p'noo

Laurel Bowman

2009-01-28T09:36:00.005-05:00

My old bandmate and friend Laurel Bowman died on Monday. She was 44. The obit is here. I found out last night and am very scattered today. I hate that grief is so non-linear.

Hitting the road again

2008-08-30T06:15:00.003-04:00

Only this time, it's with the family. We are renting an RV today and driving to upstate NY this week. We plan to see Sal and Sherene Pavone in Syracuse, and Lisa Button and David Harrison in Rochester. After Rochester, we will be camping out at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side for a couple of days before heading home at the end of the week.

I'm sure Liz will update KZHomeschool after we get back. We are bringing both cameras with us so there's a good chance we will remember to take pictures :-)

Pete Cam from Fort Reno

2008-08-29T08:54:00.002-04:00

Song: "O Calendar"
Date: 8/14/08
Place: Fort Reno Park
Filmed by: D. Wade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_UTDK-tfo

Three Jet Age shows in September!

2008-08-28T12:54:00.002-04:00

Arts On Foot Festival
Penn Quarter (7th and F St NW)
Washington, DC
Saturday, Sept 13 2:50PM - 3:40 PM
Bring your kids!

Black Cat
Monday, Sept 22, 2008
Early Set Time: 8:30PM
with The Caribbean

Dahlak (an Eritrean restaurant in Adams Morgan)
18th and U St NW
Saturday, Sept 27 at 10pm

a picture of the marylands

2008-08-27T13:34:00.003-04:00

This is from about a year ago. The photo is a little too reddish/orange to represent the colors properly, but you get the idea.

equipment on the TJA records

2008-08-26T21:01:00.002-04:00

breathless:
DW 16x22 kick
Maryland Drum 6x13 Maple snare, 10x12 rack, 16x16 floor
K Zildjian 14" hihats (on all tracks except "Out of Sight")
Sabian AA 13" Rock Hihats ("Out of Sight")
A Zildjian 20" Medium Ride
A Zildjian Custom 17" Crash or Custom 19" Crash

What Did You Do During The War, Daddy?
An old Ludwig kit from the 1960s (22" kick, 12" tom, 16" floor)
Rogers 5x14 metal snare
K Zildjian 24" Light Ride
A Zildjian Custom 19" Crash
K Zildjian 14" Hihats

For the next record I'm planning to use the DW kit with a couple of different snare drums, like a 6x14 Ludwig Black Beauty, the Maryland 6x13 Maple and (hopefully) the refurbished 6x14 DW Maple snare. Cymbals will probably be the same as Daddy but I hope to add another crash on the right... and maybe use new hihats.

drum restoration

2008-08-25T09:31:00.003-04:00

I'm finally getting around to fixing up my DW snare. It's a 1991 6x14 6-ply hard rock maple with 6-ply reinforcing hoops. It's a great all-purpose snare with lots of attack and warmth, and I want to use it for some songs on the next Jet Age record. So I went out to Chuck Levin's this past Saturday to get replacement lug casings, tension rods and a new strainer. They didn't have enough of the first two things so I'll need to go back in a week or so for the rest.

I was disappointed to learn that they don't make the old strainers anymore, although a bit of homework would have prepared me for that. I guess I was hoping they would have one laying around. The new strainers have one less hole in a vertical configuration --- mine has four in a trapezoid, so I'd have to drill now holes in the shell, and that isn't going to happen. Off I go to ebay to find one....

I'm excited about the new lug casings and tension rods, though. The lug casings employ a rubber washer between the casing and the shell, and they've done away with springs completely. This is a really good thing as it reduces extra noise during recording. Also the tension rods have a tighter threading for finer tuning, but the best part are these new collars which snap into the hoop holes and keep the rod in place. Genius.

It's tempting to use the original hoops, but I'll have to get some serious chrome cleaner first. DW uses thinner hoops than normal, for a mellower sound... but mine have seen better days and I don't see myself shelling out extra cash when regular, thicker hoops are stronger and more appropriate for my sound.

So I threw all the new hardware on the shell yesterday and put the drum away until my next trip to Chuck's.

I also still have the 1960's Rogers Powertone wood snare Perry gave me about 12 years ago, but it's in pretty sorry shape and I don't think it's worth a lot of work. I took the hardware off to get a good look at the shell. It's a disaster. Somebody tried repainting the shell with spray paint, and it's peeling in several places. There are also several bubbles in the wood that I can't readily explain, and the bearing edge is shot. Liz thinks I should chuck it and it's difficult to disagree. I tapped the naked shell a few times... nice tone... but I'd need a professional to restore the bearing edge.

