A Deep Exhalation

Can you believe today's the first day of the Fall Quarter at Seattle U? My class isn't until tomorrow, but I'm getting pretty excited. Should be a great year!

And it's been pretty fun ringing in the new year these last few days. While I was wrapping up the Northwest Ancient Philosophy Workshop, Franklin and his new friend Samson were enjoying the first day of fall.

(Thanks to Erin for the photo, and thanks to everyone for a fun weekend!)

Franklin was happy to show Samson around the Cal Anderson playground:


And they were both pretty thrilled to find a tennis ball:

Love the look on Samson's face :)

They even saw a rainbow while stopping for a snack downtown:

(Thanks again, Erin!)

Speaking of rainbows, the whole Workshop was a lot of fun, but one of the highlights was seeing this awesome diagram of the world according to Aristotle's Meteorologica:

From Structure and Method in Aristotle's Meteorologica by Malcolm Wilson (available January 2014).

All that fun's kept me from posting much recently, so here's a few quick items for your consideration:

Fun at the State Fair:

(Thanks for the photo, Bria! Lots of fun seeing friends, but hard to get many photos ourselves lately... seems to be inversely proportional to Franklin's speed on foot...)

Did get a nice look at some sheep though:


And Emily got a nice photo in the Pig Palace:


And recently: a car with a broken wheel was left at the park, and greeted with pure joy by a good friend of mine:


And that good friend's Grandma just retired!

Woo! Congrats!

And if things go smoothly this is the fountain she'll see from the window of her new apartment in Seattle:

Woo!

All right, this last is more from the slow trickle of photos from Jamie and Monique's wedding, and I very much like it:

Okay reader, I'd better go outside and enjoy this last day before my quarter starts!

Summer's Final Bow

Yes, I know those rainy day photos might have made you think of fall, and I know my last post mentioned autumn mists, but let's not forget that we still have a few sweet days of summer left!

In fact, the opening bit of Melissa Clark's recent column is just about perfect:

The calendar may claim September as a summer month, but our national psyche insists that it’s fall. That’s probably because we associate going back to school with crunching leaves underfoot and bundling up in cozy sweaters, even when the temperatures are still in the 70s and the trees still green and full.

This is sad in a way, because in the Northeast September is usually the nicest of all the summer months...

Awfully nice here too of course!

And a nice time to celebrate the closing days of this wonderful summer.

Best summer class I've had the pleasure to teach:

In fact, simply one of the best classes I've taught.

Great experience!

Meanwhile, once fall's really here the new ballet season starts up. Check it out on their website. And yes, the woman sitting in the middle up above is featured on the home page of the Pacific Northwest Ballet :)

Fall's approach also means my summer of planning is almost over and the Northwest Ancient Philosophy Workshop is almost here!

Hope you like that website by the way!

Finally, you're probably wondering what Franklin's been up to lately. Well, he's learned how to climb into his chair:


And he's found his favorite section of the newspaper:

Car ads—figures :)

And had some fun checking out the scene at Flowers on 15th the other day:

Enjoy the rest of your summer, reader!

Season of Mists

Okay, well, my two favorite sections of the Times this past weekend both mentioned the turning that comes around Labor Day, and in fact both referenced Keats' To Autumn along the way.

I suppose it's not by coincidence that Franklin's now starting his new year at the Intergenerational Learning Center: he's left the Baby Room and moved on to the Toddler 2 Room! Not only that, but he'll now be there four days a week, instead of this past year's twice only. That of course means he'll be home with me just one day a week now instead of three...

Maybe I'm a bit o'er-brimm'd with sentiment, but it feels like a big change.

He of course already loves it, and I am definitely enjoying having a little more time to stretch out and enjoy the wonderful work I'm fortunate to call my job. But—and please forgive the self-indulgence—before we get too far along I want to stop and appreciate just how amazing it's been to spend so much time with that guy.

(PS, I promise: if you make it to the end, there's new material too!)

So, from so many great days, a few favorite photos and videos:


April 2012:


May 2012, when Emily went back to work:


Photo texted to mom, June 2012:


June 2012 is also when we started our weekly lunches with Pete. We should be able to continue those on Fridays, but here's a little look back:


Plato research, July 2012:




Visiting mom at work:


At the Birth and Beyond drop-in class:


September 2012:


October 2012—so ready to crawl:




November 2012:


December 2012:




January 2013:






February 2013:


March 2013:






April 2013:


Downtown library story time:






May 2013, at the Capitol Hill library:


Outdoors:




June 2013, more story time fun:


And fun at home:


But as you know, this summer we found our one true Dad & Franklin love:




August 2013:




August's almost over in this next picture; good thing he's recently learned how to say "big kid":


And on the last Friday in August, just before our new schedules start, what better way to celebrate this excellent time:

Cheers, all!

A Friendly Review

Lot of fun we're trying to squeeze in this week—can you believe it's the last weekend for the wading pool??—it's been tough to find time to post much lately. So, here's a quick attempt to get caught up:

Great seeing so many friends recently! Deron and Haley spent a few days in the area, and Franklin enjoyed showing them around Capitol Hill:


And we even convinced him to stay home with a babysitter one night so we could show off a couple of spots he's still too young for, like Sun Liquor:


The extra, exciting twist was that Jeremy and Aiko were also here at the same time, scouting out possible jobs and neighborhoods:

Sure hope it works out—would be great to see everyone more often!

Trying to help them fall in love with the Emerald City, we took them on the water taxi and spent a nice afternoon in West Seattle:


Franklin suggested some activities:


But we opted for more delicious food from Marination Ma Kai instead:

Great setting, great food, great company!



And of course Franklin did his best to make our little apartment look like a charming place:







Hope to see all of you again soon!


Bonus photo! This is from almost a month ago, but I love this photo that Monique sent us from her & Jamie's wedding:

Rosé and string cheese: yeah, we know how to bring the party :)