Matt Meets Myrna

Busy times here, with another move just days away. We've left this blog sorely neglected, but now that we have so much to do over the next couple of days, posting here should be just the opportunity for procrastination we need.

Two weekends back, we had a visit from my cousin Matt. He lives down in San Diego and managed to find a space in his busy schedule of design work and rock-show attendance to fly up here and watch us sit around the apartment. Catching me in one of my more absent-minded spells, he endured trips to cafes that we actually knew (but had forgotten) would be closed, and shook his head as I forgot to pack a bottle for Myrna twice in one day. Oh, also it rained the whole weekend.

Even and still, we had a great time hanging out, reacquainting ourselves with our old friend Tecate, laughing at the hipsters on Telegraph, and listening to music. It was a long-overdue catch-up, given that I don't think we'd seen Matt since summer '07, and Myrna had been waiting to meet this Uncle Cousin Matt she'd been hearing about.

Es gibt immer was zu tun (...bei YouTube)

Every music site on the block has been linking this but, in case you haven't seen it yet, this is a good time. Here Blixa Bargeld of proto-industrial band Einstürzend Neubauten (as well as The Bad Seeds) reads product descriptions, ranging from matter-of-fact to quite animated (and all in German, of course). Not a gallery installation, this is actually a series of aired television advertisements for a German hardware store.

Healthy Pig

In the wake of the new outbreak, I must assure you all that Pig - and all his friends - are healthy indeed. Sadly, Pig did have to cancel his trip to Tijiauna, but the flu would be the least of his worries there. Instead, he's chosen to stay home and protect his new best friend, Myrna.
Note: the CDC does not recommend gnawing on the ears of pigs unless you know them well.

Meg Meets Myrna

A couple weeks back, I sent my friend Meg a casual email. Several hours later, I had a reply with the subject line "Meg coming to San Francisco next week!" As it happens, Meg was attending a conference in San Diego, and had already made arrangements to afterward spend a long weekend in San Francisco, visiting another friend who, as it happens, Kelly and I also know from Seattle.

And so, here she was last weekend. Meg, Jennifer, Kelly, Myrna and I kicked it in Berkeley on Friday, where we shopped for baby hats and had lunch at Chez Panisse (boo ya!). On the super-warm Monday, we finally made it over to S.F., where we met up with Meg at Blue Bottle, continuing onto SFMoMA, the 826 Valencia pirate store, and a plantain snack in the Mission District. At the art museum, Myrna loudly shared her aesthetic scorecard: Warhol up, Kentridge down.

Myrn was showered with gifts - a flowery dress (see above), and an elephant onesie from Meg and Brett, and a handmade dinosaur from Jennifer. Yay!

This weekend has so far paled in comparison, me all flunking a statistics exam. But next weekend it looks like Matty's coming up to see us....

Redwoods & Redwine

This weekend we were treated to one of Grace's favorite tourist trips. We've joked about how we haven't been in San Fransisco since moving here - and actually we still haven't - but we've now seen some beautiful redwoods and wineries. Saturday Grace took us first to the Muir Woods to check out the California redwoods.

Grace also showed up at our place with a gift for Myrna (and her parents) - a BabyBjörn - which was awesome to try out in the forest. Now, we haven't quite mastered the BabyBjörn photo shoot poses; it's going to take some practice. Let me just say the print material that comes with the BabyBjörn is awesome (and did you know you can get one in satin for those special occasions - like the prom?) I can't wait for the America's Next Top Model photo shoot when they have the girls do a print ad for BabyBjörn - it would be awesome! (Christina, please let me know if they've already done this).

After the redwoods, we headed to vineyard land to visit the Gloria Ferrer Winery.
We had to taste the full spectrum (and perhaps this may tempt some potential visitors - did I mention it was 75 degrees out and sunny?)
More pictures are on Myrna's April Picasa Page.

Classic Pooh

Myrna is a drool machine and in an effort to keep her dry, we've been trying out some of her new bibs (silly me thought babies didn't wear bibs until they were eating solid food). They certainly get quite damp - but that may also be due to the fact that Myrna insists on eating them. We have a pack of three bibs in the theme of Winnie the Pooh. Now two of them have Pooh bear and his friends on them - but the third one is simply pink and white striped. Myrna was donning this bib (since it matched her outfit so well), but then Chris asked the million dollar question: "Why do I want something on my baby that just says 'Classic Pooh'?"

I'm waiting to find pj pants that have the words 'Classic Pooh' written on the rear end. More (non-Pooh) photos can be found on Myrna's new April picasa page.

Call for Submissions

Now that we've moved on to April, Myrna's March photo page is up-to-date. And it certainly is about time we changed the title of this blog, since we are no longer in Köln and it is no longer about Chris & Kelly. But, our creativity is a bit stifled, so any suggestions for a new title are more than welcome (and don't worry, the url will stay the same).

No Dogs Allowed (or pot bellied piiiiigs...)

As seen in Wedgwood.

Myrna's Baptism

Yesterday morning at Christ Church in Seattle (where I was baptized, as well) Myrna was baptized by the Rev. Steve Garratt and the Rev. Allan Parker (my grandfather). She wore a streaming white gown that her mother had also worn for her baptism, and which has now been worn by five generations of eldest daughters. We had an unbelievable showing of friends and family, leaving no question that Myrna is loved and supported. And she landed herself a solid trio of Godparents in Abigail Fowler, Grace Telcs (who flew up from Berkeley, CA), and her uncle Daniel Burkhalter (who journeyed all the way from Champaign, IL). We were glad to see everybody, and are sincerely greatful that so many people were there.
Last night after we'd returned home we uploaded a bunch of pictures (mostly taken by Kelly's dad and Aaron) to our Picasa site. The full run can be viewed here, and other recent non-baptismal pictures live here.

In Berkeley

We are still settling into our new digs in Berkeley. Jetlag has subsided (or at least I think it has, but since we still get up in the middle of the night, this concept of time-zones doesn't have much meaning). Myrna can tell you all about our block - as she has multiple walks around it with her dad each day (read: she is upset and needs to be taken outside). Lucky for us the weather has been great for such excursions. I am getting back into the swing of work, and am surrounding myself with lots of math excitement. We are enjoying the finer American products - like 6 different kinds of cereal (which we are almost out of), gallons of ice-cream in our full-size refrigerator, IPA, and the gigantic jar of salsa that we have consumed in the last week.
Myrna is a different person every few days. She now likes sitting up (with back support, and as long as she is not upset) and joining in with the conversation. She's met lots of new friends on her walks and out in cafes. She also is a drool machine, soaking up her outfit within minutes of it being dry. And her favorite new challenge is standing (again with support).
We also finally got a March Picasa page going for all her fans!