Nosferatu a blustery pumpkin morning

Today is Friday, which means Daddy/Annie adventures.  Today is also the day before "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" viewing at St Christopher's, with costumes, pumpkins, and prizes.  Finally, today is the day after the night that saw a cold-front move in, which means today is the first day of fall that has actually felt like fall.

Put it all together and, clearly, of all the adventures open to us on this Friday, one was as irresistibly compelling to us as leaf piles are to Linus Van Pelt: we set out to carve another pumpkin.



Disclaimer: I like to think of myself as pretty handy with the pumpkin saw.  It has been humbling, therefore, to discover these photos of a good friend's recent pumpkins.  (You may need to be logged into facebook to access these links).  Annie and I are thus inclined to dial down the hyperbole with respect to the pumpkin we're about to share with you.  Yes, we're proud of it, but no, this is not the greatest and best pumpkin in the world.  This is just a Tribute.

I'm looking at you, J-Scroggz

                                       Mi amiga:

 

                                         The setup:

You'll notice the fire, a tweak made possible by the lower temps this a.m.  We stopped every few minutes to look for sticks, debris, to keep it going.  A fun wrinkle.

                                         The initial carve-out:

                                         The fine detailing:

                                         The chimney:

                                         The test-run:

 

                                          The black-out:

The face is of Nosferatu, an early German vampire figure, featured in the 1922 silent film of the same name.

The weird-kinda-cool picture resulting from an unsteady camera hand:

The End.

The Dance of the 'Just Because' (Annie's 1st Pumpkin!)

I don't know how old I was when I carved this pumpkin with Grandpa.  (Probably more honest to say that he carved it with me.)

But through the years, pumpkins have become meditative acts of patience, discipline, and peace to me.  A gift to be able to waste so much time in silence.  In cooler weather, no less.  Pumpkins don't require their carvers to justify the time they spend with them alone.  Like any true discipline, the internal, impatient objections of the artist grow quieter with practice.  They grow silent and, at some point, forget the background sense of guilt or self-indulgence altogether.  The act becomes a craft to savor.  A privilege to enjoy.

Today was not as silent, but just as special.  Annie's first pumpkin.  We left nothing out, but made sure to keep it short.  Enjoying the process, learning the steps.  But just learning the steps.  A whole lot of fun.  And whether it's with pumpkins or poppies or prairies, I hope she remembers on other days the dance of the "just because."

Belated Jude Pics

From his first 3 weeks...

Annie's New Hobby

Some of you have wondered how Annie is responding to the addition of Jude.  As of this writing, I can report that she is remarkably herself, both reaching out to her new brother in love and enjoying one on one time with Bek and me.

Still, things are different, roles are in flux, and in the midst of the family's creative tension, it appears that Annie has taken up some new hobbies.  Here are a few pics we caught of Annie in the days following Jude's birth.

Introducing Jude Robert!

Lots of new and exciting things happening around the Melton house since the arrival of little Jude.  As you can imagine, we're on our toes a lot.  Here are just a few photos of the family in action since Jude entered our lives eight and one half days ago:

Fort! Pre-vaca pics

Just back from a tremendous two weeks with friends and family in and across North Carolina. Pics and reminiscings to come, but first some pre-vaca pics to keep my sense of order, chronological and otherwise, intact. These photos are of a random Friday sheet fort that Annie and I inhabited for the better part of one spectacular morning.





























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Food and Friendships to Savor

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends..." Laurie Colwin

Rebekah and I came back from our two weeks in NC relishing the blessing of so many good friends. We stayed with friends outside of San Antonio on either side of our flight; we stayed with friends in Durham and Chapel Hill on the way to and from the beach; we stayed with family during our time at the beach. Along the way, we engaged these and other friendships primarily through the means we had on hand: we shared meals with them.

The remainder of this post is less a theological reflection on friendship, eating, and communion (let the reader go there on her own, and with great benefit), and more a journal of our meals, where we ate, and what we enjoyed with the friends with whom we shared these things. (Shallow, maybe, but it was a vacation.)



Monday dinner: the Dodging Duck on the occasion of their 9th anniversary (first pint was 9 cents!) with the Adams (Annie's Godparents and Haley), Moons, and Glicks. Brewhaus burger and fries. Side note: the Duck was a frequent hangout for us in Boerne, and the site of Annie's first public appearance, just after she was born.



Tuesday dinner: Jenni's barbecue (amazing), and other sides (fantastic), poolside with the Gallaher's, Scoggins, Carlsons, and Zavodni's

Wednesday lunch: The Loop, salads and burgers, take-out style with the Scoggins

Wednesday dinner: Bull McCabe's and Whiskey (Jonathan, with the guys. I think the gals did pizza.) Reuben and fries with a phenomenal corned beef. Also, first Fullsteam (Rocket Science IPA). 12 year flight.



Thursday lunch: Old Havana with Meredith Steward and Jared and Laura Gallaher. Old Havana sandwich with lots of maduros. And Fullsteam.

Thursday dinner: Smoked salmon, salad, veggies, and Kurt's famous macaroni and cheese at the home of the Uphoff's.

Friday lunch: Allen and Son, barbecue sandwiches, hushpuppies, and okra with Jenni.

Friday dinner: Cheese, tomato, fresh food picnic with the Cizeks at Holy Family. Phenomenal apple/squash dish, too.



Friday nightcap: Fullsteam with Bobby Tunks, a wonderful friend who is actually doing what he said he'd be doing when I asked him in 6th grade (pediatric cardiology). Remarkable.

Saturday breakfast: Guglhupf with the Carlsons. Eggs Benedict with orange juice and a side of fruit was out of this world.

Saturday lunch: Chick-Fil-A with the Rev. Michelle Robertshaw.

Eat-out meals at the beach: Big Nell's barbecue, Crabby Oddwater's crabcakes (take-out), with as many Oddwater hushpuppies as we could scarf down. Fried oyster sandwich and NC clam chowder at Elijah's in Wilmington with the fam on the way back to Durham.

Saturday, returning: Mediterranean Deli, take-out. Beef shawarma. We ate picnic-style again at Holy Family, this time for an outdoor concert that Jason and Jenni sang for. (Note to self: pics of Annie being absolutely at home in a home that has meant so much to Rebekah and me make my heart sing.)

Saturday nightcap: Fullsteam, on their 2nd birthday celebration, with Jason and Jared.

Sunday dinner: The Dodging Duck, sausage plate this time, take-out with Leanne Boddie and Makeda. Growler convo late into the night with the indescribable Joe Tidwell.

The end.