Once again I have gotten sidetracked in the lazy days of summer. It seems that Daphne, my job, and my latest hobby (watch repair) have consumed most of my time.
This Saturday I hope to finish my kitchen tile repair work for good. Jennie and Daphne will be out and about running errands, so I can finish grouting and make any last minute tile cuts uninterrupted. We fear the new grout (different brand) will stand out and look different (from the old, original stuff). A couple of wide ranging suggestions from friends and family: "spill some coffee or food on the new grout to help it blend", "don't worry about it", and "grout? Why bother grouting? It looks fine, Davey" hehehe.
Here's the pattern I used for my kitchen floor...
Keep an eye out for some updated photos of Daphne before the weekend is in full swing.
Only five brief months ago, Daphne entered this world with a strong set of lungs. She never ceases to amaze us with the volume of her "hoot and holler". Daphne's early evening nap (7pm ~ 10pm) usually involves a lot of fussing and crying (and that's from Jennie and me). hehehe
Whenever she starts pouting and squirming, we know she is ready for a visit to her crib. Once her fingers enter her mouth and we hear the magical slurp, she usually falls asleep within moments.
Here are some new photos from this weekend:
Peaceful rest, tender moment... Big stretch after eating some booby...
It seems like I have been running around non-stop all day. Simple stuff like fixing the leaky kitchen sink and replacing the refrigerator water filter were among the big chores. Daphne has been talking up a storm the past few days and today was no exception. She will smile and have gibberish conversations with Oprah and anyone hosting a Food Network TV program.
My frugal nature is leading me deep into the world of watch repair. Sure, I could afford to send off my twelve year old Seiko Kinetic in for a new capacitor and gasket change (authorized repair centers charge $90 to $150 depending on condition), but what fun would that be? Now that I have the tools for the job, I ordered the parts I will need to fix the watch for less than $20! I know, I know, you are thinking, "Dave, will you screw up that sentimental watch?" Trust me, I am "Uber careful" and take pride in my steady hands. After all, I used to solder chips on computer motherboards for fun back when 286's and 386's were state of the art!
Jennie's new hobby is babywearing. She studies internet forums and carefully evaluates all the latest trends. I believe she will be ordering a BabyHawk this week.
Here are a few photos of Jennie visiting a friend's house and trying on her Ball Baby Overall:
Daphne's day was quite busy. Jennie ran some errands and visited friends with the little daffodil. When I got home from work, Daphne took a four hour nap, drank some milk, and went back to sleep for the evening. Her nap schedule is a little out of whack and tomorrow will be another action-packed day, too. Jennie and Grammy have a full day planned to take Daphne out on the town.
Well, my newest hobby of the moment is collecting and working on wristwatches. My watchmaker's toolkit arrived today in the mail and now I have the necessary tools to repair, add/remove links, and basically service any type of watch. The $13 toolkit from eBay has already paid for itself. The local jewelry stores charge $10 to add/remove links and $20 to do any type of watch service/maintenance. Now, if I only understood how all the little gears worked inside! hehehe
My favorite Russian Aviator watch. It is a simple, yet elegant timepiece. (click watch for larger image)
Daphne can almost sit up completely without the aid of a pillow. If you place Daphne's palms flat on her knees while she sits up, she succeeds. Well, until she turns her heavy, bobble head and throws off her balance. I believe she will be crawling very soon as well...
My mother had knee replacement surgery yesterday. Get well soon, Mom!
Remember me griping last summer about the abandoned house behind ours? Technically, the homeowners are probably trying to sell it or lease it, I suppose (with no luck). Someone should mention to the homeowners that houses sell quicker if you mow the yard more than once per year and provide any sort of upkeep (weeding mulch beds, fixing broken windows, etc). But, that's another topic for another day...
Enjoying outside activity becomes tough with mosquitoes aplenty, so Jennie found this valuable product yesterday: Mosquito Dunks. Our neighbors have a stagnant above ground swimming pool (approximately 20 foot diameter) that has not been drained or cleaned in over 2 1/2 years. Last year, the pool water mutated from a delightful green color to a dingy brown. With lily pads popping up, the frog infested water now has a black tint. Yuck! And, sending a registered letter to our town's codes department and mayor yielded no response to this unhealthy eyesore.
Nearing 21 weeks of life, Daphne has finally edged over 14 pounds on the scales. And, hey, her hair is starting to come back as well! It's hard to believe that she has doubled her birth weight and weighs as much as our dog.
July 16th -- Daphne rests while visiting Grammy's house
Today I happily babysat Daphne while Jennie spent a few hours sewing with her buddies. It was a piece of cake really. Daphne slept nearly the whole time Jennie was away. I gave her a large bottle of Mommy's boob refreshment between naps. We played in her exer-saucer, motorized swing, and playpen until she voiced her displeasure (baby boredom).
After Jennie returned, I mowed my knee-high, weed-filled backyard. Poor little Maggie (my 10-year old Cairn Terrier) could have gotten lost in that forest of grass, volunteer weeds, and thistles. I really try not to let the yard get so tall, but it always seems to rain whenever I want to mow. While my rechargeable, electric mower is rated to cut 1/3 of an acre of average height grass on one battery charge, it runs out of juice quickly when the grass is as tall as me. Oh well, that's the price of being GREEN. I still have an ancient gas-powered mower for any emergency mowing needs, but I hate buying gas at $4 a gallon. So, I mow what I can and plug in the electric mower to finish the job another day.
I still have a gas & oil powered weed eater with an extra loud motor for that necessary testosterone release. I may be GREEN mowing the yard, but I burn some serious petrol as I whack them weeds! What a release! Vroom, vroom, vroom...
Here are two more videos of Daphne in her crib. As she begins to sit up, crawl, and say, "da da", I will post more video...
Recorded July 15th -- Proudly swimming in the crib
Recorded June 28th -- Daphne's explosive blowout in her diaper.
In the next few days, I will be posting several 1 to 2 minute video clips of Daphne. I have so much video to splice, but I think you will really enjoy them.
This week, my employer has been holding another liquidation sale of fine timepieces for employees at a fraction of cost (consisting of vendor samples, TV displays, returns, scratch and dents, etc). Several of my co-workers have purchased 10+ watches, and I can't blame them (especially with Christmas right around the corner). I purchased a couple of Haurex (Italian) and limited edition Vostok-Europe (Russian) watches as well as an Avier (Swiss) stadium watch. My Riedenschild (exquisite German timepiece) will be up for sale soon; I just don't have the patience to own a manual watch that requires winding every day. Only battery-powered or automatic (kinetic) watches for me!
Here's one of my favorite acquisitions...
Well, I need to run for now, but check back for some new Daphne photos later today...
Howdy y'all. It seems like an eternity since I last blogged. Sorry.
Over the weekend, Daphne discovered her toes! She gazes in amazement at those plump, little sausages at the end of her legs. It's quite comical to watch her crouch over and grab her piggies.
Also, Daphne is becoming more interested in her play pen these days. She actively reaches out, grasps with both hands, and places anything (and everything) in her mouth. Drool gently drips down her chin continually. Visitors to our house will notice random burp cloths on every chair and table. You can never have too many burp cloths for a teething Daphne.
Photos or video tonight! Check back often...
Evening update #1: (6:11pm) here's Daphne taking an afternoon nap. Her room gets the afternoon sun. It's warm!