Finally, I think it's time to sell the Maryland kit. They are absolutely wonderful drums but they aren't really me. I'll keep the snare drum --- I used it on breathless and may use it on the new record for a song or two --- but otherwise, I'm looking to get a nice Rogers Holiday or Slingerland kit (or Gretsch... that would be nice). The DWs will likely take up permanent residence at Eric's house for most of the fall and winter to get drum tracks done.

DC Romp

2008-08-12T17:24:00.002-04:00

If you happen to be in DC between now and mid-October, come meet up a Jet Age show at:

Fort Reno this Thursday 8/14
Black Cat next Friday 8/22
Dahlak on Saturday 9/27
Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday 10/17

More info at thejetage.net.

Jet Age video on youtube

2008-07-28T20:26:00.003-04:00

Right here, featuring yours truly on drums!

This was filmed by Eric's brother Adam using an HD camera and a steady-cam, and the performance took place a few hours after the insane drive mentioned in my previous post. Note to self: eat a substantial breakfast before you do this again.

I hope to add another video or two as soon as I get some actual job-related work done tonight. Heh.

What a blast that was.

2008-07-14T16:50:00.006-04:00

Details to follow, but meanwhile, here's this:

Days out: 14

Shows played: 11

States driven through: 24 (MD, PA, WV, OH, IL, IA, NE, CO, WY, UT, ID, OR, WA, CA, AZ, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, SC, NC, VA)

Number of states I hadn't been to before: 5

Miles driven: 7,493

Longest single trip: Laramie, WY to Issaquah, WA (about 1,100 miles in 19 hours and 22 minutes - insane)

Avg price of gas: $4.11 per gallon (low $3.72, high $4.51)

Tour nickname: "The Wrath of God Tour"

Why: Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, lightning, forest fires, high crosswinds, dust storms, tumbleweeds and torrential downpours.

Best show: Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA, 7/2/2008

Best hangout: Glynnis and Angelo at The Towne Lounge in Portland, OR (home of the five dollar PBR horsecock)

Best eats (in no particular order):

Breakfast burrito at the Santa Fe Trail Southwest Grill in Rock Springs, WY
Huevos rancheros at the Old Curtis Street Bar in Denver, CO
Prawns satay at Tamarind Tree in Seattle, WA
Drunken noodles at Thaicoon in Marietta, GA
Thai Spice ice cream at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, OH
Migas at Esparza's Tex Mex Cafe in Portland, OR
Mexican Coca-Cola in a 12oz glass bottle (found at a gas station in SC). Made with sugar, not corn syrup. Ambrosia.

Days until the next tour: too many!

Touring, Finally

2008-06-23T09:53:00.005-04:00

After playing in one band after another for too many years, hauling half a ton of gear everywhere and wishing it were somewhere farther away than a half hour from my house... I am finally doing a multi-city US tour with a band I really enjoy.

This Wednesday I am getting in the van with Eric and Greg of the Jet Age and playing Columbus, Des Moines, Denver, Seattle (twice), Portland, SFO, LA, Austin and Atlanta. Nine cities, ten shows, 24 states, over 7,200 miles, all in 14 days. All the show dates are on http://thejetage.net.

To say I'm happy about it doesn't even come close. This is my dream. This is what my life is really about. I have no idea what this trip will bring but man, I can't wait to start.

openSUSE 11 installation this weekend

2008-06-23T09:45:00.002-04:00

I installed openSUSE 11 x86-64 with KDE4 on a dell latitude D630 this weekend. Overall, it is very clear that a lot of work went into this release. Congratulations to the team!

Specs:
Centrino Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 135M
WXGA 1280x800 widescreen
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945AG

Some quick pluses and minuses:
+ Installation and boot-up are a lot faster. I found my jaw on the floor at one point. A DVD-based installation based mostly on the defaults took about ten minutes.

+ love how the installer used kexec to boot the installed kernel after the initial installation (instead of doing a full restart).

+ Overall the whole system seems more responsive and snappy, esp. firefox

+ like the inclusion of compiz fusion and emerald (and the new eye candy they bring, esp. the rotating cylinder features).

