Eastward bound!

We're off to the beach for our annual off-season, last-minute shore pilgrimage, but before we hit the road, we thought we'd ask:

Did anyone see my illustrious coworker Grant on Jeopardy last night? I'll have to school him on Hashimoto's next week... And I'll try to refrain from jokes about Jody, the male book store manager/actor who trounced him.

Photos to come, including Finn wearing his very first ornament (thanks Dave!) and a backlog of last weekend's memorable events. Hope everyone is having a happy leftover gorge-fest.

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas...

... because first thing this morning, I put on the festive iTunes Christmas playlist. It is, according to Ben's predilections after all, post-Thanksgiving. 'Tis the season for playing variations of "Carol of the Bells" each and every day!

Hope you and yours had a merry Thanksgiving yesterday. We'll spare you the lecture on freeing the turkeys, but let it be known that no foul fowl were involved in our celebration. Instead, we feasted on a delicious Quorn roast, Brussels sprouts, wild rice casserole, walnut & mushroom stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin cheesecake.

Of course, high on my thankful list: a freezer full of NJ bagels, and the return of my pristine beauty, the 6 qt. brushed chrome Kitchenaid standmixer, which whipped us up a beautiful batch of Parker House pumpkin rolls.

Oh how I've missed you, Finn-of-the-kitchen! Speaking of, we're pretty darn grateful for Finn, too. He hit 1,000 miles as we pulled into the neighborhood after our trip north, and he got his first vacuuming yesterday. I think this means we're keeping him and all his shining, modern glory.

Now, let's get to the decorating and leftover feasting! I hear some cranberry muffins and a mug of Constant Comment calling my name.

Tales from Maryland Rest Stops

Our drive to points north last week taught us two important lessons about the Maryland House rest stop in Aberdeen, MD on Rt. 95 -- which, it should be known, is our favorite of the Maryland rest stop options.

1) Let it be known that Ben feels very sad when Christmas decorations go up before Thanksgiving. He wasn't sad enough to keep from posing with an arm shelf, but he still got very frowny, even though there was lots of free Purell available throughout the rest stop.

And 2) Caro, today's lesson is that everything really did work out for the best. Really. Please to be examining the St. Mary's (official!) Art Exhibition space, which was located upstairs in a highway rest area, near the hidden set of cleaner restrooms. I mean, I think the photo speaks for itself, but I found my jaw hanging slightly ajar as I took this snapshot.

Also, a Prius with a St. Mary's faculty parking sticker nearly sideswipped Finn as we tried to exit the rest stop. So, take that as you will. I still prefer the Maryland House to the lousy Chesapeake House, and was tres pleased to see that the awful Delaware rest stop has been razed. I await a new and wonderful stopping experience, Delaware, considering the price I pay to drive through your measly state.

Laughs and Seafood in the Garden State

Let's play Friday Evening Catch Up, shall we?

We'll begin with a smattering of photos depicting our wonderful Jersey jaunt last month, during which I succeeded in stretching out Birthday Month through November. Unprecedented! Thanks for the help, MJXK! ;-)

Luke gazes longingly at the Princeton U squirrels, dreaming of tormenting and chasing bushy-tailed members of the tamiasciurus family.

The family feasts! While we journeyed to Masti-induced bliss, K-Dawg played us some mean Ravi Shankar. And all Hindi-hell broke loose. Or, rather, we were very peacefully reverent and excited about the best vegetarian food in the world.

Matt got us all tickets to a Jim Gaffigan show in New Brunwick which made me laugh so hard I cried. I will refrain from detailing our pre-show visit to the steakhouse, though...

These two clowns demonstrate how they felt after they learned about the roaches of the sea. You can just hear J throwing up if you look closely enough... That's one nerdy-ass bacon joke. Fun times!

And, of course, Family Nacho Night! No Sunday is complete without a healthy helping.

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Although mostly unrelated to the above, except for Garden State references, those of you who know us well will appreciate this profile of Ben's former dojo-mate in Amherst, Tony. After you read it, just imagine Ben, Tony, and a dozen kindergartners in kiba dashi stance. Ahh, the good old days! ;-)

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Ben says: Christmas is here. Well, almost. A loaf of gingerbread is baking in the oven as we await our first snowfall of the season tomorrow and we're listening to holiday tunes to psych up for our garland-fest of decorating this weekend. Expect pictures a-plenty!

Remember back all those days ago when it wasn't raining? I almost forget what it feels like to be dry these days.

This morning held an especially exciting climatological event: simultaneous rain, lightning, and hail! We got 5 inches of rain between midnight and 10:30am, according to the interwebs, which resulted in washed out roads, flash floods, and the hardest downpour I think I've seen. It was a good compliment to the previous evenings meteor shower -- there's a lot flying through the sky these days.

