And So the weekend arrives, the last weekend of my most glorious 31st year. It was a lovely bit 'o livin, and I intend to carry it's themes and many splendid motifs into my 32 year. I will be bringing most of the hair on my head, supplemented by recent additions discovered on my shoulders, ears, and nose. Should those fail to make the transition, I always have the bumper supply on my "Lower Spine".

Time to squeeze into some sweatpants, grab myself a pair of loaffers, and start complaining about my tax dollars going to "....garddamn schools....I dont go to no garddamn schools...I aint' got kids in no gardaamn schools, so why they taxin me so much?!??! Where'd I put my golf shoes??!?!?!"

Prisoners of Beautiful Weather

A rather lovely 20 Celsius currently at Casa Walsherstone. In fact, it seems to have completely crippled the cats, who barely have the energy or where withal to move, let alone make a racket and knock things over as per usual.
Victims of a lovely day.

Think Inside The box

Okey Dokey, well, I was at Robin's work, and figured that some of you might wonder what her work environment might look like. Here 'tis.

Todays temperature hit 28 Celsius.

I'm terrified what summers going to be like.

Time to bust out the shorts and flip flops!!!

Spring Has Arrived
(...at least temporarily...)

Some shots around the mall, the Canadian Embassy, and the backside of the national Archives

One Half Hour with the Orchids
In The National Botanic Gardens
Washington, DC
Part 1

One Half Hour with the Orchids
In The National Botanic Gardens
Washington, DC
Part 2

One Half Hour with the Orchids
In The National Botanic Gardens
Washington, DC
Part 3

Staying Up Late & The End Of An Era.

Well, it's 4:14am and Robin and I are back home having spent the evening baby sitting for friends. It was an uneventful evening spent gorging on popcorn and watching the seventh season of the Simpsons as the baby barely stirred all night. I'm not mentioning them by name simply out of fear that I would misspell them. Robin will fix this later I'm sure. They're super people, and our Scrabble adversaries =)

This week marked the end of a long(ish) Walsherstonia Tradition. For more than a couple years now, every time Robin and I would walk up to a cross walk I would cry out a french phrase that would often make her laugh. I had explained to her and she'd accepted that it meant:

"Push The Button, Please".

Well, Robin was walking home from work earlier this week with her co-worker Anne (pronounced "Ahhn") when they approached a crosswalk. Robin, knowing Anne to be fluent in French, used the phrase I've used on her so many times, thinking it an appropriate way of asking him to push the crosswalk button.

"Epouse, la button!"

Anne apparently broke out in hysterical laughter, which was when Robin began to suspect that the phrase may not in fact mean what she thought it meant.

After a good couple year run of using the phrase at least once a week, I'm afraid it's unlikely that ever again will I be able to look my wife in the eye, give her a smile, and cry out that phrase followed by her happily pushing the button. So, one last time, only this time, in English...

"Wife! Button!"

Ready? Set? .....BUY!

Well, there was no beating around the bush when mom and dad saw that their move-out date was in less than a month. Check out the pictures of their new home. It was a done deal as of 12 hours ago. Congratulation mom and dad!

Happy First Day of Spring
(which was yesterday...march 20th...)

Computers are Frustrating.

I'm currently ripping my hair out trying to use the computers at the library over at the NIH for a project i'm doing and, well, it ain't going so hot. Tomorrow morning I'm diving back in, and to be honest, i'm dreading it. Hence, this somewhat disturbing little depiction of some poor soul and their PC. I'll provide a detailed report after i'm done at the Library....more later !

PONG

My First Video Game. My First Love.

Today at the museum, while working on the C.W. Fields collection , we got a call down to storage to verify that one of our crates had been returned in good order. Down I went with the curator Hal and my co-worker Chihiro to the basement to check things out. Well, the crate that had been returned to our collection was nothing other than the original PONG video game. A Legend in the Video Gaming world, and a game we are all familiar with. This thing is in fantastic condition and a real beauty. Recently voted one of hardest games of all to track down, I knew this was my chance and ran up to grab the camera from storage. I managed to get a few action photos, one of which is posted here to share with all of you. Some of you will be left awestruck, others will think it's retarded and quickly move on to more exciting climes like ebay or wikipedia or www.stuffonmycat.com It's understandable. For me, this was a moment of Geek Glory, that I will always remember. Oh, and apparently we have other such games in our collection. Next week I hope to get a shot of me with PACMAN, followed the next week by Asteroids. OOOOOH the excitement!

Out and About in the Sunshine at Last.

It was a fantastic afternoon to be out in the sun, and exploring around town in some of the little side streets of neighbourhoods we've come to know. So off to Chevy Chase to finally get a look at Marisa's apartment, and to hit a special bookstore near her home for some "essential reading" and coffee. It hovered around 16 Celsius, so it was pretty much perfect weather for a light sweater and comfortable walking. We made it down into one of the residential areas in behind the Friendship Heights shopping district. We'd been through part of the neighbourhood before while visiting with Meredith in the Fall, but this time we'd be walking around on the other side of Wisconsin, which was kind of interesting. Brick buildings abound, and there was plenty of what I would call "McClure" architecture in Victoria (not sure what it's properly called), plus your regular abundance of brick. It made for a nice walk.
The bookstore was quite something to see, a large independent place with a coffee shop in the basement on a cozy stretch of the street. We picked up a few things and then headed back to Bethesda as I had to work at six. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon, and we even got some signs of spring to boot!

Well now, lookit that. It's my childhood home. No really, it is. I was born somewhere else, and spent most of my life everywhere else, but when I think or try and remember things from when I was a kid, i invariably end up here, at PMQ 65-7 in Weitenung, former West Germany. I lived there from age 8 to 12 +/-. We lived on the top floor, and had a pretty nice view actually. Too bad I was kinda scared of heights even then, and always found the balcony sketchy and not too sturdy, but it seems to have held up ok! I didn't include all of the images, courtesy of Google Earth, but my parents and sister might be interested to know that the entire region, including the base, is readily visible in high detail. At a time when Robins parents are getting prepared to move, and we're trying to decide where we'll be living next year, I started to think about all of the places both robin and I have lived.
I ended up thinking about being a kid in the Rhine Valley, and wondering how much it's changed. I wondered if our old apartment was there, and if the old base still was there. Turns out, it all is.

I'll spare you the long ranty post, but suffice to say that of the handful of places that are important to me, this ones right up there.

I always get confused when people ask me where home is.

It's Georges River.
It's Victoria.
It's Weitenung.
It's wherever our families happen to be.
It's wherever Robin and I are.



Mom, Dad, Loralei....***click on the pictures, they're huge***

As it turns out, no maybe about it! She's Sold!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ANN AND GRENFELL!!!

Home for Sale

My parents' house is about to go up on the market. After 25 years in the same house, this move is certainly a big change for the family unit.
I'm very proud of them though. In the last couple of months they have been making big improvements. And I think it has all paid off. The pictures they sent us were unbelievable. I barely recognize the place!
So, if you know anyone looking for a lovely house in Cadboro Bay, please let me know.

SNOW!!!

Yes. It is true. While Colin's parents enjoyed balmy Hawaiian sunshine and salt-air breezes, we endured sub-zero temperatures and a freak blizzard.





























But, in typical fashion, I took so long to update the blog that the snow has now melted and my in-laws are back from their vacation. Sorry for the extended hiatus. Colin promises to be more conscientious in updating the blog from now on.

XOXO