Team Hammond

Spring is here!

2007-03-14T19:19:00.000-04:00

The snow has all melted and we've had t-shirt weather the past 2 days. Though we've enjoyed making snowmen, throwing snowballs, and skiing/snowboarding, it's nice to open the house up and have longer days. Yesterday we played badmitton and went for a walk on the C&O Canal tow path. I took the picture of Seth down by the river across from Grandma's house.
Seth tried growing out a mustache last week, but it wasn't really filling in (and I didn't like kissing "Mr. Mustachio") so he shaved it off. I toyed with putting a piece of tape on my upper lip so I wouldn't have to feel it when I kissed him.
I start my new job in a month. It's down in Gaithersburg, so we'll probably have to rent an apartment down there. Eventually, I hope Seth will find a job near there as well. I think there are many vineyards and wine importers, so he should be able to find something he likes. Gaithersburg is also where the glass blowing school is that he wants to go to. Glass blowing seems a little dangerous to me (what if you inhale?!), but he's wanted to do it for a long time, so I hope he likes it.

It's Snowing!

2007-01-21T19:19:00.000-05:00

It snowed from about noon to 5:00 this evening for a total of about an inch. It's very pretty and we even got to throw a few snowballs.

Seth and I have been doing Wyldlife for Boonsboro middle schoolers; we had 18 kids at club on Friday. We only do club once a month, so it's tough to learn names and get to know kids, but hopefully a bunch of kids will come to weekend camp in March and we'll get some good quality time then.

Seth has been re-reading the Dune series. He took a reading break and made Vietnamese-style beef noodle soup today. He was trying to emulate the soup from the Vietnamese restaurant in North Palm Beach. The soup was good, but he said it wasn't quite what it should have been. We drove to Frederick yesterday to go to the Asian market and buy ingredients. I bought nori and made sushi last night - it was pretty good. I'll have to make it again soon, but I need to find a place that sells sushi rice.

So that's about all for now. Oh, except that we're going skiing on Friday (those of us who work at MCE get a discount at Wisp). I signed up for ski lessons since it was a really god deal and I figure I should learn. If I don't like it, I can always go back to the snowboard. Seth isn't interested in skiing.

Vietnamese, I hardly knew thee.

2006-10-07T13:41:00.000-04:00

Well if you look closely at my hands you will see that they are not grease monkey blackened but a dark black/purple from the wine. G.R. (my co-worker) says that he likes to go into the bank with his "inky" hands and hold up a 100 dollar bill looking at it closely and say, "Here's a good one" and deposit it. We're making wine at a furious pace. My boss allows me a lot of latitude to make my own wine. I have several batches going that I hope will turn out well. All the whites are picked and a few of the reds, but there are a few more reds to go. Maine was very nice, we spent most of our time in Acadia National Park. We hiked and drove around the park, it was nice but not a substitute for Alaska, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Sequoia, etc. I mean that the park was not on the same level as those greats. Andy and I had a good time though. I'm glad to be back with my wonderful wife. We drove Andy to D.C. to buy a used car from a guy who bought a 58' woodhull boat and country house outside the city for the price(he says) of a two bedroom dump near the city. He and his wife live on the boat most of the time I guess. Afterwards we took another tour the capital(for Andy) and ate at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was really good, but nothing like the deceased "Viet Garden." Vietnamese food is really wonderful. I miss it.

Forget the apple butter, I want more turkey!

2006-09-24T13:05:00.000-04:00

Apple Butter was really great, Elli and I had a excellent time. The title is referring to the great turkeys that were cooked over open flame for 6-8hours and were really the best I've ever had. I had a couple of the huge wings that were amazing and some other dark meat. Friday night we peeled the apples for several hours and chatted. We played games with the kids including ladder golf - you throw a 8-inch rope with a golf ball on each end and attempt to wrap it around one of three rungs(sp?) made of pvc pipe. They had the barrel train ride for the kids as well. They start the butter at 4am Sat. and after breakfast on Sat. I had my turn stirring the apple butter. We had to leave just as it was being canned/jarred at 4pm, hopefully G-ma will be bringing back our share of the spoils. We did a lot more, but I don't want to go on forever. However I will say that it is a really great tradition I hope will continue for many years and that we will be back next year. The picture of DJ is noteworthy not only because he is going for a cookie Lisa is holding behind her, but because after he got a piece of the cookie he walked over and gave it to another little boy. Neat.

