That is all.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Been A While
So that was a nice summer.
Updates:
Harry is a US citizen. ("About time." says Eleanor.) Shockingly enough, it seems one government functionary didn't know what another government functionary was doing and accidentally went ahead and followed the law. Surely s/he will be fired forthwith.
Eleanor is 1 year old.
Eleanor can walk.
Harry still likes playgrounds.
But there have been changes in him too. He seems to be channeling some sort of Elvis vibe, requesting peanut butter toast with cheese sprinkled on top. We're gonna keep a sharp eye out for any strange hip movements or sudden interest in sequins.
And in a distressing turn of events that runs counter to the Elvis theory, cute little girls apparently make him nauseous.
Updates:
Harry is a US citizen. ("About time." says Eleanor.) Shockingly enough, it seems one government functionary didn't know what another government functionary was doing and accidentally went ahead and followed the law. Surely s/he will be fired forthwith.
Eleanor is 1 year old.
Eleanor can walk.
Harry still likes playgrounds.
But there have been changes in him too. He seems to be channeling some sort of Elvis vibe, requesting peanut butter toast with cheese sprinkled on top. We're gonna keep a sharp eye out for any strange hip movements or sudden interest in sequins.
And in a distressing turn of events that runs counter to the Elvis theory, cute little girls apparently make him nauseous.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Gotcha Day '08
Another year has passed.
And not soon enough.
Why would I say such a horrible thing? Am I unhappy with my life? Do I not like my kids or something? No, no. It's nothing like that.
It's the unaccountable Federal Agencies I'm not too fond of. We got a letter this week from a three-letter government agency that told us Harry has had his application for US citizenship DENIED. It seems that they recently decided, perhaps on a whim, that parents who have adopted children from abroad have to wait until said child has been in their custody for 2 years before they can legally become citizens. This rule is used for married couples to try to weed out those "green card weddings" that American dupes are so fond of.
I'm pretty sure Harry isn't putting us on.
Oh and that DENIED letter cost us $300. But I'm sure for some nominal fee (say, another $300), they'll look into it again.
Anyway, Gotcha Day #2 is just around the corner and we decided to celebrate today with a trip to Brookside Gardens. Harry enjoyed the place a lot more this year, mostly because he can now say "butterfly."
He spent a lot of time pointing and saying "Butterfly!" He spent a little time running when a particularly aggressive and vibrant swallowtail fluttered at him.
The rest of the pictures can be found at the link below.
And not soon enough.
Why would I say such a horrible thing? Am I unhappy with my life? Do I not like my kids or something? No, no. It's nothing like that.
It's the unaccountable Federal Agencies I'm not too fond of. We got a letter this week from a three-letter government agency that told us Harry has had his application for US citizenship DENIED. It seems that they recently decided, perhaps on a whim, that parents who have adopted children from abroad have to wait until said child has been in their custody for 2 years before they can legally become citizens. This rule is used for married couples to try to weed out those "green card weddings" that American dupes are so fond of.
I'm pretty sure Harry isn't putting us on.
Oh and that DENIED letter cost us $300. But I'm sure for some nominal fee (say, another $300), they'll look into it again.
Anyway, Gotcha Day #2 is just around the corner and we decided to celebrate today with a trip to Brookside Gardens. Harry enjoyed the place a lot more this year, mostly because he can now say "butterfly."
He spent a lot of time pointing and saying "Butterfly!" He spent a little time running when a particularly aggressive and vibrant swallowtail fluttered at him.
The rest of the pictures can be found at the link below.
 |
| gotcha day 08 |
Friday, May 9, 2008
Camping in Virginia
Not sure what happened to April. I guess we were busy.
I got to go camping with Jake the last weekend in April somewhere in the lawless border region between Virginia and West Virginia. This was real backpack and tent camping. The only running water was in the streams. It was going downhill.
In fact, running water represented our primary adversary during the outing. We parked the pick-up and immediately had to ford a swiftly moving stream. The water came to my waist. It was cold.
Fortunately the weather was mild so we didn't end up with hypothermia or anything. We hiked down some old logging road along a stream inappropriately named "Dry Run." It terminated in the little reservoir shown below.
That's my birthday gun, the Soviet M44 carbine in 7.62 x 54. This was my first time camping with firearms and I liked it. Especially after seeing all the bear crap littering the woods. Being heavily armed also gave me the confidence I needed to wear a hat that silly.
