Juneau update

37 weeks down, 3 to go.....
33 lbs, 1 cm dialated, and one very anxious lady with an industrious belly band keeping all things together.

NelsonSynth!

Hey! We just built a 3D Nelson Living Room. You guys should try this, and show it on your blogs...




We got 33% synthy (not too bad for only 60 pictures).

Some Tomatoes

The other day Danielle told me that one of the most beautiful things she has ever seen is red, then orange, then yellow, then green tomatoes, progressively on a single vine. I like that kind of thing about Danielle.

I saw this cluster on the way into the house this afternoon. What else does Danielle notice? What other regular stuff would I have overlooked? These are the kinds of things that I want to get to the bottom of.

We made it into StreetView!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2909+Webster+Rd,+Lansing,+MI&sll=42.749691,-84.469392&sspn=0.011581,0.019226&layer=c&ie=UTF8&t=h&cbll=42.763534,-84.650312&panoid=vUuiF901Nwzso6s2vjQ8_w&cbp=1,267.85307994053516,,0,-0.18581365316905651&ll=42.773542,-84.644594&spn=0.049269,0.076904&z=14

Steve and Linsey in Port Huron

We visited Steve and Linsey in Port Huron Saturday. Hank, Mary, Christina, Dan, Kim, Alden, C.J., Nick, Shaina, and Amelia were there too. It ruled.

Steve and Linsey live in an enormous waterside loft that used to be an ice warehouse. It was the appertment used in filming Big, starring Tom Hanks. I urged them to get a trampoline. I took a picture of it, but my phone apparently failed in sending it to my email.




Here we are at a riverside park a block away where we learned about shipping routs and ballast and Indian net sinkers. We ate donuts and chili...

...and watched some dude catch a million fish. They were boiling up at the surface right next to the pier rocks and he just put in his line and flung them out onto the sidewalk. A fish every 30 seconds or so. He said they were silver bass. He was interrupted by his cell phone at one point and even I felt the sense of urgency as he lost precious time. "Hello? ...well I'm trying to fish."

We went to a nice beach at the mouth of the river at Lake Huron. It was a popular spot. Steve and Bear swam, I dragged Willow in a small boat, and Dan's allergies tormented him.

Bear and Alden dug a deep hole.

At first Willow was very mistrusting of Steve. Of all people. She (characteristically) scowelled heavily at him, then (uncharacteristically) cried a little. He quickly won her over.

Willow took the opportunity to do a little boating.

Bear was throwing some darts and one stuck into the spine of this Michael Chabon book. What does that mean?

Clone Wars

On Friday, the Nelsons went to the new Star Wars movie, the Clone Wars.

Willow had her own seat and could hardly contain herself (then gave up trying). During the previews she kept whispering to us -which to Willow means scrunching up shoulders, craning head forward and making comically loud whisper sounds.

Bear, near the beginning, leaned over and said, "this is so great."

With about an hour to go, Willow got too restless and I walked her around by her monkey backpack leash in the aisle where she would scowl then smile fiercely to passers by.

Juneau update

4 weeks to go...

and i am so ready. Bear saw a non-pregnant picture of me the other day and did not recognize me. I've been prego or recovering from prego for about 27 months now. Its been a long time since Bear has seen me in my normal state.

He said the girl in the picture couldn't be me...she was too skinny.

Mmm, hmm... he's still in time out.

Brewery Kickoff

Well, instead of just thinking about it and talking about it, I finally just went ahead and did it. I have begun my first batch of homemade beer.

The long, lame path...

• Dan and Jill Shaver got me the equipment for my birthday. Carol sent me a microbrewery magazine. That was in February.
• I went to visit Carol and Dan in OR, where they had a crapload of local microbreweries. That was in March.
• I purchased the ingredients at the Red Salamander, in nearby Grand Ledge, MI. That was in April.
• Carol and Dan get inspired, plan, and make their first batch all in one go. That was in July.
• I finally cooked up my batch and put it in the fermentor. It's August.
• My hope is that the beer is ready by the time Juneau is... in September.

I put in a ton of hops, which make the beer bitter but kind of smell like pine or citrus. Then I added stuff from our garden. There is some cilantro in there, and some coriander... and some ginger. And some spearmint. Oh and a jalapeno pepper.

The Mill

Bear and Walker on top of the lookout at the Saw Mill state park. It was very cool.

Moments before Kevin's sunglasses were snapped to pieces.

There was a huge climbing wall that Walker, Bear, and Taylor dominated.

They had a 300 ft. zip line that the kids did. What a cool park.

Looks like trouble.

Here's our tourguide for the historic lumbermill. He loves brownies. He was having trouble talking and keeping his eyes open at the same time -so he didn't. At one point he asked for a volounteer to help with some sawing and Bear shot his hand up. I pushed it down, picturing the headline, "Local Boy Loses Arm in Drug Adled Historic Demonstration."

Kevin, Willow, Danielle, Mom, and Dad, from way above.

Somewhere...

There was a massive double rainbow at our last softball game of the season the other day.

Here I am checking it out, rather than focusing on the game. Actually, when I was in the outfield, I was taking a picture of it with my phone and I heard a hit and looked up and everyone was looking at me. Then I looked up and saw the ball and ran like crazy to catch it, scrambling to put on my glove. I did not catch it.

Here is Bear supporting the team in his new Clone Trooper helmet he got for his birthday. Sometimes out in the field I would look into the stands and see him sitting patiently, watching the game, hands in his lap, wearing this helmet. And it made me laugh.

It was his birthday. He said that "it would be a miracle if we won. A birthday miracle." We lost.