Woodward

2006-08-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

The cruise was great, good cars and good company. We had a great time, Frank Smith(Shawn Smith's father) showed us around so that we saw all the really good stuff. I of course didn't know nearly as much as the rest of the guys about the cars, but it was amazing none the less. My Dad and I went to the Henry Ford Musuem on the second day we were in Detroit. We visited the Rouge Plant, Ford's Greenville Village( old buildings, real Model-T rides, etc.) and the main museum. We spent all day there and it was really spectacular. The pics are cars we saw on woodward, except for close-up of the white car - that is a Bugatti Royale(nicknamed The Elephant Bugatti for obvious reasons) we saw in The Ford museum. $20 bucks says you ain't seen one. There are only six in the world. It on my christmas list for any of you billionaires out there!

I'll Cut You!

2006-08-11T17:01:00.000-04:00

New external flash plus overgrown/inedible garden grown vegetables plus big butcher knife equals good pictures. I had this idea when I got the picture of the grape hanging in midair at the wedding to get pictures of slicing fruits/veg's with a knife and showing the moment of impact. I think they turned out great. Kudos to the photographer for the great shooting and timing, not me! Elli did a great job. So for all you out there that don't think I love my wife, here's the proof: I let her use my camera. And the look on my face was intentional. When I was just concentrating on hitting the cucumber and not making that face I looked dumb. With the grimace I look intense and concentrated and angry!

No really, I'm not a professional

2006-08-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

Ethan and Valerie's wedding was wonderful, and it was great to see everybody. As you may or may not know I am not happy with 99% of the pictures I take - usually. The wedding reception was a different story though. I took a bunch of really great pictures.....Elli agrees so its not just ego. I hope Ethan and Valerie like them. The pics that need some explanation are the girl leaning back(Mary) about to catch a grape in her mouth, you can see it in the air above - click on it to see the larger version. Lastly, the girl with her eyes closed is Valerie with her head on Ethan's shoulder. Elli is pictured looking extra great with Amanda. We had a great time in Florida with the fam. Always too short. Sean Smith is supposed to visit this weekend, and next weekend is Detroit. There's a lot of other stuff going on, too much to list now. Thanks for the flash Dad, it really made a HUGE difference.

"H - E - Double - N - I " - Kramer

2006-07-21T20:35:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get some good pictures of these owls that have been flying around our place the past few days, but the pics are not good. No telephoto lens. Anyway, these pictures are of my work. The lab(my office), the freezer(set just above freezing), and the vineyard. I've been doing a lot of bottling lately, I'll get some pics of that soon. And.....I have bottled my own blend, and labeled it(my own design)! Its not great, but its mine. Or your's actually, because I intend on giving most of it away to friends and family. We are going to Jake's B-day "Survivor Party" tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have pics of that. Hannah called Elli from the Statue of Liberty today, we're jealous. Ok, we can't wait to get down to Flourdough( thanks Dad for giving me the cuckoo gene), I mean Florida. I miss my cats. Elli couldn't be happier that she gets all my attention though. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments, its nice to know my work(ha!) is appreciated. I hope you don't mind be compensated with mediocre wine. We miss you all too. The title quote is Kramer's song for Hennigan's Scotch, from Seinfeld.

A late update

2006-07-09T23:40:00.000-04:00

Well the fireworks at Bill and Karen's club were amazing. They were fired almost directly above us, so that pieces of the fireworks/ash were falling on us. Elli was hit by a 4 square inch piece of cardboard. It was interesting to be amongst "club people", Elli commented on some of the men's strange trousers( some flowery and some patchy). The next day we went to a state park with waterfalls and locks with Karen, Rhonda, and Kirt. We had a great time with everyone, and the next night Karen and Kirt's brother David(Corky) came by for dinner. He did not disappoint. He had us all laughing at dinner with a story that was really classic, but unfortunately we were asked not to share on the grounds that it might embarrass certain family members. Anyway, Saturday was Hannah's birthday and they had a family pool party for her. It was a lot of fun. I took about 140 pictures and I would say that maybe 10 are good. I've got a lot to learn still. Today we went to Marla's and watched the finals of the World Cup, I think it should be every two years -not four. Robyn and Will told us that they are expecting another rugrat. Charlotte will soon be the big sis'. I think the pics are self explanatory. The picture of Kirt, David, and Karen is in B&W because I really messed up the white balance and it looked better in B&W. What's white balance you ask?.....Welcome to my world.

