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December 31, 2005
Happy New Year!
Best wishes from all of us at Tiny e Ranch!
Posted by Jacob at 9:31 AM | Comments (0)
December 26, 2005
Home for the holidays
Our friend and former high school classmate Michele organized a mini-reunion of sorts at the Original Pizzeria in Montrose. For ex-patriots, it's in Dr. Grace's old house/office next to what used to be the Acme. Michele, Brendan and Michelle happened to be in town already, Katina and her family came up from the Scranton area, Trina drove down from near Ithaca, and we stopped to pick up Dan on the back way in from Vestal. We had a chance to visit with Dan's mom a bit while he showered, then made it into Montrose only a few minutes late.
It was great to see everyone, and to catch up on what they're doing. Sophie also enjoyed finally meeting Nicholas, and getting to hang out with someone her age; there was lots of staring going on at the table between the two of them.
Thanks to Michele for putting it all together, and to everyone else for showing up! Hopefully we can do that some more.
Posted by Jacob at 6:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 25, 2005
Merry Christmas!
Sophie and her pal Santa discuss her list in a pre-holiday conversation.
We were both expecting some stranger anxiety at some point during this event, but Sophie was very curious about his beard and didn't want to get off his lap. It was all very low-key, no lines and no waiting. Let's hope that luck continues.
Posted by Jacob at 4:21 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2005
Slides
Dad & I retrieved our computer from storage yesterday, so I've been able to get started scanning my grandfather's collection of slides. Here's a sneak preview, and don't fight ladies: there's plenty of style to go around.
Posted by Jacob at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
Best Christmas Package Ever
Today I received (after demanding) my favorite Christmas gift, homemade almond roca from my Grandfather. This is one of the few things that has been consistent every Christmas in our family. Each year my Grandpa makes tons, alright, pounds, of this candy and sends it out to friends and family. Well, he sends some of it out. The rest of it is stored in a covered five gallon paint bucket next to the fireplace at their house. It took me years to figure out where he stored it. Think of all the opportunity wasted!
This is easily the best candy I have ever tasted. It's so buttery and the almonds are toasted (I am pretty sure) then it's topped with just a smearing of chocolate. Does it taste so good because my Grandpa makes it? Or because it is associated with so many holiday memories? I decided to put the question to an outsider, someone who hadn't experienced the food, family fueds, or drunken gift opening fests. My father in law was the perfect candidate. He's got a sweet tooth but isn't afraid to give criticism. He agrees that it isn't just family bias or nostalgia that makes it taste good.
So, a little piece (or many little pieces) of Christmas memories were delivered to my door here on the east coast. I will enjoy eating them one by one.
Oh, and Grandpa, please let Grandma know she can stop sending me sweaters and just send me a tin of almond roca each year.
Posted by Brandie at 4:03 PM | Comments (0)
First Item Thrown in the Toilet!
Sophie hit another milestone today by throwing her binkie into the toilet. Picture to come soon. Don't worry, I threw the bink out.
Posted by Brandie at 4:01 PM | Comments (1)
December 20, 2005
Happy Holidays From Tiny e Ranch
Wishing everyone a festive and joyful holiday season!
We'd also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for all the kind support, which we've needed and received in even more than usual supply this year. It's been a rough ride and it would have been a lot rougher if it weren't for our friends and family helping us get through!
Posted by Jacob at 7:17 AM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2005
Sledding!
Some pics of Sophie enjoying the snow, her first time on a sled. Thanks to Scott & Roi for lending us the snowsuit!
Posted by Jacob at 4:53 PM | Comments (1)
What Went Wrong: Update
Brandie got a call from the storage unit today, and sadly this is just typical of our experiences this fall: our credit card had supposedly been denied several weeks ago, and they were just calling now to tell us of the late fee that had been accumulating since. Of course the fellow was curt and unhelpful over the phone when Brandie asked questions about the problem.
Our credit card company knew nothing of the situation however, no charge had been attempted the day the storage unit claimed. It turns out the storage unit's card machine had a system server error, and never bothered to try our card again; they just started racking up a late fee for us. Fortunately the storage unit company dropped the late fee when this was discovered, but come on, people!
