Crawlin' Sammy...

Every day, as Sammy grows, he learns more and more. We can see this when he's "Mr. Grabby Hands", using a sippy cup for the first time, or learning to crawl....each day we see more progress . Paul is now counting the days until when Sammy can mow the lawn for him.

Sammy works on crawling forwards...and sometimes backwards....

Our Good Friend Dave Visits!

This week we were fortunate to have our good friend Dave come visit us from New Jersey. He had some high powered meeting up in the Twin Cities and he swooped down for an evening to visit with us. He got to meet Veto the cat and go on a whirlwind tour of Rochester, MN. After a tasty Mexican dinner at a local restaurant, ice cream from Coldstone Creamery, and some conversation back at our house it was time for him to go. We've known Dave now for over two decades...he has a great sense of humor and we miss living near him.

Dave meets Veto the Cat

No visit to Rochester is complete without seeing the ear of corn water tower (really)....

The Tapioca Pudding Heiress

This past weekend, we went shopping in the Twin Cities. More precisely, we went shopping on France Ave in Edina. As an analogy: France Ave is to Edina as Rodeo Drive is to Beverly Hills. Granted, the chances of seeing a Bently or (*gasp*) Bugatti are extremley lower in Edina than Beverly Hills. Still, Edina is a hot spot where the rich and famous of Minnesota go to spend money. We occasionally go there to marvel in the good and services that are available there...such as a personal favorite of ours, "Restoration Hardware."

While we were in Edina, Michele decided to have her hair cut (as her favorite hairstylist in Rochester is not available for some weeks to come). So she went to Rocco Altobelli's at the Galeria. While she was having her hair styled, she overheard next to her one of Minnesota's rich & famous women telling a hairstylist about herself. What follows is practically verbatim, no exaggerations:

"One of our good friends' son is going marry the tapioca pudding heiress [company name redacted]. The wedding is going to be in the Hamptons. Normally we go to Florida that time of year, but this year we will be going to New York...because this is one wedding we are NOT going to miss!"

There was also some discussion about drinking vanilla vodka rootbeer floats. The hairstylist asked how is just adding vanilla to a rootbeer float any different. The woman replied, "Doing it that way diminishes the fun factor."

In any event, we learned two important lessons from our brief encounter with the rich & famous of Edina:

1. No more bedtime stories of unattainable fairy princesses whom Sammy might one day save from a dragon and marry. Instead we're going to follow the social pages and find a tapioca pudding heiress daughter-in-law of our own.
   
2. Before drinking a vanilla rootbeer float, always make sure you know what is in it
   

But honestly, we hope Sammy finds happiness in life as we have found in each other. But if he marries into wealth which can secure for Paul his Bugatti, that is all the better.

We later shifted gears to got to the Mall of America (more in our budget) where we bought Sammy a rugby shirt. Later on during the weekend we took Sammy to Silver Lake in Rochester where we took some pics.

Sammy in his new Rugby shirt from Old Navy....

Michele and Sammy at Silver Lake...

Sammy's New Magic Carpet!

Spurring the economy ever further, our spending spree continues as we purchase a new magic carpet for Sammy. We went to Rochester's Carpet One and found a wool rug that was perfect for Sammy's playroom. As Sammy starts to crawl, walk, and tap-dance we figured he needed something special. As to how the carpet is magical, that is subject to interpretation. But there is nothing less than magical about how happy Sammy was to play on his new magic carpet with Veto the cat.

A small section of Sammy's magic carpet (an 8'x11' wool rug).

Sammy approves of his new magic carpet...

When does the ride start?

Veto the cat *loves* Sammy's magic carpet....

Beware of snakes lurking on Sammy's magic carpet...

Oscar, Elmo, Ernie, and Cookie Monster all approve of the new magic carpet...

Sammy doesn't need a magic carpet ride to display his happy personality...

...but Sammy does insist we keep his things in an orderly fasion.

Sammy has been working hard on standing all by himself...

Ever the scholarly perfectionist, Sammy works to place the edge of the cube perpendicular to the carpet grid...

Sorry Sammy, when the magic carpet is moving no sucking of toes is allowed for safety reasons...

KAVOOOOOooooooooosssshhhh!

Inspired by Paul's sister Anne who replaced her bathroom fixtures recently, we decided to start doing the same. So first to go was the toilet downstairs. It was a Crane with very poor flushing power...probably dates from the early days of reduced volume flushers which weren't engineered so well.

We chose to go with a Kohler Cimarron Comfort Height toilet. "Designed to have the sitting height of a standard chair....[it] features Class Five flushing technology that delivers extraordinary bulk flushing power." Because our downstairs bathroom is small (we live in a very small house), we went with the rounded front.

