chicago '08

we spent last night in the old fishing village of stonington at a lovely inn. this morning we rode the inn's bikes and then went to the mystic seaport.

Hugsband in garish tourist costume- we were caught in a rainstorm while riding bikes and had to make outfits from an odd assortment of clothes.

on friday, when we thought Abe had already left for the weekend, we released this squirrel he caught in a backyard trap. he catches them and then "never kill them. I gives them to the rich people- 3 or 4 miles over there." well, he hadn't left for his trip, and we had to explain that we let one get away.

I finished the mantel over the weekend.

Abe is back, so I don't have to take care of the pigeons. the coop stinks, so I am a little relieved to not go in there for awhile. he said he wants to go to czechoslovakia for a vacation, and I will be in charge of the house. he also told us some more details about his history. both Abe and Zoia lived in the underground in poland and russia during WWII. Zoia escaped the warsaw ghetto at age 14. when she lived in russia, hiding out in the woods, she attacked a wolf.

somehow my stories about today's visit to the audubon society's coastal center seem less interesting than they did when I first imagined writing them. we saw horseshoe crabs, which were giant. Hugsband carried some back to the water. I think they were fine on the beach, but he likes to imagine that he's like a superhero to the animal world. the coastal center is amazing.

tonight we rode our bikes to the nearby park, where MONK PARAKEETS live in the trees. it's like we live in our own best fantasy, except in our real fantasy world I get to go to work and Hugsband has a pet monkey. and all of the holocaust stuff didn't happen.

"He is a nice man but a stupid man. He makes $60,000 a year and his wife makes $75,000, but you go in his house and it's worse than the pigs. It's worse than the stable for the pigs."

Abe is in NY for a wedding, and I am in charge of the pigeons until he returns. yesterday he told me that I should come upstairs and tell his wife to teach me how to cook. she can, apparently, make a very good vegetable soup using "packages from the store and no vegetables and no meats." I tried to explain that Hugsband is more of a cook than I, but Abe continued to insist that I learn to cook. I am not sure why he assumes I can't.

since arriving in america 35 years ago, Abe has been to a restaurant only twice. everybody told him to try that chinese food, but it was too spicy. he never went back. I don't know where he went the other time. Zoia has never been.

Hugsband and I, on the other hand, have trouble keeping our butts at home. we went to the union league cafe to celebrate our third wedding anniversary yesterday. according to a large plaque over the fireplace, in 1789 George Washington ate in the very same room as we did.

I am in the process of painting the wall above the fireplace "navy 1." it's not obvious in this pic, but I already painted the first layer.

Abe doesn't like Jim, the yale prof who lives across the street. according to Abe, Jim gets in everyone's business and doesn't know how to live with people. I don't know whether that's true, but we did see Jim walk into someone else's yard last night.

according to Abe, this stretch of flowers is now mine. I have no idea what I should pull out (weeds) and what belongs there. it clearly needs some attention.

this is the dining room, which I will use as an office. rest assured- the paint chips are for the wall, not the wood trim. as you can see, I got my salt and pepper shakers up.

this is the view from our bedroom window. the building in the back is a synagogue. there are cherry and pear trees, raspberry and cranberry bushes, and herbs growing out there.

the landlords, Abe and Zoia, have lived here since they came from poland in the 60's. they live on the second floor, and we're on the first. they're incredibly helpful. Abe coached Hugsband in building me a pole for my birdfeeders. he told us not to buy anything because he can find anything we need for the house on the street. "you can't believe what these people is throwing aways." Abe raises show pigeons in a coop off of the garage.

the neighborhood is great too. we can walk to cafes, a pub, the post office, a pharmacy, and a huge park. the park has an osprey nesting program. we thought they were eagles at first.

Hugsband had a job interview last tuesday and has another on thursday of this week. he started decorating his screening room. we bought "chocolate" paint for that room. I can't think of a better color for him.

we went to the aquarium in mystic, and I saw this Hugsband fish.

as you can tell from the picture, we narrowly missed getting the pot of gold in the back of our moving truck.

why aren't you all posting about how cute these damn owlets are?

I am taking a break. the next time you hear from me, I will be a connecticutian.

I cleaned out my letters and postcards tonight. I love my powerbook as much as the next nerd, but I miss getting cute stuff in the mail. in the early to mid 90's, my long-distance friends and I had a habit of sending each other japanese stationary, goofy stickers, and the like. I received a similar gift from CFC in K3 this weekend. he gave us a going away package, replete with horse merit badge and little birdy pin. sifting through my old stuff, I found a ring with the head of one of those fur cats stuck on it. thanks, Ilonechka. I forgot I had it. I also found 8,000 postcards from all over the world. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate them into my new decor without looking too TLC.

Hugsband also cleaned out his junk drawer. good lord, that thing was a disaster! he has receipts in there from videos rented when we lived in chicago, los angeles, AND bloomington. he also found a funny note I wrote him that simply has his name on the front, and on the inside a small hedgehog is asking him to please shut up. I wonder what prompted me to draw that.

I had to recreate my curriculum vitae to fit yale's specifications today. apparently, they're putting the new fellows into the "system." I don't know what that means, but isn't it exciting?

two more days at work!