But first, a photo: I took this one last week. The focus is a little soft, but I like it. :)

So NY was great. Mer fed me lots of tea and fancy cookies, apples with cinnamon, homemade guacamole and more tea. I could drink a whole gallon of tea every day, I think. Peppermint, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Lemon Ginger. We sat at her little table with the elephant on it and chatted and chatted and chatted. We spotted some deer, and on the last night, three raccoons.

On Saturday we took Austin to a little outdoor reenactment village (very much like Old Sturbridge Village) and he met some surly chickens and a few uninterested goats. The ladies there cooed at him, and he enjoyed being outdoors in such fine weather. Later we went to a Goodwill and found some treasures - a scientific beaker I'm going to use as a bathroom drinking glass, some nice mismatched plates for holding jewelry (I'm going to keep one by the bed and one by the sink), a lion costume for the baby, some weird ugly silk flowers I'm going to spray paint black and turn into spooky Halloween decorations. Treasures! On Sunday we attempted to go to a flea market - we got there, but it turned out to be far too hot and sunny for fair baby skin. We pushed him around for awhile, bought some lemonade and went back. Monday I collected all his items and drove back home to NJ.

Like I said in my last post, it was nice to be away for a few days to recharge. Austin was a bit out of sorts, though. He's been fighting a head/chest cold for a little while now, and is on medication for the beginnings of an ear infection (poor thing - the medication smells wretched). And I think he really missed Theseus while we were away; he's normally a really great traveller, very adaptive and agreeable, but he was a bit of a beast in the evenings in NY. He tossed all night and slept fitfully. I barely slept, trying to console him and keep him from waking the entire house. It made the trip - you guessed it - stressful and tiring. Still, I'm glad we did it, the little guy and I. The look on Theseus' face when we pulled into the driveway on Monday made it worth it. :)

Ok, the husband is pestering me to go to bed. Taking the Earl with me.

I love this weather.

I have some photos to post for you, but not as many as I'd hoped, and I can't post them right now as I have too much to do and not enough time to do it and here I am procrastinating anyway. Hopefully tomorrow, while it's raining, I will have enough time to sit down and download my photo card. I also have to work on completing some Halloween projects, so we'll see how far I get.

I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to type a couple lines for you to let you all know I'm back in NJ and feeling warm and happy. The time in NY with Mer was wonderful but stressful at the same time. Austin travels very well and he loves people and isn't afraid of anything, but doing all the carrying and feeding and scheduling and changing and soothing by myself was tiring. Mer helped as much as she could (she is such an amazing friend to me, she and J both) but I missed the wordless communication I have with Theseus. He starts unsnapping an outfit while I get a diaper and wipes. He carries the baby while I get the diaper bag. I set the baby up in his high chair while Theseus gets a bib. Two cogs moving together.

I came home to a really cool Halloween display in our yard (with lights!) and rearranged furniture inside the house. Theseus had also begun decorating inside, cleaned up the living and dining rooms, taken the air conditioner out of the bedroom, changed the sheets and remade the bed, separated the laundry by color (!) and washed most of it, disassembled and boxed up the baby accessories we no longer use, and had lunch waiting for me when I got back to the house.

He separated. the laundry. by color. I nearly fell over.

So it ended up being a little more stressful and tiring than I'd anticipated, but I'm glad I went away for a few days. Three nights apart let us both recharge. Next time, though, he gets the baby. :)

I'll write more about my time in NY tomorrow. Now: time to study!

Even though we just got back from a mini-vacation (Concord, MA for our 5 year wedding anniversary), I'm taking another one! I'm leaving in a little while to visit Mer in NY for a couple days. Theseus was wonderful and packed up all the baby supplies for me while I slept in/procrastinated/took a 3-day shower. He has been so great throughout this trainwreck - he makes me tea when I don't even realize I need a cup, lets me eat fruit salad for dinner, decorated the outside of our house for Halloween while I was at school. Right now he is feeding the baby while I sit here not packing my own clothes for this trip. Somehow he was blessed with inhuman patience.

So you won't hear from me for the next few days, but I will try to post some photos when I get back. I know I always say that and then I get too lazy/end up forgetting, but I feel like I owe you guys some photos. Austin grows about 5 inches and 3 pounds every day*, so if I don't take frequent photos, before you know it he'll be in college.

Theseus just asked if I was going to put pants on before I leave. Oh yeah. Blogging without pants.

Enjoy your weekend!

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*slight exaggeration

I am writing this from the lovely state of Massachusetts - how I have missed it! This morning I woke up to a cool, breezy house - a nice change from the humid drippiness of New Jersey mornings.

It's not just the weather that's nicer up here. Everything is better in New England. I'd move back home in a heartbeat. :/

Soon?

Wouldn't mind being in Florida right about now. :/

So as you know, I'm back from New York - what a fun (extended) weekend!

I drove to J and Mer's house on Thursday. The trip north took about 2 hours, which wasn't bad. The last leg of the trip took me through a breathtaking stretch of snowdusted mountains. The ride was very easy; I arrived at their house just after 1 p.m.
    

Just wanted to stop by quickly to let you all know I may not post very much for the next few days. I'm leaving shortly for New York; I'll be welcoming in the New Year with J and Mer! I'm really excited to see them again, and it will be fun to have an adventure or two in the city. :)

This week got off to a crappy start, but I'm feeling much better. Now that the holidays are pretty much over, my next hurdle is my 10-day Bio course. Then a week to recover and then school starts again full time. It'll get easier once I have a routine again and won't have to wander aimlessly around the house feeling sorry for myself.

Well, I have to get into the shower now so I can leave NJ on time. Hope you all have a great New Year's Eve! :)

A potential disaster at the airport turned out to be no trouble at all - a delay meant I would have missed my connection, but the connection was also delayed, so I made it onto the plane in time.

Did not throw up on the plane (awesome!!).

Found my car in the long-term lot within 5 minutes (helps when you write down where you parked your car...).

No traffic on the ride home.

House is in one piece - no obvious cat mischief, plants are all still alive.

Now time for a cup of tea, a little tv and then bed. I'll write a better post tomorrow. :)

July 25. 5:45 p.m. 87 degrees. Light wind from the west.