Luckily, we're headed north for dryer land tomorrow morning. May we be so lucky to catch a glimpse of 'Cesco 2.0, who was spotted munching autumnal delights a few weeks ago:

Between Gaffigan and chipmunks, freelance work and brunch in Rhinebeck, everything's looking up for Team Finn.

This Week: On Notice

This week is officially on notice with me...

1) My favorite pair of jeans now have a ripped knee.

2) Our county water and sewer fees doubled this month.

3) The local library was holding me responsible for a book that went missing after I returned it. (They've since taken responsibility, thankfully, but the process involved a few too many phone calls and trips downtown.)

4) The position I interviewed for at the University last week was "offered to an internal candidate."

5) And, today, I flushed my own cell phone down the toilet...


Enough, week!

Luckily, there have still been some positives: Finn (aka "[Dol]phineas "Finnley" Delphino Squared) is a lovely, zippy addition to our days. I'm looking forward to our upcoming northern jaunt. Silk 'Nog is now available at Target (along with pumpkin yogurt -- Don, I await your review). See? Some positives. But I feel I've earned a beach getaway or something.

**grumble, grumble, grumble**

Long May He Run

Amidst the wind and the rain, SG Jr. arrived at the Toyota dealership yesterday. Here's a grainy, blurry shot of Ben and his new best friend (sorry SpaceBear!), as Del, trusty salesman of Lebanese background and *many* gold rings, shuts the door and sends them on their way.

(What looks like a dent on the driver-side door is my flash, I thinkhope.)

If one can make anything of a half-mile trek home through rain and rush hour traffic, I'd say the new guy going to fit just fine into our family. Also, Kennedys: you'll be very happy to know there are FOUR roof handles (what are those things called??) in the new car. Now, that's an upgrade, huh?

But here's the disturbing news I read yesterday morning before we got the new car: Koalas are facing extinction. Poor K-bear! A Sigg exploded all over his backseat yesterday, too. It was a tough day to be an Impreza... We'll make sure he gets extra attention (and a thorough vacuuming) this weekend. We still love you, Koala!

* * *

Finally, in unrelated news, Early Steps is getting some great press. Good work, researchers!

And they're off!

Yesterday, as you saw in Ben's video, we went to the 75th annual running of the Montpelier Hunt Races.

It was terrific weather for spying on galloping equines and the moneyed elderly. There were plenty of costumes (bow ties and top hats galore; the website warned that "afternoon dress is prevalent") and characters, spiffy rides (including a Maserati parked unceremoniously on the grass between a Honda and an SUV), and a variety of afternoon drunks, ranging from the scotch-on-ice types in the frat tents to the wine and imported beer guzzlers next to us, who had faded into their lawn chairs by the last race.

Ben smirks as he prepares to order kettle corn near the donor tents. I'm sure Mr. Madison never envisioned looking out his library windows onto 15,000 cars using the lawns as a parking lot and tailgating venue, though us Montpelier-ians cheered each time the announcer said the riders were approaching the mansion.

Fabulous horse name of the day: Attention Deficit, winner of the flat track race. Too bad we missed the Jack Russell Terrier agility races in the morning...

And, while we're on the subject of general mistreatment of animals, we bring you a wonderful recent LolCat. Felines are barnyard friends to the horses, right? LolCats, bridging worlds together and making us chuckle:

Ta-da-dump!

Check out what we did this weekend:

When Bears Attack ... Pigs.

Looks like somebody should have used an ol' Blue Ridge patented pig pen with mandatory lid. Did you learn nothing at the Humpback Rocks land-grant farmstead at the Rockfish Gap visitor's center?

(* ceilinged pig pens can be seen, if squinting, in the background of both photos *)

We've visited the farmstead twice now, and I can assure you we'll never leave our swine in harm's bear's way! Look at J's expression; it's as if he's saying, "Really, mountain farmer, really? You thought bears wouldn't want delicious bacon for supper?"

Who's got the keys to our Beamer Toyota?

What's shiny and metallic and full of fuel-efficiency?


Why, that's our very own, brand new ride, coming soon to a driveway near you!

After way too much haggling and considering, we finally signed the paperwork for SG Jr., a 2010 Corolla S in magnetic gray metallic (duh!) with a spiffy spoiler. We're adopting him from a far-away dealership, so we haven't seen him yet but it hasn't stopped us from beginning to bond, imagining how he'll get along with Koala and wondering if he'll like the Avemore parking lot. Someday soon, SG Jr., we'll know all your secrets! ;-)