Tree Family Portrait

Smile for the camera!

Tree Family

Instead of a real tree I opted for these guys this year. Less space, less waste. They're actually five times as big as they look but only the tips show because they got buried in the snow.

A Diamond is Forever

Congratulations to Vanessa who recently got engaged. The lucky lady received this to-die-for diamond solitaire which cost almost three minutes' salary! I hope she has it insured in case it unravels...

Scarf

1. Scraps 2. Squares 3. Scarf! Just in time for the snow.

Squares

First there were scraps. Then there were squares! Forty of them actually. They could be coasters. But they're not...

Scraps

My scraps came out as pretty as the actual project! I'll post the finished product when its done but for now you can look at the colors of the work in progress:

Lady in Waiting

This lady is waiting. Waiting to get the perfect hairdo before she can make her public debut. And until then she refuses to show her face. Which is just as well because I haven't sewn her face on yet. We're lucky she even agreed to this shot of just her mysterious yellow legs. It will have to tide us over for a while until she's ready to make an appearance...

Ski Snails

Snails #3 Look at them go! These snails finally figured out how to shake off that annoying stereotype. If anyone would like a snail bookmark, they are up for grabs so leave a comment to let me know!

Sea Snail

Snail #2 Ahhh, the deep blue sea... Can you guess what kind of snail will be crawling in tomorrow?

Tree Snail

What is there at the top of that tree that's so great anyways? Stay tuned tomorrow for another snail-themed adventure. (This is either a bookmark or just a long thin picture.)

What I Do At Work II

Warning: This is a weird one.

Here's something else I did for work, one of my more interesting jobs, I have to admit. One site is going to have a feature about the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra, so to go with it I made up a tutorial for how to make musical instruments out of vegetables. Did they work? Judge for yourself. Here are the very short clips (just a few seconds) of the instruments:

Carrot Strummer

Eggplant Clapper

Guess all those years of Suzuki finally paid off!

What I Do At Work

If you have been wondering what I do at work, this post is for you. A few of our sites have been updated recently and I made it into the credits. Ah, the fame and glory... My name is finally in lights. Well, in pixels at least. Here are links to the credits pages but you should look around the rest of the sites too, even though you won't know which parts I actually worked on. Check them out:

Cute Graffiti

	This graffiti artist sure knows the meaning of cute, whoever it is. These spray painted critters used to greet me every morning outside my old building, but now I'd have to make a special trip to visit them.

Home Sweet Home

More than 6 months after we first laid eyes on it, we're finally settled into our new home! It's been a crazy summer but we made it and I even managed to take some pictures. Here's the outside, we are on the second floor, with the windows on the right and in front.


Want to take a tour? Click here for more pictures!
And don't forget to read the notes! (Mouse over the photos and click on the boxes to read more. They won't show up in the slideshow though.)

As the old Chinese saying goes: "Gold house, silver house, nothing beats our own dog house."

Walkability

How walkable is your neighborhood? If you go to walkscore.com you can find out! It uses google maps and gives your home a score based on how many things are within walking distance.

Where we live now is a 92 (out of 100), which means it's a Walker's Paradise. When we move (assuming we actually do) we'll be at 89, still not too shabby. Now I have numerical proof that we don't need a car and we're not the only ones that think so.

Sand Sculpture

This week's adventure was the sand castle competition and festival. Is that really sand? It is, but it's not from the beach here, it was trucked in from somewhere else. Like the beach really needs more sand?

Sneak Preview

Despite the cabinet mistake, the knob confusion, the faucet crisis, and many other set-backs, the condo renovations are coming along nicely, which means it's time for a little sneak preview!

Pre Heat Wave

	We took advantage of the perfect weather before the heat wave to go on a day trip. Can you tell where we went? Hint: The trip involved a cookie as big as my head!! And we found these weird branch boxes there.

Wedding Video

Today is our second wedding anniversary! In honor of the occasion, you can now watch our wedding video. Yes, two years after the big day I finally learned how to cut out the embarassing parts and slap some subtitles on it. Thanks a million to Sarah for teaching me how to do it all!!

It's about 14 minutes so you might want to set aside some time to watch it. If you have any questions about what's going on, feel free to post or email and I'll try to explain. If you can't watch it you might have to visit the actual blog page or install something - read Google Video's help or try me. And now, on with the show...

