Rusharound

We have lots of neat neighbors here at our fifty-unit condominium complex.  One of the most exceptional is Penny Lane, a neighbor I’ve had the pleasure of knowing better that most during the last couple of years.  Penny is one of those people who have uncommon grace, judgment and senior fortitude that distinguishes her in just about any group.

She’s also a giver.  I know that because she has a long history of turning her talents into gifts for others. (Need evidence? – she’s one of the tireless superstars volunteering on our condominium’s board of trusteees.  Oh, and I have wearable proof of her knitting skills –  tremendous.)

Penny recently outdid herself.  When she heard that we are gearing up to move to Connecticut, she offered to write a real estate piece about our unit for the local newspaper (this being her profession).

Penny never stops giving – and all of us Aberdeeners are lucky to have her among us.  Thanks for everything you do, Penny.

As I write this on Saturday night, Ted Kennedy’s body about to be lowered to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. I’ve been moved by the two day celebration of his life and have soaked in the stories of a man whose generosity, humor, civility are as recognized as his public failings. I especially appreciated the sailing stories and the nights on the Cape singing songs with friends, family and colleagues. They make the Lion seem all the more familiar and wonderful. Thanks for everything, Ted.

Many of you know that River and I have a habit of going for walks around Fresh Pond, usually from 6:15 to 7:45AM every day.  We’ve been doing it long enough to have made some friends, most of whom we don’t know by name, but still count on seeing during our morning circuit.

This morning brought a bumper crop of these friends including one of the few whose name I know – June.  Like the others she stopped to say hello and ask what’s new with River.  She even gave his toes a little squeeze and recommended her favorite book on baby sleeping.

We ended today’s walk at Deluxe Town Diner where Sarah met us for breakfast.  River has charmed all the waitresses there – some know about the “Just Dance” trick and one in particular makes River smile with her clicking noises.  All told, I think we had about a dozen fans during our morning walk and breakfast today and we feel really lucky that so many people stop to make River smile when they see us coming. The thought of our friendship volunteer corp makes me smile too – which is why this entire group gets today’s Sunday Props.   We’ll see you tomorrow!

On Thursday night my computer stopped working properly.  It could find our local wireless network, but it couldn’t really transfer any data through it.  I tried re-setting things, adjusting configurations, and asked the good people at Apple for their recommendation.  Their conclusion: bring it in to the store for a look see.

So I did.  And they said my computer needed some internal hardware replaced and that I would be without my computer for three to five days.

Sound scary?  Did you just imagine what you would do if you had to give up your computer for three days?  In my case, I said “okay” and left it there.  That bravado is a result of two things:  an 8 year old spare PC (on loan from my company) and my close relationship with The Cloud.

Just about everything I do is backed up someplace on the Internet (the cloud).  My mail is handled by Gmail and their Enterprise version of Gmail.  My calendar is held by Apple’s Mobile Me, and even my files are backed up online through a thing called SugarSync.  And, for good or for bad, all my business contact details are stored with Salesforce.com   So I when I got back to the office, I fired up the ancient IBM Thinkpad and I’m back in business.  In fact, the only feature  I don’t have are Slingbox and all my iTunes songs, but both of these are available on the iPhone.

Thank you Internets and all the well designed safety nets that make losing my Mac for a couple of days still bearable.

I know.  We’re falling behind in the Sunday Props department.  We have plenty to be thankful for — it’s just that they come in small doses sometimes.  Take for example River’s happy little chirps (video), outings to the beach (pic), and great families (just one pic there, but this category could so many Hambletons, Dunbars, Movalsons and more!)

So be assured, we are well and thankful, if not super-frequent bloggers.

R3, S & R4

Just a few hours ago, Heather and Marc had their little long-awaited baby:  9lb, 7oz, William Wright Gustafson.  His 26-hour labor gave Heather a chance to prove what we’ve already known – that she is one tough cookie and that they are going to be great parents.

But for now, some much needed sleep for all three of them.

Guess what River – new friend!

This week’s “Son-day” Props go to a fellow who just this week celebrated six months of life outside the womb.  As doting parents, we have lots to say about this little guy.   Click the link coming up to read more about our little man’s first half year on earth. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, friends, he does his own stunts: