Dispatches from the East

For those of you who didn't know, I have started a new (temporary) job in Beltsville, Maryland. I am a government contractor (but not a black-ops one) working for a USGS lab that is researching hormone disruptors (more specifically deciding the best way to determine if a compound is a hormone disruptor). My first three weeks mostly involved collecting samples from the test animals but I think that is over for near future so I will be doing more lab work (with a smattering of data entry from said sample collecting). I'll be prepare samples for a hormone assay this week (until the Christmas holiday for sure) and then I think that I will be doing a lot of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) work after the holidays. My contract is for six months so I will be in Maryland until May (and looking for a job again, woo-hoo). But I've enjoyed getting back into the lab after no doing any significant labwork for about 2 years. I'm hoping to pick-up a lot of new techniques while at the job (I've talked to one of co-workers who does work with proteins and she is willing to teach me some protein techniques, which is cool to me and therefore makes me a total nerd). I live about 10 mins from work in government housing near the research center. The house is nice with a suprising wide array of furniture provided including a roommate (and a part-time roommate) who is very nice and always able to answer the question "where is location x and how do I get there?". The only drawback of the housing is that there is more internet which is a pain but actually not that bad. There is a Starbucks not too far away that I go to once or twice during the week and I've made a habit of going to a Panera for a bagel and email-checking/job-hunting/podcast-downloading on Sunday morning (I wait until Sunday so I can get the podcast for CarTalk and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me). And my super awesome phone means I can check my email during the week, which usually decides when I go to Starbucks during the week. I've been exploring the nearby area in that past few weeks with plans to get familiar with the metro system in the near future so I can visit DC in the spring (I haven't been to DC since I was in the 8th grade on a school trip). This weekend, a co-worker invited me a fine arts gala at her children's school which was amazing. The high school has a long commitment to the arts and the gala was to celebrate the new fine arts wing which includes large band rooms (for the band and orchestra) as well as rooms for the several guitar classes, television/film courses, and a dance studio (and after seeing the high school, it totally makes sense that she and her husband moved to that county for the schools).

One Drawback of a Kindle

You won't have beautiful covers like these:




And while I already have a copy of the Women in White (that I purchased in France), I would totally spend $20 for this:

I really like the new covers that Penguin is producing for the covers of classic hardbacks.

I Think I've Watched too Much Hitchcock

I was watching On Dangerous Ground Thursday night and due to a score by Bernard Herrmann, I kept having flashbacks to Psycho and North by Northwest (even through the score for On Dangerous Ground was done 8-9 years before either of those movies).

First Star

Judy Holliday (1921-1965) was foremost a Broadway star and made only a handful of movies (about 10 in all with many of her earlier roles being uncredited extras). She was investigated in 1952 for ties to communism that resulted in her being blacklisted from radio and television for about three years. She died of breast cancer in 1965, but while her career in film was relatively short, she made some really great films and here are my favorites.

Adam's Rib (1949), Directed by George Cukor - The main stars of this movie is of course Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn but Judy Holliday definitely lights up the screen in all her scene (she was nominated for a Golden Globe). In the movie, Tracy is responsible for prosecuting Judy Holliday for shooting (in the shoulder) her cheating husband and is defend by Hepburn. Without being in the movie, Judy Holliday would not have be cast in her signature role of Billie in Born Yesterday. When the rights to the play were purchased, the study was hesitant to cast a Hollywood unknown in a major role. Tracy and Hepburn were instrumental in getting her cast in Adam's Rib and based on her performance in this film, she was cast in Born Yesterday.

Born Yesterday (1950) Directed by George Cukor- This is truly Judy Holliday's masterpiece. She was an understudy to Jean Arthur (another actress that I will being writing about later) while it was on Broadway until an illness forced Jean Arther to leave the play. Born Yesterday is the story of the girlfriend of a less-than-honest businessman (Broderick Crawford) and her transformation from a "dumb blonde" to confident and independent woman under the tutelage of an honest journalist (William Holden). Holliday is able to be vulnerable, strong, funny, sympathetic, and intelligent throughout the film and shifts between these attributes so seamlessly and effortlessly. How fantastic was Judy Holliday's performance? She won the Oscar over Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard, Anne Baxter for All About Eve, and Bette Davis for All about Eve. In Born Yesterday, Judy Holliday single-handily show that it can take a lot of intelligence to play and not everyone can do it. For more proof of this, see the 1993 remake with Melanie Griffith. It is worth watching this movie for the scene that Broderick Crawford and Judy Holliday play gin alone. And the rest of the movie is pretty good too.

