The Remembrance Edition

Friday is Veteran's Day (in Canada called Remembrance Day). The day when we must take a few moments and recognize the sacrifices of so many of our fellow countrymen (and women) in service to liberty and peace. No matter where you may fall on the necessity of war, the decisions to participate in them by governments etc., the soldier who fights those battles deserves respect. We should never confuse differences in politics and philosophy with honoring those who serve us at home and abroad. My hero Abraham Lincoln called it "the last full measure of devotion". My father served in the US Navy for over 21 years. He too is a hero. He is a Veteran of the Vietnam War. He is the bravest man I know. I am proud that he served in the military, and I am grateful that he sacrificed for all of us. Of course many children of veterans aren't as lucky as I am. Their fathers (and mothers) never came home from their service. It is also for them that we should pay tribute. To the children of the fallen. Since the poppy is the symbol of Veteran's Day and more notably Remembrance Day, we all proudly wear our red poppy today in gratitude and love for all those who gave their last full measure of devotion. To honor her "Poppy" in Virginia, our little Virginia wears her poppy... I finally finished my paper on the cryptanalysis in the Battle of Midway. It was a challenging project, but one of the most rewarding for me. I really enjoyed the research on this paper and found it relatively easy to write. Because of the work though I'm fairly tapped out mentally so there might not be much to this TGIF. However if you're curious and want to read the piece you can do so by clicking HERE Now I'm on to a large paper on Egyptology, notably Nubian fortresses in the Old Kingdom...somehow I think you'll find the Midway paper far more accessible. After I wrap up that project in a few weeks, I have a final and a midterm...and then I'm done for an entire month (during which I'll actually be working on a paper for the spring...so it never ends really). Suffice to say this has been a busy week. At the moment the whole family is decompressing (sorta). Shelley was completey exhausted the last few days and took a couple days off from her return to work. I say whatever she does at this point is gravy, to me at least. She misses her crew and her work when she's away, and she misses Gracie when she's at work. It's a catch-22. So to take her mind off things and help her relax, I took her and Gracie to the movies today. We saw the new Wallace and Gromit movie- which is stopmo, so it's sorta like working...except with popcorn. We have a busy few weeks ahead of us. There's the university stuff I mentioned above, plus the holiday rush, family gatherings, a few babies coming (not for us of course...we can't do THAT sort of turnaround) for Renee & Jeff and Maria & Andrew (the latter of which Shelley will be helping to deliver). So your basic crazed couple of months. We did get a new sofa and chair for the living room, so it isn't ALL pain and heartache. It's nice to actually have some matching furniture for a change. Dixie enjoys it most of all I think, since she was sleeping on it 5 minutes after it was delivered and unwrapped. Well enough of my yakkin'...I know what you all came here for...baby pictures... My sleepy little princess... A morning stretch... In the morning, generally speaking, Gracie is all smiles... Being watched over by her Dixie dog... More morning goofiness... And she's once again working on her impersonations... Perhaps my all-time favorite picture (so far...) As Harpo Marx... Here she does her impersonation of Luke Skywalker after his epic (and hand-losing) battle with Darth Vader at the end of Empire Strikes Back... This is her "why do you have dress me up like this? do I make you laugh??"...she still has to work on the Joe Pesci voice though... She had a bath and for some reason her hair decided to take a more Krusty the Klown effect...she's still cute though... So she tries to cover it up with a nice scarf... We're trying to see if she's developed her clutching and grabbing technique yet (in case the NHL decides to loosen up the rules on that again...well grabbing something other than Daddy's chest hair...YIKES!!...anyway, here she is with Melman, her Giraffe... Well it's time to go...everyone in the house is demanding my attention (*seriously). But me and my princess Ginny Grace want to wish you all a wonderful week ahead Until next time... Cheers