The Bang and the Barge

2006-07-04T06:20:00.000-04:00

We built this raft/barge/dock on Saturday with barrels Roy picked up from work. We built it in only a few hours, many hands make quick work. And as you can see from the picture it holds plenty of weight. That night we went to a Sat. 4th of July celebration at Antietam Battlefield for fireworks and music. The only pics that need explanation are the cannon photo, that bang of fire and smoke on the ground is a cannon/s going off during the 1812 Overture not a firework exploding too soon. And yes the little green light at the top is a UFO.....or it could be a firefly, you decide. The other photo that needs explanation is of DJ getting onto the chair. If you look in the background you see Kirt wincing in apparent pain. He is doing this because as the photo was taken DJ hit his head on the metal table, the bang and Kirt's reaction to the bang came before DJ recognized that he hit his head and reacted. Anyway, I think it's interesting. DJ did not cry BTW. The other pics are building the raft, fireworks, a cute pic of Cass making a face, and of course a couple pics of the ever adorable Charlotte.

This ones for Kirt!

2006-06-27T13:01:00.000-04:00

Kirt requested some bowling pics, so here they are with a few others. Paul came and went, we took him to D.C. and Baltimore and Duck Bowling(small pins -3 small balls) among other things. The kids (Cass and Jake) did really well bowling granny style(some adults did as well, as you can see), they bowled really slow and the ball would snake around down the middle because the lane was slightly bowed in the middle making the ball stay in the middle when bowled at a very slow pace. The non-bowling pics are Paul looking at a section of library made entirely of plaster in the Hirschorn Museum, and a picture at the National History Museum. The bowling pics are Jake, Cassidy, and my beautiful wife. In case you were wondering about the angle of the shot of Elli, the bowling alley management were kind enough to allow me to walk up the lanes to take pictures. I only walked on the dividers in the center though, not the actual lanes.

Goat Cheese, Goat Cheese, Birthday, and Goat Cheese

2006-06-20T22:48:00.000-04:00

Well the 19th was my birthday, I received from Elli and my parents a new digital SLR. It is really amazing, I love it. I am finding it hard to express my joy at having and using this camera. I really didn't think I'd be getting one for a long time, but it didn't stop me from looking at them on the internet a lot before I got it for my birthday. I think Elli worked it so I'd get it for my birthday just so I'd stop looking on the internet at them. Now I'm looking at lenses all the time. Oh well. The goat cheese reference in the title is because we bought some of this fine cheese from the farmers market. Then I made dip with it, we went to a pizza place and had them put the cheese on the pizza, and tonight I made stuffed tomatoes with goat cheese on top. Yum.
The pics are (top to bottom): 1. Baby Charlotte in B&W 2. A 3sec. exposure where I moved the camera....intentionally(its ok, and yes that is the George Costanza), 3. Elli with Gina(sp?)...the dog is looking away but I love Elli's expression, 4. Me mowing the grass and the garden( this is my 2nd time ever on a riding lawnmower), 5. Elli in the hammock ( B&W just because I can ), 6. The tomatoes ( the front one is out of focus, shallow D.O.F), 7. This was Elli's substitute for a B-day card, they are rocks arranged on our porch in a heart shape with a happy Birthday message written letter by letter on each individual rock....yes she is the perfect wife.

Birthday Party's and KKK Rallies

2006-06-17T15:10:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday(6/10)we attended Cassidy's birthday party and on the way passed Antietam Battlefield. It was surrounded by police officers, and we even saw a helicopter flying overhead. We thought it must be a high-ranking official arriving for a special event. However, when we arrived at Kelly and Roy's house they told us it was really a KKK rally. How nice. Anyway, it made the national news, CNN had video from the event on their website as did MSN.com. The quilt is coming along well, we are about 1/9 through the quilting part. Elli has done most of the quilting so far, but I'm getting the hang of it. We picked black raspberries for grandma at work the other day, and went to an import car show in the mall. We will have our first visitor to stay with us on Wed. Paul Loud, the male usher at our wedding, will be staying with us for a few days. As will the in-laws, at least my in-laws. We're looking forward to Kirt and Rhonda coming and staying as well, but they will be staying with grandma. The pics are(from top to bottom): me quilting, me playing with Charlotte, Elli playing with the kids at cassidy's B-day, and Cassidy/Jake/Savannah. P.S. It gets really warm under that quilt with that light on you.

