What are YOU looking at?

Always goes right for the eyes, the turkey, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Shane was tired of Quentin and Amelia getting all the attention. She was pleased to open a gift from her cousin Dudley and discover the perfect plan. She would take the stuffed shark toy to the backyard. The conehead dog would be no match for her and her bare-headed self. She'd wag and smile for the camera and as soon as the bipeds' backs were turned, off would come the eyes!!! Ha ha! "Now they'll have to look at me," she woofed softly. "Now it's my time to shine."

Shine on, Shaney, shine on.

Most Perfect Package

Christmas2006, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Introducing Tax-break 2006!

Close-up of the eyeballs
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

AKA: Amelia Charlotte

Amelia was born Tuesday, December 19 at 5:18pm. She was 8lbs 6.2ozs and 21.75ins. Her head was 14" in diameter.

Winners are:
Birthdate - tie between Kim and RoCoBeGo. Neither was right on but were closest at a day off.
Birthweight - Grandma Chris at 2 ounces off.
Length - Wendy, Grandma Chris and VenturaMom within a quarter inch.
Oh, and special recognition to V, who predicted "perfect." She was totally right on.

The boy/girl votes were pretty evenly split. There seems to be no science to the how-you-carry thing. Not that I thought there was a science to it, c'mon, I don't fall for that sort of thing. Usually.

Okay, winners, something special and CLASSY will be coming your way, but don't hold your breath.

If you need us, we'll be kissing the baby.

Bring me the head of Quentin the Canine on a platter!

Floating head
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

This is what happens when you bark one too many times over at our house. Too bad, too, because we found out the mass on his foot was benign so he could've lived so much more life.

Mix-tape, made easier with iTunes

Brandon is making me a special birthing mix. Here's the line-up so far:

• "Dreadlock Holiday" - 10cc (just 'cause I don't like it, I LOVE it)
• "Feels Like the First Time" - Foreigner
• "Hey (Been Tryin' to Meet Ya)" - The Pixies
• "Break on Through to the Other Side" - The Doors
• "Exodus" - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• "Dazed and Confused" - Led Zeppelin
• "Bring the Noise" - Anthrax with Public Enemy
• "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison (just 'cause that's what Brandon says we're having)
• "Daughters" - John Mayer (again with the girl theme)
• "Hey, Baby" - No Doubt
• "Feels Just Like it Should" - Jamiroquai
• "I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever)" - Stevie Wonder
• "I'm a Lonely Little Petunia (in an Onion Patch)" - Imogene Heap
• "At the Zoo" - Simon and Garfunkel
• "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn" - Beastie Boys

Anything we're missing?

Santa's Crap Shop

The weekend after Thanksgiving brought the annual Santa's Crap Shop to the fairgrounds. Okay, it's really called an "art" show. You guessed it, no good. Ventura has a twice yearly street festival billed as a craft fair. I've always called it the crap fair. Oh, I always went to it, don't get me wrong. But somehow my money managaed to stay in my pocket, try as I might to find something, anything, I could stand. Well, I did always manage to find room for a "maragrita" (that's really what the sign said, not just how I said it after having had one) down at the Catholic church. Somehow they were the only ones allowed to sell alcohol. Well, this deal here didn't let us down in the crap department. We even paid to get in to really sweeten the deal. Of course if we hadn't gone, I wouldn't have heard the woman say to her friends - in reference to me - "That one's about to pop!" Oh, stop charming me, you.

This food booth's sign also charmed me.
Yep.

This is a dog we know suffering great humiliation.

Not that we frown on that. 'Cause we don't.

Extra super stoned

Extra super stoned
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Quentin had surgery yesterday to have a mass removed from his right heel. Poor kid was at the hospital for nine hours. He had a general anesthetic so we got his teeth cleaned while he was out. The doc also found a small growth on his tongue. What a wreck this guy is!

Well, he was fairly stoned when we picked him up but despite that was able to communicate to us that he was pretty pissed off. He didn't have the strength to sneer for a few hours, but we could tell.

