A picture of a thousand words

At my new employer, the Southern California medical school, they need no fewer than 70 words to say "No Smoking." Not counting the "&". Ah, academics. Gotta love 'em.

Little German Haus on the Prairie

Just off I-94, north of the Dells, there are some imposing bluffs and buttes (for central Wisconsin, that is.) Here you'll find the German Haus, where the 1970s are today and the German food is simple but authentic. In other words, a great highway lunch stop.

Sign o' the times

Came back from vacation to find this sign in our yards. Sad but necessary.

Killing time

At the ORD airport club during a two-hour weather delay. Rachel and Ellen find solace in crossword puzzles and stickers.

Bye-bye

A last glimpse of our ship at the Port of Miami, as we fly back to Chicago.

Sometimes I sing under lights that are purple

A before-dinner drink at the ship's Martini Bar.

Love me tender

Returning to our ship aboard a tender (a boat that shuttles passengers to shore at harbors that are too shallow or crowded for docking) at Grand Cayman. Another beautiful Caribbean day.

Yes, by God, it was that blue.

What more can I say?

We don't need no steenkin' signs

At the Hemingway House in Key West, one of the estate's cats nonchalantly lies on a "Keep off the furniture" sign.

Wake

Pulling out of the Port of Miami. That's Miami Beach on the right as our ship hits the open ocean.

I can see for miles

I can see for one mile, actually. The mile-long concourse at DTW. We're en route to Miami for a brief cruise vacation.

All dressed up

Our odyssey begins with a pit stop in Chicago for a cousin's bar mitzvah. Ellen is thrilled to be in her new party dress and coat. She is happy to pose for pictures with grandma & grandpa.

Staged

Look at our newly Spartan house. Let's pretend that really tidy people with very little stuff live here! We leave town and it goes on the market tomorrow morning. The first two showings are already scheduled. I'm hoping that the extra scrubbing of the porch windows translates to, say, $5K more in the offer. We'll see.

Unfortunately, the cats are not on board with this plan, and they have their own ways of making the house less attractive.

Happy euphemism for low-level worker day!

Remember secretaries' day? Then, wasn't it "administrative assistants" day? Apparently, it has changed again, but I missed the memo. I wonder if my executive professional forgot to deliver it to me.

Packrats

So. Much. Junk!

Twenty bags of old (but perfectly good) clothes to donate, as well as a tube TV. We finally admitted that if we lose a bunch of weight, we will not want to celebrate by slipping on our acid-washed jeans and rayon prints from 1989.

Don't be chicken

A year later, we are back at the "Farm Babies" exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo. Ellen was particularly fond of brushing the baby goats and seeing the piglets. We had to cajole her into posing for this picture.

A door opens

The front door isn't usually left open like this. Josie takes advantage of the free sunbathing.

Live by the code

I took a snap of our rearranged dryer and its new vent to send to our realtor to make sure it's up to code. The inspector is coming Monday. I had to lean into the laundry room to make the shot as we had just had the floor repainted.

Seder plate

Ellen plays with her stuffed seder plate and bag o' plush plagues.

Consumer confidence

No trip to the mall would be complete without a stop at the Apple Store. Ellen insists.

Dealer

Fixing my tape deck (yes, tape deck) at the Toyota dealership. My Prius was the last model not to have an input for an iPod, so I have to use the low-tech cassette adapter. Woe is me.

Flashback

As we're starting to pack for our move, we're finding all kinds of old stuff. Rachel found a disposable camera, origin unknown, with some pictures on it. I had it developed at Target and discovered pics from Rachel's surprise 30th birthday party, right after we started dating.

April showers

... of snow. Last one of the season? Dare I hope?