Well, I finally put a photo up on PhotoSIG. It's a great site for photographers, because you can post pictures and have them reviewed by other amateur and professional photographers. I put the show sign picture from my carnival series. Let's hope I don't get seriously dissed.

So yesterday we took Katherine to Six Flags over New England - her first trip to an amusement park. It is about a 90 minute ride from Boston, out in the boonies of Agawan, on the Connecticut border. She slept most of the way. We got there right around 10 when it opens, so the crowds wouldn't be as bad. Hah! We went right to the batman ride, since Chris wanted to go on it (we met Chris, Danon, and Robert Perry there). The line was already 2 1/2 hours long, even though it was only 10:30. So Chris jumped in line for this spectacular, yet short (2 minutes) ride, and we went off to the kid section. Katherine and Kara did actually go one one kiddie ride. Katherine had a great time. She was very absorbed by the spectacle around her, and it was a nice trip.

Today has not gone so well, but mostly for Kara. Katherine was so wound up that she ended up falling asleep around 8PM, which is an hour before we usually put her down. You can guess that when she woke up at 5:30AM, Kara was none too thrilled. But as frustrated as she was, she got up. Katherine was really tired, and it was a tough two hours of play. I volunteered to get up, but Kara refused. Anyway, so around 7:30, Kara brought her in so I could take over, and jumped in the shower. Katherine was playing really hard on the bed, and then started to fall asleep. I was dead tired, so I put her down. Kara got out of the shower and was pissed because there we both were sleeping, which was what she really wanted to do, and she had to go to work. We both woke up around 9:30, and I really woke up on the wrong side of bed. I went on a long walk to try to wake up. We walked to Winchester center, and I bought a scone and some water, and then we played in the park for awhile, and then I came home. After a quick trip to drop off some film (her six month gallery should be up next week), I set up the backyard for some playtime. I put the kiddie carpet out, and lit the barbeque, and made some Italian sausage sandwiches, and played with her. She got tired again around 2:30, and I put her down around 2:45. I was exhausted (the walk was 6 miles), so I took a nap as well. You can probably guess this, but Kara chose this moment to come home from work, and there I was, again, sleeping, and there was Katherine sleeping. She was pretty frustrated, and she took it out on me a bit, but I didn't let it bother me, because I can totally understand.

Katherine had some problems spitting up after meals, but this seems to have subsided. As recently as two weeks ago, she'd be constantly spitting up huge globs of stinky forumla, which was really unpleasant. Then, we noticed, she started to swallow them when they came up. Now, she seems to have stopped doing even this, and things are staying down pretty well, which is really nice. She usually gives one big burp right after feeding, and then that's it. There's still an occassional dribble, but it's not too bad.

Well, the fourth of July is pretty much over. We had a nice, low-key cookout. Some hamburgers, shrimp, and sausage was consumed. Some beer were consumed. Some kids played in the wading pool. My friend K dropped by yesterday, and left me an industrial-sized popcorn machine, so I made a big batch of popcorn after the kids were in bed and the sun went down, and then proceeded to wolf down an entire cup.

My neighbor put on a great fireworks show. I know these things are supposed to be illegal, so I'm not telling which neighbor is was, but it was perfect for the fourth. During the grand finale, the kids next door sang the national anthem. Very patriotic. What's more, I'm almost completely cleaned up, so I don't have to worry about stuff tomorrow, which is good, because Kara and I are going out to Six Flags, AKA, Riverside Park in Springfield. I haven't been there in years, and I bet it will be really crowded, so we're going to leave early and get there right when it opens at 10 - no small feat, considering it's a good two hours away.

Ah, the summer. I got up and got right to work on the yard today. We're having a little party tonight, and the weeds were starting to overgrow the patio. So, I reasoned, while it's still morning, and hot (as opposed to oppressive), I'll do some yardwork. Kara was out for a walk with Katherine, and I had a feeling she'd be awhile, since Auntie Danon is on the route, and she's not working today. So now I am sitting in a pool of sweat, wondering how I'll muster up the energy to mow the lawn. We're starting to look like white trash family, and I'd like to do a few things to clean up. So I will mow the lawn, then retreat into my wonderfully air-conditioned house, take a shower, and start the day.

We are going over to visit Gram today, and then by Dad's house to pick up some lawn furniture (remember my patio furniture story?), water his plants, pick up some booze, and head home for the day. We're also going to put out a wading pool for Katherine and the family to play in.

Sounds like a pretty good fourth to me.

Happy Fourth of July!

Today, I offer you this tidbit, on patriotism, God, and the pledge of Allegience. It's my Open Letter to Robert Penta. Enjoy!

So what's wrong with E-commerce? Nothing, if you are careful. In fact, I've had more bad experiences by far with traditional brick and mortar stores that with online purchases. Case in point. Kara and I finally decided to get a patio furniture set this year, so we can enjoy our backyard. We checked a few stores, and because this is a purchase that requires a tactile experience, we really wanted to buy it in a store. Kara wound up at Sears a few weeks ago, and everything went downhill from there.

First, because it was late in the patio furniture season, they didn't have the set she wanted, and she settled for her third choice. Still acceptable, but online purchases usually give you the option of buying anything, if you are willing to wait for a backorder, which we were at that point. Next, the salesperson insisted that she purchase the umbrella in-store, although Kara made it clear that she wanted to buy the set and have everything delivered. She was basically the perfect customer. She walked in and said, "I want a complete set, and I want it delivered, and I'm ready to buy." But in the end, she relented, and purchased the umbrella on a separate sales slip. About that time, Katherine had a meltdown, and she was unable to pick up the umbrella. So we went back last weekend and picked it up, and that was a nightmare. Even though we had bought it, and they had tagged it, it was, of course, nowhere to be found. Finally, the stock guy found one that didn't have a name on it. An open box. And gave it to us. The umbrella was fine, although as I was pulling it out of the car, I found the name. Which means that someone else is going to have a lousy experience at Sears as well.

