Our dehumidifier

We've had some problems in the basement with mold growing on Tabby's
food because of the humidity in our basement.

We got the dehumidifier at Morgan & White, which is run by a couple of
old guys (Mr. Morgan & Mr. White we presume). It was very old school
as far as appliance stores go, but they did have good humidifiers in
stock, which we found out was not too common at other places.

Celebrating the first day of school

The first day went really well. I have mainly upper level freshies
this semester, so there was a lot of timidity in the group, but they
did seem like a nice bunch of kids.

My new classroom pics

The room is nice and large. Lots of space and plenty of storage. Now I
just need to figure out what I'm teaching a little better.

My new classroom

Westbrook Jrs.

Westbrook Muster is the 2nd largest muster in the nation. Notable
groups were the Ancient Mariners and Marlborough Jr. Corps.

Westbrook Fife & Drum Corps

At the Westbrook Muster, with a total of 44 corps.

My mocha is happy

Breakfast at Paperback Cafe

We arrived at 9:08, which turned out to be about 8 minutes later than
everybody else there. It was busy, but last time we were here it was
really good, so it should be worth it.

Chillin' at The Dinosaur Place

Jamie & Brooke met us at our house for the grand tour and then we
headed over to The Dinosaur Place. They have a trail with life sized
models of dinosaurs (and a splash park).

We had a fun time looking at the dinosaurs with Brooke & hanging out
with Jamie.

The mostly finished guest bedroom

Today we moved our guest bed in from Sam's parents' place and set up
the guest bedroom. The trim still needs to be painted and we need some
lamps and decoration, but we could (theoretically) house guests!

The (now) uncarpeted stairs

This week Sam and I pulled up the somewhat gross carpet in the living
room and on our stairs. We're planning on eventually getting the
floors redone, but for the time being they're not in too bad of shape.

Beautiful flowers

This morning we met the Jamies at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield for
their "Peach Festival." We hit up their Sunflower Maze first, & then
checked out the rest of the festivities.

There wasn't too much going on other than carriage rides and a
scavenger hunt of sorts in the grocery-type store they had. We did the
scavenger hunt (in which we couldn't find any of the information in
the store), and then had lunch in a cafe down the road called Perk on
Main, which featured various types of crepes and some tasty coffee.

What does 235,000 sunflowers look like?

Answer:

Lyman Orchard Sunflower Maze

Rescued Seals

A seal that is in the rescue & rehab area of the aquarium.

Cove Fresh Fish Market

For lunch today, Sam & I decided to try out the CT style lobster roll
at a local seafood shack. We found this place in Mystic was highly
recommended.

It was pretty tasty!

Connecticut Style Lobster Roll

Generally lobster rolls are filled with a lobster salad, but in
Connecticut, they're filled with chunks of good ol' lobster meat. Yum!

Duh.

Christian Voter's Guide

Sojourners (a Christian social justice organization) has just put out a guide to Christian voter's issues. I haven't read it through in great detail as of yet, but it looks quite informative and well thought out. This isn't what you might typically think when you think of Christian values (as in the Christian right), but seems (to me) to be well aligned with biblical principles.

Sojourners has identified seven main issues and in the guide breaks down some of what can be included in each. The seven issues are:

1. Compassion and economic justice
2. Peace and restraint of violence
3. A consistent ethic of life
4. Racial justice
5. Human rights, dignity, and gender justice
6. Strengthened families and renewed culture
7. Good stewardship of God's creation

To get the guide, you can go to this website.

Testing the system

Just checking to see if this mobile blogging idea will work.

I'm at the Mystic Starbucks using my 2 free hours of WiFi from being a
starbucks card holder.

Neglected (slightly)

OK. So I haven't updated in awhile.

I think I have a new idea of how to keep this up to date a little easier. I'm going to try to do a little mobile blogging. For example, I'll take pictures with my phone, then put the pictures online with a short commentary from where ever I am. That should be a little lower maintenance and still keep all of you updated with what we're up to.

I'm sure it'll take most of you several days before find I've posted again. :-)