The Prodigal Daughter Returns

Go Blue!!

2011-06-02T22:43:00.000-04:00

Stolen from the Michigan Football Facebook page. Love it!

Sunrise on the Bay

2011-05-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Kent Narrows - Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

Shipwrecks

2011-05-26T22:20:00.003-04:00

Shawn bought a poster that showed the locations of all the shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay at Kent Island Days.

He couldn't wait to use his new-found knowledge to play with his side-scan sonar.

This is sonar image of the Herbert D. Maxwell, a schooner that collided with a steamer in 1910 and sank not far from Sandy Point. Shawn writes about it here on his website. Definitely worth a read.

Os vs. Nats

2011-05-21T23:20:00.000-04:00

Shawn went to see the Nats play the O's this afternoon in Baltimore. Thanks to Rich, he had primo seats! Too bad the Nats lost.

What the Festival-Goers Saw...

2011-05-21T19:17:00.002-04:00

.... when they walked down East Main Street on the way to Kent Island Days.

Shawn and I worked overtime to get our yard in shape for Kent Island's big day.

Kent Island Days

2011-05-21T19:10:00.013-04:00

Crockett meets another Chessie at Kent Island Days & has something to say about it!

The other puppy was not impressed.

Kent Island Days takes over "downtown" Stevensville.

They close the streets and let the Historical Society, vendors, reenactors, authors, food carts, singers, dancers, and pretty much anyone who asks, set up a table.

We've learned a lot about the history of the Eastern Shore, Kent Island, Stevensville, and our house at this festival.

All the old-timers have stories, and when they find out that we live in "Number 4" on the walking tour, they can't wait to share another historical tidbit with us.

One of these days, we'll join the society, dress up in Colonial garb, and man our own booth at Kent Island Days!

Kent Island Days Parade

2011-05-20T19:07:00.001-04:00

And the 2011 parade season in downtown Stevensville has begun - today was the parade in honor of Kent Island Days. We watched from the front porch.

Ducks at the Metro

2011-05-19T18:59:00.001-04:00

Shawn took the Metro into work today, and was greeted by a family of ducks at the New Carrolton Station.

One down, one to go....

2011-05-18T11:43:00.002-04:00

We sold Crockett's Reel this morning for more than a song. Shawn got a little misty as she rolled out of the driveway, but I'm more than a little happy that my yard looks a little less like a boat graveyard.

Now if I can get him to work on the Eldocraft.....

That's One Way to Catch Oysters!

2011-05-13T18:55:00.001-04:00

Graduation Day

2011-05-07T23:47:00.000-04:00

Waiting for Jake to get his diploma.

Jake Celebrates With His Family. Yea Jake!!

2011-05-07T23:45:00.000-04:00

Aunt Suzi Welcomes Jake Into the Michigan State Alumni Family!

2011-05-07T23:43:00.001-04:00

Jake Faist - College Graduate!

2011-05-07T23:40:00.000-04:00

Aaaugh! Spiders!!

2011-05-07T23:35:00.000-04:00

Milton tries to save Shawn from attacking spiders!

Ella's Free Spirit

2011-05-07T23:10:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Evie for sharing these photos of Ella's fun day in Knoxville.

Old Friends

2011-05-06T22:39:00.005-04:00

Best friends I haven't seen in many years, at a Facebook-inspired reunion on Friday night.

Leta Schindler Howard, Tracey Thomas Pallottini, Janelle Lantz, Sherri Harris Lunow, Lisa Schindler Rodriguez, and me!

Doug Toma

2011-05-05T22:32:00.002-04:00

I learned the sad news that my law school classmate Doug Toma died yesterday from melanoma.

Doug was one of the reasons I loved law school as much as I did. He was the heart and soul of our Summer Starter section - the one who organized the infamous Summer Starter bowling league, wrote the almost over-the-top end-of-semester skits, presided over many a circle in the quad, and made sure that everyone -- including an awkward and uncertain farm girl from Leslie, Michigan -- was included in all the fun.

