7/10 - G, it was a good day

Yummm, right?! I'd been dreaming about these garlic knots for years, and when I got the invite to meet a friend at Gilbert Lake State Park, I couldn't pass up the chance to drive a few towns over for some deliciousness. Jim, of course, recognized the presence of totally awesome food, and requested a picture. Look at all that garlic! No vampire boyfriends for me!

The garlic knots, while amazing, were not the highlight of the day. I got to see a friend from college that I hadn't seen in years, and it was wonderful. Can't think of enough positive adjectives to describe the day. It was great.

The park was also really nice. We took a long walk in the woods. Very green and peaceful. Jim liked blending in.

7/2 - Go B-Mets!

I'd be remiss if I allowed Jim to live in the US for another year without taking him to a baseball game. Our nation's pastime isn't my favorite, but Jim really enjoyed watching the game. He went on and on, for days after, even, about the outfielders. Evidently he felt a kinship to them as it's their job to, as he put it, "dive into a sea of green" to catch wayward balls.

I really wish he'd take a page from Kermit's book and get off his green obsession. Not happening, though. Even as I write this he's jumping up and down because I decided to wear a green shirt today. "See?" he said, "you want to be like me, too."

6/25 - summer movie

I know this picture is hard to see. As you may have concluded already, I am not the best photographer. But, this pic was taken at dusk, and I wanted to get the effect of the movie projecting on the wall of the building, so this is what resulted.

Anywho, Jeremy and Quiana couldn't attend Jim's 1-year celebration bash, so they invited him to go to one of the Binghamton summer movies. I and several of my friends went with them. We saw Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on a relatively warm summer evening, lying on a blanket under the stars. Pretty cool.

Jim liked the movie, but he did have one gripe with it. I guess the scene with the exotic food upset him. He said something about "embracing cultural differences" and "fostering gastronomical adventurousness" . . . . I just smiled and nodded. When I suggested later that we get sushi, he stopped talking about embracing cultural differences.

11/09 - Yummmm

Found this picture when I was moving all my digital images to a nifty free online storage site. I'd misplaced it.

Last year, just before Thanksgiving, my grandmother died. Jim accompanied my mother and I on a quick trip to Michigan for the funeral. We went grocery shopping while there, and Jim got all excited at the color of some of the bottles of soda. He insisted on climbing in the cooler to snuggle with the bottles, and then banged on the glass and mouthed, "Take my picture!" with an excited grin on his face.

We, of course, bought a bottle or two of the Sierra Mist with Cranberry to share with the family, and Jim tried it. While he was disappointed that the product itself wasn't green, he did seem to like it. I'll have to get more this year for him to have.

6/22 - has it really only been 1 year?

Yesterday, June 21st, marked the one-year anniversary of Jim's invasion into the peace and quiet that was my life before his arrival. It's funny - it doesn't feel like it's been a whole year. I had expected, at the beginning, that it would be a both short and trying visit. As the visit extended and then morphed into a permanent living situation, it felt natural and comfortable. As annoying as he can be at times, I've enjoyed having the little green guy around.

We discussed the options for celebrating this momentous milestone - a big party with all of his friends, a small trip to somewhere special, a present of some sort. For the trip idea, Jim suggested we re-visit all the places we've been in the past year. When I thought about the cost involved in getting us to China, and the fact that my sister, my host in China, is currently in the US, I pushed for present or party. Then Jim talked about how super duper it would be to have a statue 100 feet high erected in his honor next to Gaia the turtle. Not sure the eclectic residents of Ithaca would appreciate that, and I certainly wouldn't appreciate the cost involved, so I started talking about how wonderful a party, a celebration of Jim, would be. I guess I made it sound really good, because he forgot about the trip and the statue and started addressing invitations.



It was a good night. And I actually managed to get everyone to stand still long enough to take a group picture. Left to Right - First Row: Louis, Ophelia, Ivan, Abe, Bonnie, Gus, Kurt (not looking at the camera - there's one in every group), and Steadman. Second Row: Russell, Percy, Violet, Emmett, and Fiona. Third row: Penny, Nigel, Yvonne, Janet (mostly covered by Fiona's ear), and Maurice. Fourth/back row: Mary Sue, Chester and Ulysses (both almost entirely obscured by Yvonne's unruly hair), Noni, and the alien of honor, Jim. What a group, huh?!

6/19 - A good day for strawberries and blobs

The area in which I live has a festival about every weekend during the summer months. I'd already taken Jim to the Greek Festival, where he enjoyed dolmades and a gyro and some Greek beer, and joined in the dancing even though I begged him not to (Jim is not a very good dancer - no rhythm).

When I told Jim about the Strawberry Festival, he asked if he could bring some friends along. I agreed, as long as he could assure me that they would behave. He then told me that Abe and Bonnie are his two most likable friends and that they are super duper companions. He was right. Abe and Bonnie are very likable, pleasant, and friendly, even though they are blobs. Abe explained that the blobs featured in the horror movies were the fringes of blob society, only available for movies on earth because they'd been banished from their home planet as menaces to blob society for actions unbecoming of a proper sort of blob, and he hoped they wouldn't color my opinion of him and Bonnie. As neither attempted to consume me in their ooze, I assured them that my worries and fears had been dispelled.

Abe required more assurance later, when he found out what strawberries actually were. He was aghast to discover that humans eat the small squishy-looking red things. I told him I would be careful to protect him from hungry mouths. Jim even said he would refrain from partaking of the festival wares in deference to Abe. A kind gesture I thought. But he did sneak a bite later and then I caught him eyeing Abe hungrily. I gave Jim a stern talking to and warned Abe to beware.

Bonnie was glad that she's bright yellow and doesn't resemble any sort of fruit humans eat. I didn't have the heart to tell her about popcorn.

6/14 - a family reunion

Yay for me - a bunch of Jim's cousins, including the not-so-optimal houseguest Chester, were in town today for a mini-reunion. Present were Chester, a cousin, Ulysses, another cousin, and Penny, a third cousin. Chester had come in from Michigan (he said he'd hitched a ride with a trucker hauling mattresses, and he'd been allowed to ride in the back and bounce on them at his leisure, as long as he didn't remove the plastic or the "DO NOT REMOVE" tags), but the others were not forthcoming with their previous whereabouts. The bad houseguest characteristics have proved not to be a family trait - Penny and Ulysses have been wonderful to have. Ulysses has been visiting for a few days, and he's helped with the dishes, as well as cleaning up after himself. Penny has scoured the tub after Chester's baths and has generally kept him from making a nuisance of himself.

Any inconvenience on my part, though, is worth it. Jim has been so happy today. He has a constant grin, and keeps sighing contented sighs and saying "super duper" and hugging the cousins any chance he gets. It's good to see him this happy. When asked, though, Jim of course acts like it's no big deal that his family has traveled to see him. Gotta keep up that tough exterior, to hide the soft, mushy center.