Like Wildfire

Another Sunken Gardens shot here.

So they've finally caught on to the baby bit at work. The Friday before last Nosy Coworker #1 finally asked. Then yesterday, Nosy Coworker #2 asked. This is noteworthy because both are guilty of regularly inquiring whether I was expecting when there was no reason (that I know of) to suspect so, yet for the past 6 months when I actually have been didn't pose the question. #2's asking yesterday was followed shortly by his son learning of the news. And his son? Is currently staying with Viktor Krum and TCO. Yay. Today, two more Poppy inquiries. Eh. Whatever. I'm 26.5 weeks along now, which translates to roughly "six months pregnant." A typical pregnancy is based on a "due date" figured to occur after 40 weeks, or 10 lunar months.

Some stupid news of the day: Harry Potter lost his virginity at 16 to an "older woman," and scientists have linked a gene to males' likelihood to cheat. Meow and growl!

Cleaning Off the Memory Card

Maybe I should do that more than once every nine months. Sure, I take stuff off right away if I remember...but other shots just sit and collect figurative dust. And since I'm usually "in a hurry" for this-or-that reason, I don't want to wade through all of the old stuff, I just want whatever pic was most recently shuttered. Apparently, it takes an accidental wipe of the card (clicked the wrong button) for me to accomplish any more than necessary.

The picture above was taken this March in Iowa City. What toddler doesn't love bubbles...or "do it myself" -ing?

At right, an art piece from the Amsterdam airport. There were 4 (one for each season) about 5 feet in diameter, possibly somewhat larger.

Right, behold wojapi (a traditional Native dish). I love this stuff. Probably because modern preparation tends to use cans of preserves or berries for pie filling, which is sugar-laden. I'd be very interested to try some made with wild berries found in the Plains region, but I for one sure don't gather many berries. Mulberries as a kid, of course, but since then, eh, not so much. This particular incarnation was served at the 4th Annual Buffalo Dinner in November.

And finally, melting ice's leaf cutouts exposing green grass hiding below. This was taken at the same park in Iowa City, two weeks prior to Mira's bubble-blowing.

34 kids, tornado & flood watches, heavy rain = camping trip?

The weekend of June 20-22, Torrin, Mira, and I all got sunburned. Torrin, being the fairest-skinned, was the worst hit. Especially in combination with his 7-year-old lack of know-how in regards to sun safety. He swears he put sunblock on that day, but his cherry-lipstick-red shoulders begged to differ. I wasn't with him; he'd gone with a group fishing that morning, which I didn't think would be a terribly fun activity for Mira. I didn't see him again until it was dark.

The first night, Thursday the 19th, we drove out to the campgrounds as planned. Then, a storm rolled up with ominous green-tinted clouds that soon spewed their soggy glory. We took the three vans full of kids back to my workplace for an impromptu sleepover at the Center.

Although the campsites were muddy, the rest of the trip fared much better. Unfortunately the set-up wasn't as well-accustomed to the kind of luminous photos that last year's camping trip yielded, but the park offered more activities and the food was better. There was a better mix of kids in attendance (i.e., not predominantly one family represented). Torrin opted not to go horseback riding, and since Mira is too little, I didn't get pictures of that particular foray. On the last day, upon our departure, I had a scare that I'd lost my camera. My loyal camera which has traveled with me to Spain, Washington DC, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Wisconsin, not to mention tons of local stuff and my kiddos. Fortunately I found it under some damp towels smushed in the van when we got back into town, in the same condition I'd last seen it.

Some prettiness

Far from pettiness, but only one letter off...

At a public garden a few blocks from our house.

Bike Trail Critters

Do you know what kind of creature this is?

I don't. But he sure looked terrified running along the unfinished portion of the bike trail that runs part-way between where I work and where I live. The size of a smushed cat or thereabouts.

We've had lots of rain lately, so I'm guessing that's what's confusing these poor lil guys. The bike path runs adjacent to a typically barely-flowing creek. A few days later Torrin and I spied a couple of turtles a bit further north on the same trail. He was highly entertained and wanted to email a picture to his science teacher. I'm sure she'll be impressed (when I finally get around to it).