Fallen Into Knowledge

Obviously, there isn’t one thing that could possibly define a person. If we imagined there were, however, for my father it would have to be his tendency to take up a “hobby,” become obsessed with it, and then, after a while, drop it. Only to repeat the cycle. My dad picked up, and subsequently dropped, knitting long before it was socially acceptable for men to knit. While this tendency has caused some to roll their eyes, I am here to defend it.
My Father has an active and curious mind. He is engaged in the world, which is a source of endless fascination for him. Not too long ago he was showing me the different ways in which fabric is woven; he has taken up competitive speed skating, and trains hard several times a week; right now he working on his garage / workshop, putting the finishing touches on a workbench.
To find the world endlessly fascinating and worth learning about: If I have widely varied interests and pursuits, it is because of my Father. And if - or when - I have kids it is the lesson I want to model for them, as well. Thanks, Dad.

Easter was, as it should be: a day of celebration.  Perhaps the highlight of an already great day was the arrival of the Foster Family Jeep.  What it is:  a 1945 Willys Jeep that left government service to be abused further by the - then young - Foster Family.  It is being restored by my cousin, who is a talented mechanic - it now has a Nissan engine.  When it rolled up, the stories came out: hunting stories, getting stuck, rolling it, getting arrested  and going to jail in it (that would be my mom!):  to hear the stories and to see the joy brought by this old thing was truly wonderful.  Oh, and its really cool!  Some families have heirloom furniture and pictures, we have a jeep.

It’s not a game, Scrabble is serious business

Again this year, I went with the family out to Camas, where my aunt and uncle have a house on the hillside overlooking the river. Dad and I rode up on our bikes, which was excellent. Also Again this year we had to laugh at the view over Portland: Oregon’s Fireworks laws certainly don’t seem to be working all that well. We agreed that we saw more airborn fireworks over Portland than we saw on the Washington side of the river. At some point, if a law is completely disregarded by such a large percentage of a populous, is it advisable just to drop it?
A fun time was had by all.

Today was the speed skating Regional Championships at Oaks Park.  Dad and Jonathan both raced.  If you’ve never witnessed this sport, it is nothing like the roller-skating of yore.  These guys and gals move fast.  And train hard.  I put some pictures on Flickr.

I spent the weekend in Depot Bay with my family.  The weather near-perfect!  Alas, since it is nearing the end of the term, I had to take along school work.  I also took along the cameras; I posted some pictures on Flickr.

Status: Excellent

Right now we are editing Brandon’s, my brother, blog.
go here and check it out!

oh, yea. My little bro is stateside again! Here he is with his wife, Erica. Praise be!

Talked to my Brother last night:
” Is that thermometer maxed out ?”
“Yeah, it was about 128 that day.”
“Good Lord…..”