The Bells Are Ringing (1960) directed by Vincent Minnelli - This is Judy Holliday's last film and although it is not her best, it is the only movie in which she sings. Like Born Yesterday, Judy Holliday played the lead (Ella Peterson) in the Broadway play and translated her role to the screen version. The plot of the movie is Judy Holliday's character works at an answerphone service and gets involved in her clients' lives. Mistaken identities and misunderstandings can make the movie feel a little cliched at time, but Holliday is able to rise above the rough patches in the plot and making the movie enjoyable. I'm not the biggest Dean Martin fan, but Judy Holliday is so charming, warm, and funny, that I had no problems watching the Dean Martin parts. And since Judy Holliday was a singer throughout her career, The Bells are Ringing is one of the few chances modern audiences have to see Judy Holliday sing and dance.

There are a few more Judy Holliday films (including It Should Happen to you with Jack Lemmon), but I think these 3 films are good jumping off point. In a majority of her roles, Judy Holliday played a dumb blonde but she played it with such warmth, humor, and intelligence, it's hard not to love her.




While writing this post, I realized that I really enjoy films directed by George Cukor, so I will have to add him to the list of potential directors (any one who can direct both The Women and Gaslight (1944) deserves to be celebrated). And he also directed to most men in Academy Award winning performances despite being known as a "woman's director".

An new motivation

I've been inspired by a recent Facebook conversation with my cousin to talk about classic movies that I love. Instead of just blabing on and on about a single movie at a time, I've decided to add a little bit of structure by picking a favorite star and then discuss what movies of that actor that I enjoy the most. I'm hoping to do this on a weekly basis or at the very least a bi-weekly status. Most likely, I will include some directors in the mix but directors may show up much later than actors (I think the director's catalog that I have seen in its entirety is Alfred Hitchcock). I'll be working on it this weekend, so check back on Monday or Tuesday. Hopefully, any one who reads this blog will enjoy it.

Watching Sandra Lee

has made me appreciate/understand this YouTube Video so much better!

Song time

I've been listening to this song (Cosmic Love) from Florence and the Machine at least twice a day since I heard an interview with the lead singer on NPR (she was discovered singing on the bathroom in a pub). Here is the video:

Papercrafts

I'm often blown away by people creativity and the time they put into their craft. Example below

And I just like this video:

Portland, Part III: Revenge of the Laser

I'm finally getting around to finish my 3 part series about my fab birthday trip to Portland. On Sunday morning, Lindy and I walked to Mother's Bar and Bistro for breakfast. It was really busy but we we lucky to get two seas at the bar within 10 minutes of getting there. Lindy was convinced that one of the waitresses was the sister of Gretchen from this season of Project Runway. In addition to our (semi-conceived) brush with someone who is a little famous we both had a delicious breakfast (I had the pork apple sausage and cheddar cheese scramble). We walked off some of our breakfast/brunch on our way to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Lindy and I decided to splurge and get tickets to both a IMAX show and a laser show. We went to the IMAX show first which was about dinosaurs and Lindy loved it (I enjoyed it but not as much as Lindy). Before the laser show, we walked through the exhibit about Einstein. There was a really nice display exhibiting Einstein's theory of relativity. Then we headed to the Michael Jackson laser show which was super awesome. Thriller was the best by far but I enjoyed fact that the 15 other people were also singing along with the music. After the museum, we headed back to Lindy's apartment before I was able to convince Lindy that we should go back to Powell's so she could get a copy of the Joy of Cooking. We decided to have sushi for diner that night but on our way Lindy was nice enough to let me stop at the Spice and Tea Exchange. I got my souvenirs for my sisters and parents there as well as 3 really nice teas for me (earl gray, vanilla bean, and mountain blackberry). We got to the sushi place that had sushi delivered via train (like the conveyor belt places except with a train) except both Lindy and I ordered specialty sushi (mmm... spicy tuna roll) and split tempura and a noddle dish with chicken. We walked back to Lindy's apartment and then watched a the latest episode of Project Runway and a romantic comedy on Netflix (obvs. we were being very girly at this point). On Monday, Lindy and I headed towards the airport and had breakfast at FlavourSpot which is a food truck that serves freshly made waffles. I had the Black Forest which was Nutella and raspberry jam and Earl Grey tea. After a time-killing short trip to Target, Lindy dropped me off at the airport. The lines through security was a it long but the flight to Dallas was fine. I had time to get something to eat (a relatively fresh piece of pizza) before the flight to Indy and meeting mom at the airport late that night. I had a really good time and I want to thank my mom and dad and all my sisters for sending me!