Kohler is an interesting company. Located in (where else) Kohler Wisconsin, it is a family owned business with revenues approaching $3 billion. If you ever have the chance to visit there (as we did) take the Kohler factory tour. It is intense...almost 3 hours...you get to see just about everything they do there (such as making sand cast metal objects). It is the best factory tour we have ever been on. They take you right onto the factory floors!

Well, in any case, our downstairs bathroom should now be ready (with the Class Five flushing technology) to accommodate the flushing needs of our guests!

We always call Joe to do our plumbing...

Our old toilet...

For our new toilet, we chose the Bold Look of Kohler...

Our new toilet....sans the tank...

Our new toilet in its new location...

Quite Simply, The Greatest Car Ever Made

Yes, believe it or not it is possible to say that of all the cars made, one of them is the greatest. And no, it is not the Bugatti Veyron which Paul so covets. It was not made in Europe, but in Kenosha, Wisconsin...and Paul owned it...

The 1988 Dodge Omni America 5-door hatchback

September 1987...Paul buys a brand new "sky blue" 1988 Dodge Omni America. It had the 2.2 litre engine, a 5-speed manual transmission, and a stainless steel exhaust system. Paul owned it until 1996. It was quite simply the best car ever made. Here are some highlights of his ownership:

• The best mileage he ever got it it was 44mpg driving from Alfred, NY to Washington, DC
• When he got sold it in 1996, it had 170,000 miles on it
• It still had the original clutch when he sold it
• Paul never replaced the shocks....in 170,000 miles (and to ride in the back seat you would know it)
  
• It had only 3 sets of tires -- Goodyear Vectors which lasted seemingly forever
  
• The stainless steel exhaust system was never replaced (a monumental achievement for having been driven in the heavily salted roads of upstate New York)
• Paul and his brother David drove the Omni across the country in 1988
  

Events involving this car subject to dispute:

• An unloaded Utica, NY water department dump truck temporarily held the lead in a drag race between it and Paul's Omni. Despite the fact that the Omni was fully loaded with passengers, it easily overcame this handicap to beat the dump truck.
  
• Paul's brother David hits a deer in Minnesota during their cross country trip. The deer survives but the Omni sustains $35 worth of damage (in 1988 dollars).
• Why Paul ever sold it.
  

In 1996 Paul sold it for $300 to someone from Maine. The final fate of the greatest car ever built remains a mystery to this day.

Here's the (somewhat) official specs on the car:

• Wheelbase: 99.1"
• Track: front, 56.1"; rear, 55.7"
• Overall length - 163.2"; width, 66.8"; height, 53.0"
• Curb weight: 2,296 pounds
• Headroom, front and rear: 38.1" and 36.9"
• Legroom, front and rear: 42.1" and 33.3"
• Shoulder room, front and rear: 51.7" and 51.5"
• Hip room, front and rear: 52.6" and 46.4"
• Cargo volume: 15.6 cubic feet - Interior volume: 100.2 cubic feet
• Tire size: P165/80R13
• 93 hp 2.2 Litre engine; 121 ft-lbs of torque; Fuel Injected
  
• Fuel tank: 13.0 gallons - Gas mileage: 26 city, 35 highway (manual)

The Wiggles...Aha!

Today Paul and our little Sammy were watching the Wiggle's "Cold Spaghetti Western"(which does actually have a decent plot). Sammy enjoys watching the Wiggles. In one of the previews on the DVD, the Wiggles go to outerspace. And then it hit Paul...men in colored "turtlenecks"....aha!

Wiggles in space...

...the original Wiggles...minus the song & dance?

Daddy Daycare

What goes on while Michele works and Paul watches Sammy on a Saturday? Michele phones and emails Paul often to check on them. But what really goes on? Here's a few pics to fill in the blanks.

Daddy feeds lil'Sammy...

Yummy yummy....

Click on the picture to see why Mommy does not like Daddy dressing Sammy...

Pasta at Aunt Annies

This past weekend we drove up to the Twin Cities to see Paul's sisters Anne & Diane. Sammy's Aunt Annie & Aunt Diane cooked macaroni & meatballs for us all. Macaroni & meatballs was the ritual Sunday meal that Aunt Anne, Aunt Diane, and Paul grew up on. Aunt Annie's work friend by the name of Diane and Aunt Diane's beau named Grant also were there for the meal this past weekend. After the tasty dinner we played a brutal game of Beyond Boulderdash.

Sammy's Aunt Annie and her work friend named Diane...

Sammy's Aunt Diane smiles for the camera...

Grant & Aunt Diane volunteered for kp duty...

Michele smiles for the camera...

Sammy learns to phone collect...

Not getting ice cream fast enough, Sammy takes control of the spoon himself...

...dessert...yummy yummy (note the Sammy juice bottle).

Paul loses the Powerball lotto......yet again!