Doug and I stayed in touch after graduation, even between reunions. I visited him in New York when he was an associate at a doomed law firm; in Ann Arbor, when he went back to graduate school and at reunions; in Nova Scotia, where he and his vivacious wife Linda bought a vacation house on a whim while they were on their honeymoon; in Philadelphia, when he was with the Institute for Higher Education Research at Penn; and in Athens, with Linda and their son Jack, where he ended his career as a professor at the University of Georgia.

I'm posting a couple of pictures - one from our 20th reunion in November 2009 outside Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burgers. Doug wanted to get a Blimpy before the game, and led a group of Summer Starters along with him. And one from law school that I'm borrowing from Andrew McDonald. Doug is in the back row, second from the right.

The Chronicle of Higher Education published a very nice remembrance here.

Rest in peace, my friend. You will be missed.

Nats in the Rain

2011-05-01T23:48:00.001-04:00

With Mitch, watching the Nationals beat the Giants in the rain.

After the game, we had time to scarf down a Ray's Hell Burger (at the recommendation of the President), before dropping Mitch off at National Airport.

Laughing Gulls

2011-05-01T18:52:00.000-04:00

2011-04-30T18:48:00.002-04:00

Mitch came for meetings at the National Academies and stayed for a couple of early mornings on the water with Shawn.

I stayed home and made coffee!

Sunrise on the Bay

2011-04-29T18:46:00.001-04:00

Graffiti

2011-04-26T11:54:00.003-04:00

Mitch sent us an MMS reminder of our visit to Crunchy's in East Lansing over Christmas. He's coming to visit this weekend, after a meeting at the National Academies.

Next Year's Christmas Card Photo?

2011-04-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

Easter Picnic in the Smokies

2011-04-24T23:02:00.014-04:00

What to do on Easter Sunday?

Instead of cooking or trying to find a restaurant that would take our motley crew on Easter Sunday, we decided to drive out to the Great Smoky Mountains in search of adventure.

After a stop at Kroger to stock up on provisions for a picnic, we drove through Pigeon Forge into the most visited national park in the country.

It was a beautiful day, so not surprisingly, many people had the same idea as us. Every picnic area was overflowing with people and dogs and cars - not quite the ambiance we wanted for our day in the mountains.
As we crossed the border into North Carolina, we started looking for places to pull off. We found a parking area that had been barricaded for maintenance, so we decided to take our chances and see what was up the trail.

Remember - we had a toddler, cooler, and a couple of tote bags full of supplies with us, so any rough hiking was out of the question.

We hit the jackpot, finding a short trail that ended next to a shaded waterfall with a flat space and plenty of good sitting rocks next to the creek - the perfect spot for our Easter picnic.

There was even a tree that had a cross carved into it.

After lunch, we waded into the creek. Shawn built a cairn; Ella went "swimming;" Jacob, Cory, and Michael hopped rocks; and the rest of us got varying degrees of wet.

Daniel couldn't resist jumping into my photo of Shawn's handiwork.

All in all, a pretty perfect Easter dinner!

What's So Funny?

2011-04-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

Two-Fisted Tucker

2011-04-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for a road trip, Tucker makes sure he won't go thirsty. The boy has grown (and grown, and grown)!

Happy Belated Birthday to Ella!

2011-04-23T22:14:00.001-04:00

Ella checks out the loot in her birthday bag from Grand Dad & Grannie Diannie.

Gus

2011-04-23T10:54:00.000-04:00

Visiting Daniel & Tiffany this weekend. This is my "grand-dog" Gus, amazingly calm for a change.

New Haircut

2011-04-21T22:51:00.000-04:00

Not sure how well you can see it from this picture, but I FINALLY got my hair cut.

Opening Day, 2011

2011-04-16T18:41:00.000-04:00

Shawn starts the 2011 rockfish season off with a bang!

My Boat In Action!

2011-04-08T20:37:00.002-04:00

Creig & Shawn show Thunder Road's best side!

It Doesn't Take Long Before the Masses Start to Swarm

2011-04-07T20:34:00.001-04:00

It's hard to keep a good fishing spot a secret for long!

Creig's Spring Fishing on the Bay

2011-04-06T18:23:00.002-04:00

Every year, Creig manages to squeeze in a little fishing when he comes to Washington for a conference. Shawn is only too happy to oblige!