Portland in Review, Part II

On Saturday, Lindy and I went to the huge Portland Farmer's Market on the campus of Portland State University. The farmer's market is huge and we were able to sample some delicious bread, sausage, and fresh peaches as well as try some organic milk from a co-op of dairy farmers. And Lindy and I took an awesome picture together:

After getting back to Lindy's apartment, we got ready to head to Edgefield, which is were the concert was held. We got there super early (like about 7 hours before the concert started), so after lunch (and a ruby ale), we went to an outlet mall to walk around and kill some time. This mostly consisted of us trying on dresses and looking at jewelery but we did have a good time. We went back to Edgefield and tried a few more of the beers from the brewery and split an order of their delicious tater tots while in line to get to our seats in the concert venue. Our seats were excellent, we were in the center and about 8 rows back. The opening act was Tift Merritt who is a interesting singer-songwriter who sounds like a cross between Emmylou Harris and Judy Collins. Her set was pretty short but was really good. And then Ray LaMontagne's set started and I thought Lindy was going to hyperventilate and then pass out. I didn't know his catalog as well as David Gray's but I liked his set. And then a little before 8, David Gray took the stage and was incredible (I thought I would be the one to hyperventilate and pass out). He was great and he played my favorite song (Say Hello, Wave Goodbye) as his encore. After the concert was over, we stopped at Jack in the Box for Oreo Shakes before heading back to Portland. And, I'll post the last part in the next few days.

The Portland Review, Part 1

The most exciting thing that has happened to me since moving back to Indiana is my birthday trip to Portland to visit Lindy and attend a Ray LaMontagne and David Gray concert. I flew into Portland last Thursday night and Lindy picked me up in Voldermort (her super cute silver Fit). After splitting fries with rosemary and truffle ketchup from a foodcart, we each got a crepe (mine was ligonberry jam and lemon curd with chevere) and headed to her apartment. I'm not sure the proper name for a Murphy bed that stores horizontally is, but that is what Lindy has in her apartment (essentially you pull the bed out instead of down). We talked for a couple hours and Lindy got a few maps for me to look at since she had to work on Friday. The next morning, Lindy treated to a delicious breakfast at Pine Street Biscuits and dropped me off at the her apartment and headed to work. I (like the giant nerd I am) planned out a little route to the shops that Lindy suggested. After walking to the first store, I realized that none of the stores opened until 10 so I stopped at Starbucks have drank some tea and read for about an hour before heading to Kathleen's Of Dublin. My final destination was this huge bookstore/used bookstore that is legendary in Portland called Powell's. It was a little overwhelming at first but then I decided to just browse in the mystery section and I limited myself to just 3 books (a collection of 3 Agatha Christie novels she wrote under the name Mary Westmacott, the debut mystery novel of Hugh Laurie, and a collection of short stories that are mashups of Charles Dickens and mystery). I stopped at food truck and had really good Korean tacos before heading to a ribbon store and then back to Lindy's apartment for a little rest. That night, Lindy and I went to Beauty Bar for Margaritas and Manicure before going to an Irish pub to enjoy a Guinness (on tap of course) and Shepard's Pie (Lindy) or curried chicken (me). And the last stop of the night was at another Portland landmark, Voodoo Doughnuts. Lindy got a Triple chocolate donut (complete with cocoa puffs) and I got a Raspberry Romeo. And I'll write all about the concert on Saturday (complete with a reenactment of a light saber fight using milk cartons) tomorrow.

On the road

So just like Strawberry Shortcake, I'm packing up and moving out back to Indiana after staying with Rachel (and family) in Vermont for almost 6 months. I'll miss being with Rachel, Trey, Ellis, and Maddox but Rachel is convinced that she can entice me back to VT after the trip to the farm. As for future plans, I will mostly likely be heading back to school next year or looking for a job. Any takers?

