree. I'm going for a mostly stealthy archer, which is turning into a fair amount of fun. I seem to alternate between that and blades, depending on the situation. I may play a bit more tonight, if I can sneak it in.
Sam finished Trace Memory, which I think he liked quite a bit. We decided to let Robbie borrow it next, assuming we can find a way to get it to him.
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It's been a pleasant weekend all around
February 05, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It's been a pleasant weekend all around. Saturday I took Emma to her ballet class, which went okay until she started feeling poorly. The rest of the day we hung out at home, passing on our usual swimming. I snuck a solo library trip in the morning. In the afternoon, Emma helped me make wheat bread and wheat buns. They ended up quite tasty, if I do say so myself.
Today we went to campus while Jamie went to the gym. The kids loved exploring all the odd little places, from the fish ponds at the EMU to the massive atrium of the science buildings. Their favorite was the giant sofa, a pseudo art exhibit that they crawled on to and pretended they'd shrunk. They begrudgingly returned to the hospital with me, where we collected Jamie and went to Humble Bagel.
In the afternoon, Jamie went to Turtles with Sharron while the kids and I played in the backyard. Everyone is loving the sunshine. Emma played in the sandbox while Sam and I played Frisbee. Now the day is winding down and the kids are getting ready for bed. Next weekend Jamie goes to the coast by herself, so I'll see if I can plan some fun things to do with the kids while she's away. Good times.
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Seemingly in the last week, Emma has become p...
February 05, 2007 by Adam in Emma
Seemingly in the last week, Emma has become potty-trained. She's quite proud of being able to wear underpants exclusively and go to the potty all by herself. She's also dressing herself and much easier to manage in many respects. I'm hopeful my days of changing dirty diapers are finally behind me.
Poor Emma does have some issues with growing pains. Last night she was groaning, complaining of her legs hurting. She climbed into bed and I massaged her legs until the Tylenol kicked in. I remember going through the same thing when I was a kid, and I'm trying to teach her how to stretch out her muscles as best she can. That's what helped me, finally. Warm baths only worked as long as I was in it, and I'm not too keen on giving her endless painkillers.
As usual, she's doing great at her French school. She's always singing little French songs around the house. Occasionally she'll say a phrase or two to us. So far I've been able to understand her mostly, though I bet she'll be vastly more fluent than I if she keeps in her French immersion school.
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Sam's gotten into playing chess lately
February 05, 2007 by Adam in Sam
Sam's gotten into playing chess lately. The last time I played him, I started half-heartedly, then quickly realized that I had to pay attention. I won, but he really should have, had he not made a few glaring mistakes. Tonight we played again and both of us were being very careful. As it stands, I'm not sure who's winning, and we shelved the game until tomorrow. It's neat seeing him become so good at something.
In other ways, he's a pretty typical boy. We played a version of frisbee where he jumped off a ledge and tried to catch it, usually landing with a melodramatic thud. He's also fond of playing "training" in the basement. This usually involves leaping onto the Foof from the couch while I try to block him with pillows moving in a pattern. The goal is to leap at the right moment, Indiana Jones style, and avoid being chopped up by the dreaded Pillows of Doom.
Math, reading, and spelling all seem easy to him now. He gets 100% on his spelling tests, plus usually gets all the challenge words too. He's reading a chapter or more of Harry Potter each day. It's nice having him be so good at school, though I do see those elements of obsessiveness that run deep in the Miller-Mellor genes. Fortunately I think he'll use his special power for good instead of evil.
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Oh, your birthday, Dez! That's what I what I ...
February 02, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Oh, your birthday, Dez! That's what I what I was trying to
remember as the event which made this an important day. Disregard my phone message, Dez, it wasn't the full moon or Groundhog Day at all!
Bob is sort of settling in, but still not doing much except
sitting or lying down. We're trying to find a good home for Lumpy. Aric has been great about feeding her, and running her, but neither Aric nor Anna can have a dog where they live, and it's going to be a long time before Bob jogs again.
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Happy Birthday Destin! Are you driving yet? ...
February 02, 2007 by Seraph in Cortez
Happy Birthday Destin! Are you driving yet? Luv ya buddy.
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Mocha Friday
February 02, 2007 by Adam in Family
 Mocha Friday. Of course, I'm still at home, waiting for the sun to pop up and head into work. Still, that magical elixir will soon be mine.
The kids don't have school today, so they're coming over to visit for awhile. I think we'll eat lunch, see the flags on campus, and poke our heads in the art museum. I've had a couple people tell me about the flag exhibit, so I'd like to see for myself.
My mom came over last night, bringing more goodies from India for the kids. She and Emma had fun with projects, making funny glasses from pipe cleaners and beads. Sam busied himself with Zelda on the Wii again.
Nothing particularly exciting is going on these days. Emma has ballet again tomorrow, and I'll probably take the kids swimming. Work is busy, but not too bad. Same ol', same ol'.
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It was freezing this morning, but the cold wa...
February 01, 2007 by Adam in Family
 It was freezing this morning, but the cold was offset by a beautiful setting full moon. I had to stop in awe for a few moments. I'll miss my bike rides once they move my work out to Springfield. Already I'm looking at cars to buy. There's a very practical 2005 Nissan Sentra (to ironically replace my 1992 Nissan Sentra) as well as a 2004 Ford Mustang. I haven't decided if I want to be the cool or sensible dad. Right now I'm leaning towards sensible.
I had the kids for much of last night as Jamie went off with Angie and Victoria. We've been going out on adventures when I return from work, and we ranged all about our neighborhood. Sam picked the final seed from the "golden tree" that was only golden at sunset. He also got some ice that was frozen in the gutter. It's all part of an elaborate druidic potion of some sort. Flying, I think.
When we returned from our adventures, Sam played Zelda on the Wii and Emma helped me make dinner. She's great at chopping tofu and spreading butter on broccoli. I started moving everyone towards bedtime and then Jamie returned to finish the job.
I heard through the grapevine that Sam's cousin Josh might be around next year for school, in an attempt to establish residency for college. Both kids think Josh is the greatest, so that would be quite cool if it pans out.
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Meggie, Bob thinks you're just letting me off...
February 01, 2007 by Sue in Wielesek
Meggie, Bob thinks you're just letting me off the hook, and he can't understand why I didn't have that diagnosed better. His perverse sense of humor is returning, so I'm confident all will be well. We did actually hear some negative things about foreign hospitals. Probably all the lawyers here keeping the medical profession in line. Heh, heh. (C'mon guys, do you know how many lawyer jokes I've suffered through?)
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