Here

I know it's been forever since I blogged. It's partly because I've been busy and partly laziness. We went to Chapel Hill for Christmas, as we have every year since we've been engaged. It was blessedly warm for much of the time we were there. Oh, how I miss the South. On the way down we visited friends in Philadelphia, D.C., and Charlottesville. Then, rather than heading straight back up I-95 (yuck), we went to Ithaca for a few days. I believe this might actually have saved us money, if you weigh tolls vs. extra gas. Well, in any case we got a free dinner New Year's Eve at John Thomas Steakhouse. Num, as Auletta would say. Then back home. We managed to miss two snowstorms while we were gone, although the second one also hit Ithaca and the sidewalks here remain icy because it is still COLD. Did I mention I miss the South? Oh, but unlike my fair readers in Seattle, we believe in snowplows and salt here, so it's not that bad.

I can report that Auletta has several words, sort of:
1. "No" but always in multiples, i.e. "no no no!" when anyone besides her Uncle Harry, whom she still loves best, tries to pick her up.
2. "Boo!" or something like it when she plays her version of peekaboo, which involves sticking something that might or might not be larger than her eyes in front of what might or might not be her eyes.
3. She understands (but does not say) "nose" and "ear" in reference to my face, at least, and is happy to demonstrate her knowledge of their locations, repeatedly.