It was nearing the end of another year and so it was time to take stock of the various things that hadn't been done in the year and of other things that would be fun as the year wound down. There was also the challenge of seeing how many pictures would be taken this year.
On Monday December 27, the kids and I drove Suzanne to the airport so
that she could spend a few days in Pittsburgh visiting Norma. Then we
went to lunch and devoured Ben's meal
even though the potato salad gave me indigestion for a few days. Maybe that
is why Ben
is laughing? Jane
cleared away her food
though the french (aka freedom) fries were a group effort. After Jane
took these pictures of me
and Sarah
who sat on the other side, I took this artistic photo of the Marathon
Restaurant
and we headed to the Mutter Museum
but there was no photography allowed there and maybe for good reason.
The next day, I turned to the new penny sculptures to see what could be
done. With inadequate reading of the documentation, I was only able
to fit 5 pennies in a cross section
and it didn't improve with the flash turned off
and up close the pennies blurred
but I could show part of the problem
from various angles and then work down to a single cross section
where even with one post removed
I only fit 5 pennies as Sarah worked on the Rubik's cube
and I pondered further the penny situation
as Sarah got guidance
and eventually moved her hands fast enough
so that Rubik was finally put together.
Meanwhile, on the left coast, Jacobo was demonstrating how to fit 7
pennies
where I had only fit 5 and growing it out with pens for posts
all of which made him particularly happy to pose with Bruce Arden
and celebrate Bruce's forthcoming nuptials.
Back in the East, I picked Suzanne up at the airport and we met Lenny and
Judy
for dinner but only took pictures after the food was consumed
which may have been an end of the year thing or maybe it's a new
plan -- to capture used plates rather than fresh food. The waiter
was amused and with a few more tries, I was able to capture them
and then take this self portrait
and picture of Suzanne
as the desserts arrived
which raised spirits
even as I captured this sign
and with flash
for my collection which was amusing since there were no paper towels, just
grass
in the bathroom. The chef came by to thank us and posed
before we visited the leopard next door
and began the drive back north.
After digesting further instructions, I understood how to fit a cross section of 7 pennies in place and was able to reach almost 5 inches in height
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at the 12.5 inch level and thanked my lab assistant
for her help in the enterprise. The experimenting continues and new photos
will appear in the new year as we tackle the issue of the later more
voluminous decades.
Then it was New Year's Eve Day and Jane and John
were working on their MUN position paper as Andrew
watched and we noted that they had gotten their licenses
the day before as Suzanne spoke
and Sarah watched
until Ed arrived
to make some progress on the puzzle and Ben
ate his sandwich as I finished my salad
and recorded the important new things -- grapple's (pronounce them
correctly)
and the new Boynton calendar
to replace the old
as progress continued on the puzzle
and we dug into chips and dip
before taking holiday pictures of Sarah and Ed
me (with hat in self portrait)
Suzanne
Ben
and our slowly assembling family -- 3 strong
then 4 strong
then all of us
as recorded by Ed
just as the Havurah people arrived and posed
in different ways
before heading to the comedy club
and on to dinner at Marsillio's
where I knew the waiter (class of '07)
even as the holiday costumes came to Suzanne
Steven
Peter
Sara
Seva
and my self portrait
and profile
shots all of which made a nice
setting
as the waitress
noted Suzanne
Peter
Steven
Sara
and Seva
and our drinks
chilled as I captured the glassware
and my last pictures of Suzanne
and Steven
in the new year. After posing the celebratory instruments
all that was left to do was to toast 2004 and say hello to 2005.
Happy New Year to all.