+ love the Expo feature in compiz (ok maybe this isn't new to you all but I hadn't played around with it until now)

+ Configured wifi card with no problems

- Had to manually download and install the nvidia driver and use sax2 -r -m 0=nvidia to set it up - there's a tool for this in SLED but didn't see it in openSUSE/KDE4 -- anyone know if it's there? -- anyway I was hoping it would add the nvidia repo and do all that for me

- compiz performance with the nvidia card is choppy at best --- that may not be the distro's fault per se --- tried playing with the settings in the nvidia config tool but it didn't seem to help --- if
you are running this, what are the recommended settings?

- NetworkManager didn't detect my access point; had to type it in.

- had to do rcnetwork restart /and/ manually startup NetworkManager after waking from suspend-to-ram --- anyone got it working?

neutral observations:
* the widgets are interesting but don't do anything for me productivity-wise
* Noticed a new compression scheme is used in RPMs such that 10.x RPMs wouldn't work directly (release notes).
* it now takes two ctrl-alt-backspaces to bounce X (instead of just one) (release notes)

still to try:
* 3G modem on AT&T - this took some finagling in ubuntu. I've read about how well NetworkManager integrates with EV-DO and UMTS modem cards. I have a usb-connected phone that doubles as a modem.
* GNOME
* WebEx Training Manager
* Xen
* iPod

In summary: a great effort, lots of neat features. I'm not sure it would replace my hardy heron laptop yet. Looking forward to 11.1.

Song reference from the previous post

2008-04-18T00:04:00.002-04:00

I was referring to "Funeral for a Friend" by Elton John.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GYI6XJH9Ss

Michael's Funeral

2008-04-17T23:56:00.002-04:00

It was actually a really wonderful experience. I'd never been in a big Jewish temple before, had never been a pallbearer, had never been to a funeral for as close of a friend (had to stop, find the song on youtube and now have it playing in the background), hadn't dreamed of the person until the morning after he died, had never shovelled dirt onto a casket before, etc., etc., etc. This all took place between 5:30 AM yesterday and about half an hour ago when we got home.

The way the flights worked, we flew into Providence but out from Boston, so Liz and I visited our first three apartments together in Allston and Brighton. After that we walked around HBS where I used to work when the kids were born.

It was strange going back to his house afterwards, when I'd just had dinner with him there in December. Nancy and Celine were there, and it was really nice seeing them and talking with them.

I want to publicly thank our friend Jeannie and her son Johno for taking care of Katie and Zack yesterday and today while we were gone, especially with everything Jeannie had going on last night after we left and today. Jeannie, all I can say is, you're amazing and we're very lucky to have you in our lives.

Pete

Michael

2008-04-16T15:30:00.003-04:00

Liz and I are both blogging about Michael today. He passed away last night at 10:15. You can read her piece about it at www.kzhomeschool.blogspot.com.

The first thing I want to share is a funny story about Michael that goes back to April, 1994. This would be at the end of the first Synergy Speaking From The Heart class, when the class puts on a Basic workshop. On the final day of the workshop is a healing ceremony. You divide the group into small teams and go through a lovely ritual where each person can experience energetic healing.

Usually, when you plan the groups, there is at least one person in the group who is familiar with the process.

As luck would have it, my group was made up of my fellow class members, but the healing ceremony we did at our own Basic was held through Temenos, not Synergy. Suffice to say, Synergy did things a little differently. For example, the Temenos style was to perform healings on the floor, but Synergy set up massage tables --- a few more things to manage from a production perspective, but much better for the participants.

As the first person's healing was coming to an end, we healers were asked to "wrap" the person before bringing them off the table. Not one person in our group knew what that meant, but nobody confessed. I don't know whose idea it was, but soon all of us were literally wrapping this person up in the cloth covering the massage table (and she was going along with it). None of us looked around the room to see what the others were doing; our solution felt right and totally natural to us.

Enter Michael Goldstein, who semi-dashed over to our table and quickly explained what the wrap was. "This is the wrap. This is the wrap" he said, over and over, waving his hands with urgent finality over an invisible person on our now-empty table. We felt completely ridiculous, but the story was a source of laughter for many months afterwards.

I hadn't thought of that story in years, but it came back to me as I was doing a healing on Michael on April 6, and I grinned uncontrollably and harder than I had in months. Later when I talked to Nancy about it, she laughed and said Michael probably wanted to be remembered that way.