Occassionally when the Powerball lottery gets over $40 million, Paul will buy a ticket. Just one ticket. What kind of calculus Paul used to arive at that threshold of the jackpot to purchase any ticket, we may never know. Anyway, yet again Paul was denied another jackpot ($208.6 million ) which was (in his mind) rightfully his.

So it goes, Paul's dream of owning a Bugattti Veyron is remains unfulfilled. The most expensive and fastest street legal car in the world -- the Veyron -- is a 16 cylinder monster with 1,001 horsepower, a top speed of 253 mph, and an estimated 2.5 sec 0-60.

Maybe it's for the better....the Veyron comes with an automatic transmission anyway...denied his dream car, Paul embraces the "Fox and the Grapes" concept. In the meantime, while awaiting the massive lottery jackpot due to him, Paul can race around in our Passat station wagon (with a manual tranny of course) and pretend its almost like a 2-door Bugatti.

To make donations to "A Veyron for Paul Foundation" please send checks made out cash to Paul.

Can you not imagine Paul behind he seat?

You are what you eat......or at least you wear what you eat...

Sammy has been working on soid foods for some time now, each day eating more and (for the most part) seemingly enjoying it. His favorite is Gerber single grain oatmeal. Single-grain cereals supposedly ease your child's transition into solid foods. We tried starting with rice cereal, which most babies tolerate the best...but not Sammy. But he loves the oatmeal.

We figure a few more months and incisor teeth and Sammy will be ready for steak.

Smiling Sammy eating his oatmeal...

...often times little Sammy needs a BIG bath after eating...

...but he takes it all in good stride...

...unless Mommy sneaks in a spoonful of yellow squash!

Things that go bump in the night...

Back in '95 we saw a movie which explained an awful lot. You see, while you sleep or arent around, toys come to life and do things...so long as you aren't there to see it.

A few weeks ago, we went to the Mall of America. As usual we bought items we didn't need such as a Ricki Ricardo-esque bongo drum for Paul (sadly, for real). But the real prize was at the Lego store. They had Lego Batman and Robin people. So of course we had to buy them for Sammy...and since he can't play with them until age six (always read the labels) it was up to Paul to put them in a safe place until Sammy was of age.

Correction: Michele just informed Paul that the bongo drum was *NOT* for him but for little Sammy. .:sigh:.

The strange thing is that when we wake up in the morning the house is in shambles and the Batman Lego people are all over. Suspecting that what we saw in the movie was true, we needed a way to verify...so we asked our big orange cat Veto to take some pictures with Paul's camera during the night.

What follows is Veto's account as told to us by Veto....apparently while we sleep the great battle of good versus evil rages on in our house.

"I was sitting there with Paul's camera when I took a cat nap. I rolled on my back and was dozing off when I heard what sounded like jingle bells...I was able to snap off a quick shots of events as they unfolded. Meow."

Jingle bells, Batman smells...

Robin laid an egg...

The Volkswagen lost its wheel...

And Joker got away.

Veto did a great job capturing photos to verify our worst fears. Hopefully tonight Batman will get that rascal Joker. But we did see one last picture that Veto took...quite disturbing. It shows BatGirl getting into the Jokers love van. Why do all the nice girls go for the bad boys?

Sammy & The Wiggles

Well, we should have known something like this would happen. When we were children we had Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. Well, now it's the "Wiggles." The Wiggles are four grown men -- Anthony (Blue), Greg (Yellow), Murray (Red), and Jeff (Purple)-- who do skits, sing, and dance on a tv show for children.


There's also Captain Feathersword who is a friendly pirate who has a feather for a sword, which he uses to tickle everyone. A running joke is when he says, "Well blow me down" with which those around him oblige by blowing him down.

Uh huh. Four grown men and a buccanneer who tickles everyone with a feather for a sword. And they're from Australia. Uh huh.

Oh, and we now feel great empathy for other parents who can't get the song, "Fruit Salad...yummy yummy" out of their minds!

And now some pics of Sammy watching the Wiggles...

"Dad you're blocking the tv!"

"I love the Wiggles"

"Don't bother me...the Wiggles are on"

Paul's favorite character is Captain Feathersword...
...the pirate who lives with the kind of reckless abandon...
...that Paul only wishes he could.

After the storm...

This past Tuesday night we had a pretty spectacular storm. When we woke up there were quite a few branches down in our neighborhood. One of the blossoming trees in the center of our street broke off its trunk completely. The Rochester city DPW came by and cleaned up the downed branches and trees...the very next morning (now that's service!). Luckily we only had a few branches they had to trim and an injufed arborvitae.

We wondered if they'd do our rain gutters too..

Paul could use a chipper like this one...

Paul was a bit late to work as he was blocked in by the truck...

An arbor vitae next to our house is all pushed apart from heavy rain.