Spring Family Fishing Extravaganza

2011-04-03T22:16:00.004-04:00

Sometimes We Miss the Benches on Crockett's Reel

2011-04-03T20:19:00.001-04:00

How Shawn Copes With the Weather

2011-04-02T18:05:00.002-04:00

Yuengling, bungee cords, and a heavy-duty shower curtain liner!

April Fool's!

2011-04-01T21:40:00.005-04:00

Despite the title of my post, these photos have not been Photo-shopped. On this day of pranks and spoofs, Cory caught his personal best rockfish.

The big fish was almost more than he could handle!

Read all about it here.

Opening Day at National's Stadium

2011-03-31T21:39:00.004-04:00

The weather was cold & rainy, the Nats lost to the Braves (much to Cory's delight), I didn't get there 'til the game was half over because I couldn't get away from work.... but I still had a great time!

Yea Baseball!!!

The Band

2011-03-26T19:17:00.003-04:00

Mountain Soul has a new CD coming out. Lots of old, familiar tunes with a new spin. Can't wait!

Hollywood Dog

2011-03-19T21:59:00.003-04:00

Crockett takes the video camera from Shawn and turns it on him. See the video here.

Ella & Tucker

2011-03-19T10:38:00.001-04:00

Houston for the Weekend

2011-03-13T21:39:00.014-04:00

Shawn went to Houston this weekend without me.

He had a board meeting and not a lot of time off, so he made it a quick down-and-back trip.

We left the house at 4:00 on Friday morning, so he could get to the airport in time for his 6:00 flight. Too early! But if nothing else, it was a beautiful day to fly.

He had a couple hours to kill before his flight home on Sunday, so he took his rental car to Galveston and drove it down the beach. He found the barbeque on the way back to Hobby.

A Walk in the Woods

2011-03-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

Shawn took Crockett fishing in the rain today, and wrote it about it here.

Where's Tiffany?

2011-02-19T18:05:00.001-05:00

Somehow, I managed to not take a single picture of Tiffany on her birthday weekend.

I baked 30 chocolate fudge cupcakes, and was so busy carrying the display out to the party (I need to audition for a Food Network challenge show!!) that I forgot to give someone my camera.

We missed Tiffany's awesome breath control - she's a flute player, you know - as she blew out all those candles.

Hitching a ride from Granddad

2011-02-19T17:59:00.001-05:00

Uncle Cory

2011-02-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

Tucker giggles and giggles when Uncle Cory blows in his face.

Dogs everywhere!

2011-02-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

It was tough for Crockett to adjust from being a precious only child to just one of the pack. In addition to Gus, he had to put up with Steve & Evie's dog Silas.

Good dogs, in spite of themselves.

Tucker gathers firewood

2011-02-19T17:45:00.003-05:00

We are in Knoxville this weekend to help Tiffany celebrate her 30th birthday with a backyard cookout/cornhole tournament/bonfire.

Tucker had a ball playing with the wheelbarrow full of firewood for the bonfire. I wasn't quick enough to catch it with my camera, but he managed to upend the entire thing - twice. After the second time, we decided not to pick up the firewood, since we were just going to throw it into the fire from the pile.

Needless to say, he was disappointed that we stopped playing this very fun game!

Leah takes to the trees

2011-02-19T17:41:00.001-05:00

Monkey Girls

2011-02-19T17:37:00.001-05:00

Leah & Ella, just hanging around in Daniel & Tiffany's yard.

They were just hoping I would hurry up and take the picture!

Another bigg'un

2011-02-16T21:31:00.001-05:00

Perch-Jerkin'

2011-02-06T21:24:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Mitch!

2011-02-05T21:13:00.002-05:00

Mitch decided to treat himself to a fishing trip for his birthday. Suzi took the GRE this week, so she didn't have time to bake her husband a cake. I decided to remedy that with cupcakes.

As you can see from the pictures, he wasn't too disappointed.

Sneak up on 'em!

2011-01-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

Shawn gives the "thumbs up" to his friend Jamie's big fish.

First big snowfall

2011-01-26T23:56:00.002-05:00

It took us a long time to get home tonight, as the storm hit just in time to mess up rush hour. They're predicting less than a foot. Hopefully, it won't pile up the way it did last year.