2 tastes that taste great together

Somehow Mark wasn't there but this clip is still awesome. And today Rachel and I rediscovered the hilarity that is Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Same Day

Here are some famous people with the same birth date as me:

Myrna Loy (she is so good as Nora in the Thin Man movies)
Carroll O'Conner
Peter O'Toole
Jack Leonard Warner (One of the Warner Brothers)
Isabelle Allende
Kevin Smith
and a surprising large number of composers (and a few members of royalty in various European countries)

Fun with Mitchell and Webb

Here is a British duo that Rachel introduced me to (although I did see another show with these two actors called Peep Show, so really Rachel just introduced me to That Mitchell and Webb Look):

This needs no explanation

An infinite jest or maybe not

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I've only read a little bit of David Foster Wallace, but maybe I should be adding more footnotes, and footnotes for those footnotes. But apparently

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Needless to say, I've read all the Harry Potter books, some twice. But also

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

But most awesomely:

I write like
Jane Austen

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Although I may have skewed the results a little bit, because I used a super long blog post about Persuasion

On the Flipside

I know I complained about the BBC version of The 39 steps yesterday, but I am not repeating that today. New BBC episodes of Miss Marple have been airing on PBS, and I've really liked the two new episodes "The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side" and the "Secret of Chimneys". And I get to play my favorite game of spot the British Actor; there was a good one in The Secret of Chimneys, which feature Jonas Armstrong (who was Robin Hood in the recent BBC series). He was almost unrecognizable from Robin Hood because he was clean, shaved, and gained about 15 pounds. So unlike the 39 steps, the casting in the new Miss Marple is fantastic (I won't talk about the Miss Marple with Geraldine McEwan because I'm totally conflicted about those; I enjoy watching them but I know they could have been so much better). I am enjoying the last new one called The Blue Geranium (right now) because one of the characters is a super bitch (and she gets killed). Here are two of my favorite lines of hers:

"No not those, the truffles you useless girl"
"But not you, you are being annoying. It's alright if bad things happen to you"

Sorry Rupert, you are just too young

I finally watched the PBS/BBC version of The 39 Steps. I've seen the Hitchcock version and I love version very much (which is pretty much a given, because I love about 85% of all Hitchcock movies). But I was kind of disappointed in this version. This version was closer to the book but the plot was a little bit of mess and the end is kind of a downer. The cast wasn't too great either ( I did get to say "Hey, it's Rick from Bleak House" and "Oh, that guy from Little Dorrit" which was pretty special). I'm sorry Rupert Penry-Jones, you are just too good looking (and young looking) to be convincing in an action role. The first thing that I saw him was Cold Comfort Farm where he has basically eye candy. I have no problem watching thriller/action movies that do not have typically action stars in them (like probably every Hitchcock movie, except maybe Foreign Correspondent because Joel McRea does look like he could beat some people up), but Rupert-Penry Jones just looks too boyish. And as my mom can attest, I was really mad when I saw the more recent BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion because there is no way this man:

spent anytime (let alone eight years) on a navel ship in the West Indies.

Lotion Attempt No. 1

Over the long holiday weekend, Rachel and I finally made our first attempt at making lotion. We settled on making a diaper cream for Maddox and after looking a a few recipes, we ended using the recipe from the class we attended but made a few changes. We used beeswax, cocoa butter, and calendula infused olive-oil for the oil part. I have to say that it is quite an adjust from soap making where changing the type of oil can wreck the whole batch if you don't adjust for it with the lye and water. For the water part, we used lavender water and a bit of aloe vera juice. We also added a little bit of liquid lecithin to make the cream thick (the lecithin is the consistency of honey, but about 30 times for sticky and 1000 times harder to wash off). The lotion didn't quite come together all the way (we think the batch size was too small for effective mixing), but just like in my soap making experience, a little bit of blending with the stick blender made the lotion come together better. We added some zinc oxide to the lotion and now it in a container on the changing table with the name "Diaper Creme". And it smells like chocolate and looks like pale yellow butter cream icing.

