First Day of School!

It finally arrived -- the first day of kindergarten! Nathan and I were very excited and eager get started on this phase of his public education. He had a wonderful day and loved it. "How was it?" I asked. "Excellent" he replied.

Early August Sprinkler Runs

It was a very hot day. We set up the sprinkler in the backyard and our neighbor friend Chris joined us to cool off.

Swimming Lessons

Nathan is making great progress in the Tadpole 2 class at our local pool. He can stick his head (all of it!) under water for the count of 3 alligators. With the help of the teacher, he does front and back kicks. And tonight he picked up a ring underneath the water! I can't get very good pictures of him because they make the parents watch from the outside (part of modern swim education theory). But here's a glimpse:

Where I found Simon...

I had been looking for an extra dog, one that would fit our family. Some of you may remember Skateboard, a puppy we fostered in Ames (I've heard he's doing well and is VERY big!). From that experience, I learned that we needed dog that was (much) more calm. So I was very selective in my search.

I discovered Simon at the local animal shelter, where they called him "Jet" because of his speed. Oops... looks like his petfinder ad has been removed.

Jet - ADOPTED - Basset Hound,Black Labrador Retriever - Petfinder.com PetNotes

A picture of us appeared in today's Athen's News. You can read the story about the local shelter online. Only the print version shows our picture, however:

The Athens NEWS: Athens' Only Locally Owned Newspaper

Just for fun, you might want to read about the riot yesterday in Athens. It was started by the local anarchists. When the police came & asked them to leave, they willingly complied.

Melee breaks out uptown at end of anarchist confab

Summer Projects

We've been interested in composting for a while... Nathan learned more about it at school and we decided it was time to develop our own system. We save scraps in a plastic bin in the kitchen before adding them to our emerging "heap." I am proud to say I built the compost bin all by myself (and yes, I know - it shows)! Although not strictly in line with re-cycle/re-use philosophy (I bought the lumber), I enjoyed the construction process. At the moment, there are too many sticks in the bin; we are waiting to get more green before adding worms.


We also have a small garden. We started the seeds indoors in February. We found a small plot of space in the backyard, weeded it, and planted our sprouts in May. We have tomatoes, eggplant, hot peppers, onions, soybeans, cukes, and watermelons. We are still waiting for the fruits to appear... at this point in the summer, it doesn't look good. The garden does not get full sun and it's surrounded by walnut trees. I think next year we'll just rely on the farmer's market.