Much To Blog, Little Time

We returned from Sacramento yesterday after our visit with Tom, Kate and Baby Hayes. It was a great visit, Hayes was remarkably mellow and content, Gabriel couldn't kiss him enough, and we visited what must be one of the best choo-choo museums in the world.

Lots of photos, lots of info I hope to get to soon. Check back regularly.

Update: Fair Oaks Illness

Yikes - someone in Fair Oaks, CA is reporting on Who is Sick? a scary combination of symptoms include burning sensations in the eyes. Specifically, a 16 year-old girl is reporting:

Runny nose Stuffy nose Sneeze,Head ache Dizzy Muscle ache Body ache Tired itchy burning eyes

Not only that, but Folsom looks like a hotbed of flu symptoms/illness right now! Quick: Tom get Kate and Hayes out of there!

Promising Website

With Gabriel battling a cold, we're not going to be able to go to Sacramento until after this weekend sometime unfortunately. There's no sense in others, particularly the baby, catching what he's dealing with right now.

But today, I stumbled upon what looks to be a promising website for parents of little ones and other germaphobes.

Who is Sick? utilizes Google Maps functionality and lets the user look up self-reported illnesses within a zipcode and the surrounding metro area. A large map on the screen shows little pie-chart icons that represent reported illnesses and each pie wedge color, if present, represents the symptom reported. If you click on any particular pie chart, a box of details about the person (age, gender, etc.) and all of their symptoms plus other comments appears.

One can also anonymously report your own illness or that of a family member to add to the data and information available.

To take it for a test run, I searched our zip code and found that runny noses/congestion seem to be happening a bit in the Hillsboro/Washington County area. Now keep in mind these are self-reported illnesses by people who have found this new/relatively unknown website. But as it grows, it'll be quite fascinating as one can watch for outbreaks of specific illnesses, by age and location. So you can rule out taking the toddler to the park if there are a lot of cold symptoms being reported in a short amount of time.

Healthy Baby & Mom

Jill and I had the chance to visit with Kate & Tom on the phone yesterday. All are doing well and Kate should be home today (Friday).

Tom sent out a great photo of Hayes yesterday; he looked very healthy and content. I'll let them post photos of him over at Its A Reid! if and when they choose to.

Hayes Tyler Reid

The world welcomed Hayes Tyler Reid at 8:10pm, April 18, 2007 in Folsom, California.

Congratulations Kate & Tom!

We look forward to heading down to Sacramento ASAP, but Gabriel's nose started running last night. We'll have to monitor him - we don't want to drag a sick little boy down to expose the baby and recovering mommy.

The official first announcement at Kate's website It's A Reid!, posted by her friend Madeline, can be read here.

Update: Maybe Tonight

Apparently Kate's labor has taken a turn for the better and she may be able to deliver tonight or early tomorrow AM.

She's comfortable and doing well (she's not had any problems to report apparently), so things are looking good!

When We Can't Be There

Listening to the music will just have to do.

I don't listen all the time, but traditional Hawaiian music has a special place in my heart. Like mariachi, little else transports me to travel memories like Hawaiian music.

So today, I've been listening to AM 940 based out of Honolulu. All Traditional Hawaiian, All The Time!

I distinctly remember listening to AM 940 when driving at night on Kaua'i. On the meandering road from Anini to Kilauea to pick up an occasional smoked ono pizza at Pau Hana Pizza, I could hear lapping ocean waves through the driver's side window, AM 940 gently playing in the car, Kilauea Lighthouse beaming in the distance, and oh the moon and stars in the glare-free night sky.

Until we can return, a live music feed on the internet will suffice.

Update: Nope!

But they apparently have checked into the hospital and have begun the process of inducing labor.

We Might Now Be Aunt Jill & Uncle Bill

But I don't yet have any proof.

Alaska's New Quarter

So which quarter-dollar design should Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin officially select? The choices, courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News, are below.



As a native (not Native) member of the Sourdough Diaspora, I can't help but prefer AK-2. I think the other choices are not distinct enough to represent Alaska.

