Grampa's New House

One week after we were initially supposed to head over to Block Island (a trip delayed, I would remind you, by a lack of sufficient plumbing, a situation that would have been far more problematic to us than to Asa), Grampa called us on a Sunday morning.  "Are you coming over tomorrow?"

"Umm... I don't know.  Are we?"

"There are working toilets."

"See you tomorrow."

What a trusting soul I am.

There were, indeed, flush toilets - three of them, in fact, which is terribly exciting after years and years of a house with one bathroom and long lines.  There were walls and a roof... most of the major construction was done, and there was even paint on the walls.  Beyond that...

I didn't take "before" pictures.  I should have done.  This is from the day the old house came down, but really, the difference between this and what we saw when we arrived varied mostly in which pieces of furniture were piled where, rather than the existence of piles at all.

The dishwasher, which is the black thing under the window in the photo here, was in place, although not functional.  Ditto the dryer, without which having a washer is not terribly helpful.  The microwave wasn't even in place, so we learned to thaw baby food by leaving it on the counter hours before it would be needed.  The cardboard and paper covering the hardwood floors (see above) was still in place, as was the plastic on all the windows.  That was actually one of the first things to go, to M.'s great pleasure.

In her jammies, no less.

Aunt Jessica came over Tuesday evening and hung out, which was good fun - we even managed to get a room ready for her before she arrived!

We also had huge amounts of help from Mummy's cousin Shanon, and Asa's cousin Joe and some of his friends, Pat, Zach and Brad:

It was nice to have screens in the windows.  Even if it did mean some heart-stopping moments for me, what with my fear of heights:

Yep, that would be my Dad, standing on a stepladder that he had leaned against the wall, in a stairwell.  UGH.

The first weekend we were out there, all of Asa's godparents, plus Kohta, Aunt Jessica and Uncle Mike came to stay.  And frankly, they worked HARD, painting trim, putting up screen doors, doing up-high touch-ups (thanks, Jen!) and poking around the fridge.

But why, you ask, was Jen looking behind the fridge?

Two engineers, one icemaker.  Odds were in their favor, but no, the icemaker won.  Last I heard, it still wouldn't make ice.  It was a valiant effort, however.

Meanwhile, Uncle Mike had an appreciative audience for his painting efforts:

Ah, and do you see what's behind them?  Yes, a Living Room.  Neat, orderly, fairly clean.  Yes, by the end of eleven days (Monday to the following Thursday, inclusive) we had a house that was *almost* ready for the tenants who were due to arrive the next morning.  Joe put together the day bed, and his means of removing plastic from the mattress just underlines, I think, how punchy we all were by day 8 or 9.

I don't doubt that Grampa (probably with Joe's help) worked until very late in the day on Thursday with all the little finishing touches.  Like dusting under the couch.  But man... the difference.  Wow.

But where, you ask, was Asa in all this?  We didn't leave him at home, after all... but that really is a whole separate post... or two... or more...

Vacation, the first week...

Much thanks for your patience while we were away, and for dealing with the relative dearth of posts.  It's been a long couple of weeks, and we've done a lot more than I could possibly fit into one post.  So I'll start at the beginning, as much to give myself some time to mentally organize the past few days as to proceed chronologically.

Besides, he's grown over the past three weeks.

Initially, we were supposed to leave for Block Island on the 14th, but the new house wasn't nearly ready - no flush toilets - so we spontaneously popped out to New York to see Nonni and Poppy.  How spontaneously?  We talked to Nonni on that Tuesday morning, and were on our way by 3pm.  The only delay was that I had a meeting at 1:45.

It was a lovely few days of relaxing and hanging out - with Nonni and Poppy, of course:

(Nonni got kisses, too)

... but also with Aunt 'Chelle, who got lots of snuggles in.

And oh, the laughter that ensued...

Ah, if only we'd known how much we would need that relaxation!

Paper Towel Tube

A great toy and unfortunately edible... he didn't have it much more time than it took to snap these pictures.  But he enjoyed these few seconds!

Just a Picture 6/19/10

Pensive boy on the Red Line, watching the world go past.

This was actually one of his rare thoughtful moments during the trip; very quickly he began looking at the people on the train - smiling and making friends.  And it made me pensive, in turn; what would the world be like if we were willing to look openly, and smile, at all whom we encountered?  What would the world be like if we could look upon one another with the eyes of childhood - without cynicism or judgment - and be willing to risk ourselves in a fully open smile?

We might just have a lot to learn from a boy not ten months old.

Our Favorite Diva

In Heaven, there is a huge field of catnip, and the sun squares never move.  Enjoy them, Gracey.

1995 - 2010.

I'd write more - heaven knows there are thoughts and stories buzzing through my head at dizzying speeds - but I just can't.  Even for a cat who hated me on sight, who loved nothing better than to squeeze herself in between me and M. and put me in my place... How could such an opinionated, difficult cat become so firmly entrenched in one's heart?  

Boston Pride 2010

A lot has changed since last year!  (A lot has changed in 40 years, but that's a post for another day.)

First of all, the weather didn't cooperate, so I don't have nearly as many pictures of the parade as last year.  M. wisely remarked that we should sit under a large, sheltering oak tree, so we stayed a lot drier than most through most of the parade.  Until it began raining hard, about halfway through, and we decided that we weren't quite that dedicated, and that a cup of coffee indoors sounded like a lovely thing.

Oh, and my favorite photo subject (and Uncle Jeremie's favorite photo subject, for that matter) has changed somewhat.

When I pointed out a particularly awesome hat to Asa, the biker chick wearing it invited us over for a picture together.  Unfortunately, we couldn't quite all get it together - people kept shouting to her, and Asa was distracted by the revving of engines...

Oh well.

A few minutes later, the Governor walked by.  I didn't get a picture, because I was busy pointing him out to Asa... and I think he heard, because he gave a very particular baby-wave in our direction and made eye contact.  (Didn't know there was a particular baby-wave?  Check it out - watch how people wave to kids under about two and a half.  It's distinctly not a political wave.)  I'd like to think Asa was as excited as we were, but he really just wanted to get down and walk around.  

The walking continued after we finally broke down and went inside, wet and dripping.

Tying Uncle Jeremie in knots is kinda like wrapping him around Asa's little finger...  that day, both were true.  Uncle James is right there, also.

Sharing beads might seem to Asa to be adequate compensation for being tied in knots... Not quite sure Uncle Jeremie agreed, but neither did he seem to mind all that much.

After a full day of parade watching, getting wet, and playing with friends and uncles and mothers:

Our little angel, all day long.

(You might note a brief reprieve from the threatened two-week hiatus; our vacation got pushed back a couple of days, but will still begin this week.)

Mummy's Getting Aht-sy

Hey, it happens.

A whole bunch of recent photos to hold you over for the time that we're on vacation (nope, not bringing the computer.)  If I'm feeling inspired, I might schedule a post or two to appear while we're away, but there's a lot going on in the next few days... I know, I know - I don't post all week, and then I hit you all with two weeks of Asa-withdrawal.  Ah, well, what can I say - a little anticipation is good for you.  ;)

Heya, Uncle Mike - any guesses what's going on in this picture?  (Although note: he's smiling...)

All by himself.

A new trick that even he doesn't quite understand: when he holds his mouth like this and inhales, he can whistle.

His new favorite growl-y smile.  Makes us laugh every time.