Also an update on the situation in Kingston: we ended up hiring that lawyer our realtor recommended after she called him back and straightened him out, he apologized. He then sent a very reasonable letter to the sub-landlord that she never replied to. We appealed to the actual owner and real landlord to talk to his tenant, again no reply. We hired a building inspector and found out the house isn't registered with the state and therefore isn't a legal unit. It also has a list of violations:
1) gap in wall between two bedrooms must be repaired
2) smoke detectors must be installed in all bedrooms
3) a carbon monoxide detector must be installed
4) peeling paint must be scraped and repainted
5) inoperable windows must be repaired
6) exposed wiring must be repaired
The owner is going to be fined $150/mo now until they're all resolved.
We also found out that the sub-landlord had originally tried to sue her landlord to get out of her lease, which ran contrary to the story she told us (she wanted to buy it, and he wouldn't sell.) They apparently didn't have a good relationship either.
Posted by Jacob at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
Recommended Links
We're going to clear up some space under 'Sophie's Favorites' by putting a few of them into one post and providing a single link to it; this way we'll also be able to provide a little background on each one to explain why we list it.
Craigslist
A free 'Personals' site for various regions, Craigslist is a little less intimidating than eBay if you want to buy or sell something used, more personal than most jobsearch sites if you're looking for employment and just generally very useful.
Wikipedia
Also very useful. In their own words, Wikipedia is a multi-lingual Web-based free-content encyclopedia. You'd be surprised at what you find in Wikipedia, and if it's not there add it yourself.
Linked In
A pretty neat networking website. You build your resume similar to Monster, but then get connected to everyone else you know who uses the site. People can then write endorsements for jobs that you've had. You can search jobs and find out how you might be able to contact someone at the company you're interested in.
Yahoo 360
If you've ever visited our site and thought, "That's neat, I want one!" I recommend checking out Yahoo 360. You can do everything we're doing and more, with a lot less effort.
Food Network
The website of the television network where some of Brandie's favorite celebrity chefs do their thing. She likes them all but is especially partial to Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown. The website lists most of the recipes they make on the shows, so it's handy to print from or just to have up on the laptop in the kitchen.
The Onion
Still one of the funniest websites out there, The Onion lampoons pretty much everything in a fake news format similar to The Daily Show.
Rotten Tomatoes
A meta-critic reference for movie reviews, Rotten Tomatoes gathers up all the reviews from almost everywhere and provides an average rating. Surprisingly accurate in our experience.
IMDB
The Internet Movie Database is great for digging up movie trivia and helping remember actor's names when you've forgotten.
Tivo
We don't watch a lot of television, and thought Tivo was designed for people who did. We got one as a wedding present and were proven wrong: now when we can spare a few minutes to relax and watch tv, we watch only the shows we want to watch, skipping over the commercials. The Wiggles, The Daily Show and West Wing are our mainstays, but we try out recommendations from friends and family as they come up. It's especially nice around the holidays to do a "Childrens" and "Holiday" Wishlist and record all the old favorites.
Netflix
For some reason, whenever I walk into a video store my mind blanks and I can't remember any movies I want to watch. I wander aimlessly up and down the new releases until I finally settle for something, and then remember on the drive home what I really wanted to watch. I'm also a bit of a procrastinator about returning rentals, ever-hopeful that I'll find time to watch it before I'm charged. Netflix cured both problems for me. You add and prioritize up to 250 movies in your 'queue', and can have up to three out at a time; when you return one the next one in line gets mailed out. If you want to sit on one for six months, like we have with some of the Baby Einstein dvds, you can and there's no extra charge. Easy!
Posted by Jacob at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)
December 9, 2005
Plowing
As promised, here are pictures of the 10" of snow we got and the tractor at work removing it. School was canceled so Dan is happy. Sophie apparently has another ear infection so she is not.
Posted by Jacob at 10:21 AM | Comments (2)
December 8, 2005
What's Different
We thought it would be fun to do a little compare/contrast about some of the differences we've observed between our life here (such as it is) and life back in California. Mostly for our own benefit to look back on someday, but we thought you might find it amusing too.
Well for starters, and this is pretty obvious, it was 11 degrees this morning. By noon it had warmed up to a balmy 24. Surprisingly, it's not bad with a little sun and no wind; it's surprising how quickly your perspective changes. I remember though how quickly our winter visitors would adjust to the climate in Petaluma, and complain about it being 'cold' only a day or two after stepping off the plane from single-digit temperatures.
Tonight we're expecting snow, up to 10" by tomorrow afternoon. Dan is hoping school will be canceled, and I'll get to use the giant tractor again to plow the driveway. I'll try to get pictures, it's very impressive.