Last night, I had this dream:

A white German shepherd is trying to get away from some children who are holding its tail. He's struggling, they're laughing. He's fighting and fighting.

Next, he's alone, sitting still on the floor. His tail is gone, along with most of his digestive tract. He's very still.

Next, he's laying on my bed at my house, right where my head was while I slept. As a boy, I put my head on his neck and felt his warm white fur. I began to place my arms around him, but just as I touched him he gave a small breathy grunt, and I stopped because I thought he might be in pain. He was very still.

Finally, there was something that Michael used to say near the end of every round of Speaking From The Heart: that despite all the hard work of managing the coaches, he saw himself as the ultimate beneficiary from it ("selfishly," he would say).

I'm sure I'm not alone when I consider myself extremely lucky to have been gifted with his friendship and wisdom.

Goodbye, Master Coach Michael Goldstein. You were the personification of tough love. You were the Skin Horse. You were the guy who told me when I was being stupid. You taught me how to walk on fire, sweat with my brothers and be a man. I love you, and I wish you peace.

Pete

some quotes

2007-12-28T22:45:00.000-05:00

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a word of it.

You can bring a horse to water,
But you can't make him drink.

Give your friend your blood and money.

Never justify yourself. Your enemies won't believe you and your friends won't need it.

Falseness lasts an hour, and truth lasts till the end of time.

The mule was asked: "Who is your father?" It responded with: "The horse is my uncle."

When a door opens not to your knock, consider your reputation.

How great the grandfathers are, but how regretful what they left behind.

michael and carolyn goldstein

2007-12-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

The four of us drove up to Lincoln, RI this Saturday to visit Michael and Carolyn Goldstein. They are very good friends whom we met back in 1993-1994.

Michael was diagnosed with leukaemia and lymphoma about a year ago and has been fighting it. He is very public with his disease, especially since he had been President of the Rhode Island Leukaemia Society for two years and a member for five years before that. The irony was pretty big news, but like always he has been a model of practising acceptance, having a positive attitude, looking for the lesson and living in the moment.

I had known about his disease for a year but had honestly been putting off dealing with it for a while (OK, OK... I was in denial about it). Michael is a good friend, but in the first few years of our relationship I did a lot of psychological transference on him. I couldn't deal with an older man actually liking me, so to defend myself I treated him like crap. I realized recently that in not reaching out to him, it was more of the same b.s. from me. I was also afraid I would break down in front of him. This is a guy whom I've seen cry openly in front of dozens of others, and I've admired his courage and openness; yet I didn't have the courage to do so in front of him. I don't do grief or mourning or loss very well. And I still haven't acknowledged for myself, until now, just how important he is to me.

What changed was Nancy Taylor telling us we ought to go see him. I still struggled for a couple of days---even though I told Nancy I would reach out to him, some part of me was very afraid. But I did call him and offered to make a trip out there. It had been years since our last face-to-face meeting... I don't even remember. So we went this weekend.

He's 12 years older than when I met him... thinner... no hair (from chemotherapy), but the same face as always, the playful smile, the listening eyes, the crow's feet, the quick wit, the hearty laugh... more wrinkles on his forehead. More mellow, calmer, more present (though I didn't think that was possible). Obviously he has to manage his energy more now, and as the afternoon was winding down I could tell he was losing steam... still, he gave time, presence, heart, laughter. Y'know... that real giving stuff.

And right at this moment, the story of the Velveteen Rabbit comes to mind. Michael loves that story, and he loves telling it. I look at his bald head and see all his "fur" rubbed off... but it just makes him all the more real to me.

I hadn't really gotten to know Carolyn before... yet, while I still don't really know her, there is a door open in her that wasn't before. Perhaps it's in her, or in me... or both... at any rate, it's very heart-warming. Her love for Michael is so obvious, and she works so incredibly hard to take care of him. In the past year they raised over $9,500 for the Leukaemia Society, and she ran a marathon in Seattle!

I'm really glad I made the trip, as are Liz, Katie and Zack. If I make it to 65, perhaps I could have an impact on the world as Michael has or take care of myself the way Carolyn does. I'm proud to know them.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/giving-chapter-v/

What's up.

2007-11-30T11:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a while. Online journaling may not be my thing (you think?). I'm worried about the privacy concerns. On my reading list is "The Future of Reputation" by Solove... saw a copy at Reiters today.

