chicago '08

this weekend Hugsband and I went to chicago & kankakee for our final visit with family & friends before the move. my nieces are cuter than you can imagine, and I taught Lilly to ask her mom to "take the airplane to go play with Aunt Rachel." she's a quick learner and, let's hope, a tenacious whiner.

Hugsband brought his favorite sausage to a family party. he put it out with crackers and a nice chedddar. at the end of the night he went to get a piece, realizing that there was only one left. Grandpa beat him to it, and Hugsband saw him pop the last slice in his mouth. Hugsband followed him to ask how he liked it and saw Grandpa take the sausage from his mouth and throw it into the grass with a grimace. "don't you like it?" Hugsband asked. "No, I thought I was gettin' a cookie."

it was nice to see family and friends.

we went out to listen to the whip-poor-wills and chuck-will's-widows tonight. Hugsband got a good look at a chuck when it flew past him. surprisingly, the lightening bugs were already out in full force.

I started off the day at the gym. I worked out, took a shower, and planned to get dressed and head to work. Kara was getting ready at the gym at the same time I was, and she had to borrow my soap. we laughed about how much it sucks to forget socks or shampoo or other items and then my laughter abruptly stopped. it dawned on me that I neglected to pack undergarments in my gym bag. as a result, I spent the day in a yellow sweat-soaked sports bra that peeked out from the shoulders of my thin brown linen shirt. I couldn't even put it right back on after my shower because it was heavy with sweat. I held it under the hand-dryer, much the way Madonna dried her armpits in desperately seeking susan, until it was dry enough to wear. classy.

last night Hugsband and I returned to the woodpecker tree, in which 3 different species of woodpeckers make their nests in holes. the pileated babies, the Woody Woodpecker variety, stuck their heads out of their nest hole and watched for their parent(s?) to return with food. they were ridiculously cute with giant red heads. I plan to take Kristin there tomorrow.

Hugsband and I, and perhaps many natives of the greater chicagoland area, pronounce 'hypnotist' in an odd way. hip-MUH-tist. it's embarrassing. almost as bad as pAAAAAAAAAH-nts and snAAAAAAAAH-ck and other vowel-tastic words that friends from outside the midwest like to tease me about. I am shocked when I tell people we're moving to connecticut and they ask if that's where we're from. we sound like the blues brothers, not like connecticutians.

I imagine that one of the greatest things that could happen to a youngster is to be matched as our "little" through big brothers/big sisters. it's right up there with Hugsband's foremost fantasy: getting a free PSP.

today's was Cher. I am taking that thing off tomorrow.

tonight I am worn out from long games of hide-n-seek and freeze tag with our little brothers. the weather didn't cooperate with the camping trip we planned, but we were able to get out and run around for awhile. we also made s'mores on the back porch grill. I wish I could find a way to make one without marshmallow. molten caramel would be a good alternative, but it doesn't stand up to the stabbing and roasting.

the boys are sleeping in a tent we put up in the living room. we are going to miss them! only one more visit before our move.

the day will come when I stop yammering on about birds, but that day is not today. the owls and warblers in the nest box cams link are active and fun to look at. baby owls are freakish looking.

the baby whistle pigs are doing well. a neighbor, not that slutty undergrad- a normal guy, told Hugsband that he stood silently on his porch for several minutes. after waiting awhile, he saw 6 baby ground hogs emerge from under the bushes. when their mom saw him, she gave out a whistle in warning. so they truly are whistle pigs. I have only seen 4 of the babies at a time, so it is possible that this guy is inflating his numbers to impress us.

pink-haired ninja, our scrawny next-door neighbor, was out brandishing his sword today. when I looked out the back window, he was crouched next to the dumpster holding the sword out in front of him. he has a bumper sticker I can never figure out. it reads "there's only one god. quit vying for his position." I can't tell if it means quit playing god a la Victor Frankenstein or if it means don't be judgmental. I will ask him sometime when he's not carrying a weapon. Hugsband was very annoyed by the entire crouching and stabbing display at the dumpster. He spied on ninja through the kitchen window and complained that he doesn't use a practice sword. surely it's illegal to swing a real sword in the parking lot.

these pics are from yesterday's birding therapy. we went to the heron rookery, where 30-40 herons make their nests. unfortunately, the babies were only visible through the binoculars. they didn't come out well in pictures.