You can also see in the picture above what we'll be using to clear off the car after the storm. Of course I remember getting by in high school with a little handheld scraper (and Brandie always just used her driver's license), but this was on sale at Sam's Club and is nice for clearing snow off the hood and roof. I think the police would have pulled me over if they saw this in the back of my car in Petaluma.
Today we went for a walk in the woods and field behind the house, and managed to avoid getting shot at by any hunters. It was beautiful, a great day for a walk outside. It was cold enough that the snow on the ground was still in very large flakes, but sunny enough that it all sparkled brilliantly. We really enjoyed getting out, although by law we should have been wearing orange for safety. We'll have to buy some to wear for our next hike, as muzzleloading season doesn't end until the 19th. Eula should have a bandana too.
Posted by Jacob at 3:57 PM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2005
Sophie: One Year!
Tonight Sophie celebrated her first birthday with some balloons, her very own cake and some very fun presents. She had a busy day that included a trip to the pediatrician for shots (I know, we're terrible) and as a result skipped her afternoon nap (probably because of the shots). After a long afternoon, dinner, cake, a bath (necessitated by the cake), opening presents and then playing with them she was one sacked out one-year-old.
To catch up on a few milestones we missed, on Thanksgiving Day we stopped by Bompy's to visit and drop off some pie. Sophie chose that occasion as one of her first attempts to walk back and forth between us unassisted. She could take about four or five steps max before she teetered and needed to be caught. It was spectacular, inspiring and terrifying all at the same time.
She hasn't gone for much more distance since, but loves to stand unassisted and squat down to pick things up much more now. She'll stand by herself for up to a minute, and sometimes swivel her arms and torso back and forth in a mini-dance move. She'll also bounce up and down when her favorite song is on (currently 'Hollaback Girl' by Gwen Stefani).
She's a big fan of animals, and loves watching the Baby Einstein 'Animals of the World' dvd. She gets most excited watching the monkeys segment I think.
Verbally, pretty much anything can be "Dada?" at this stage but Sophie's repertoire of words also includes: Momma, dah! (for 'dog'), buh! ('no barking!' or 'bad!', we're not sure, but it's directed at the dog when she's barking and sometimes accompanied by a shaken finger) no, oof! ('woof'), zat? ('what's that?'), tickle-tickle (sort of, it kind of all runs together), uh-oh, Dadul, Grampa (only once or twice so far).
Posted by Jacob at 9:18 PM | Comments (1)
Happy Birthday Sophie Jean!
Hot off the presses (or memory card, rather), here are some pictures of Sophie on her birthday. So far we've opened presents from Grammy (a bracelet and sheepskin boots) and Grandma & Grandpa Great (a big basket of soft cloth letters and a Donald Duck blanket that zips into a pillow). Scott and Roi also sent us a big box of clothes, including a warm snowsuit that we've already used (at the tree-lighting festival Friday night, brr!) Thanks everyone!
Perhaps in anticipation of her big day, last night Sophie broke her unprecedented five-day streak of sleeping through the night. We knew it had to happen eventually, but it sure was nice while it lasted!
Posted by Jacob at 8:58 AM | Comments (1)
December 4, 2005
Almost First Birthday: Reflections
As I put Sophie to bed tonight I was thinking about her first birthday tomorrow and reflecting on the last year.
I remember the many late night feedings and how she was up every two hours for the first month or so. I wasn't thinking of how tired I was or how happy I am that those times are gone but instead, I was grieving in a way for those quiet close times that I got to spend with her. Just rocking her in her room and feeding her. It was so sweet being that close to her and watching her sleep.
I couldn't wait to find out what she was going to be like and got so excited at any sign of a personality during those first few months. I love who she has become. But I miss and cherish that little baby who came out just as beautiful and quiet, who only worried about food, sleep and diapering. I honestly can't believe that it has been a year. My only regret that I have is losing some time with her unnecessarily to work. All the screaming fits and waking in the middle of the night and walks up and down the stairs are little gems that I think of now and cry to know that they are gone. I am so grateful I was able to spend that time with her.
She is a wonderful creature. She's funny and loud, serious and stubborn and my favorite, snuggly. Most of all, she has surprised me with who she is becoming. I can't imagine wanting her to be any other way.
Happy almost First Birthday my baby girl. I love you.
Posted by Brandie at 9:38 PM | Comments (0)