We're in our third year of homeschooling, and it's going quite well. You can read all about it at Liz's blog.

Job change: My last day at Novell was 11/1/2007. If you've been getting bounces from my novell.com address, that's why. You can find me on facebook, LinkedIn or Google for that matter in very short order.

On 11/15/2007 I accepted a job with BearingPoint. First day is 12/17/2007. For the interim, I've been hanging out with Liz and the kids, reconnecting with friends, fixing up the house, playing with gOS and Ubuntu and staring at my backyard. And sleeping. And working on the next Jet Age record.

Big thanks go to my friends and colleagues who helped me with calls, recommendations, tips, leads, flowers, food, money, etc. I learned that a support network of friends is the most valuable thing a person can have.

Zack has been kicking major butt at tae kwon do lately, and having a blast. Katie has uncovered a natural talent for drawing in charcoal... and she's enjoying it!

Very nearly almost

2006-06-11T10:24:00.000-04:00

The Jet Age CD is at the manufacturer.

Recording: done
Mixdown : done
Mastering: done
Artwork : done
Color OK : done
Website : done

Two rough demos

2006-03-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

Eric, Greg and I have been working on the Jet Age record for a few months. It's not quite done yet, but I'm going to let you in on a couple of tracks that I am rather proud of.

Please Come Home Now

Does Everybody Know?

Jeff Waugh coming to DC area!

2005-10-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

Jeff Waugh of Ubuntu is coming to speak on November 8, 2005 at the Reston Regional Library in Reston, Virginia, as part of the Badger Badger Badger Tour. The session will start shortly after 7pm and run until 8:45.

Info:
Reston Regional Library (Fairfax County Public Library)
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/rr/default.htm
11925 Bowman Towne Drive
Reston, VA 20190-3311
(703) 689-2700

Badger Badger Badger Tour
http://wiki.ubuntu.com/3BT
A BIG thank-you to everyone who helped get Jeff here.

Homeskool

2005-09-30T00:26:00.000-04:00

My wife Liz has started a blog relating our foray into homeschooling. Check it out!

NoVALUG Petition for the Ubuntu Tour!

2005-09-29T01:51:00.000-04:00

To all you NoVALUG members:

We need at least 20 people to sign the petition (by adding a comment below) to get Jeff Waugh of Ubuntu to come visit us in November, as part of the BadgerBadgerBadger tour. We have more than that at our monthly meetings so it shouldn't be too hard to get enough interested parties. Post a comment here or reply to my comment on the list.

If there is a location we could use please contact me at pete (a) tux (daught) org. Time window is November 7-16.

Mr. Waugh:

We, the undersigned members of the Northern Virginia Linux Users Group, who celebrate our 13th anniversary on October 1, 2005, would love dearly for you to grace us with your presence.

First, a photograph of just a few of our members, holding many Ubuntu CDs:

We will figure out the location, a place for you to crash, and other logistics in the coming weeks.

Cheers!

Michael ANIMALU day nine

2005-07-14T21:51:00.000-04:00

[this takes discipline.]

Dear Michael,

you've gone swimming with the kids every day since Sunday. Yes you actually went into water! You have even put your face underwater a few times. You have tried cherries, biscuits, my birthday cake. You told a joke: Why was the broom late to work? It overswept. We've caught you smiling on several occassions, especially when you and Katie play tricks on Zack!

You have fallen in love with the kids' Pixter, playing the cartridge games over and over and over again. You have taken lots of alone time and lots of play-together time. You have gotten a few mosquito bites. I have a feeling that you don't like bugs.

We have played backgammon a couple of times. You haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but you like playing, and that's all that matters.

You generally are not willing to try new foods. This morning we put orange juice in a blender and added cherries to it. You liked putting the cherries in and watching them get chopped into the OJ, but you wouldn't try our new concoction. You even tried to tell me you didn't like cherries. BZZZT. You do like cherries. Then you told me you didn't like orange juice. BZZZT. You've been drinking OJ. But the two mixed together? Nope. OK with me.

You have an interesting word for "undershirt" which I've never heard of before and can't think of now. You've never heard the word "undershirt" before, either.

You hate not knowing where your bathing suit is.

You have a nickname but prefer to be called Michael.

You still don't like to be asked a lot of questions. You still don't know where your wallet is.

I can't believe you've already been here nine days. I hope you're having a good time. We've loved having you stay with us.