I called my dad to report on Quentin's condition and realized, as my dad waited for me to say why I was calling, that at this point in my pregnancy I can't call anyone unless it's show time. Sorry.

Click on the pic for some gory goodness!

As long as people are betting...

Got some weigh-in re: baby's premiere in comments on our Britney and K-Fed post. (P.S. We are totally broken up over their break-up. Hard to talk about it. Meep.) So, anyway, why don't we just open this thing up to speculation. I suppose I should offer some sort of prize to those of you who get the date right. Also some sort of prize for those who are closest on the weight and/or length. I don't think I'll offer anything but a hearty congratulations if you get the sex correct. Not enough variables on that one. What might these prizes be? Good question. Good question indeed. Yeah, I don't know. I will come up with something classy, though, to be sure.

Let the predictions begin...

What do you do with a drunken sailor?

I don't know, but after last night's squadron holiday party, I sure know what one looks like. Sorry, no photo evidence. Top secret base. You know how it is. Let me just say that there was lots-and-plenty unscheduled entertainment on the dance floor.

Hallow-truckin-ween 2006

I'm back

Alright, where did we leave off? Perhaps in Wyoming. Okay, Sunday we left Cheyenne after enjoying our free waffles (we stay at La Quinta and they do that) and trucked across Wyoming into Utah. I did not get a picture of the welcome sign because it was lame and I didn't realize it was the sign. It was a small billboard mentioning the Olympics. It didn't have the sense of commitment and permanence the other states' signs do.

Once into Utah, I-80 dropped to 65mph. Uncool. Luckily the speed increased again once past Salt Lake City. Luckily all we did in SLC was pass through it. The Great Salt Lake was pretty cool to drive past. It smelled like the ocean only stagnant. I suppose those out boating either had the benefit of air movement or were used to it. From there to the border we passed lots and lots of salt. We saw the Morton salt plant which was processing like crazy. I felt my blood pressure rise just looking at it. Beyond that the salt got even thicker and in the sun it glistened like so much Vegas showgirl jewelry. Sadly my drive-by method of photography didn't capture it well.

We ended our day in Elko, Nevada. Our hotel had a sign that said "Dog Walk" which directed you through a gate out the back of the property onto a dirt road leading to houses. I guess that's one way to deal with it. That one was not a La Quinta. Our original plan was to make that my last night on the road but we decided to make one more stop in Reno. Our days have been 550 to 650 miles and a good nine hours behind the wheel. My sitting parts are not my friends any more. So, now tomorrow I head to Monterey with the dogs and Brandon hopes to get to Eugene for his last night on the road. In the meantime, we'll be hitting the Sierra Trading Post Outlet store and the all-you-can-eat sushi place.

More later!

Moving on

Okay, so we last left you in Memphis while deciding what to do with our rainy day. The afternoon cleared up so we headed downtown for a walk around and barbeque at the Rendezvous. The walk around turned into people watching from a bar called the Flying Saucer. They boast loads of beer on tap and more in bottles. From there we watched two 12 or 13 year olds gettting busted outside the mall across the street. Two undercover cops had them and mall security was there and finally a uniformed cop. Apparently it was a big enough deal for the uniformed cop to drive the wrong way down the one-way street. Also it was not a big enough deal for the kids to actually get arrested. Okay then.

After that we had dinner, Brandon had a full rack of Memphis ribs. He was happy. We then walked around Beale Street which Brandon described as "Bourbon Street with a conscious." After that it was back to the house and the dogs and we rolled out of town Thursday morning on our way to Kansas City.

Memphis to KC was another 9-hour travel day. That seems to be our regular interval. We got to Scott, Connie, and Grace's house right as dinner was being served - thank you. Friday we hung out with Aunt Marge and worked in some Kansas City barbeque - another full rack for Brandon. He won't say which he's partial to, probably a good move. Friday night we were back at the cousins' place and joined by cousin Don. We kinda grazed through leftovers for dinner and Brandon had none as he was still working on that rack.