Big Fish at Taylor's Island

2011-01-19T23:50:00.002-05:00

Ramos Gin Fizz

2011-01-16T23:46:00.000-05:00

Shawn put his Christmas shaker to good use tonight and shook (and shook and shook) us up a batch of Ramos Gin Fizzes. This classic New Orleans drink hit the spot.

Yellow Perch for Dinner

2011-01-02T23:41:00.003-05:00

Shawn went perch-jerking tonight and bought home dinner.

My favorite is the yellow perch eating a baby catfish.

We got to eat the perch - the cycle of life continues!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:00:00.004-05:00

I made it! Twelve minute miles, when you subtract the almost 10 minutes it took me to cross the starting line.
More than 5,000 people signed up to run. If you count the bandits, like me, who didn't register, there were probably twice that many people on the starting line. If you look closely, you can see Lorenda and me in the crowd shot.

And the best part - we had fireworks for at least the first 15 minutes of the run.

At the end of the race, Lorenda posed with a pair of women who dressed up as Emerald Nuts. If I ever do this again, I'm wearing a costume for sure!

Central Park at Midnight

2010-12-31T23:55:00.001-05:00

Much, much more fun than ringing in the New Year in Times Square!

New York City!

2010-12-31T22:56:00.005-05:00

Lorenda talked me into coming to New York City for New Year's to run the Emerald Nuts Midnight run in Central Park with her. I'm sick, tired after a week of company, old, and out of shape. But I'm here!

The weather - after a big snowstorm last week - is cooperating. Predicted temperature at midnight: 42 with calm winds. I think I can do this!!

Sarah tagged along with her mom - her first trip to the Big Apple. We're staying up at Columbia Medical School's executive residences (thanks Ross!). Last night, we took the train to the Upper West Side to join UT alumni in New York City to watch the Vols' last second loss in its bowl game.

After the game, we rode down to South Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, then wandered uptown to look at the construction at Ground Zero. We hopped off the train at Times Square to look at the ball, 24 hours before it's scheduled to drop. At Sarah's request, we got her some genuine New York City street food.

Shawn tagged along with me. I couldn't convince him to run, but he couldn't pass up the chance to get oysters and champagne in Grand Central Station in the middle of the afternoon on New Year's Eve.

Artwork

2010-12-30T22:41:00.000-05:00

Ella had a little help from her dad, coloring this page in one of her Christmas coloring books. Looks familiar, eh?

Last fishing trip of the year

2010-12-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

Shawn and Daniel got skunked today out on the water, but at least it was a beautiful day to be out there!

Let me out!

2010-12-29T22:29:00.002-05:00

Tucker likes to climb the stairs, so we keep a baby gate in place to keep him from getting away from us. Sometimes, he manages to slip through when we're not looking. That boy is keeping us on our toes!

The Christmas Card Photo That Wasn't

2010-12-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

Cookies!

2010-12-26T22:24:00.001-05:00

I overdid the holiday baking this year, so there were plenty of goodies left for the kids. They made a major dent in my surplus.

Ella can't decide if she wants a tree or a snowflake, so she takes one of each. Yum!

Tucker likes his Christmas cinnamon roll!

2010-12-25T10:57:00.001-05:00

What is it??

2010-12-25T08:19:00.000-05:00

A new mandolin!

Presents!

2010-12-25T08:10:00.006-05:00

Christmas Morning in Stevensville

2010-12-25T08:06:00.003-05:00

Ella's gonna be a baker like Grannie Diannie.

2010-12-25T07:35:00.003-05:00

Tucker checks out the loot under the Christmas tree.

He can't wait for his new toys, so he made do with a vacuum cleaner attachment.

Happy Birthday Cory!

2010-12-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

Crockett loves Christmas too!

2010-12-24T11:24:00.002-05:00

Crockett, playing with "Justin Beaver," a Christmas present from his California cousin Benson.

On the eve of Christmas Eve

2010-12-23T23:39:00.000-05:00

Ready for the kids to arrive!

O Holy Night

2010-12-23T23:36:00.001-05:00

Checklist complete! Just in time for Christmas!

