To Ohio and Back...

We had a lovely trip to Ohio this past weekend.  In addition to a lovely baby shower filled with friends, family, and sewing machines, we had lots of unscheduled time to just hang out with our folks.

There were lots of laughs.  This was one of them.  Eva fussed and pushed and tossed the pillows and blankets on this chair for a good two minutes, only to settle for this uncomfortable  looking position.  I'm convinced she just tried to make it look comfortable to save face.

The moms and aunts did an fantastic job putting together an meaningful and entertaining celebration for Chopper and us.  We had five or six sewing machines set up and a bunch of fabric and patterns and instructions set out.  It looked a little like a sweat shop, but everyone seemed to have good time.  (I think Walmart makes that same argument) It was exactly what we hoped; people chatted and helped one another and made fun little things that we will use and remember them by in the near future.  We'll tell Chopper about what great family he has!

One of our most animated helpers!

Andy made a really cool neckerchief with plaid on one side and cowboys on the other; he is quite the seamster (I assume that's the masculine version of that word).  Gail made a cute one with whales on it.

In the end, we received 8 handmade bib/kerchiefs, 6 burp cloths, and 1 pair of diaper covers.  A friend of Veneta made us the little hat you see in the picture!  My favorite part of the whole day was watching people help one another and work together.  Seeing first time sewers create something functional from raw fabric was very gratifying, while some of the experienced sewers created works of art with their accuracy and precision.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone involved!

Special thanks for set up, sewing machines, expertise, fabrics, etc., etc., go to Mom B and Mom H, Becky, Maribeth, and Denise!  Thank you all so much!  We had a great time!  Thanks to Alyssa and Jared for dish washing, on-site support, and transportation.

As reported in previous posts, I have been manic about mountain biking lately.  Fortunately, by design, Ian's bike is in Medina, so I had something to ride.  And in the last 15 years, a place TO ride has been developed in Huffman and Reagan Parks.  The bypasses and bridges were really fun.

In addition to the jumps and bridges and switchbacks, it was quite a wilderness ride.  A herd of deer showed up repeatedly on my ride, several red squirrels crossed the trail, a pair of banded king fishers chattered from a branch, and a pileated woodpecker raced me through the trees.  Not bad for an urban park.

We had such warm, beautiful spring weather up until the last day... then the front rolled in.  Mom and Dad H, Mom B, Zhora, and Sarah and I met at On Tap for dinner.  The food and beer were good.  The company and conversation were great.  The wind was a little much.  That night, we snuggled in and listened to the wind blow and the lightening and thunder crash.

By the time we got home on Tuesday, we needed a fire in the stove.  Ridiculous.

This morning, I got up and headed to the arboretum.  I am mentoring Jasper as he completes his independent study for his senior English class.  His project is to climb trees.  You can check out his blog here if you want.  We met with the head arborist at Cornell University for a lesson on single and double rope climbing, knots, and limb walking.

It was a pretty cool morning.