Saturday we were back on the road and made it to Cheyenne. We headed north out of Kansas City and were in Iowa for a couple of minutes, then a full day of Nebraska. I-80 through that state is about as straight as it can get, but the speed limit is 75 and for that we were grateful.

I'll pick it up again soon, but there's more road to cover. P.S. You may find some photos over at the Flikr photo icon on the side.

First two days

We packed up the cars and hit the road Monday at 10:30am. Much later we realized we'd left the milk in the fridge. Oops.

So, we made it to Asheville, NC, that day, miles for the day were 383. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express on the east side of town, adjacent to the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Just thought you'd like to know. The hotel had a surprisingly nice restaurant and Brandon enjoyed pecan crusted trout. Shane had her first elevator rides, that was interesting.

Tuesday we got an earlier start - 8:30 - and set to our 500 mile day. We got to Vonnie and Wendy's late afternoon and the dogs decided to get along well. That was a bonus. Well, mostly Shane played with Jack and Georgia and Quentin crashed around in the bushes by himself getting as wet as possible. Did I mention there was a helluva storm? Yes, it was headed east so it hit Memphis before we got here then passed through us. Really we passed through it but if felt like the other way around. Overnight we had a couple large thunderstorms and therefore shared our bed with Shane for half the night. Quentin barks at thunder and tells it where to go, but Shane can't fight that battle alone.

Today is still rainy so we're trying to find some sheltered activities. Eating ribs is on Brandon's list and that shouldn't be at all inhibited by weather, it's just the rest of the afternoon we have to worry about. We'll let you know how it works out!

Garbage Sale

Our sale was to run from 8am to noon today. We got up at 6am to make that happen and had some early birds who were kind enough to buy. Now it's 1:30pm, I'm still sitting outside. I'm sitting here wondering how, if we made almost $300, there's still so much crap in the driveway. Brandon's backing the Subaru into the driveway and is totally prepared to take all the leftovers to the dump. Gotta go, gotta make sure nothing crazy happens!

Back on the Trail again!

We're hitting the ol' dusty trail again. Heading out Monday. Took the dogs to the cleaners yesterday so we can stand to be in the car with them for long driving days. Also so the people we visit can see through to their true charms. So, until we leave, I've got my last Garden Club meeting and my last Scrabble game, a garage sale, and some general panic. After we leave, you'll find me and the dogs summering in Carmel while Brandon lives the island life on Whidbey in Washington. Only after those good times will we officially move from North Carolina to the high desert of California. This means we will have to come back to NC in August, dashing my plans of totally avoiding a second summer in the humidity. The dry, desert heat will feel like air conditioning by comparison, however.

We'll be posting travel pics and stories right here. Y'all come back and check!

Where to begin

Well, as is typical after one my absences from the blog, I have many excuses, err reasons, swirling around my head. I won't bore you with most of them. The biggest one was that the day after we got home from Ventura, Brandon woke up with a cold, two days later, I did. Mine hung on and on and last Saturday was the first day in nearly two weeks my snot wasn't green. You're welcome.

Here's a link to our photos from our trip - click! Not all of our fun is represented because I didn't think to bring my camera the first night when we had dinner with Chris and Brad and saw their giant new house and I hadn't had a chance to download all my images when my purse (holding the camera) was stolen. Yay. Now that was fun. I highly don't recommend it. :)

I'll add more later! We're off to DHL back to the dealership the bank draft we used to buy our new Subaru Outback which we didn't properly endorse. Oops! Our big thanks go to Angie for not calling the police.

Happy Birthday Honey Haku!

It's my dad's birthday today. He celebrated by getting his teeth cleaned. Why not?

Sorry to have not posted in a while, I'll get to it soon, I promise. Blame it on my laziness, or perhaps the fact that I'm suffering from this.