2010-12-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

Miller Family Christmas

2010-12-19T21:31:00.005-05:00

In Michigan this weekend for Miller family Christmas.
For some reason, I didn't take too many pictures. I guess it's because Mitch kept me busy in the kitchen. At least we ate well!

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Maryland Style!

2010-12-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

Biggest fish of the year, almost

2010-12-10T21:18:00.000-05:00

Holiday baking

2010-12-04T00:26:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving with the Kimbro Clan

2010-11-27T21:11:00.002-05:00

Some family photos from Thanksgiving weekend at Creig & Tonya's.

Shawn's Return to Live Radio in Tennessee

2010-11-26T13:31:00.005-05:00

We came to Knoxville for Thanksgiving this year. We decided to drive down on Thursday to miss traffic, since the kids were spending the holiday at Steve and Evie's.

When we got up on Friday morning, Shawn decided to tag along with Daniel as he mixed the Blue Plate Special at WDVX. When one of the featured acts cancelled, Daniel volunteered him and his Dad to fill in. When I got the call to "bring my banjo," Ella and I jumped at the chance to see our guys in action.

Shawn used to be a regular in WDVX's lineup, but hasn't been on a Blue Plate Special since we moved to Maryland. Ella and I got some hot chocolate and settled into our first row seats for the show. I'm a bit biased, but if I do say so myself, Shawn picked up right where he left off - pretty cool!

Just One More Cast!

2010-11-20T00:17:00.001-05:00

My darling husband never knows when it's time to come home when the fish are still biting.

Another Whopper

2010-11-18T23:16:00.000-05:00

Sunday Fishing

2010-11-14T23:09:00.002-05:00

It looks like the fishing gods smiled on the boys today.

Back Yard Bounty

2010-11-13T12:04:00.000-05:00

Harvesting herbs to spice up dinner for the boys.

Visitors from Michigan

2010-11-12T23:44:00.000-05:00

Mitch asked Shawn to plan a fall fishing trip for him, so we used it as a chance to bring Jake out at the same time.
We owed him a fishing trip after an earlier planned one fell through. As you can see from their haul - Shawn thought it was one of the best fishing days of the entire year - he's probably glad he waited!

Pennsylvania Interlude

2010-11-10T23:22:00.005-05:00

Shawn took a day off work and drove north to another capitol city - Harrisburg, PA - to do a little bass fishing on the Susquehanna River.

He told me that this is a competition-size small mouth bass. Maybe it's so big because it swims in the discharge of the Three-Mile Island Nuclear Plant?
It's safe to say that he enjoyed his day off!

Diamond Jim?

2010-11-02T23:08:00.002-04:00

Shawn caught a tagged rockfish tonight. Sadly, it was not the elusive Diamond Jim, worth $25,000 to the lucky fisherman who reels him in. Instead, this guy had a $20 bounty on his head. Not bad, but not $25 K either!

Shawn's Fall Rockfish

2010-11-01T23:06:00.000-04:00

Did We Make A Difference?

2010-10-30T23:59:00.003-04:00

I hope so.

If nothing else, we had some fun, adding to the body count on the Mall today.

My all time favorite sign of the day!

2010-10-30T23:58:00.001-04:00

Oh no, not more signs!

2010-10-30T23:57:00.005-04:00

Still More Signs

2010-10-30T23:54:00.008-04:00

Hey, that protester looks familiar!!

More Signs

2010-10-30T23:48:00.012-04:00

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

2010-10-30T23:21:00.009-04:00

We gave up fighting the crowds to get closer to the stage and found a place to perch outside the Air & Space Museum.

The highlight of the day was reading the signs of the various protesters. The thing about this rally was that it allowed the everyone in the crowd to project his or her own meaning on the event.

Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear

2010-10-30T23:01:00.010-04:00

What to do on a perfect fall afternoon?

Join thousands upon thousands of other people on the Mall for a rally/ Comedy Central event!

We love the Daily Show/ Colbert Report, so had to do our part to "protest" the haters out there who are intent on turning the clocks back 50 years.

Not sure that anything can turn the tidal wave that's cresting, but I'm going to do my part.

Vote Tuesday.

Sunrise over the Wye River

2010-10-30T23:01:00.001-04:00