It was gorgeous weekend here in New Haven and Edward and I spent much of it outside. Saturday we went apple picking at Bishop's Orchard. Not only did we pick bags of apples, but we got a pumpkin, gourds, cider, and donuts as well. They had a large country store that was reminiscent of Delicious Orchards (although lacking DO's scrumptious crumb cake).

Sunday morning we went to church, followed by lunch at Sitar, an Indian restaurant. We would never have chosen this restaurant (obviously!) but we were going with a large group from church so we just went with the flow. I filled up on naan, which was basically pita bread, and there was some sort of bright red chicken that was somewhat edible. This meal was definitely more about socializing and NOT the food. We spent the afternoon at "Sunday in the Park" at Edgerton Park. It was basically a mega May fair type event. It seemed that every child/family in New Haven must have been there. Piper got loads of attention from adoring youngsters and was quite well behaved despite the chaos around her. There were pony rides, games of all sorts, moon walks, face painting, a band, stilt walkers, etc. It was a nice community event and they lucked out with perfect weather. Our street had a block party Sunday afternoon but we skipped that. Edward had to go to work and my stomach wasn't feeling so great (thank you weird Indian food!).

All in all it was a very nice weekend. My parents and Jessie are coming to town this Friday so I'm looking forward to another great weekend.

Here are lots of pictures...

Why are these llamas at a farm in CT? Shouldn't they be in South America?

Albino pumpkins. We opted for a traditional orange one.

The macoun apples were my favorite

Stilt walkers and jump roping - an odd combination.

Piper's new favorite spot

I think I'll go for a walk outside now...

...the summer sun's calling my name!

What a gorgeous day! I spent much of today out and about enjoying the sunshine and cooler weather. My usual Wednesday routine is to hit up the New Haven public library, check out the farmers' market on the green, and then head to Starbucks for an apple fritter. I'm in the middle of a few books (Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown and Anne of Green Gables) so I didn't get any new books at the library but sat and browsed People Magazine, US Weekly, and some other tabloid magazines. I checked out the movie Happy Feet (dancing penguins movie), which got rave reviews from my former fourth grade students--we'll see. I didn't buy anything at the farmer's market but it's always fun to see the piles of fresh fruit and veggies, flowers, pastries, breads, etc. Every time I go I hope to be inspired to buy some crazy new vegetable (and by crazy I mean something like string beans or asparagus) but when push comes to shove I just can't waste perfectly good money on something I know I will dislike (unless it's soaking in butter and cheese).

Last week I saw Van Gogh's Starry Night and Cypresses at the Yale University Art Gallery. They were both on loan for a short while (Starry Night from MoMA and Cypresses from the Met) so I thought I should take advantage of this free opportunity and check them out. I was pretty impressed with the art collection that the gallery had. They had a nice impressionism collection , my favorite!

New Haven public library, a 20 minute walk from home

This is the Peabody Museum of Natural History and it's about a ten minute walk from our house. I haven't been yet but hope to check it out soon. I love the dinosaur statue.

This is the Sloane Physics building where Edward spends his days.

This is Ingalls ice skating rink located across the street from the physics building. I think it looks like the spaceship from the 1980's movie "Flight of the Navigator".

I guess these guys were working on the roof. What an unpleasant job.

Piper's new favorite challenge is pulling her towel out of her crate through the side slats.

Edward and I realized we hadn't seen Piper in quite awhile and found her trapped in the bedroom. She had pulled so hard that she moved the entire crate and trapped herself in the bedroom.

Poor Piper!

A few Piper updates...
She now weighs 20 pounds (she was 13 or 14 when we got her).
She has been accident free for 2 1/2 weeks.
She has discovered the bathroom garbage and loves munching on tissues, dental floss, etc. Absolutely disgusting!
She can go down the stairs on her own now.
We've had her for one month and she is a wonderful puppy!

Labor day weekend was uneventful and relaxing, although Edward did have to work on Monday. It was crummy on Saturday (at least until the later morning) which allowed us to be lazy a good part of the day without feeling too guilty. We did make our way to a nearby mall which was a nightmare. It was incredibly crowded and didn't have any good stores--mostly Hot Topic, Deb, Forever 21 type stores, not an Ann Taylor, Gap, or Banana to be found. We did manage to spend $5 on 1/16 of a pound of candy at the Sweet Factory. One of Edward's favorite candies is bleep blips. Never heard of them? Neither had I until I met Edward. They are like large sweet tarts I guess. I've never actually tried one but I know I would not like them. They make the top ten on Edward's candy list along with bottle caps, nerds, gobstoppers, and other nasty Willy Wonka brand candy.

Sunday we went to church, took Piper to the park, and grilled hamburgers for dinner. It seems we did something else, but I can't remember.

We've had Piper only a few weeks but already she fits in just great. Last week she learned to go down the stairs which means I don't have to carry her down them anymore. She does a fast little bunny hop to get down and has slipped a few times but she's getting better each day. She occasionally sits by the door to let us know when she needs to go out, plus she has only had one accident in the house in the last 8 days! Yippee!! Her favorite place to sleep is in the bathroom behind the toilet. I guess it's the coolest spot in the apartment...kind of gross, though.

Anyway, some less than exciting pictures...

Piper needs to go out
(In case you are wondering what is wrong with our tree stand, let me explain. Piper was having one of her daily puppy fits and as she ran by the tree stand she knocked into a bag that was hanging off of it and it all came crashing down next to her. Fortunately Edward was able to fix it.)

Edward and Piper have spent many hours watching the U.S. Open. While she hates Wii tennis, Piper seems to enjoy Nadal, Federrer, and the Williams sisters.

Piper's favorite hangout