Justice is Served

Three of the boys flew up from Florida to help us move. On the drive home, not only did I get lost and end up in Washington DC, but a huge storm hit. There was blinding rain, bumper to bumper traffic and the occasional tree branch in the road. It was the tree branches that caused the most concern to the boys. "Pull over Tanya! We can get that out of the road!" Stressed as I was by the traffic conditions, I refused. "They pay people to do that," I snapped. At that point I was lectured long and hard by three angelic boys who sincerely believed in serving others and being good Samaritans. "You better pull over for the next one, or you'll be punished," they said. "A tree branch will fall on your car." Knowing there was no way a tree branch would fall on my car, I drove past three more fallen branches. The boys bemoaned my compounding sin and escalated their prophecies of punishment. "A tree branch is going to fall on your house!" After two or three hours of driving, we finally made it home and to my despair, I discovered that I had been punished.
Two large tree branches from the neighbor's huge tree had fallen and smashed part of the fence. They were so big that the boys were only able to move one of them. We moved out of the house two days later so we didn't have to worry about it too much.

Cold Maryland

Yes, Maryland has been rather cold recently. Its kind of a bummer because its been cold but still no snow. I will admit that having a fireplace in the house is rather nice at times though.

Our New Cat

OK, we don't really have a cat. We think this fella's family must have gone on vacation this weekend and threw him outside to do some camping of his own. Our house must look like his because he came to visit us every night from Friday until Sunday. We gave him a bit of tuna-juice and bread since we don't have cat food. He seemed to think that was an invitation to come in because he tried his best to bolt inside whenever the door was open.

How Much is That Squirrel in the Window?

I always wanted a pet squirrel. I mean, come one. They're cute, funny, jump twice as high as cats, and climb trees like their tail is on fire. So, I set out to get me one. This is my pet squirrel. Since I don't like fur on my furniture, he lives outdoors. But Meghan likes to talk to him anyways. We haven't decided on a name yet, but Meghan likes the ideas of "Gum!" "Dum!" "Mum!" and anything else with a um sound shouted in an excited manner. I think I just might be the traditional artist that I am and call him Unnamed.

The best way to catch a squirrel of your very own is to leave the lid off your trash can. They're about as bad as raccoons when it comes to raiding, but they're small so they don't make a real big mess. They also respond well to leftover bread chunks lying by a window. Out here in Maryland, they're as bold as a really bold thing so they'll come right up to it. Meghan delights in making our squirrel jump and bolt by banging on the window and shouting at him. We're working on adjusting him to living with a baby on the other side of the window.

It Rains in Maryland

Yes, it rains in Maryland. Meghan enjoys watching it pour down. And yes, I know my baby has no clothes except a diaper in all her pictures. However, it is rather hot here and leaving her clothes off keeps heat rash down. I could turn up the air conditioning but we're not that rich yet.