Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Lisa writes: So, say you really want to get out into the wild and rough it. Do some canoeing, fishing, hiking, maybe shoot a bear. Where's the first place you would think of going? New York, right? Right. Then you'd be thinking exactly like an Anderson. The Andersons have been having this thought (minus the bear shooting) since about 1870. This was my first year to join them in the Adirondacks. The whole place looks like an L.L. Bean catalog. It's very pretty and balsam-scented. We didn't see any bears, but there were a few ferocious mosquitoes. We hiked and paddled and swam and ate ourselves silly. Here are most of the fun folks we got to play with. Let's do it again next year! (Click on any picture to see it bigger.)

Lisa writes: Another setback in the baby-making business. We had a miscarriage yesterday. We've gotten a lot of very sweet and sincere sympathy from friends and family, and we appreciate all of it. I have to say, though, that the best response was from my sister who said, "This one was 10 weeks, the last one was 13 weeks, when you finally have a kid it will be 40 weeks -- that's 63 weeks. That's the gestation period of a baby elephant!"

Lisa writes: This is Tom and his half-sister's aunt Ellie (I think that's right) in Rhode Island back in July. She is 91 and at the party she was as alert and funny and spry as anyone. She enjoyed the party, and sweet nephew Tom, very much. We just heard from her daughter that Ellie's health has taken a turn for the worse, so here's a little internet tribute to a great lady. Update : Ellie passed away on July 27th.

Lisa writes: For the entire year of 1984, this was my brother Don Don's daily uniform (sometimes without the shirt). He was Superman and there was no convincing him otherwise.

Lisa writes: Mom and Dad were up in the Northwest last week to meet Benjamin for the first time. Here he is in all his 8 month old cuteness.

Tom writes: Last weekend, Madison came out east to spend some time with her dad, and they spent a few days with us. If you see them, tell them they should come back, 'cuz we really enjoyed their visit. Here are some of the exploits we had - like getting bitten by Canadian geese! Madison also got loose with the camera at Colvin Run Mill Park, and you can see the world through her eyes, unedited, in all its glory here . If you pay attention, you just might be able to guess when the camera made its way into her hands. ;-)

Tom writes: Not to be outdone by those wily varmints in the backyard, our intrepid heroes carried on with a dogged tenacity that would have impressed even the most apathetic observer. After another hard day's labor, this is what they had to show for their noble efforts. ;-)

Lisa writes: The chipmunk trap arrived last night. We loaded up the trip plate with five peanuts stuck to a big dab of peanut butter. This morning, the peanut butter had been licked clean and two peanuts were gone. The trap door was still wide open. The chipmunks are smarter than we are (and well-fed).

Lisa writes: Madison and her dad visited us in the Big City this weekend and hit up the museums. Here is a self-protrait of Madi exploring the diffusion of the light spectrum. Or squatting in a rainbow. One or the other.

Lisa writes: The jungle gym kids in Cincinnati, circa 1978. That's Dad there on the left, and a passel of our kids and neighbor kids. Does this contraption look safe to you? It looks like it's made of aluminum curtain rods. Kmart was trying to kill us back then. Note the very stylish bare midriffs on my sister Lori and I. This was the last time my belly saw daylight.

Tom writes: Why go anywhere on July 4 when some of the best entertainment is in your very own neighborhood? We found out that this parade is a great tradition, and that our neighborhood has its own concert band (a pretty good one, too) that gives a free concert in the local park on July 4. See some of the excitement!

Tom writes: It is with much pleasure that Lisa and I announce that we have managed to install the following without injury to ourselves or (significant) damage to our house: two ceiling fans a light fixture a dimmer switch a motion detector light several smoke alarms Considering our previous absolute lack of experience or knowledge and some of the tight spaces (Lisa gets the credit for crawling around on her belly in the tightest part of the attic), we are pretty ecstatic about this. One lesson we have learned - it never actually works exactly like the instructions, but with some creativity, you can do it without shocking yourself or burning down the house. And another lesson - estimate how long it will take to do it, then multiply it by four to find out the amount of time it will actually take. Up next: we'll take a turn at swapping out our sea foam green toilet and sink ;-) P.S. Check back soon for an official list of our hourly rates for electrical and household appliance instal...

Lisa writes: Went for a walk at lunch. Saw a big black snake in a tree. This is a pretty good trick for something with no arms and no legs.

Lisa writes: Am I the only person who still occasionally flips open her cell phone and holds it up to her ear to check for a dial tone before dialing?