• AK-1: "Land of the Midnight Sun" or some variation commonly refers to Siberia and parts of Scandinavia as well as Alaska - and Polar Bears have become more synonymous with Northern Canada. Or is that Binky? No - not a mauled tennis shoe to be found.
• AK-3: Besides the North Star, the grizzly doesn't say anything unique about Alaska - this isn't Montana's quarter after all. Besides, the last grizzly bear notoriety out of AK was the Grizzly Man documentary about nutjob Timothy Treadwell's (and his girlfriend's) grisly and largely avoidable consumption by a starving bear.
• AK-4: I like the Denali image and reference; but although the goldpanner is historically significant, dog mushing portrayed in AK-2 is just as historically resonant with Alaskans and it is still an important element of Alaska's image and life today.

AK-2 features Alaska's 8 Stars of Gold (Yes, I still remember how to sing the State Anthem!), Denali, and dog mushing. And I like how the mushing/Iditarod reference alludes to different regions of Alaska at the same time by tying together Anchorage/South Central to the Bush (interior AK for you Cheechakos) and the Bering Sea/Nome.

AK-2 is also the only one that makes any sort of reference to Alaska's Native heritage, by way of the dog sled team.

So my vote as a native Alaskan and former resident for 16.5 years would be cast for AK-2.

...Make Good Neighbors

Well, we've decided - and have started the preparation - for putting a privacy fence in the back yard where our neighbor has chain link.

1. We are tired of their dog running up at the chain link and barking at everything.
2. We're hoping that a solid fence will help reduce some of the weed pollen that floats over from the elementary school field nearby.
3. Blocking the view of the neighbor's back yard will help our property value.
4. The security and privacy will be good for Gabriel and the chickens.

It looks like it will set us back about $400, but it will be worth it. Then I can seriously get down to business on the new coop.

This link is a nice resource for local urban chicken growers in the Portland metro area.

This link has a bunch of chicken coop photos (and a very unhelpful lack of specific plans).

My guess is that the following will not be acceptable:

Gabriel Downtown

Yesterday, Gabriel spent the morning with me downtown. After singing his little heart out to his favorite Raffi CD,

we got into my office and watched Wallace & Gromit for a little while.

I set up the big screen and hooked the movie up to the projector, so the picture was pretty big ("Big TV, DADA!) And he thoroughly enjoyed a Starbucks berry/yogurt parfait while he watched.

After that, we walked over to Pioneer Place, hopped on a Max train,

and rode all the way to Sunset Station through the big tunnel. He clearly had a blast, because when we pulled out of Washington Park station, he joyfully declared "I love Choo-Choos!"

Afterward, we met Mama for lunch at Todai and Gabriel chowed down on teriyaki, tomato salad, sushi, about eight orange wedges and my peach crepe.

No News is Good News?

Nothing breaking on the Baby Reid front this morning. Kate even took the time to make a shrewd observational comment on one of my posts the other day, so things must be somewhat relaxed over there for now.

Word on the street, however, is that the birth will occur sometime early next week. We shall see; Gabriel is ready to go visit the baby.

A Lucky Day

Happy Friday the 13th, Everyone.

It isn't lucky for radio veteran Don Imus, however. As many of you know, he was recently fired by CBS Radio for some sort of racial slur he made over the radio, apparently reading what was on his new coffee mug the other morning.



If you care to buy a mug just like this, or any number of other related in-bad-taste merchandise, follow this link to Cafe Press.

A Fresh Start

I finally got around to updating and cleaning up this blog.

I started it in 2003 and it has somehow managed to survive all this time, despite stretches without updates, boredom, and obvious major life changes. So here it is.