Memorial Day Events

2006-05-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

Seth's franken-rotisserie worked well, as you can see from the photo. Those who ate it (Rick, Bob, Seth) said it tasted very good. We let Zach, Claire, and Hanna shoot the paintball gun, and they did pretty well for never having shot a gun. I think it's good for kids to learn how to handle firearms, and learning using a paintball gun could be a good way to start. As you can see with the photo of Zach, our garden is growing well, considering it only gets a couple hours of direct sunlight each day. Hannah ate our first raddish today.
It is getting pretty hot up here - it was above 90 today. So I guess summer is here. It was a very nice spring, though. I really enjoyed seeing the trees in bloom, then leaf out, and the constant parade of various flowers blooming one after the next.
There was something interesting we saw on tv the other night: the winning recipe for the Pilsbury Bake-Off was stuffing made out of toaster waffle sticks and a chicken glaze out of the syrup packets. I thought this didn't sound great, but it beat out lot of great-sounding recipes, so I guess I shouldn't judge a recipe before I taste it. Speaking of recipes, I made a black bean salsa that everyone seemed to really like today. The recipes usually call for corn, but since I don't like corn, I used canned rinsed black beans, diced orange bell pepper, tomato, onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and olive oil. I should probably experiment with new recipes more.
After everyone left we went to the Boonsboro fair, it was small. I had a caramel apple and Seth had a funnel cake and Gyro(pictured). -Elli

Finally an Update

2006-05-27T11:02:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from Adam&Casey's wedding, our garden (thats a radish), the quilt, and some other stuff. Family is coming over for the long Memorial day weekend, I am editing Adam and Casey's wedding video( it is very time consuming but I really like it). We went to an event called Wine in the Woods last weekend, it featured local maryland wineries. They were about 20 wineries, your ticket in allowed you twenty samples - most wineries have a few different wines. Anyway, some were good and some were so bad we could not imagine anyone liking them. Who wants watered down wine taste with a Dr.Pepper dirty sock finish!? This is how I would describe one of the wines. I have modified my old, working badly, George Foreman rottiserie to work over a real fire. Hello flavor! I hope to use it Monday. I'll be posting more often I hope. Thanks for reading.

Home Again

2006-05-02T18:50:00.000-04:00

We will be going back to West Palm via Jacksonville for a few days. We will drive down wed/thurs the 10th/11th of May and leave for west palm after the wedding saturday night. We'll be in W.P. through Tues and then back up to West Virginia. The pictures are our garden and the quilt we are working on. The garden is just beggining to grow and the quilt is very vibrant. The quilt pattern will be the same as the one that all the bright colored strips are laying on. Short one today, see you on the flip side.

Quilting and Gardening

2006-05-01T12:10:00.000-04:00

Elli and I have started our first quilt. I know what you're going to say, "Yea right, Elli's quilting and you're watching." But I really have done most of the cutting, she doesn't like cutting. She'll probably do more of the sowing since I have never used a sowing machine. But I'm going to learn! Our garden is begging to grow. So far the Bibb lettuce, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips have sprouted. They are planted in a raised bed we built from old wood scraps( grandma's old beches and other wood she had in the old block house) and then filled with potting soil from Wal-Mart. Eighty or more bags at fourty pounds a piece. I got a busted lip from a seven year old girl - I should have ducked, I knew she had a mean left. No, Hannah fell while I was bench pressing her on the floor and split my lip open. It's not bad though. Zach won his game, it was really a great game. We had a great time with CHuck and Chris and their kids and will most likely see them next weekend as well. Tootleu.

Well............

2006-04-28T10:35:00.000-04:00

Last night Elli's grandma had to go back to the hospital, we were playing cards and because of dehydration she was passing out again. She's back home today, but it makes me sad. I wonder what it will be like for my parents when they get older? On a happy note, I talked to Adam today and he's doing well with wedding/med school. I'm really looking forward to going to the wedding. Elli and I are going to the driving range and to pick up my last paycheck from my last job I quit, and other fun stuff.