We’re being quiet and…

We're being quiet and domestic today. Yesterday, Kevin figured out that not only did his program start a week later than he thought, but the class I'm planning to take (Intro to Tamil at Berkeley) does too. So we suddenly have an extra week of summer vacation, much appreciated. Lots of hanging out with baby. So far today I've put away two loads of laundry. Later, I plan to send some thank-you notes and read a YA fantasy novel. I love summer and academic schedules. :-)

It's been a busy few days. Friday night, the Whytes hosted a party for a visiting friend, another judge. It was a very legal party, mostly judges and clerks (hence a dramatic age difference :-). One of the judges is hugely into karaoke, and brought his whole set-up. He's a really good singer too, as is the visiting judge, and between them, they got almost everyone else to sing. Kevin steadfastly held out, but he did have watching the baby as an excuse to help him. I caved early, and though there were quite a few wobbly numbers in there, there were some successes too. Piano Man was an early favorite, with most of the crowd joining in. Summer Nights was another crowd favorite, which we successfully broke into its boy-girl parts. And late in the night, I did a decent job with The Lady in Red, a song I am unreasonably fond of. A huge improvement over the first time I did karaoke, where I completely failed to even complete the song, much less remember the tune or stay on key. :-)

Yesterday we went to one of Susan's (Kev's sister) baby showers. She and Shawn are having three, but we're only going to attend two of them, because the third conflicts with Heather and Tim's shower. Kavi was much cooed-over by the whole crowd, which was mostly Shawn's extended family. We visited their cute nursery (barnyard-themed), and ate lots and lots. V. yummy ravioli, and an excellent cake. I have learned that the not-too-sweet-custard is called Bavarian custard (or maybe Bavarian cream? can't quite remember), from Shawn's sister Dylan, who works as a pastry chef. I have to admit, when I watch the cooking competitions on tv, I always find it a little funny when they throw up their hands in horror at being asked to make a dessert, with loud protests of, 'I'm not a pastry chef!' Apparently, serious cooking and serious pastry-making are non-overlapping sets of skills. Me, I hardly ever make desserts, and when I do, I'm just happy if my apple pie doesn't get too soggy. (I think I tend to start slicing into it when it's still too recently out of the oven; I don't have the patience to give it time to set. Because, y'know, it's homemade apple pie!)

Yesterday I also finally got around to picking up a card reader for my camera, because I have sadly lost the cable. Hence the much-belated photo of Ellie in the baby basket, which has been sitting on my camera for weeks. Now I will once again be able to inflict many baby photos on you. (Because, you know, everyone has to be fascinated by my baby, because no one else in the world has ever had one. :-) Consider yourselves warned.

Baby, puppy, boy, books, sunshine, green grass, breeze. Summer is sweet. Oh, and leftover cake!