Miscellaneous Catch-Up

1) Heather, we found a place I think will make you very happy for one reason alone: SPOON. Vinny's Italian Restaurant in Hollymead. I'm thinking we may need to eat there next time you're down.

(Photog hereby acknowledges the potential for psychological accusations re: chopping off husband's head [Yet including the nose and mouth, natch!-BB] in digital photo. However, she also attests to the people in the booth directly behind him who were giving her dirty looks for taking photos of spaghetti.)

2) Life in Charlottesville is dangerous. We returned from North Carolina to find a series of escalating alerts about flooding from the city. Also, as a precaution when you visit the University arena, you might want to steer clear of the CrushStation.

3) Other dogs, take serious note; Luke/Sam-Sam is now a working pup, which means he gets positive reinforcement in the form of stale Mellow Mutts and various other disgusting dog treats tucked into the pockets of his backpack. Doogie, we're looking your way here.

4) This week, just as the snows melted and the rains began, the peepers apparently returned and began peeping once more. That, combined with the whispers of growth on the trees and the daffodils about to burst must mean one thing: Ben's Birthday Month! Yippppeeee!

5) You know you're back from a spring break vacation when you find yourself, in the same day, at the dentist's office for a 9am appointment and listening to an academic lecture on a Friday night. On the plus side, we heard Jon Kabat-Zinn (UMass pride, woot!) and meditated with 300 of our closest friends (read: no one we knew [Well, one person from my Advanced Cognition & ID class-BB]). Mindfulness was in the hiz-ouse.

To come: a smattering of images featuring the landscape architecture of Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted and a fat helping of Ben enthusiastically trying new Belgian ales. When in Rome (or the Appalachians)!