The End of an Era

Josh helped my dad replace a light bulb in their entry way fixture today that is probably about 20 feet up. They used a ladder and neither of them are blonde so this is not about how many dad's it takes to screw in a lightbulb or anything it is just funny because my dad has a secret. He has this experiment or study or general record keeping ritual I guess of writing the date with a sharpie on his light bulbs before he puts them in. He does this not because he has OCD but because he likes to track how long certain brands last in specific fixtures. It absolutely cracks me up and I harass him every chance I get.

So when Josh pulled out the bulb today it said 5.7.05. He asked my dad if he wanted to write that down somewhere in a very sarcastic tone and my dad said no. He then asked my dad if he wanted to write anything down before he installed the new one. My dad said he's actually NOT keeping track anymore! I can't believe it! He said he just decided to have faith in the product. I for one think it is just that he's getting soft. He's lost the dedication and the drive and the commitment to his research. I was crushed. AND now that he doesn't care anymore Josh's and my favorite April fools day idea will no longer matter. We have talked about for years, but never have replaced all the bulbs in their house with new ones that have dates from the future written on them.

In any case I do think it is amazing that the one they replaced today was from 05. Now if he could just work out a system to write the date of when it actually burned out so that you could track how long you live with it before it bugs you enough to actually do something about it. (ie: me putting the wash in with my headlamp on cause I'm too lazy to unscrew the fixture in the laundry room and just replace that darn bulb, cause I swear it goes out like every 2 months!) Maybe I should start writing the dates on MY bulbs.....Maybe I should consider what brand I use... what wattage is recommended for the fixture.... I see a spreadsheet coming on... Maybe my dad was on to something.

Recent Adventures

With the rainy weather lately we've been stretching our imaginations for activities indoors. We brought out my mom's old typewriter that I've had since high school and Eli loves listening to the hum of the machine and practicing finding letters. We also built play dough volcanos and did the magical experiment of baking soda and vinegar eruptions. We used like half the box of soda cause they thought it was so cool.

My dear friend Sarah had a week ago today a beautiful 12 pound boy at home after and hour and 15 min. of labor. Who does that? Well obviously she does!

A sweet kiss.

Some time spent at the beach watching the ferry pass by.

We discovered Pritchard Park last week which is embarrassing because we have lived here for so long and because it is no longer a new park, but I must say it is a new favorite and I can't wait to spend the warm summer days there.

Here are the super hero capes I made the boys a few weeks ago. Eli picked the fabric out of my stash. It is a 60's print of nautical flags that was my grandma's. It seems a funny choice to me, but it is his cape right?

highway to hell

These pictures show a sink hole that formed 2 days ago in Guatemala city due to their recent flooding and seismic activity including volcanic eruptions 60 miles south of the city. The Boston Globe website(?) says they still aren't sure why this sink hole formed and I actually don't know much more than that it is almost 60 km deep and that it enveloped an intersection and a 3 story building with it. They said the building had closed just an hour before it fell into the earth. Needless to say Guatemalans could use a shout out in your prayers this week. I traveled there in college for about 10 days and it has a special place in my heart. I can't imagine the scope of natural disasters like this one. I've never experienced anything like it. It offers a bit of perspective. My friend Mike is traveling to Antigua next week and described these images as pictures of the highway to hell.

Alaska 2010

Recent events took me to Alaska to celebrate my dear childhood friend's 30th birthday. We had a great time and it was so good to see where she lives. She and her husband have built 2 amazing houses themselves (like laying their own foundation with rebar and framing and such) and she is currently working as an assistant to the chief of police. I got to see the jail and the 911 call center switch board and the interrogation rooms and all kinds of cool stuff. She wouldn't show me the armory though. Anyway I had an amazing time sleeping through the night for 4 straight nights for the first time in almost 4 years! As well as garage sale-ing and hiking and swimming. Thanks again Taylor and Mike!