I love how the goselings waddle with their heads pushed forward. they always look like they're about to tip over.

great blue heron

from the free love days of Simon and Gerta.

Simon, our beloved pet and favorite animal in the world, was euthanized yesterday. Hugsband and I made the decision yesterday morning after he experienced 2 days of rapid decline. he was unable to stand and was in a lot of pain from his kidney disease. the vet didn't think he would return to his old self, and he seemed very uncomfortable.

Hugsband and I have been trying to stay out of the house and to keep busy. our thoughtful friends Kara and Paul distracted us last night, and we went out for wildbird therapy at yellowwood state forest today.

we would love to hear other people's memories of Simon. if you have any you'd like to share, please post. I will scan in some comics I drew about him too.

this picture was taken before they said, "Congratulations, Dr. Rachel." the questions were fun to answer. it was like being the sole guest on a talk show and taking questions from the audience but the audience was comprised of people with Ph.D.'s who just read my 100+ page paper and actually remembered all of the details and wanted to ask a lot of questions about it. I would watch that show for real.

can you find the tiny baby whistle pigs in this picture?

well, the defense is in the morning. I changed my mind about the outfit and the muffins. now I am wearing a dress and bringing nothing. hopefully, my birbe-free approach will still be effective. Hugsband is encouraging use of the push-up bra. I don't think it will come to that.

Monica and I saved this chick at work today. he fell from a nest about 15 feet up and landed on the sidewalk. he's a european starling, an invasive and pesky bird. taking him to the wildlife rescue is akin to donating money to save the local walmart, but I couldn't just leave him! he chirped all the way to wildcare.

Hugsband and I had a very pleasant day. we started at the skatepark, where he was especially cute. he has a laid-back style that makes those lame 15-year olds look like they're trying too hard (as if their hipster mullets weren't clue enough). later, we biked and birded on clear creek trail. I have to ride behind because every 2 minutes Hugsband called out, "hey, watch me do this!" these exclamations were accompanied by "here comes a wheelie. ugh!" and "bunny hop."

after a yummy dinner, we made crunchy strawberries by coating them with sugar and heating them with a brulee torch. mmmmh.

Simon loves sweet potatoes.

boston is my new favorite city. I only had about 45 minutes of free time, but I loved it. I can't wait to go back with Hugsband when we live only 2 hours away! the conference I went to was like heaven for autism research nerds. Kara and I acted like we were seeing major celebrities when a favorite researcher would walk by. it was hard not to point and gawk.

Hugsband is watching MTV2 and just commented that "headbanger's ball is awesome." sometimes it's better to act as if I am not listening so that he will give up and turn the channel.

I am no longer buying wild bird food, in anticipation of our move next month. I still have peanuts and a little thistle, but I have not replaced the sunflower seeds and suet I used up last week. it's sad to watch the birds try to eat from empty feeders, especially when they come with their babies. when I got up this morning, in addition to my usual slew of birds, a whistle pig and 2 rabbits were in back of the house.

chickadee and hairy woodpecker

hairy woodpecker and goldfinch

white breasted nuthatch

I found a grading rubric that seemed to accompany an undergraduate writing course. a student wrote justification for the grade she thought she deserved next to each assignment's weighting. next to professionalism 10/100, she wrote "I was 10% professional."

in the hall at work this morning, I was cornered by an administrative assistant who wanted to complain about the visiting afghan teachers who are here to develop a curriculum for english instruction. apparently, the grant that sponsors their study also covers some books and videos. the teachers can select the books they want from a number of education catalogs. the assistant griped that the teachers want to order too many copies of items and "they don't even have VCR's in their country" and "they were burning books there, like, 2 weeks ago". Now that's 10% professional.