california dreaming

Since the end of July is nearly upon us...how about some tales of California travels from June?

I had a conference to attend in LA toward the end of last month, so we decided to take the whole family and call it vacation (we do this a lot, in case you haven't noticed a trend here). We had some good times in the southern part of California, mostly because we got to see family again. And there are some people who are into the whole beach thing (I am not one of them--odd for a seal, I know; but, there you are).

We had a chance to take the Pup sailing for the first time. For people who know me and the Papa Seal, I don't have to go into what a big deal this was for us.

And, also we got a chance to see Shamu at Seaworld; the Pup is, clearly, a fan.

And then of course there was the Mouse's House (um, his summer home?).

A place for both the young and the young at heart. Whatever, the hats were free.

I was able to see a friend from undergrad days, I hadn't seen J in 9 years so it was fun to get together; also, she owns rabbits--clearly this is what set the parameter for "fun" for the Pup.

And then I went solo to my conference which was sited at a hotel as well as The Getty (a great place to have a conference, by the way). It shall never be said that special collections librarians do not know how to rock (well, it'll probably be said; but not by anyone in "the know").

After three days of dialoging about rare books in the digital world, the boys picked me up and we explored LA. The Pup cheered on the Bruins--sure he does this at whatever college or university is local to our travels; but I thought this shot especially winning (anyone in the public affairs department at UCLA should feel free to contact me about marketing, heh).

We found a place for me to buy fiber related goods (the Pup also likes to peruse).

And then we said goodbye to California and came home. It was a good trip.

There are a ridiculous number of photographs in flickr of this whole excursion. You will probably care more about them if you are related to us or we saw you in California during this trip. But of course, there are some good shots of the Pup looking cute (none showing him throwing tantrums as these are moments best left uncaptured for the ages).

Next report...Colorado.

annapolis & philly, woot!

Some of you are probably wondering where the California pictures (and post are), they are coming. Honestly. But one (you) should find it humurous that my idea of a flurry has become akin to the speed of a trickle. In any case, since I seem to be a month behind on my posts, let's talk June. At the beginning of June (yes, that's last month for those keeping score) Papa Seal had a seminar to attend on a very scintillating topic concerning something related to some form of engineering--or possibly navigation in Annapolis, MD. The Pup and I let him go it alone for the first part of the week as we had things to do (um work and school). On the last day of his seminar, the Pup and I took the train down to Baltimore to meet up with the fatherly unit. It was the pups first train trip and he had a great time. All I am going to say is, six hours on a train with a 2 year old is a very long time (my lack of pictures is evidence of the fun he had, sigh).

Papa met us in Baltimore and we headed back to Annapolis, we ate dinner and then went to sleep to recharge for a flurry (a real one, this time) of activity the next day which involved the following:

a trip to the United States Naval Academy (um, go goats!?)

where Papa thought it would be fun to visit a "secured area" so the Pup could be entertained (those are my boys, risk takers);

and then we hopped in the car and drove to Philadelphia, home of liberty. Before doing anything historically related, I (obviously) had to get my fiber fix in. We went to the trendy and boutique-y yarn shop, loop;

and then found our way to Rosie's Yarn Cellar where the Seal Pup (aka Little Sir" was spotted by store staff. I consider it an honor that they let him play with the Koigu mill ends, which involved making a snake of Koigu (that would be luxury merino, people) on the floor.
Of course there was also a trip to the new Philly fabric store, Spool (a very sweet shop, I bought stuff);
And then there was dinner. We went to a place called the Melting Pot. It's a fondue place, apparently it's a romantic place...when you don't take a 2 year old (just saying). I think it's also just an unusual place to take kids, but our philosophy is, if you don't plan to serve kids, don't offer the option of high chair seating (not that we use it anymore, but there you are).
After a good night's sleep (and sleeping in)We found our way to the Liberty Bell at the Independence National Historic Park (this would be the real reason we ventured to Philly in the first place). Where we realized that the Pup's excitement about historica landmarks will only last so long when we saw the rows of bored teenage boys waiting for the rest of their families to view history. Oh, well.
More picture from the trip in flickr, as per our usual way of doing things. California pictures coming soon. Really.

uniforms, gun talk, sheep and bubbles; or, ketchup

At first, I thought Papa Seal was going to takeover this blog entirely; but, no, he has home renovations and a dissertation to do (and since I am not, nor do I plan to be, directly involved in any of that business)...so I'm back! Since we are well into June. I thought it relevant to share how we finished out the month of May (this is more for Papa Seal's benefit than anything else, this blog is how he remembers things, so you know, I am just making memories possible). So yes, this is a catch up, or as I like to say, ketchup post.