Cambridge River Festival

Like most would-be bloggers, I haven't actually been posting much lately but I'm hoping to start adding more. Here's what you've missed:
1. I graduated and got my Master's in Education.
2. I started my new job at WGBH in the kids' interactive (websites) department. So far so good, though it's not easy getting used to being in the same place for 8 hours every day. My new hobby is finding ways to decorate my "cube" to try and mask the sea of gray.
3. The renovations of our future condo are going well, we are keeping very busy picking out toilets, fixtures, paint colors, couches, etc. etc. etc.

In case you've forgotten what we look like, these are some reminder photos from the Cambridge River Festival. It seems like there's a festival every weekend, it's great. I even managed to get a picture of one of those tiny red bugs running across my book. It was tricky capturing those speedy little legs.

Green Mystery Man

This mystery man likes moonlit dinners and long walks on the beach. When he's not sitting on citrus fruits, he enjoys snowshoeing and lion taming. His favorite food is popcorn and he has a pet hedgehog. It's not easy being green so he's looking for that special someone to make life a little more exciting. Want to know more? Leave him a comment and he'll get back to you.

Radiators

Last week I found a radiator graveyard. Either that or a radiator convention. I had never seen so many radiators gathered in one place before but now if I ever need one I'll know where to go. And they're magic! Mouse over them to see their special powers*.

*If you are reading this in an email and there's no magic, you will have to click through to my actual blog site. Then you'll have to click on the picture once before the magic will start. I know, it's annoying.

Old Town

Another photo montage! These are some cute details on the buildings in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. Do you know which one is from Robert E. Lee's boyhood home?

Washington DC

A few highlights from our trip to the capital city:
(Click on the picture to see it bigger.)
1. Abrahamontherange.
2. The Arlington Cemetery where we visited Monty Meigs. We were hoping for some special treatment for being related to the inahbitant of Plot One, but no such luck.
3. Waiting in the bread line at the FDR Memorial. I think I chose the wrong line, it didn't move an inch.
4. The Washington Monument - funny, it doesn't look much like him.
5. A head we found on a bridge. Is this supposed to be someone famous?
6. The mosaic floor in the Library of Congress. I could make that, no problem.

Ice Mosaic

Look at this ice on the river! It looks like it should fit together but it doesn't quite, just like my mosaics. I could have gotten a better picture but I was taking it from a moving vehicle. Despite the fact that its been way below freezing every day this week, our apartment is broiling hot. The heat broke once and it started to feel more normal but then they fixed it and now it's hotter than ever! I am certainly not complaining, I am thoroughly enjoying my sauna.

Mosaic

I finally took pictures of my mosaic masterpieces! The stool may be a little too sharp to sit on but it works great for reaching high places, as long as I'm wearing shoes. Why a napkin holder? you may ask. After I realized I had all those tiles I figured I needed more things to cement them onto. I went to goodwill looking for anything made of wood and this is what they had to offer. Now I just have to get some napkins for it to hold!

Half Off

The best way to enjoy Valentine's Day Chocolates is a week later when they're half off! I was surprised to find so many little guys in this box, there are were fourty four! Which is appropriate considering it is now the year of the pig!

Mosaic Preview

Here is a sneak preview of what I made with all those smashed up tiles. I was going to bring home my other masterpieces today but didn't get there because of the snow/sleet/rain/ice balls. So, for now all I have to show is this blurry photo of my mosaicked picture frame. More to come...

Shards

Here are the tiles I made, glazed, and smashed. I have since been cementing them onto any wooden objects I can get my hands on. Stay tuned for the final results.

Three Owls

Three little owlies. Sadly they don't have names. Any suggestions?

Froggie

Being on vacation is great because I have time to make critters like froggie here! Today he's going to go to a new home though, one where he might get torn apart if he wasn't made sturdily enough. Then again, if the baby doesn't like him, he'll be safe. Not sure which one I'm hoping for.

Old Money

One of our prize possessions was this old ten dollar bill from 1934. It was a much brighter green than bills are now, but sadly the color didn't come out well in any pictures I took. We kept it for over a year figuring it was too much of a treasure to spend, but then we decided it was time for it to move on. I spent it last month at a pizza place and the guy there thought it was so cool he said he was going to keep it. So at least I know it is still being loved!

White Elephant

We found this inflatable white elephant in a castle. We wanted to take it home but it wouldn't fit on our bikes. Actually it was on display for Boston's First Night celebrations, which also included fireworks, a parade, and tango lessons.
Happy 2007!