Now Summer is here

In the midst of this heat wave that the whole East coast is having (it feels like I'm living in Indiana for the summer, I thought it was supposed cooler in place of higher latitude), Trey and Rachel put in an air-conditioner in the office but Rachel declared that to be not enough and so she and I put a second one in the kitchen (and then put up blankets to keep the cool in and the heat out). Despite the increased area in coolness, Rachel, Ellis, Maddox, and I went to Sand Bar Park yesterday to cool off. The park is on the shores of Lake Champlain by a sandbar (hence the name) which means the water is pretty shallow until about 50 feet out (I didn't go that far out because Ellis was with me in the water). The park was really nice with lots of trees and picnic tables and not overly crowded. We all waded out in the water when we got there, but Maddox didn't like to water to much (he liked it when it was just his toes dipped in, but he didn't like his upper thigh and butt in the water) so Rachel and Maddox headed back in while Ellis and I floated about. We had packed a little picnic lunch of egg salad sandwiches, sweet cherries, yogurt, cheese, granola bars, and yogurt covered raisins. After finishing lunch, Rachel hung out on the blanket with Maddox to do some editing work while Ellis and I went back out to the water. My attempts to teach Ellis how to float on his back did not go well but he did seem to enjoy being in the water. Or at least he enjoy hanging onto my neck while it swam around a little bit (I now understand why my mother hated us doing that to her. Rachel and Ellis did spend a little more time in the water while I packed up everything. I think everyone had a really good time, except I got a sunburn on my shoulders and back. But it wouldn't really be summer if I didn't get a sunburn.

Silly or Scary

The past two weeks have been full of changes around here. Ellis's last day of school was the 18th so now, I take care of both boys during the day. Fortunately, Rachel changed to going to the lab part time, so I have Ellis and Maddox alone for only 2.5 days a week. The first week was a little rocky, but this past week was a lot better. Wisely, Rachel stocked up one some crafty activities for Ellis and I to do together. So far, I have tattooed Ellis (with tattoos from Toy Story 3), done a paint by number, and Ellis has painted 6 plaster masterpieces. But, his favorite activity by far has been the monster puppets. For 3 days straight, the morning began with making monster puppets (the pieces have Velcro on the back, so they are reusable). Here are 2 of Ellis's masterpieces:

Just sing random vegetables

I find this song hilarious for one reason only, the guy who just sings/names random vegetables.

The Defender

So one of the first things that I did with my career counselor was to figure out my personality type on the Meyers-Briggs scale. I had taken the Meyers-Briggs in high school and I sort of remembered what I was so we were able to get through it in one session. Turns out I'm an ISFJ which means that I'm Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging. A couple websites have giving little names for each Meyers-Briggs personality type, and an ISFJ is known as a defender. Here is a good website for more information about personality types (and it has a list of famous fictional and nonfictional ISFJ including David Copperfield and Melanie from Gone with the Wind which now makes sense why I like both of those characters). On that same page (towards the bottom) is a list of good careers for ISFJ and the 3 careers that I am looking into are on that list. Any guesses?

I'm in the depths of despair

Last week I read the news that NBC canceled Law and Order after 20 seasons. And this totally bums me out because (at it has been documented on this blog more that once) I love Law and Order. For at least 4 years now (since grad school), watching an episode in the evening, usually while making dinner, was the way that I would unwind after a day at the lab or work (and I watched L&O pretty regularly before that). I first discovered the show back when it was in syndication on A&E (so probably the mid-90s) and followed it when it moved to TNT. Let's just say that I have seen enough to be able to rank my favorite pairings of the detectives (Briscoe and Green), my favorite lieutenant (Van Buren), Executive ADA (Jack McCoy), ADA (a tie between Jamie Ross and Connie Rubirosa), and DA (Adam Schiff). As I explained to my mom, one reason I like L&O is because the story line is always neatly tied up at the end and you can watch the shows out of order and not be totally confused. I know that the show will still air on TNT until probably the end of time, but there won't be new episodes. Although I did read that Dick Wolf is trying to find another network that may be interested so let's hope that Ted Turner will be willing to make more Law and Order. Until then, enjoy some short clips from Law and Order.

One of my other favorite pairings:


And the most awesome thing Law and Order ever produced:


By the way, I've watched a couple episode of Law and Order:UK, and it is really good. But I shouldn't be surprised as it a pairing of my 2 favorite things: Law and Order and British Television.

Too much

Coldplay, a village fete, a power slide, puppets, and Punch and Judy and in 1 video.