Recap

So, as you know, things went as planned last Monday when I picked Brandon up at Camp Lejeune. He came home, saw the puppies, took a shower, had a beer, and then did this:
I woke him up a few hours later for dinner and to try to make sure he could sleep that night since he had to be back at Lejeune at EIGHT THE NEXT MORNING! Man. I wanted to drive him which meant getting up at 5:45 since Lejeune is more than an hour from home. Luckily, he felt comfortable driving himself the following day. :)

So, yes, he had to be there Tuesday and Wednesday at 8am. Thursday he thought he was supposed to be there at 10am, only to find out when the phone rang at 8:15 that it was, in fact, supposed to be 8am. Luckily a phone call got him complete for the day and he was free to go to Scrabble with me. Oh the ladies they were delighted when we walked in together. He got to meet Sue, Patti, Pat, Nora, Helen, Lou (not a lady), and the oh-so-delightful Terri. They loved having him there.

He was back to Lejeune Friday morning at 10am, then Saturday at 8am. That was to check out for a 96-hour leave which ended with a check back in at 6pm yesterday. If that doesn't sound right, it's not, it's not 96 hours any way. He was back there again today from 8am until after 2pm. All of this to say he hasn't exactly had a chance to relax and get back in the swing of things.

We are, however, leaving pre-dawn tomorrow for a week in Ventura and that will give us a nice chance to get back to normal. And eat delicious Mexican food. And eat delicious sushi. And see our delicious friends. All the things we can't do here. Yay!

Pictures!

Photo montage, anyone?

First beer

"Ahhhhhhh"

Well, the time has come for me to stop using half of the bed for piles of clothes because my husband will be home tomorrow! In anticipation, I have prepared in the following way. Behold the happy fridge.

If all goes as planned, I should be able to lay eyes on Brandon late morning. Pictures will be posted!

From my Valentine.

Flowers
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's-Day-2006
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

I wish you all a happy Valentine's Day. I am saving my celebration for another week or so. ;)

Oh, the Memphis story!

I know I said I would do this a long time ago - sorry. I'll save the list of excuses for another time. Okay, so I went to Memphis to visit our friends, Vonnie and Wendy, and their two dogs, Jack and Georgia. Wendy recently bought her first house and Jack is a new member of the family I'd not yet met. I had my camera with me the whole time and yet, somehow, I managed to take no pictures of the house or the dogs. Hmmm. Okay then. I guess I'm going to have to start traveling with a shot-list.

Vonnie told me they'd pick me up from the airport Friday night and we'd go right downtown for the surliest service in town courtesy of The Rendezvous. She said the place is famous for it. So, off to dinner we went. We parked in the garage across the alley from the restaurant, made our way down the stairs to the "groud level," and had dinner. We had chicken and slaw and beans and beer, all served to us by the nicest possible waiter. Made a total liar of Vonnie. (She hates that.) After dinner we walked Beale Street until the rain drove us back to the car and out to the suburbs. Saturday involved lounging, Starbucking, buying rocks for a house-warming gift (it's complicated), and a really good dinner out. Sunday we woke up to an active thunderstorm, which pretty much ruled out the options of going to the botanic garden or zoo. We lounged for a while until I convinced Vonnie we should go to Graceland. Wendy was up for up but Vonnie was so against it she'd denied even her own mother a couple months back. How did I finally sway her? Well, I did something I'm not really proud of - oh yes I am, kidding - I played the my-husband-is-at-the-war card. She caved. Thanks Brandon! We headed across town to Elvis Presley Boulevard, showed our AAA cards for our ten percent discount, got our headsets, and boarded the bus for the trek to the other side of the street where we began the tour. The rainy day kept the crowds at bay and only two other people started through at the same time as we. My headset had one ear out so I could hear the other tourists yell to each other, pointing things out. I looked at the staff, none of whom were chuckling. I imagined they go over that in orientation, "People will yell, it will be funny, do not laugh. They all do it." After Graceland we went for another fabulous dinner out then back to the 'burbs. As we drove around I couldn't help but notice the massive churches everywhere. They looked like office buildings or small colleges only differentiated by crosses. There were so many I'll bet the streets are deserted Sunday mornings. We were drinking coffee and reading the paper Sunday morning, so I can't be sure.

