I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost

We've had quite the weekend, the highlight being that the Mr. and I went for a torchlight tour of the Mt. Hope Cemetery (something I've been wanting to do for years now).

The cemetery tour was really quite fun... and surprisingly well attended. The trees are turning here and with the last couple of fronts that came through, many of the leaves have already dropped, so that there was a persistent rustling as the group made our way between the tombstones and monuments by the light of strategically placed torches. The weather was perfect... just cold enough that we were glad of our long johns and jackets, a crescent moon peeking through patchy clouds and the predicted rain notable only by its absence. Our tour guide was an older gentleman who I deemed a "local history geek", full of 150 year old gossip and scandal. Incest, adultery, murder, suicide, politics, activism and so on. Some day we should really go back during daylight hours, but I'm glad we got to experience it this way.

Whoa.

Sorry about that. It's been a busy summer. Let me recap:

Memorial Day Weekend at Mirbeau (where we had our honeymoon)
Visit to Montreal to see Prue's first solo painting exhibition
Mom & Prue both came to us for a visit
We celebrated our second wedding anniversary
I travelled to Baltimore for a conference for work
I went to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my friend Heidi
Adam returned to Montreal for another visit
We joined our first CSA - split with Bethany & Joe
Many weeds were pulled, by many different people
There were picnics & BBQs with friends
We had a very cute brown bunny in our backyard
Rochester got a second Chipotle
Adam installed lights, ceiling fan and baseboards in the attic
The attic is finished to the point that we started moving furniture up!

I hope you have all been enjoying your summer, keeping well and thriving! I'll try to be a little more reliable with the posting from now on.

Ostrama... Llamu...

If you had been a fly on the wall (or perhaps a cat under the table) of our dining room yesterday evening, you could have witnessed the following exchange. Though you might have had difficulty deciphering the words through the snickering. Which eventually dissolved into hysterical, breathless laughter on my part.

A: Ooh, I've got goosebumps... or perhaps emu bumps.

K: Or ostrich bumps?

A: Yes, ostrich bumps.

K: Or maybe even llama bumps?

A: Llama bumps...? Llamas aren't birds!

K: Well, yeah. Little known fact that the llama is actually a distant cousin of the emu and ostrich. Think about it... great big feathery backside...

A: Llamas don't have feathers!

K: ... great long neck, tiny little head, pointy nose and bulging eyes...

A: ... bilaterally symmetrical...

K: OK, now you're just being... [insert hysterical laughter here] ... silly!

Spring Is... hmph. Still a Long Way Off.

Kitty pic! Just because.

It seems like there just isn't much to report these days. I saw the sun last week. And some of my spring bulbs tried to come up. Unfortunately, after a brief run of days in the 50 degree range, we are back to brrr. My nose is cold. My feet are cold. My fingers are cold. And in an effort to save money, my employer has turned the thermostat down to 68 degrees. They won't allow space heaters, but I wonder if they'd let me stash a cat under my desk...

The Mr. has been very industrious in the attic of late. He tore out and rebuilt from scratch a built-in bookcase along the front wall. I wonder if he'll rent me some shelf space for my overflow? Why can I never find enough shelves for my books?

And, we've discovered a couple of new favorite BBC series. Midsomer Murder and the Last Detective. Both have sufficient humor and cozy quality to offset the contemporary crime drama curse.

That's me for now. Slow news day.

Black Friday, Turkey Soup

We are partaking of a time-honoured family tradition this year and have made the leftover turkey soup. Last Thanksgiving, we had intended to make the soup, but forgot and left the turkey out on the counter all night. Ah well. So this year, the Mr. jumped on the soup-wagon straight off and got it boiling before the dishes were in the dishwasher. We'll just have to wait and see if we uphold the remainder of the tradition, which is apparently to do absolutely nothing with this turkey broth until we are so frightened of its potential that we have to toss it out. I've heard tell of this road... it's paved with good intentions.

And yes, I worked the bookstore today. We'll just say the customers were friendlier than my coworkers today, and THAT'S saying something. I'm wondering how I'll make it through the season. I do believe I shall be dependent upon the kindness of strangers.

Yeah We Did...

Activity was brisk, but lines were moving very quickly. Staffers said it was unusually busy.

Good.

Meet the Attendants

Oh, all right... that's not them. If you want to see our REAL attendants, just click here.

Maid of Honor
Heidi Paskoski: Kelly and Heidi are friends and accomplices from New College days. Heidi is currently doing interior design for custom yachts in Ft. Lauderdale. She likes boats and chocolate labs. And that sunshine song? Yeah – they wrote that about her!

Bridesmaids (Bridesmatrons?)
Jill Braxtan: Kelly and Jill (Doran) are former housemates from New College days. Jill is a Database Queen in Seattle. She likes sushi and dogs no one else can manage. She LOVES her iPhone!

Bethany Iraci-McBane: Kelly and Bethany worked together at B&N, for more years than either of them would like to admit. Bethany and her husband own the hottest new pub in Rochester, the Tap & Mallet. She likes good wine and grown-up conversation, but not so much the finger-painting!

Best Man
Matt Fortier: Adam and Matt were childhood friends and neighbors. Matt is a freelance photographer in Montreal. He and his wife, Karen, are the proud new parents of Jack Cameron Fortier, born May 6, 2008.

