Connected and Committed

happy cement fish

wildchild

My four year old self - stylin' back then, weren't you?

from our walk

Not sure what this is but the color just beckoned to the camera. The wind picked up, of course, just as I was ready to shoot, so the focus is a bit off, but I still like it.

Little man's capture of the insect above the blue flower. Good eye, little man, good eye.

state fair

I took little man to the state fair last weekend - although I never made it to the one in my home state, I always imagined it to be somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a little distance from a city, requiring a bit of a trek to reach.

This one is smack dab in the middle of an urban area - at one time it must have been on the edge of civilization as they knew it.

 

The obligatory photo op.

Of course this was constructed for humans who fit on kiddie rides, but little man insisted. It astounds me how well his trigger finger gestures produce photos that are actually in focus.

The Wacky Worm has a vaguely evil aspect, don't you think?

This carnie wasn'at having any of repeat rider-itis, even though we had our wristband, thank you. We came back later when another dude was at the helm.

I may regret fueling an interest in magic and various juggling apparatus.

Another reminder that a driver's license is not that far away.

Just wondering

This morning on the way to work, I saw an EMS vehicle pull into the parking lot of a local park - mind you it was around 6:20 AM - and turn off the engine. I've seen the driver do this before and at various times during the day, just sitting there. I wonder what he's doing, sitting in this particular parking lot with an EMS vehicle.

Then in the parking lot where I work, there is a largish black pickup truck - sorry, I'm not into trucks and the make and model have no bearing on this in my opinion - parked in the same spot, at the same 6:25 AM, just sitting there, obviously not someone employed in this building, and they move on after a bit. I wonder what they are doing, why this particular parking spot, why any parking spot - what are they doing that they couldn't do at home at that hour? Hmmmm.....

joy

One of my desktop companions at work. I have various toys that are lined up on my monitor pedestal (shots of those to come), and this:

Sunshine and joy to you today.

The fat lady has sung

   

Reach

My heart sings when I reach for:

• fresh basil
• thread count - size does matter
• pulling out of the parking lot ahead of on-coming traffic
• Caleche perfume

What about you?

As inspired by article at http://www.reachdabbleshine.com

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dagoba chocolate

Dagoba Organic Chocolate list of ingredients:

"OG cacao beans, OG evaporated cane juice, OG cacao butter and, love."

In case I forgot.

7:04:39 PM

8/11/05 Little man and I are out the door for a walk to the local playground.

7:04:39 PM

Little man and I are locked out of the apartment because I left the keys where they were - hanging on their little post, just like they should be. Why did I think they were already in their pouch in my backpack? I don't know. I locked the lower knob from the inside before shutting the door - the upper knob is tanttalizingly unlocked - oh, for the ability to rewind the last 20 seconds, or a crowbar.

7:05:12 PM

Luckily I do have said backpack, which contains cellphone and phone list. I dial the landlord. Damn. He's not answering his phone. Leave plaintive message for him to rescue us.

7:05:53 PM

Little man and I walk to the playground anyway - what the heck. The temperature is perfect, the humidity is cooperating, and when we get back I can check to see how difficult it is to break into my windows.

7:46:52 PM

The redial feature on my cellphone is really nice, thanks, but I still get the blasted, "Please hold while I access voicemail for this number" message. It requires a special wrench to undo the bolts on the windows to my apartment, which I guess is good news on the one hand, but on the other hand, not so much.

The neighbor upstairs is just parking her car out front. She is willing to try her key to see if our locks are similar - no luck. She says that the landlord is pretty good about responding to these calls, based on personal experience - yeah, but he has to turn his phone back on first.

She suggests a visit to the new ice cream establishment a few blocks away. Little man is enthusiastic, so we take off.

8:57:14 PM

As well as eating ice cream - lemon, a new flavor for him, and the almost non-color definitely alleviates ice cream mustache, if you know what I mean - we stop by the dollar store for a few school supply items on the official list. Still no response from the landlord. I tell little man that we will sit on the front porch another fifteen minutes and then walk up the street to the police station to see if they can recommend a locksmith. We do, after all, have to sleep somewhere tonight.

9:08:47 PM

Little man suggests we go to the police station. Now.

9:17:41 PM

The police officer, a very recent grad of the academy, who eventually came to the window to hear my sorrowful story, had no recommendations for a locksmith, but was more than willing to share the phonebook that was sitting on the shelf under the pay phone in the lobby. Luckily it was the most recent edition, out only a few weeks, most of the pages intact.

After two tries, paydirt - someone who can come in twenty minutes. For only $45. Woo hoo.

9:28:16 PM

Locksmith arrives with wife and daughter in the van. He remarks on the condition of the lock - upside down, and harder to pick. He may have to drill out the lock and replace the knob.

9:32:27 PM

Locksmith goes out to van to retrieve his drill and a new doorknob package. I think to try the landlord one more time. A miracle - he answers! Having just come off the golf course, his phone has been turned off and snug in his golfbag. Being a fellow golf enthusiast, I can understand this. Don't like it, but I understand. He says he can be there in 15 minutes.

9:34:02 PM

I pay the locksmith for his time. He looks relieved about not having to drill into my doorknob. I am given many business cards to pass out amongst all my associates.

10:01:06 PM

Landlord arrives and the dilemma is quickly resolved. Relief, for little man who, for the last twenty minutes or so, has been lying down on the grass out front and occasionally yawning, and for mom, who resolves to go get copies of each of the lock's keys made, and hide them outside somewhere.

8/12/05 - 11:17:42 AM

Keys made, handy-dandy magnetic keeper purchased. Little man gets to choose the hiding place this afternoon.

talent show

Little man performing his speedstacking abilities at the daycamper talent show the other day.

He had the preschool crowd on their feet at the end :~)

Then came the play, adapted from Bravo Zan Angelo! Little man was Narrator #1. He was prompting fellow thespians who forgot their lines :~)

life is good

ain't it the truth? :~)

vacation

 

Blessed Canadian coolness.

Memorial gardens.

 

the field trip

Here's the captain of the riverboat we rode on during last week's field trip.  Very enjoyable time, except for the unintelligible running commentary over the PA system. I would imagine the Russian nationals onboard with us understood more than I did.

That's our group in the neon green t-shirts - impossible to lose anyone.

The international waters we floated in.

 

Our wake.

A happy camper.

me and bri