Michael ANIMALU day two

2005-07-07T20:16:00.000-04:00

Dear Michael,

You spent more time outside today. Hurray!! Strangely enough, so did I. Interesting match-up. You, Zack and Katie all played in our back yard for a while. Later on, Liz took you all to the school playground up the street while I stayed home and worked in the yard. Then you all came back and had lunch and ice pops. It was neat seeing you outside with a red ice pop in your mouth.

I invited you to come smell the rosemary and sage bushes. You seemed a bit interested. During breakfast I had invited you to try using a grass trimmer, and you seemed interested then... but later on you changed your mind.

What Liz and I keep reminding ourselves and the kids is that while the four of us have one new person to get used to, you have four new people, a new house, a new state, a new everything to get used to. I can't imagine how overwhelming that would feel.

You are to me like a detached observer, very interested in knowledge, reading, learning, counting and playing games... but not outwardly curious. You've been playing with the kids somewhat but not really interacting with them... perhaps it takes too much energy to do that? Or maybe you're nervous? or not trusting? It's hard to tell, but I don't mind. You'll make your own way through the whirlwind of energy that is our home, and if you don't want to be put on the spot then I certainly won't put you there. Rather than try to figure you out, I think it's best to knock gently at your thick wooden door once in a while and wait to see if you'll open it a crack. Certainly the crowbar technique wouldn't be appropriate or fair, plus I think it would only drive you further inward.

You don't have to speak if you don't want to. I have an innate need to connect with people that is tempered by an equally-innate need not to connect with people... so I spend most of my time in ambivalence, bouncing back and forth between connecting and not. So from the outside looking in you might not know where I'm at. But you should believe that I understand your need to remain detached. I just wish I knew if you were having a good time.

Michael ANIMALU day one

2005-07-06T20:07:00.000-04:00

Dear Michael,

Welcome to our home in Northern Virginia. I really hope you like it here. You arrived today by bus from NYC... I think I overheard one of your fellow passengers saying you all got to the Port Authority at 7:30 this morning. I've known you for about five and a half hours and I already believe you are the bravest kid I've ever met. Can't imagine getting on a bus at age 7-going-on-8 by myself with other kids I don't know to travel roughly 400-ish miles to some place I'd never been before or to stay with people I'd never met. Oofah. That takes trust.

I assumed you'd be pretty scared when you got here... when you got off the bus you were pretty reserved and quiet, choosing not to make much eye contact. That's understandable. I do the same thing when I'm feeling out of place or afraid of not being accepted. Perhaps that's what you were feeling, or perhaps you felt something else. I also found myself wanting you to like me and realized there wasn't much I could do about that. We all have had so many questions for you, and it didn't take long to realize that you weren't interested in answering questions. That's understandable, too. My hope for you is that you'll be willing to ask us some questions now and then, and I hope you will feel like it's okay to do that.

After we had lunch and drove home, Zack and Katie showed you all their toys in about an hour. You liked the Hulk Hands immediately, and pretty soon you and Zack were going at it. That was the first time I saw you smile, and I have to say you have a very nice smile.

Liz and I thought that you might spend more time playing with Zachary since he is also a boy and only a year younger than you. When I came upstairs just before supper tonight, you were playing Strawberry Shortcake with Katie on the floor. Surprise, surprise! Later when I wanted to join the game, you decided to sit it out at first. Later you wanted to spin the spinner for me and flatten my pieces down on my playing card. That was nice.

During supper I asked you a question while you were chewing, and you held your hand up, firmly but politely, asking me to wait.

Then I asked you to play snakes and ladders. You had never heard of that game, but you picked it up very quickly! You won the first game and came in second the second time around. You were very focused when you played, and you took your time. I liked that. Also you were a good sport when you didn't win. Your impatience showed when Zack was fooling around instead of playing. Were you really impatient or was it something else?

Liz just put you all to bed. You chose to sleep in Zachary's room tonight instead of by yourself in the basement. You surprised me again there. I thought you would want some alone time.

I'm looking forward to the next two weeks! Hopefully it won't go by too fast.

Post the First

2005-07-06T19:58:00.000-04:00

W00t. Thus begins my foray into the strange new world that is blawgin'. Dear God: please give me something to write about. No wait... this is supposed to be one of those Test Pls Ignore posts. Right. Ignore away.

/me