happy fall

saturday scribblings

so, where are we?

...well, we're in a land that provides coffee.
good!
i'm sure coffeeless lands exist, but i'm not ready to visit those yet.

a place with a floor of records, in a museum celebrating 40 years of existence.



okay, okay...
this should tip you off...
yes, that's right, chicago...


to visit with aunt and uncle.

the four (or, if you count those in utero) the six of us...
and no, i am definitely not having twins.

30 n. lasalle... my mom's old stomping ground.

little people... or big buldings?

prairie-scape with city or city-scape with prairie?

millennium park's anomaly of sorts...

it was unseasonably warm last weekend (unlike today, which feels unreasonably cold and requires a sweater)
but at millennium park there are plenty of options for cooling off...

the brave...

and the timid...

oliver was not able to go with us to chicago last weekend because he was invited to bowser's house and dogtoberfest. he came home with loads of prizes from the fest, including this oh-so-cute land's end jacket...

whoever said dog clothing wasn't cute, never saw ollie in his super-cute red land's end jacket.

as for the present time: greg and i have been on very different schedules the past few days. i've been getting up at 6 to drive 1 and a half hours to milwaukee for a three day conference/training put on by the state public defender. greg gets up around 10 to go to work at 5 p.m. (around the time i'm driving home from milwaukee), and getting home around 2 a.m.
also, i have passed the 16 week mark-- well, i'm right in the middle of it. which means... i need to put up a picture update soon. i fear that it still won't look much different from the other pictures though.
apologies!

out of town

we left madison this weekend. but where did we go?

pictures coming soon...

apples, cumin, birthdays, utilities

who says this is a weed?

well, 2 weekends ago was an adventure to the epplegaarten, south of madison, on a beautiful fall day...

a little treat, for a little one...

gruffy goat...

horse rides...

raspberry picking...

and of course, lots of apples...

this weekend, it was a quick trip back to the epplegaarten with grandparents to collect pumpkins, lunch on state street, the capital farmer's market, and of course, greg's birthday!

sunday night, i made kosheri, an egyptian dish-- brown rice, topped with lentils, topped with elbow macaroni, topped with light fresh tomato sauce, topped with crisp fried onions, topped with spicy tunisian sauce...

delicious!

and pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.

the other big news from this weekend-- greg, geoff, and jason (happy birthday to you too!), turned the laundry room into a laundry room with a utility sink and a cabinet... beautiful...

dust and the american dream

two recommendations if you are interested in the intersection of the two... namely, how the former ruins the latter...

1) a book: the worst hard time by timothy egan. i'm almost through it. it's about the people who stuck it out during the great american dust bowl. also starring: fdr and the new deal.

2) a documentary: libby, montana. this one about a corporation (w.r. grace) killing a small town via asbestos. also starring the epa, with bit roles by gwb and ronald reagan as secondary villians.

illinois folk

just a couple photos of some residents across the border...

from last weekend's trip to the land which shares its lincoln claim-to-fame with two other states, though it is loathe to admit it. and that is the only grief i will give it in this post... onward and upward!

that little brown dog is only a visitor.

a michigan transplant...

wait a second... this is not an illinois resident... was, but is not...

a friend from high school opening gifts for her son-to-be. illinois residents by about 7 miles...

and that's it for now. tomorrow: the year's annual apple picking, applesauce making, apple pie baking day.

12 week update

okay, so what do you think?

from my perspective, i feel a little pudgy. and, in recent days, a lot less nauseous! now that is a nice concept!

so, those pictures were taken while on a walk in our old neighborhood. we packed up ollie and drove over there because it is such a happy neighborhood in the fall... mums in every yard, pumpkins on every porch. not quite that way yesterday... just a cool and crisp evening which made us nostalgic for that area of town, and fall.
after the walk we drove back home with ollie's leash still on him and him sitting in the back seat. when i got him out, i realized his leash was no longer attached... because he'd spent the 7 minute drive home chewing through it...

ah well. it is only the second such leash to meet this fate way before its time.

an update of pictures

here are some of the photos i have neglected to put up, but have been meaning to. life (i.e. work) has me running around right now, and when i'm not doing that, i'm catching my breath, but one day i will get into the routine, and veralouie will not feel so skinny!

a few photos of a recent(ish) housewarming party. that little masternard puppy, whose brother we chose not to adopt, is now a 90 lb. 6 month old... here, with Ollie, that little brown puppy who remains a little brown puppy... (above: Oliver adjusting to the fall-like temperatures)

by the middle of the day, there were 5, mostly under one year old puppies...

Oliver, after a time, finding refuge...

and later, back at home, worn out...

not that he was the only one...

being smalliver has its advantages...

next up: kentucky for labor day weekend...

our first opportunity to visit since our wedding.

southern spider...

swimming...

baseball...

and that's all for now.
tomorrow is 12 weeks along (approximately), so i will try to get a photo update... but it will probably look just like the first!

this counts

i will update the blog. i will update the blog.
especially because i'm almost another month in and so you'll want to see how not pregnant i still look.
but i feel it-- tired and pukey--without actually following through on those (sleep and etc.)... although that's not true, i am trying to sleep. in fact, that is why i am not really updating right now with pictures and such, because i am trying to take advantage of a potential 9:30 head-to-pillow rest time with a 6 a.m. head-from-pillow wake time, for 8.5 hours of sleep. woot! wish me luck!