Improvements

1. Gabriel Photo: I now have a static photo once again, located at the top of the left-hand margin.
2. Video(s): Right below Gabriel's static photo is a video library, though right now there is only one video. Click on a video and it plays at the top of the body of the blog.
3. Post Archive: One can now look up recent and long-past posts via a hierarchical list in the middle of the right-hand margin.
4. Links: I can categorize links by groups, and have already started with three family-related links.
5. Labels: Even though I've only started using them, one can now look up posts based on the content of the post - the directory is below the list of links in the right-hand margin.
   

There will be more additions in time, all improvements I think. Until then, check back frequently.

Super Shopper

Super Shopper, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Here's the super shopper sporting his sun glasses. I have uploaded some new, recent photos. Click on the photo above or the Easter Dinner photo in the previous post (or click this link) to view the recent additions.

Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner, originally uploaded by korynasz.

Here's a shot of Easter dinner with Gabriel working on eating all of the crust off the bread. Jack Nemeth is in the red shirt, Memo and Grandma on the left, Papa and Nana on the right, and Dada in the foreground in the blue shirt.

Mama is snapping the photo. Also visible is our new dining room set that barely made it in time for Sunday. I had to rent a U-Haul at the last minute to go pick up the set from Consignments Northwest because they called and canceled our already-delayed delivery.

I read the company owner the Riot Act but the best he could do was "help us load it if you bring a truck yourselves." I got this news on Saturday afternoon - how I managed to rent a truck that late in the day on Saturday is a milagro. With several strokes of luck I got the dining set back to the house and Jill and I unloaded it ourselves.

Unfortunately, because of the ordeal we didn't have time to dye Easter eggs with Gabriel, but honestly he had so much fun running up and down the U-haul truck ramp that he clearly had a great time anyway (REALLY BIG TRUCK, DADA!!)

But all in all, it was a happy Easter.

Baby Reid Delivery Update

Kate has updated all sorts of information about the delivery hospital in Folsom, visiting hours, and everything else one needs to know if going to visit when Gabriel's cousin is born.

Check out the Its A Reid! website for all the details.

I told Tom this morning that April 15 was my bet, and I think Kate would be okay with that as long as the birth wasn't Friday April 13th.

Jesus Party with Uncle Jap

Hopefully everyone had a great Easter. Ours was quite nice, if not a little unusual.

We're quite proud of Gabriel as he figured out the meaning of Easter. We told him that after he woke up from his nap, we were having a party - we barely hosted Easter dinner for the family.

On his own, he said it would be a Jesus Party. And that's basically right!

Jack Nemeth, Jill's uncle, drove down from Seattle where he's been the past four weeks assuming his new job as Marketing Director for the Seattle Times newspaper. He's been put up in a hotel downtown all this time, so I'm betting a friendly home-cooked meal was a nice change of pace from all of those terrible gourmet meals he's been having near the Seattle waterfront.

Sandy, Judy's sister, is getting things finished up with the sale of their home in Connecticut. She should be joining him full-time in Seattle sometime later this Spring after the home sells.

Gabriel did not immediately take to Jack. He wouldn't share his Joe's O's with Jack in church. But by the end of the evening, Gabriel was talking to "Uncle Jap" and chattering away. And, he gave Jack a good-bye kiss on his way out the door.

In all, we had the pleasure of Easter dinner with Gabriel's Memo, Grandma, Nana, Papa, Uncle Jack, Mom and Dad.

Dinner was very nice: smoked salmon - salmon fillets provided by Grandma & Memo - with some nice sides, including a yam recipe Jill improvised that turned out nicely, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Not bad at all!

Gabriel's Cousin Arriving Early?

Gabriel's Aunt Kate is reporting at her blog It's A Reid! that she may be delivering early because of blood pressure/Preeclampsia symptoms.

She's been prescribed lots of bed rest and will likely have to return to the hospital for more blood pressure/symptom monitoring. And, apparently, the baby's size is consistent with 40 weeks already! Looks like early delivery is growing more probable by the day.

Check her website frequently for updates!

Why Don't Oysters Donate to Charities?

Because they're shellfish.

Yes, indeed, I'm getting as much mileage out of this clean but cornier-than-Iowa joke as I possibly can.