On Monday, we get a call to schedule the shipment of the furniture. It will be delivered on Wednesday. They always call two days in advance, they explained, so that they know if they have stock on hand before the have to pick the order. So now we're feeling pretty good, except that it also turns out that the salesperson did not sell us the base for the umbrella. When I ask them to just deliver one, I get transfered to the sales floor in Burlington, misdirected to hardware, and told that the seasonal line is busy, and I'll have to call back later.

Then, on Tuesday, we get another call from Sears. This time, the woman tells Kara that the set is not in stock, it's backordered, and they always call a day in advance so they know if the item is in stock before they have to pick it.

If this makes sense to anyone, please do tell. Kara got a ship date from stock when she ordered, and then a confirmation two days prior, and then a sudden cancellation.

So, we are going to take the umbrella back to Sears, shove it as far up the rectum of the customer service department as we can get it, cancel the entire order, and move on.
It was our third choice of sets anyway.

Here's a sign that your wife knows her way around the kitchen much better than you. You are putting something in tupperware, and trying to find the right top (that's a bitch, ain't it), and your wife calmly says, "you need a number 7" for that. Here's a sign that your wife is impulsive, but that her hearts in the right place. She buys a bamboo steamer so that we can cook fish and other stuff without oil to be good to the diet. Then, she ignores the instructions, places a beautiful Red Snapper in the thing, steams it to perfection, and then you wind up trying to figure out how to get the steamed on fish skin off the steamer without using soap, which will infuse the steamer, be generally unsanitary, and leave everything else tasting like Red Snapper.

It was really good, though.

Then you might ask why, if we're doing stuff like that to be on a diet, was I blogging about a restaurant recently. My answer would be, "just shut up about that, OK?"

Katherine's motor development is quite staggering. We've been told that some kids seems like they're going to walk early when the just start to crawl, and then it takes a few months. But Katherine, although she's not quite crawling, but very close, can already stand up still if she has something to hold on to. She's not that steady, but it's more balance than strength. I mean, she not THAT strong, but she's strong enough to stand there, handing onto a kiddie table, or basket, and mess around with objects. You have to keep a close eye on her, because she falls, but she often falls back or forward because of balance, not because her legs buckle. In fact, her balance must be decent, because she can manipulate objects when standing. She's even stood still, briefly (a few seconds) without holding onto anything. YIKES. When she starts walking, all hell is going to break loose. So I'm not sure what the deal is, but if there are any parents reading this that sense a familiar experience, please write us and let us know what to expect. She's only 6 1/2 months old, and the idea that she might be walking within a month or two is really quite intimidating. I mean, on the one hand, we'd be very proud and happy, but on the other hand, it brings up a whole range of new issues that we were hoping we'd have a little more time to deal with. She's also big. She fitting her 6-9 months clothes quite snugly at this point, and I fear that in another month, she'll have grown out of them altogether.

Another long and reasonably satisfying weekend is drawing to a close. Kara is up putting Katherine down. Katherine was super hyped up this evening. We went out to dinner, and she was a terror in the restaurant. It was all happy terror, but still, wow, what energy. It was pretty funny actually. We put her in a high chair, and she kept throwing toys onto the floor. She must have done this, like fifty times. And every three or four minutes, a waitress or waiter would walk by, and pick them up. Kara and I were content to let them stay there awhile. You parents, well, you know what this is like. She's just going to throw them over the side again, so you might as well see if she gets distracted by something else. But since the wait staff kept picking them up, she kept pitching them over the sides. It was like the Keystone cops.

I did, in fact, put the air conditioners in today. Four of them. It's going to be hot, hot, hot this week. At least three days 90 or above, and the humidity is already up. I discovered that my TV room and my dining room, which are, of course, on opposite sides of the first floor, are in fact on the same circuit breaker. So you probably already know how I discovered this. Yep. Pop goes the circuit breaker, as Dave tries to run 22,000 BTUs of air conditioning on one 20 Amp breaker. Luckily, the sun room is right next to the TV room, and when the breaker popped the second time, I pulled out my circuit tester, and verified that the sun room was still on. I was pretty sure it was on another breaker, because it was a late addition to the house, and it's quite close to the box in the basement. So I moved the big AC (12,000 BTUs) to the other room, and now everything is fine, except for my electric bill, which is not going to be pleasant this summer. I've got another 13,500 BTU's upstairs - one in Katherine's room and one in my room, so the house should be pretty cool. We also ran out and bought a fan to try to blow the dining room AC into the kitchen, because the kitchen gets pretty hot, and there's no natural air flow through it.

After considerable discussion, we've decided to stay home for the long 4th weekend. We had some opportunities to do some things up North, but there's just so much to do around the house, and we got back recently from Florida, and Kara's leaving soon for Seattle to visit her sister, so it seemed like a good time to hang around the house, mow the lawn, trim the hedges, and generally catch up on a few things. We might also throw an impromptu 4th of July barbeque, if we can get anybody to show up. We were thinking we could start it at 9ish, so Katherine would be down, and then we could acutally let loose a little bit.