i just opened iphoto and realized that there is a bunch of stuff i never got around to posting. here is some of it:

jon and laurie came to visit. among other things, we threw a picnic (sadly, no pics), picked strawberries:

(i have a picture of laurie from many, many years ago picking strawberries, that i seem to remember looks just like this one. i should dig it out.)

went to the bookmill:

and rested:

a week or so later, we took a co-worker’s extra tickets to see james taylor off her hands. or, at least, we think we saw james taylor…from our seats it could very well have just been a big-screen broadcast of a recorded james taylor concert:

either way, we found out just how awesome it is to hang out at tanglewood.

***we will now take a moment for a doggie intermission***

***feel free to get some snacks before the next portion of the catching-up begins***

ok, what else does iphoto say we have done?

we visited with good friends, and their amazing twin girls, who were staying in a nearby town. (again, sadly, no pics.)

tom’s parents came for a visit. among other things, we took a boat ride on the Connecticut river:

and went to a bunch of flea markets. we came home with many goodies including, a salt grinder that looks like a bunny, though i don’t think that’s intentional:

and two display heads:

don’t the heads look like they would fit perfectly into a dr. who episode?

finally, these amazing flowers are growing in our garden:


we rescued these from the community garden compost pile at the end of last season. at the time, they were only a root and stem and we weren’t sure if they were even going to grow, let alone what they would look like. they seem to be pretty happy to be in our plot now.

phew! that was a lot of stuff. thanks for hanging in there. now i think i am back up to date!

adam says, “aunt tina and uncle tom have the best toys at their house!”

they have silly socks to steal:

shoes to move:

(i’m not sure he understands why, after all of his hard work rearranging my shoes, they just end up where they started each time he comes in my room. he also doesn’t like it when tom’s shoes are in the tv room - they must be moved. shoe-keeping is never ending work.)

scenes from “bob the builder” come to life:

sombreros:

(ok, so this was actually at our friend’s party, but it still counts! we play with hats often. in this picture he has 3. count ‘em.)

boxes:

(there have also been sessions with pepsi, snapple, and boca meatless boxes.)

and, of course, the big cardboard tubes:

we sure do know how to keep a toddler entertained!

thanks to an urgent text message from my sister this morning, i now know that the new kids on the block will be appearing on the today show this friday, april 4th. this friday!! the rumors of a reunion, as reported here on this fine blog months ago, were true.

click to see the trailer, and then watch the other three videos of joey, jon and danny.
or go here to choose from the videos.

but as i look around the today show’s page for its concert series, i don’t see nkotb listed. are they not going to perform? i can hardly wait until friday…the suspense…

squeeeee!

my sister and niece came up for a visit this thursday thru sunday! it was fabulous to have them around. we did a lot of hanging around the house and playing with toys. but we also ventured outside of the house to explore the town, see a dog show, go consignment shopping and hear some stories read.

the story and song hour was at the eric carle museum of picture book art, a place i adore. after the books were read, we wandered around the exhibits. landry fell in love with this picture:

and we played with paper in the art room:

where she grabbed a piece of blue paper and carried it around for quite some time.

she was willing to trade the paper for a very hungry caterpillar, which she hung onto for most of the rest of the visit:

she did put it down for a few minutes to play with some yarn, though:

that’s my girl.

a very good question! i’m not quite sure of the answer.

i have heard, loud and clear, from quite a few people, that leaving a waffle-related post up for over two weeks is not enough to keep everyone entertained. (but it’s about waffles! how can you grow tired of waffles?) fair enough.

so, here i am. getting back in the habit of posting on the blog. a quick look through recent photos on my computer makes me wonder just what has been going on in life around here. apparently nothing camera-worthy. while there has been no blogging, there has also been very little picture taking.

i think that part of the problem is that i have yet to figure out how to knit and blog at the same time. unfortunately, both hobbies seem to use both of my hands. and while i can normally commit enough time to blogging and knitting, i have been facing some wacky knitting deadlines, both work-related and personal. i was a bit in over my head in yarn. but those deadlines have passed and i would show you the results, but again…there are no pics. odd.

i promise to try to do better moving forward.

my sister sent me an email with the information below, with the subject line above.

“After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.

The band’s Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.

The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.

The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early ’90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.

Eighteen years later, they’re still “Hangin’ Tough.” The oldest “Kid,” Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band’s demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight’s brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.”

omg!
christina, we have to figure out if we are going to see them in nj, for old time’s sake, or in ma, their home turf. either way, start growing out that jordan-knight-tail.