First there was the grand event called Coast Guard graduation. I like graduations because it means I get to see Papa don his wedding duds again (the people in the military, they call them officer whites, whatevs).

The speaker at said grand event was Vice-President Dick Cheney (I recognize the ridiculousness in my linking to this; but, I think the picture is funny. I mean, it's official and everything). Some people referred to him as Howdy Doody, you can understand their confusion given his choice of millinery which many (myself included) deemed inappropriate for this auspicious formal occasion. But hey, given the choice of him shooting people or wearing inappropriate hats, I guess I will take Howdy Doody any day.

And then because I am me and my family supports my weird pursuits in all things fibery, we went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Festival in Cummington, Mass. There was a lot of fiber (and a lot of it came home with me).

I am pretty sure that one day, the Pup is going to realize that we don't go to these festivals for him. Or warehouse yarn shops either (Webs, Northampton. Again. I know. It's like we live there.), he is a smart kid. He's going to catch on pretty soon.

And lastly, there was a birthday party for our friend Ruthanne. She turned 3, which--I am given to understand--is a very big deal. There was a lot of fun for the small fries.

There are tons of pictures to go with this scintillating abridgement of our May activities, you know where they are should you be so inclined. I need to catch this blog up before our trip to southern California at the end of the month. Because that is one California post that I wouldn't mind posting myself. So yes, there is going to be a flurry of posting here (shocking, I know)--you know, in my copious amounts of free time.

cousins in california

Mama is cooking a pie right now which I am sure that you can soon find here. So I thought I would help her out by doing my first ever blog post....so here it is! We recently had a great trip to California and the Pup had a chance to hang out with his cousins. We will focus on the three little ones here with more photos from California in flickr. The little Pup learned how to make some new faces from his big cousin.

We even made a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

And now for the grand finale...a video from the aquarium!

Needless to say, the Pup is looking forward to hanging out with his cousins again next month!

feeling sheepish

You know how I said I would put up a post last week and then I didn't (she says sheepishly)? I meant to, but Papa took the computer to his conference sessions everyday, and the Pup and I figured there was fun to be had and recuperate from, so while I process the 300+ photographs from our west coast trip (I will do that tonight), I thought I would put up the post that would have gone up last week, you know, had I actually posted it...

A few weekends ago, the Pup and I wandered our way to a fiber festival (Papa had work to do so couldn't come along, he didn't shed any tears about this at all, I am sure). It wasn't the big one that we usually go to in May to kick off Novakkah (or my 8 day birthday celebration, if you aren't in the habit of celebrating for 7-8 days, I highly reccomend it), since we were going to be in California that weekend, I knew I would be missing out on the sheepy fun this year in Maryland. To make up for it, I went local and stayed in my home state. The Pup and I drove about an hour and half away to Vernon for an afternoon of fun (and a cheeseburger, because eating a lamb burger just seemed cruel on so many levels).

The Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival is really small, but it was fun. It was the right size for the Pup to see "the sheepies, the puppies, the doggies and the bunnies."

I was able to find some fiber (shocking, I know) for spinning.



And I was also able to see the loom that I would like to add to my fiber equipment arsenal up close and personal. It's a beautiful piece of equipment, this loom.

You remember how I said that I wouldn't get into weaving? Right. The weavers at the festival were using the singles (one ply yarn) spun up by the spinners to weave their pieces. It was pretty cool, you know, if you are into that sort of thing.

I had so much fun at the festival, I even brought home a sheep!

Or rather, a pup in sheep's clothing. As the pup would say, "ha, knee slapper!"

northern exposure

A few weekends ago, we wandered to parts northern, but separately. While I was in Conway, New Hampshire doing all things crafty, Papa and the Pup went to Portland (and Cape Elizabeth), Maine to visit with friends.

It was fun for Papa Seal to catch up with an old classmate, and the Pup got a chance to make a new friend. There was much rolling down hills. It was also a good opportunity to test out the sunglasses that our friend Lennon gifted for his birthday.

He is clearly a fan! Thanks Lennon!

We are leaving for an adventure on the left coast tomorrow...at 4:30 in the morning (it seemed like a good idea at the time). Papa is attending a conference. The Pup and I will post another catch up post during the week as we won't have any conference sessions to go to.

go fly a kite

I say I am going to post regularly and then there are technical difficulties (the photo archives was down, PROBLEM!). And let's face it, me putting up a post without pictures is as likely as me giving up carbs...not going to happen. So now that the problem has been fixed, I need to do some digital photoprocessing before sharing some recent adventures. While I do that, here is one of the happiest images of the pup I have taken recently. The pup's school had a kite day and it was a lot of fun.

There are a few more kite day shots in flickr, of course.