Some pictures of Daphne

Yeah, yeah, we know communists aren't cool, but Daphne is still young and a bit rebellious so we let her wear her Che shirt. Plus, she gets along nicely in Berkeley with this guerrilla on her shirt. Do you like her Jim Morrison expression?
Here's Daphne with some rice, beans and cheese.
Daphne fell asleep and Cortney and I were just set to celebrate our beloved St. Valentine (and also our 11th anniversary of being a couple, thank you very much). Then, just as we dug our forks into the butternut squash ravioli with basil and pinenuts, Daphne's air raid siren sounded. She didn't want to miss the party.

Aunty Em, SoCal - NorCal Reunion

Now people throw around the honorific "Aunt So-and-So" and "Uncle Such-and-Whatnot" a lot these days, but here's one that deserves it. This is Emily (Aunty Em) with Daphne. Thanks to Emily, Cortney and I were able to enjoy a night at Chez Panisse with family. This restaurant is so close to us (I could throw a rock once, pick it up, then throw it again and hit the place) but yet so far away, now that we are parents with no spare time and a 529 to fund. Emily volunteered to hang out with Daphne (and teach her how to walk!) in exchange for a glass of wine, a warm meal and a bottle of syrah (she didn't drink the bottle during the night, as far as we know). When we got home, Daphne was sleeping on Emily, who was lying on the couch.
Peter was in town trying to sell some international business machines so he decided to bring the family along to see how we do it in NorCalia. Here's my favorite daughter trying her new Clark Gable smile while cousin Miles rips off 50 push ups.
Cousin Samara (blog up, right) came over. There's Jill in the foreground and Petenice with a crazy expression on the right. It's still sunny out, and we're on bottle #1 (hiding between Sam the Snake plant and Mrs. SoCalAllen). Since it was raining off and on, we dediced to make it an atomic materialist day. (Parenthetical: next time you're bored, think about how the Buddha and Epicurious might have gotten along. Normally, I'm a Plato guy (both-and), but I'm not yet foolish enough to ignor Epicurius. Note that all three of these guys didn't eat animals, which was a great arrangement for animals and the earth.)
Done with our meals, our bottles and our card games, we decided to play spin the baby.

Lemons, Vellanoweths, Socks

In a previous post, not too long ago, I offered "fresh citrus in the winter" as one of the best things about living in California. In this shot, you see Cortney teaching Daphne what to do when life gives you a bunch of lemons (according to my grandfather, you make lemonade when that happens). We got the lemons from Daphne's grandfather, Dan, and made a tart, refreshing drink.
Here we are at the Vellanoweths' place. This is Tio Rob with Daphne.
Meanwhile, Emma is checking some stock quotes.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Rob, (soon-to-father) Eric and Ben performed a puppet show for Kelly, Cortney, Emma and Daphne. It was a mystery starring the canine detective, Jean Baptiste (played by yours truly). The story is about a jewel theft which Jean Baptiste adriotly solves, using his knowledge of color blindness and his abnormal power of observation and with the help of his partner, Emma (played by Rob). The title character (who will be appearing in more mystery puppet shows soon...) was inspired by Sherlock Holmes, Columbo and Inspector Clouseau, the three great fictional detectives of my childhood. Rob's "George, the Unjustly Accused Gardener" was incredible, but so too was Eric's "Gabriella Santos, the Emotional Aristocratic Madrillena." Hopefully you'll get to see a performance before too long. From left to right, that's Jean Baptiste, George, Emma, Gabriella Santos and Daphne (the villain, played by Eric).

Photos with Captions

Here's Daphne with a volleyball. She plays back row like her mom.
Victoria, Anne and Emily with Daphne. Anne (in the middle) is a doctor, so I guess it's safe to hold people like that. This shot was taken at Emily's place in San Francisco.
Emily's view. That's Alcatraz island in the background. San Francisco is really, really nice.
Dan, Gwenna and Daphne. It's not every day you get 3 smiles synchronized this well. Especially these days, what with winter, war and New Orleans still needing.