Groomsmen
Tenea Johnson: Adam and Tenea were housemates from New College days. Tenea is a writer, poet and musician, living in St. Petersburg. Check out her website to learn more about her. We owe Tenea a lot.

Danny Berke: Danny and Adam were roommates at New College. Danny teaches English as a Second Language to adults in Atlanta. He is a percussionist and (apparently) a Spam™ enthusiast. He is marrying the lovely Shelley this November.

Ta-DAAAH!

Well - the fence is back in place, or rather finally in the RIGHT place. And freshly painted to boot! I've been waiting all week for the sun to come out so I could get a picture, but no luck. I don't think we've had a sunny day since we took the fence down! Poor Carol, our neighbor on that side, was downright giddy with delight the day it went back up. To say nothing of three weeks may just be a record for project completion in this house! Of course, one of Adam's colleagues asked him if he'd been in a fight because his knuckles were so busted up. Ah the price we pay! I say "we" as if I actually expended some effort after the first day...

Adam's Version of a Shopping List

So when confronted with the need to buy a second can of paint for finishing the ongoing picket fence project, Adam wanted to be certain that he got the same as we already had. Enter the iPhone. He snaps a picture of our paint can with his phone, and uses it to remind him once at the paint aisle.

That's my guy!

Spring Cleaning Task #237: Mop the Fence

So, what with Spring having sprung, the sun making daily appearances and the garden beginning to rise up as it were, the time has come at last to get that picket fence fixed up. When we bought the house, we realized the Previous Owner had put the fence up wrong way out. Our next door neighbor is such a nice lady, and she insisted she didn't care what direction it faced, but would like to have it repainted as it was beginning to show signs of wear and weather. That was nearly two years ago now (good heavens, how did THAT happen?).

Needless to say - once we pulled the fence down to paint it and turn it around, we discovered exactly how dirty it was and that a good many pickets needed replacing (fortunately there are spares in the garage). We also realized we'd need to put down some primer before we repainted, and so you see me relieving the fence of unknown years of jet fuel dust and other grime. With the kitchen mop. I was using the dish scrubbie, but Adam suggested the mop might be more efficient. My hero!

And no, the garden hose would not have been sufficient, as jet fuel CLINGS like the very devil.

On a side note - has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find sunscreen with zinc or titanium as the active ingredient? They all seem to have switched to those unpronounceable chemicals that give me hives (Welcome to Maui... umm, what are those spots on your arms?) and the apothecary where I bought my last bottle of Blue Lizard keeps banker's hours.

PICTURE THE SCENE, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY...

A vibrant sunset over the pasture lands of Kentucky... clear skies, clear roads...

K: "Oooh look! Baby cows!"
A: "Mmmm, veal... on the hoof..."

(He wouldn't REALLY, which is why I just about wet myself laughing...)

Book of Love

Well I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Adam had to go to Paris on business for the first half of the month (oh the things we must endure for a paycheck...), so he and I met up in Montreal just in time to celebrate the day. The photo is of the book of chocolates that Adam brought me from France. Yes - I said book. Leather-bound and all. What... you've never seen a book of chocolates?

I wish I'd seen the look on the shopgirl's face when he declined to taste a sample because he doesn't "really like chocolate". Apparently every single person in the shop stopped and stared at such a declaration. What a giggle!

HOW WE MET (KELLY’S VERSION)

We met at a Pei dorm party during spring semester at New College in 1995. We had seen each other around campus (with a student body of just over 500, it would be hard not to), and even had a few mutual friends, but we hadn’t officially met.

When I was a kid, we had a family joke about the amount of time I spent in the bathroom. True to form, I officially met Adam when I knocked on his door during the party to ask if I could use his bathroom. Our first date was to see the movie Outbreak, which Adam is probably embarrassed to admit having seen. I think our second official date was to see Carmina Burana at the “Weasel”.

I will admit that the first year or so was a little rough. I suspect we argued almost as much as we laughed (that is to say quite a lot). Two only children never have it easy learning to be a pair. Lucky us – we’re still laughing (and he is very sweetly tolerant of my frequent hunts for the ladies’ room)!

About Adam

I was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, the only child of Prudence (Mors) and Jack Dean Rains – and, later, Jim Lewis. Jack grew up in Ponca City, Oklahoma with his younger brother Herb. Prue was born in Chicago and raised in Wellesley Hills, MA with her brother Chris. My step-dad, Jim, is a native Montrealer.

I attended Dawson College in Montreal before eventually moving to Sarasota, FL where I met Kelly and completed a bachelor’s degree in biology. After college, I returned to Montreal to finish my master’s degree in epidemiology at McGill University. I subsequently moved to Rochester, NY to live with Kelly and took a job with the University of Rochester’s Department of Community and Preventive Medicine. Working with an excellent group from the Division of Public Health, I was lucky to get to see quite a bit of the world in my early days at the University. Though I recently left the University and have started my own consulting business, I continue to teach on a part-time basis.

When I’m not writing stilted autobiographical sketches, I spend my increasingly scarce free time working on our house and watching murder mysteries with Kelly. To get an idea of what I do, and to see photos from some of the places I’ve been, click the link on the right to go to my personal website.