avablog

Over the past weekend we secured and decorated our Christmas tree. It’s nice to have out of the way. The new addition this year was a popcorn garland that I thought Ava might delight in making with me. Like my plan to make pap(i)er mache ornaments, this one turned out to be [...]

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I took this shot the other day on a lark. Sometimes pictures just show up on my laptop and I have no idea where they came from.

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I took this shot a while ago and just got around to posting it. I planted this tree when we moved into our house, the thinking being that Ava and the tree could grow up together. Anyway, unlike Ava, the tree is planted in violation of city ordinances, so mum’s the word, OK? [...]

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Midwesterners spend a lot of time each year contemplating weather-related minutiae, particularly in the winter. For my part, the early morning today was consumed by contemplation of which combination of frozen precipitation is worst to shovel. I’ve decided that one inch of sleet topped with another inch of snow should probably place near [...]

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The new wall decals that Leah purchased for Ava’s room:

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Little froggy escaped from the shower and ran outside. This shot was obviously taken AFTER we got the towel around here. The front porch was full of nudity there for a couple minutes.

Also featured: Leah’s knee.

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We didn’t pay anything extra for the flowers in the yard at our house when we bought it last year, but I suspect I may have if it had been an issue. I’m particularly smitten by these blackberry lilies:

I noticed them even before we moved in, since they were just up the street from [...]

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Leah thinks I’m crazy. For the past couple weeks, I’ve been trapping chipmunks at our house and relocating them to a park about a half mile (and across a creek) away. I caught five yesterday and one this morning before we even left for work. I’ve probably trapped about 20 total (not [...]

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Gosh, this post could go anywhere with a subject line like that, eh? But I’ll keep it clean.

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Poom Poom and G.G. were in town over the weekend to spend some time with Ava. The stay began with a bout of what Leah and I like to call “Madison weather:” Cold, wet, and windy. But things shaped up steadily as Saturday wore on, and by yesterday, the weather was downright [...]

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G.G. came into town on Friday to see Ava and to accompany us on some holiday errands, including getting our Christmas tree. But first things first. I said I’d try to get a face-on shot of Ava’s new haircut, and I did. Here it is:

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I present this here only as a reminder to my dear, dear wife. It’s the same advice you hear over and over again, but it bears repeating, because it’s good advice. Our company happens to have a very generous matching plan, which I take advantage of as vigorously as I can. Would [...]

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Our new house sports a dishwasher, a “convenience” Leah and I never knew at our old house. After living with it for a couple months, I’m not impressed. The problem seems to be finding that perfect schedule that will result in everything I need at any given moment being clean and ready to [...]

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Now that the dust has settled from the move, it’s time to sit down and get our finances in order.
You should see the look on Leah’s face when I say the word “budget.”  It’s like she’s just found out she has 45 seconds to buy everything she ever wanted.  I contend there’s nothing wrong with [...]

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Tonight was the first night I cooked in our new house. I mean, I’ve made oatmeal and scrambled eggs, but I actually made dinner for the family this evening. For the record, it was a stir fry with asparagus, onion, sirloin, snap peas, and mushroom, served over brown rice.
Ava didn’t eat much of [...]

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I know, it’s getting to the point of boredom. This’ll be over soon.

The kitchen, complete with toddler eating breakfast.

The TV room. This picture looked much brighter on my MacBook. I swear I’ll get some better pictures when I can get some decent (natural) light in the house.

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What a weekend!  There are still some boxes sitting around here and there, and there’s certainly some stuff that needs to be put away, but we’re in now.
I had a nice Father’s Day.  Ava gave me two beautiful ceramic tiles that have her hand prints on them.  Leah gave me a gorgeous framed print of [...]

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Forget anything I’ve said about previous versions of there being only two types of people in the world.  The definitive measure is whether people say they like to paint.
I hate painting.  I hate the prep.  I hate the mess.  I hate the cleanup.  I frequently run into someone who says, “I love to paint!”  And [...]

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Now I know why it’s called that.  My cursed desk job is harder on my arse than it is my hands, but a weekend chock full of manual labor is a great reminder of how easy it is to thrash your digits.

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I don’t have a picture yet, but the new stove is now at the house.  It’s cool, all black and bad-looking.  I unboxed it last night when I stopped by the house to walk through and make sure everything was OK.  It was.
I have lots to do this weekend.  Ava and Leah are gone to [...]

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