Stillwaters Frozen in Winter

One-time Use Fireplace Installed

Theodore Jr. does his best to support our efforts. 

He goes to Nicole to find comfort during this transition.
He finally realizes the error of his ways and learns to reconcile his beliefs.
A fine looking tree during the day......
....and at night.

The "Cardinal"

A Trip to the Zoo

We worked off our turkey calories at the Henry Doorly Zoo.  Since we picked the coldest, wettest day to visit, the animals rewarded us by posing for the camera and generally being adorable.  Who doesn't love zebras!?

I actually really liked the warthog characters, but it is true that they did have quite the aroma.

This was probably the saddest elephant I had ever seen.  I'm sure he was just napping or relaxing or thinking big thoughts, but did he have to look so depressed?  I almost cried for him.  Omaha in the winter is not that bad.

  
On the bright side, I did get to see a sloth move.  Some smart zookeeper put his food just below his perch so that he would have to do full-body curl-ups to eat that lettuce.  It should be noted that he was stretched over a moat about 20-30 feet below containing some very hungry hippos.  Since I doubt his quick reflexes, you have to hope that those two toes hold on tight.

By the way, don't worry about Adam acting any older now that he has entered his thirties.  Here he is, goofing around on a bronzed turtle, and trying not to get his jeans wet.  

And here he is, over Thanksgiving in 2004, trying out the same tricks with a bronzed elephant. 

Giving Thanks to a Great Turkey

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with my family at Christopher and Amanda's new home in Omaha.  Christopher and Adam shared the responsibility of carving the turkey.  

It is always a good idea to taste-test the bird before serving to guests...

Maybe a second opinion?

OK, now...save some for the rest of us!!

The Great Northern Birthday Blowout

Within a month's time, Justin, Ryan, Mickey, and myself all turn 30 earth years. To celebrate that moment of historic significance, along with Jake's 30 years and Keely's birthday, the 918 crew returned to the hills of Duluth. After years of navigating the slopes of the Spirit Mountain some of my friends found caves hidden to the north and were able to construct "homes" in them. (Some even found the ability to reproduce.) They opened their rock doors to Nicole and I, which allowed us ample time for nuzzling with Ryan.

Newly birthed Maarit was able to spend a day with us along with her parents, which included a scenic walk through a wilderness area. Jake did his best to stay in the darkness to conceal the diamonds in his skin that would glisten if he entered the sunlight. 

Duluth pack!

There was some downtime where childless Ryan required a nap. He must be worn out from all the rock counting he does at the office. 

Grandpa Jake tired quickly from mounting losses during the required 6 hours of Settlers of Catan. 

30 Revolutions of the Earth = Me

The night before my birthday started as most nights do:

Me petting TJ and telling him how pretty he is. 

Later in the evening some friends came over and started pulling canvas off the walls in order to paint me a masterpiece.

After losing mulitple rounds of Bomberman, Wade chipped his tooth on a bottle of Cranberry Alize. 

As Emily tried to take Wade home, I did my best to get in some extra things to tell Wade as he left. These "things" were so important that I neglected foot ware. Bye Wade.

"Birthday Canvas" 

by Wade, Emily, Erin, Erica, Dave, Nicole, Marlene, Lisa, and phallic touch ups from Jake.  

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Don't get too crazy now...

Have a wonderful, special, and amazing day!

No, seriously!

From Darkplace Season 1, Episode 3, "Skipper the Eyechild":  Somewhere on the wards of Darkplace Hospital, a man gives birth to a giant eyeball which brings out paternalistic instincts in Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D., still grieving for the loss of his half-human, half-grasshopper son.  But could the eyeball be a potential killer?

This a show that aired in 2004, due only to the "worst artistic drought in broadcast history".

I think a little star-crossed vampire action is perfectly acceptable.  And Book 2, thus far, is a heart-breaker!  

Seriously?

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Page 197

"I brought the jacket for you. I didn't want you to get sick or something." His voice was guarded. I noticed that he wore no jacket himself, just a light gray knit V-neck shirt with long sleeves. Again, the fabric clung to his perfectly muscled chest. It was a colossal tribute to his face that it kept my eyes away from his body.

"I'm not that delicate," I said, but I pulled the jacket onto my lap, pushing my arms through the too-long sleeves, curious to see if the scent could possibly be as good as I remembered. It was better.

Seriously.

Twilight vs. Darkplace

Nicole is strongly invested into the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. It follows the tension of a young, plucky girl named Bella who falls for bad-boy/vampire Edward. She is solidly on the second book after finishing the first in 3 days. These books speak to the 15 year old girl in all of us.  I have started the first book, but I'm not seeing eye to eye with this Bella character. However, I seem to relate well to the Volvo driving, incredibly handsome, dark, mysterious Edward.  I don't know how that's possible.

Thinking about Twilight reminded me of the series Garth Merenghi's Darkplace, which I was able to find on YouTube. It is a fake-80's series about a doctor who battles the occult. There are not any sexually repressed vampires, but the humor and cleverly written satire is refreshing after reading Twilight. 

Vote! Vote!! Vote!!!

Sure looks like there is room for one more up on that mount...  Perhaps on Washington's shoulder?

This has been a long and exciting election season, and in this household, we are ready for new leadership.  Beyond all the policy debate, beyond the endless cycle of news coverage, and beyond the proposals and promises of change, I am most eager for a new tone in this country.  I have never been a part of something so energizing and hopeful, starting with the individual, and up through the family, neighborhood, community, and nation.  