Well, that's what happened. Oh, my trip home was fun, many extra hours spent in Atlanta while a storm passed through. I panicked a little at the thought I might not get back to Raleigh in time for my planned Costco run. Thankfully I got back in time to make it not only to Costco, but also Whole Foods. It just felt so - reassuring.

Florida Prairie

Did you catch this weekend's Prairie Home Companion? It was recorded in Miami and Garrison set to butchering the Spanish language at every opportunity. Ay, cabron!

Hounds

Hounds, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Last Saturday my neighbor, Evelyn, and I headed out to the local junior college to help with a doggie adoption event. The event was held by the group who cared for Shane until we met her. The leader, Shari, teaches ceramics and some of my neighborhood ladies know her from that. Sadly the day wasn't very well organized, gladly three dogs found homes despite that. Evelyn only fell down twice and sustained no injuries, which was good. And only one of those times was she knocked down by a three-legged dog. (Second from left in the upper corner.) I fell in love with the blue heeler, he reminded me of Quentin. I also really liked Wheatie who I described to all as "Wheatie the Sweetie." She's the one on her back. She rolled over for everyone, just wanted a belly scratch.

The day also gave me the opportunity to finally fill out adoption papers and give the group some money. Shari misses Shane so much she kept "forgetting" to send me the necessary forms. So, six month hence, it's a done deal.

Only one incident scarred the day for me. The event was at a college on a Saturday. The college has Saturday classes so there were students about. I walked up to a volunteer with a dog talking to a student on his bike. The kid was asking her questions about the dog and I noticed she was responding to him in a very curt manner. I was going to add to the conversation as I got there but the student pedaled off. I looked at the volunteer and she had the most sour expression on her face as she rolled her eyes. I reacted by asking, "Why are you making that face?" She shrugged and looked away. Since she didn't respond, I don't know what her actual thoughts were, but I suspect her behavior was due to this kid being black. Living in the South I really expected to see a lot more of this, Confederate flags do fly, but this was about the most blatant I've seen so far.

Attitudes about race have been on my mind lately. With the celebration of Dr. King's birthday and the passing of Coretta, I think the least any of us can do is spend some time thinking about our own beliefs and how we came to hold them. Were we influenced by our parents? Friends? Media? If we're prone to speak about or make assumptions about groups based on their racial or religious background, what is the basis? Is any good served by this? And, if you feel that because someone looks like you, they share your opinions, like that volunteer did, please think twice. You could be talking to me, and believe me, you have no idea what I'm thinking. Okay, I'm probably thinking about ice cream, but you get the drift.

Oh, and adopt some puppies!

Puppyversary

Puppyversary, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Six months ago we headed out to see this dog we'd found on petfinder.com. She was described as a medium-sized cattle dog mix. We got to the place - the home of a couple plus 50 dogs - and were overwhelmed by the cacophony and disorder. There were dogs in the picture window, dogs all along the fence, dogs coming out of the windows. They brought this dirty, terrified girl out on a leash to meet us. She was what we'd consider large, and she was predominantly chow. She didn't know anything about this leash thing on her and she didn't seem interested in us at all. We thought we'd just go meet her and see what we thought. They thought that since we had expressed interest, we'd be taking her home that day for a trial run. The wife really loved this dog and didn't want to give her up but decided we were good people and reminded herself that they got into this in order to find homes for these dogs, not keep them all themselves. So, after talking for a while, Brandon coaxed this creature into the back seat and home we came.

The dog we met that day and the dog she's become couldn't be more different. The easiest change is she's clean and shiny and her nails are clipped and her pads are smooth. She's not scared of the leash. And she is exceptionally interested in me. (And will be in her papa as soon as he gets home to give her the chance.) And the best part of all, she and her big brother get along like gangbusters - a sea change from her first week in his house.

Happy Puppy-six-month-a-versary, Shane, we're glad you're here.

