Blowing & Drifting

Today was the first day that both girls had to go to school – albeit an hour later than usual for Julia, and only a 90-minute preschool orientation for Genevieve. Still and all: they were wrecked when I arrived home, just after a screaming/hitting fight (and consequent time-outs) over some toys. In the scant time [...]

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Carleton has a lot of good traditions, but those centered on “New Student Week” are especially good. The best one: upperclass students line up at the formal campus entrance and cheer – loudly and energetically – for the first-year students as they roll onto campus. The noise is joyous and wonderful. Another good, if more [...]

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Julia’s first day of first grade went pretty well, I think. Witness:

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One of our wonderful neighbors – someone who runs Swag, a great (web-invisible) shop in downtown Northfield – bought some oversized adirondack chairs for her backyard. Before wheeling them out of sight, she invited us to come over and sit in them, which we promptly did, being suckers for a cheap fun time. Julia predictably [...]

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The second “30 Days of Biking” event kicks off tomorrow, on September 1. As the website says, The only rule for 30 Days of Biking is that you bike every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online. We believe biking enriches life, builds community, and [...]

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This is a video camera: This is a video camera in the hands of a four-year-old. Genevieve calls this “My Laughter Box is Full.” My Laughter Box is Full from Christopher Tassava on Vimeo.

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On Friday night, the girls played some more “monkey in the middle,” which they call “Ball Thief.” Here are 23 seconds of them are in action: Ball Thief from Christopher Tassava on Vimeo.

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After dinner tonight, the girls and I went outside to play catch and have a few more minutes of active fun. As Julia and I were tossing a ball back and forth, Vivi – wearing a nightgown for no good reason at all – transformed herself into “Ball Fief” and proceeded to try to steal [...]

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Apart from some characteristic growliness when waking up, Vivi enjoyed her birthday a lot. In an adorably openhearted way, she loved being the worthy center of attention: eating birthday cake for afternoon snack, opening presents, having a dinner made to order (and what a dinner it was: pizza stromboli, corn on the cob, and rhubarb [...]

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Vivi dislikes when I either work out or take a shower, and will do almost anything to prevent me from doing one or the other. Today, she said that I couldn’t take a shower (after my bike ride) because “thewe awe cwocodiles in the showew.” More, translated into English and restructured into a semi-linear narrative: [...]

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Today was beyond hot – for southern Minnesota. The air temperature was up over 90°F for a good part of the day and the heat index was up over a 100°F for even more of it, while the relative humidity was in the upper 70% range and the dew point was well over 80°F for [...]

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Three moments made me glow with happiness today: At the coffeeshop for breakfast with the girls, several people stopped to compliment the girls on the art they were doing – Vivi’s “scawwy monsters” and Julia’s detailed depiction of the coffeeshop itself. I had a good fifteen minutes of playing catch with Julia, helping her get [...]

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That’s the famous demand that Jens Voigt, a superlatively tough pro cyclist, makes during especially hard rides. My ride today was hardly a Tour de France stage, but it was both the longest ride and the longest workout I’ve ever done. The ride took me further away from Northfield than any ride I’ve done, into [...]

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Something about Thursday called for haiku. Morning Days without meetings Are easy to get up for Time to get stuff done Noon A baby swallow Grounded on the hot sidewalk Parents swoop madly Afternoon The roofing tar stench Displeases, causes sneezes, And inspires queases Evening The girls think “Heigh Ho” By the silly Seven Dwarfs [...]

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I know I already posted another version of this photo on my blog and on Flickr, but I like it so much I have tweaked it a bit so I can put it up again. It’s pretty much worth any 10,000 words you might use to describe high summer on the prairie.

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