In February of this year, we arrived early to our primary polling location.  It was the first time I had ever participated in a caucus, and probably the first time I ever attempted to arrive ahead of schedule.  We were worried about turnout.  We had heard that the numbers expected to attend could be higher than anticipated.  We got the last parking spot in an overflowing junior high school lot.  

We were greeted by party regulars, smiling and helpful.  We were directed to our room, where we shared a table with strangers: an older gentleman who welcomed us to the district, a middle-aged man who appeared to have left straight from his job in order to make it to caucus on time, a younger man about our age who was interested to hear about our experiences - everyone eager to participate in the democratic process.  

When it came time to vote, we ran out of paper.  We ran out of pencils.  We ran out of places to sit.  We used scraps of paper to cast our ballots, and no one left the room.  We counted our votes.  We counted them again.  We announced our district's choice for the nomination, a choice that was met with strong applause and a feeling of real accomplishment.  

We stayed late to help clean up.  We offered to volunteer for our candidate.  In the future, we would host a neighborhood party where everyone would gather to meet the candidates, to talk about what was important to our district, and to decide how - working as a community - we could make a difference.

As we left that night, the parking lot began to clear out.  We drove past cars parked along the old highway for over a mile.  It may have been February in Minnesota, cold and dark at best, but we knew that this election was different.  We all showed up to do our part, to participate in something great, to have a chance to vote for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes we can.
Barack Obama
Speech following New Hampshire Primary January 8, 2008.

Halloween Tally

TJ and I handed out the Halloween treats again this year.  Pickles celebrated by not hiding under the bed.

Since I have nothing better to do tonight, here is the final tally of our Halloween guests:

6:10  First guest arrives. 1 little boy with his parents and grandparents - it must be his very first Halloween.  TJ almost knocks him over in an attempt to eat his stuffed crocodile head.

6:45  TJ scares the next 4 little kids with his Halloween spirit.  If only he didn't look so hungry.

6:50  2 boys trick-or-treating for the "Food Shelf".  Right.  I give them Suddenly Salad and Krusteaz Bread Mix.  After leaving, I realize that there is a good possibility that both items may be expired.

Massive Halloween Action: 3 kids + 4 kids + 4 girls + 3 boys who liked our political pumpkins and flashed me a peace sign (I think)

1 girl + dad (neighbors)

2 kids + dad (1 kid with pinkeye, I learn, as TJ again tries to eat child)

2 little girls ("Big puppy!")

7:38  TJ takes a bathroom break and pees on football jersey for the second year in a row.  I thought we had learned our lesson from last year, but I guess we did not.

More Halloween Action:  2 girls + 3 boys + 3 kids + 2 guys (1 dressed as Dunn Bros coffee, 1 dressed as Ketchup...I asked how they came up with their idea and the answer for both was "It's tasty") + 3 girls + 1 girl 

8:36  6 kids - the littlest one put his hand in the candy bowl and tried to take about 8 candies.  The oldest one received a Snickers but stated that she preferred Nerds.  The second oldest one received Nerds, but apparently only liked Twix.  Seriously.

2 more little girls 

9:03  1 boy and 1 girl

9:16  Lights off.  Only 8 pieces of candy remain, and I will eat all of those myself.

9:22  TJ's jersey enters the spin cycle on the wash machine.  Maybe next year he won't pee on himself.  I declare Halloween 2008 a relatively phenomenal success.

Yes We Carve!

Ours is mostly a house of optimistic Democrats, with one feline exception.  We had our suspicions that Pickles was a conservative the day we brought her home from the Humane Society; there, slipped into her adoption papers, was a Republican National Committee membership card.  Since that day she has regularly given us bored, unsympathetic glances before gliding down the hallway to her room, and the television is always tuned to Fox News when we come home from work.  The funny thing is that she is always ready to cry "Socialists!" when we talk about universal health care, but she is surprisingly quiet when we subsidize her catnip and litter removal services.  It truly is a divided, but loving, home. 

No matter!  We choose to fight on, and our weapons are pumpkins.

TJ is the most liberal member of our family. Always ready for a handout.

Julie Bunn is running for re-election for state house. She'll totally win.

Pickles attempted to carve "Maverick!" into one of the pumpkins, but gave up when she realized that her claws had been conveniently clipped the day before.  Oops!

"Landscaping"

Adam and I have spent the last 2 or 3 weekends "landscaping".  So far, we have completed Stage One: Search and Destroy.  The end result is a messy, muddy, barren landscape of possibilities.  

In case you doubted the necessity of our project, here are the before photos.  Our front entry was just an overgrown jumble of shrubs and sumacs, and a monster vine overtook the kitchen window.  If you look closely, you may even see our bird feeder hidden among the sumacs.  

The sumacs were the first to go.  Their roots were creeping up into the siding and pushing through the driveway, and neighborhood cats were staking out forest territories in their canopy. 

Next up were the snowberry shrubs (I'm not sure if snowberry is their real name - that's just what I'm calling them).  We chopped these down to the ground, but left the roots intact.  If they return next spring in a more minimalist state, then they can stay.  If not, then too bad.  I doubt we'll miss them.  

Please send us your landscaping ideas and concept diagrams (with Zone 4 species clearly labeled according to seasonal color, mature height, and nutritional requirements) before Stage Two: Suburban Renewal begins next spring.  

TJ thanks you for your help.