Like making Mayonnaise

If there are some readers of this blog that I don't talk to on a regular basis (which there are probably none), then you most likely don't know that I am currently living in Vermont with my sister Rachel and taking care of her new(ish) baby. I left my job in January and within a month I was out in Vermont. During this transitional phase, I've been thinking about the kind of career I want (since I was only really every lukewarm about my last job). And to that end, I've been seeing a career counselor to help figure all that out (hopefully I will write a post about in the next couple of days). In addition, Rachel (using her usual subtle ways) has encouraged me to start taking classes or doing other things that I didn't really have time for before (I am considering learning how to sail and I was not living in cities near a huge water source). There is a really nice herb shop near Burlington so Rachel and I took a lotion making class there a few weeks ago. Lucy and I, in addition to experimenting with making our own soap, have had some interest in branching out and making other cosmetics ourselves. The lotion class was really informative especially since I was familiar with some of the oils used (like coconut, sweet almond, jojoba, etc) but only in the context/use in soaps. In the end, making lotion is like making mayonnaise in that you are trying to get oils and water to mix. Rachel and I hope to start making some lotion ourselves soon, so stay tuned and maybe I will post some pictures of our progress.

"Apparently this door has some kind of anti-opening device." - Dale Gribble

I might take up this idea

you got chocolate in my peanut butter

The NBC show Parks and Recreation has been so hilarious this season, it is probably my favorite show right after the Office (and sad to admit, more consistently funny). Anyway, here is an awesome mash-up of two things that I love: the opening credits (and fun theme song) to Parks and Recreation and Star Wars.

Suprisingly sweet commercials from the Olympics

Reflections from 31 days of Oscar

When you've only really seen Robert Vaughn like this:



It's a little weird to see him like this:


(in Bullit which I saw last Friday). Looking at that scene, please notice the size of that fax machine (and the fact that the phone has to be placed on top of the fax machine). Secondly, Bullit is such a cool last name, and you pretty much have to be in law enforcement with a name like that.

Laughs in less that 140

I understand that some people are really into Twitter and I am one of those people. I don't tweet at all but I have a twitter account that I check from time to time for one reason, some people on Twitter are really hilarious. I only follow about 15 people including Rain Wilson and Jim Gaffigan. But the most consistently funny person I follow on Twitter has got to be Tim Siedell, who is a creative director living in Nebraska. Here are a few choice tweets from him:

My bad back just got me out of a meeting. I'm never fixing this thing.

Full disclosure, America. I entered us into a pact with the devil 18 years ago. But something had to be done about those California Raisins.

A panic room seems overindulgent. I can panic in any room.

The only way my sinuses could get more painful is if they suddenly started speaking dialogue written by George Lucas.

My Top Ten Lists of 2009: 1) Grocery, 2) Wine, 3) Bucket, 4) Email, 5) Bullet Point, 6) To-Do, 7) Craigs, 8) Nice, 9) Top Ten, 10) Guest.


More Funny Tweets

There and back again

Now that the holidays are over, I can recount my lovely trip to Vermont to see Rachel (and the rest) for Christmas. I flew out of Cleveland on a direct flight to Burlington (I was surprised to find a direct flight, I was afraid that I would have to have a 13-hour layoff!). I got to the airport a little earlier that just in case it was really crowed but fortunately check in was super fast (Cleveland is a Contential Hub, so there were tons of check-in terminals, including one between the actually terminal and the parking garage, which I used). And even better, going through security took about 5 minutes (seriously, there were 2 people in front of me). The flight left a little late (people on a connecting flight were a little late so we left about 15 minutes late) but we made up plenty of time in the air and I got to the Burlington airport before Trey was there. But it wasn't quite so cold on Christmas eve, so the wait wasn't bad at all. We had a lovely Christmas breakfast of egg casserole and orange rolls and slowly opened presents (with only a few children-related incidents of temper). And then everyone pitched in to make a delicious Christmas dinner (mom made an excellent crusted tenderloin). Dad, Trey, and Orrin worked on updating the laundry room (including installing a sink) while Mom, Rachel, Bridget and I traded off supervising the kids and painting Ellis's room (hopefully Rachel with post some pictures). The girls went out to King Arthur's store (and left all the kids with the boys). And despite sitting in traffic for an hour due to an accident (and some snowy weather) we had a wonderful trip (and a good conversations!). One the morning of my flight back to Cleveland, most of us went to the Ben and Jerry's factory for free ice cream (and then an additional scoop later) before Rachel and mom dropped me off the Burlington airport. And it seems that I brought the cooler weather from Vermont because it has been really cold here for the last couple days. So there is lots of tea to be drunk!

"I've dealt with this before in Montana. Nobody lick any poles!" - Peggy HIll