Rusharound

This post goes out to all of you who have poked me for not updating the site frequently enough.  I guess the twitter postings and the River Hambleton photo album isn’t enough to keep you busy?

What do you people do all day?  Come on over and change some diapers if you’ve got so much spare time.

Or at least join me for some trivia.

Pop-quiz.  What happened on January 24?

A: Gold was discovered in a River at Sutter’s Mill, igniting the California Gold Rush.
B. Neil Diamond was born.
C. River Hambleton was born Read the rest of this entry »

What you see here is Sarah trying to get out of the hospital.  First the woman in the white jacket asked how old our baby was.  When Sarah said “3 days” the man in the jeans turned around to get a peek.

I went to get the car.

Predictably, one of them asked his name and Sarah gave the simple answer:  Richard.  That’s because we’ve found out that not everyone gets the symbolism:

Richard S. Hambleton IV or “R IV” and then RIVer or River.

Sometimes we may be too clever for our own good.  Or maybe not so clever.    Read the rest of this entry »

At 5:29 this morning we heard the very first scream from our brand new son, Richard S. Hambleton IV – aka River Hambleton.   Weighing in at 7lbs, 7 oz he demonstrated his proficiency with knots in his final 10 minutes of labor by wrapping his umbilical cord around his arm.  This hastened his delivery and, with the help of a vacuum, he was delivered to us in perfect health.

We’ll be at the hospital until Sunday night or Monday morning practicing parenting basics  – nursing, swaddling, and one-eye-open-sleeping (because we can’t stop looking at him).  Look for more news in the “Tweets” section on the right of this page.

For now we welcome any thoughts by email (brought to us by the hospital’s wi-fi system.)

See the pics!

Rush, Sarah and River Hambleton

Many of you know that I\’m raising money for a start up called Canditto. Much of that process revolves around business forecasts, so I’ve been playing the ‘what-if’ scenario game a lot recently.

In the start up world, small changes in assumptions can cause enormous changes to our forecasts, so you’d think I would be more tolerant of the extra 3.2% gestation period our little Hambletiny has taken (so far).

But I am not. H’s late. We are as ready as we are going to be. Sarah has been uncomfortable long enough. (So please don’t make us wait until Wednesday’s scheduled induction!)

If you’ve been squinting at the little ‘Tweets” over on the right margin of this site, you may be wondering what’s really going on over here.

Truth is, not much is going on at all — at least not from a baby front.  Sarah and I have been home from work and school since before Christmas and every day we wake up, hope for the best, occupy the same living room/den/office here at our condominium for 15 hours, and eventually go to bed hoping for a baby the next day.  That’ll change a little bit when I resume school tomorrow. <eek>

But I turn it over to my sister who said this more eloquently.   I urge you all to read Kath’s advice to Hambletini.  Thanks for the pixels, sis.

Back to waiting (but under a new Presidential adminstration.  Yay!)

Yea. So are we.

But see that little jumble of text to the right under “Tweets”?

That’s the best place to look for updates about what’s going on with Hambletiny’s parents. The important, little updates, like when we ever leave for the hospital. That sort of thing.

We’ll hope to get some photogenic updates here on the site as soon as there’s something photogenic to show off.

Back to our waiting now.

Inspired by Ann’s recent post, we thought we would share some pictures of Hambletiny’s room to tide you over while you await pictures of the actual baby.
We are not professionals like Ann, and we hope to move in the next year or less, so the walls are still white and our organizational skills could probably use some assistance…But we hope Hambletiny will find it a cozy space to spend his first few months (if he ever decides to evacuate the womb!)

We started with this whale poster:

See more after the jump or on our Flickr page. Read the rest of this entry »

On September 20, 2008, a local farmstand (some might call it a local institution) burned to the ground.  For those who have not been there, Verrill Farm is admired for its careful balance of progressiveness (first farm stand in the area to deliver organic foods directly to restaurants) and  authenticity.  (Think real wooden tables full of vegetables, and prices handwritten on the cardboard box fragments.)

When it burned down, many wondered if that would be the end of Verrill Farm.

Sarah and I visited there this morning (prompted by a posting in their blog of fresh breakfast sandwiches and free roasted chickens – Excellent!).  When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw hay bales outlining the perimeter of the former building.  Nearby, two large mobile trailers, a portable kitchen, and a tractor trailer on loan from US Food Service made for a little “Verrill Village.”   Inside was all the authenticity we’d come to expect and more optimism than their temporary shelter could hold.

On the wall are the architect’s drawings of Verrill Farm 2.0 which will include skylights and recycled heat from the proposed refrigeration system.  Standing at the checkout in a Verrill Farm apron uniform, someone’s grandmother pointed to the hay bales and garden hoses out the window and proudly squawked “Soon you can ice skate where our old kitchen use to be.”

While sitting in the car, staring at the foundation-turned-ice rink and enjoying the best breakfast sandwich and hash browns we’ve enjoyed in a long time, we were both inspired by this local story. I can hardly imagine the work it must have taken to restore power, communications, arrange the temporary structures, and secure necessary health inspectors’ approvals to get the temporary Verrill Farm stand going again (in time for their Thanksgiving business, I’m told).

I’m inspired by the Verrill family’s resolve, resourcefulness and most of all, their spirit.

I hope you’ll visit their farmstand or, if that’s not possible, some of these sites to soak up their culture.

Verrill Farm Blog
Verrill Farm website
Boston Globe Article here and here
Upcoming article in edible Boston to appear here