Not the Memphis post

At Scrabble on Thursday I once again won the $3 high word score payout. This time with "chaos" which netted 45 points. It was played across a triple-word square and the "s" made plural a previously played word. I came in third (of eight) overall. Of course Sue took first prize and Terri second. Damn that Terri.

The niece is getting bigger and cuter!

She's an eyebrow raiser, must be the MacClelland.

Pride

Now this makes me proud of my fellow statesmen.

"Last May, a US man found a severed finger in a tub of ice cream, then refused to give it back to an injured employee so it could be reattached. Instead Clarence Stowers, of North Carolina, took it home and put it in his freezer as evidence in legal action against the store. A week later he offered to return it, too late for surgeons to be able to act."

Beale St.

Beale St., originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Click on this picture to see all my Memphis trip photos. I'll write more later, late for Scrabble!

Now here's a fundraiser I can get my lips on

Firestone Winery in Santa Ynez, CA, has created Jarhead Red. It's a blend of Cabernet and Merlot grapes that Adam Firestone, a former Marine Captain and brother of Bachelor Andrew, thinks befits leathernecks. Even better, net profits on each $12.99 bottle go to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation which benefits children of injured or killed Marines. Sadly, I cannot order any to be shipped to North Carolina (didn't that law get rescinded?), but if you're in CA, CO, ID, IL, IA, MN, MO, NV, NM, ND, OH, OR, TX, WA, WV, WI or WY, you can. So, if you're in the market for a nicely priced red for yourself or a gift, or you'd like to make a donation and get something a little tastier than address labels, or you just like the label, consider choosing Jarhead. I'm glad I picked mine. ;)

Art imitates life, or something like that

This is today's Ballard Street.

















This is what Shane did. It's titled "One Hour" since that's all the time it took.

"Blinds prevent sun damage and neighbor shock"

-sign I saw yesterday

Scrabbled Thursdays

Each Thursday a group gathers at the club house for two games of Scrabble. Usually we have two boards set up with three or four players at each. After the first game we eat lunch, then onto game two. The highest scores from the first round play against each other for the second round, lowest with lowest. Oh, and there's money involved. Everyone ponies up two bucks and three prizes are awarded. Highest combined score, second highest combined score, and highest play score. Today I had highest play score with 33 points. This got me a $3 prize. I got $3 last week, too, but I didn't have the highest play score, and I don't know what earned me that. I didn't complain, it paid for my unsweet tea. If you haven't been to the South, you may not be familiar with unsweet tea. It's what you have to say when you order iced tea if you don't want sweet tea. And if you're used to plain iced tea, you probably don't want sweet tea. It is not the same thing as iced tea with sugar added. It's almost syrupy and quite a shock when you're not expecting it. I made that mistake one time, and I doubt I'll forget and do it again. My jaw spasms at the thought.

I am going to visit another southern town next weekend - Memphis. Our friends Vonnie and Wendy live there along with Quentin's girlfriend, Georgia, and her new brother, Jack. We've not seen them since their move a year ago. We'll be doing touristy stuff and taking lots of pictures and generally causing trouble. Stay tuned for a report. I'm flying there out of Raleigh, which is a couple of hours from here. I leave mid-afternoon so I can check the pups into detention and drive up without having to get up early - a big selling point for me. I also get back mid-afternoon which nicely facilitates a trip to Costco in Durham. I am excited about this to an embarrassing degree. Really, I'm telling everyone. It's just sad.

Gingerbread recipe

This is the recipe I used for gingerbread. It is called Edinburgh Gingerbread. I don't know what makes it Scottish, but I added an extra Scottish kick by soaking the currants I substituted for sultanas in McClelland Scotch over night. I also baked it in a one pound loaf pan, which seemed to be fine. I found the recipe on scotfood.com, which is operated by a Canadian, but I trust it anyway. ;)

8 oz Plain flour
1 ts Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 ts Ground ginger
1 ts Cinnamon
pn Salt
6 oz Butter
6 oz Treacle (honey)
4 oz Brown sugar
6 tb Milk
2 Eggs
2 oz Sultanas (golden raisins)
2 oz Almonds; flaked
Sift the flour, spices, salt and soda; and then stir in the fruit and nuts. Melt the butter with the treacle and sugar on a low heat. The mixture should remain coolish but the sugar dissolved. Add the milk and stir in the eggs. Pour the warm mixture into a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly to form a batter. Pour into a greased and lined 2 lb loaf tin. Bake at 325°F / 160°C / gas mark 3 for 1 1/4 hours. This is a fairly heavy recipe and may sink on cooling.

Gingerbread

This month's Garden Club meeting was a celebration of the different cultures that make up this country and each of us demonstrated that by bringing a dish representing our heritage. As you can imagine, there was plenty of food. I made a Scottish gingerbread that was delicious. Considering there was a stick and a half of butter in the one-loaf recipe, I'm sure you can understand. I even got up early to make it and brought it in piping hot and without any dog hair. Big accomplishments around here.

Sue told the story of her father's arrival in New York from Italy. All three times. He ran away to America twice, and was followed and brought home by his father twice, before marrying Sue's mother and sailing here a third and final time. Sue was able to find the scanned image of the ship's manifest from that final trip on ellisisland.org. If you know the names of your ancestors who may have come through that port of entry, go to the site and look 'em up. I am amazed at the amount of work that must have taken to get up and running. A wonderful resource for genealogy buffs. Let me know if you find anything about your family and I'll do the same. Happy hunting!

Homecoming

I want to thank everyone for being so supportive of me and so thoughtful with all the care packages, cards, letters, and emails to Brandon. The kid's had no shortage of snacks and entertainment. Hopefully it's helped his days pass more quickly. As much as miss him, I know he misses being home more. Each time he's heard from any of us, I know it's meant a lot. The time has come, however, for me to ask you to stop sending. Well, you can for a couple more weeks, but after mid-January, I'd knock it off because...
Brandon is coming home NEXT MONTH! Wow, that feels so close. He'll be home at least a couple of weeks earlier than we anticipated. I'm very excited and a little nervous. I thought I had more time to procrastinate on household projects. Turns out I'll have to get to work here if I want to finish what I started. I have done some work every month, but my pace has certainly slowed since the initial burst. Oh well, I suppose I prefer having him home sooner than time to lounge about. :)

I was cyber-stalking friends and family the other day and found this beautiful picture of Brandon's best man, Tobei and his wife Nihan. This is Tobei's homecoming in 2003. In not too many weeks, I get to do the same thing.

I finally got my hands on her!

Tia and Jocelyn, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Jocelyn could not be more darling. So sweet and so warm and so little! She's still young enough to be passed all around and that's exactly what we did with her on Christmas. Scott and Judy realized when making gift tags that had better decide what they wanted to be called. The decision was made after much discussion and the choices are: Haku and Grams. Brandon and I weighed in since this will be applicable to our kiddies also. Mom decided that since Dad calls her Judes and Josh calls her Moms, Grams followed suit. Dad was leaning towards Opa, but settled on Haku which is how he pronounced his first name, Michael, when he was a tot.

Christmas salad, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

I offer my praise and thanks to the marketing guy who came up with the idea to sell pomegranate seeds without that cumbersome pomegranate!

Lee and Caleb, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

We were lucky to have a visit from my friend, Lee. Even luckier for us, she brought her son and her mom. Brandon and I saw Caleb in May and something weird happened since then - he turned from a baby into a little boy. Man, I tell ya, you gotta keep your eye on these babies. Caleb was very mobile and very good at cracking himself up. It was particularly funny to bury his face in the carpet and bite his mom on the leg with his new front teeth. He was snacking on some crackers and you could tell how useful he found those teeth to be. Carol and Lee were treated to a viewing of our wedding album. I figure we can get away with foisting it on people for a few more months before they roll their eyes and push it away.