We camped in the hills in the background of the photo. My fire making skills had not diminished any since my scouting days and I even got the chance to get one going after a brief but soaking downpour.
We ate spam...
But not on the first day.
Needless to say I didn't catch any fish.
I got to go camping with Jake the last weekend in April somewhere in the lawless border region between Virginia and West Virginia. This was real backpack and tent camping. The only running water was in the streams. It was going downhill.
In fact, running water represented our primary adversary during the outing. We parked the pick-up and immediately had to ford a swiftly moving stream. The water came to my waist. It was cold.
Fortunately the weather was mild so we didn't end up with hypothermia or anything. We hiked down some old logging road along a stream inappropriately named "Dry Run." It terminated in the little reservoir shown below.
That's my birthday gun, the Soviet M44 carbine in 7.62 x 54. This was my first time camping with firearms and I liked it. Especially after seeing all the bear crap littering the woods. Being heavily armed also gave me the confidence I needed to wear a hat that silly.
We camped in the hills in the background of the photo. My fire making skills had not diminished any since my scouting days and I even got the chance to get one going after a brief but soaking downpour.
We ate spam...
But not on the first day.
Needless to say I didn't catch any fish.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
This be mighty disheartening news... arrr...
We be reliably informed Talk Like A Pirate Day be September 19th. This be a sore blow indeed, me hearties. Me devilish squint to freeze a man's heart be perfected and the peg legs in place. What scurvy dog did decree such a far off date thar? Nothing fer it but to drown me sorrows in grog. Bring me me baba or ye be askin for a keel haulin!
Cimmammammon
I mentioned below that Harry is obsessed with spices but until now I had not provided any video proof. Behold!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Birthday Present
There was long stretch in January and February where I didn't get to see the folks in NJ. Illness and busy schedules got in the way and as a result I just received my birthday check a couple of weeks ago.
Now birthdays are not a big financial deal in the Hart family so I was trying to figure out what to get with my $50 check. Videogames cost $50 but I don't currently have a computer or game console capable of playing modern games. Books? If I'm in bed and the kids aren't crying or screaming, I should be sleeping.
And $50 isn't enough money to get a gun, even an old WWII gun made in the Soviet Union by the tens of millions. Or so I thought...
Allow me to introduce the Mosin-Nagant M44. According to my research, based solely on watching "Enemy at the Gates," this gun or its longer variant, the M91/30, were given to every other soldier in Stalin's army. (The other guy just ran along unarmed.) The point is that they made a heck of a lot of these guns so even sixty odd years after WWII there are a bunch of them floating around. How many? So many that you can buy one for $49.99.
Have I mentioned how much I love this country? For $50 I can purchase, online, a fully functional WWII battlerifle made by our one time ally of convenience turned bitter Cold War adversary turned whatever Russia is today. $50. This thing meant all the world to one or more poor Russian peasants trying to survive the Nazi onslaught and their own officers, but for me it is a fun refinishing project and a few hours at the range, all purchased with discretionary income. Here's hoping I never value it as much as that peasant did.
Now birthdays are not a big financial deal in the Hart family so I was trying to figure out what to get with my $50 check. Videogames cost $50 but I don't currently have a computer or game console capable of playing modern games. Books? If I'm in bed and the kids aren't crying or screaming, I should be sleeping.
And $50 isn't enough money to get a gun, even an old WWII gun made in the Soviet Union by the tens of millions. Or so I thought...
Allow me to introduce the Mosin-Nagant M44. According to my research, based solely on watching "Enemy at the Gates," this gun or its longer variant, the M91/30, were given to every other soldier in Stalin's army. (The other guy just ran along unarmed.) The point is that they made a heck of a lot of these guns so even sixty odd years after WWII there are a bunch of them floating around. How many? So many that you can buy one for $49.99.
Have I mentioned how much I love this country? For $50 I can purchase, online, a fully functional WWII battlerifle made by our one time ally of convenience turned bitter Cold War adversary turned whatever Russia is today. $50. This thing meant all the world to one or more poor Russian peasants trying to survive the Nazi onslaught and their own officers, but for me it is a fun refinishing project and a few hours at the range, all purchased with discretionary income. Here's hoping I never value it as much as that peasant did.
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