more photos from the park picnic
We spent the evening at one of the county parks last month, and here are a few more of the pictures that I had been meaning to post.
John, getting his fishing pole ready
cooing at the trees (they make a beautiful and fascinating mobile)
Emma and I hung out for about an hour while John was fishing, and I entertained myself by taking pictures of Emma and reading. Mostly taking pictures of Emma, though. :)
Emma was so excited to see her daddy when he got back!
John grilled up a wonderful dinner of steak and onions to go with the cheese, salad and bread that we had brought.
12 weeks old yesterday
Emma and I walked about 1/2 a mile to the soccer complex down the street yesterday. The soccer fields have a small grove of shade trees off to one side, and, since it was over 80 for most of the afternoon, the shade felt wonderful.
Yesterday was the first time that Emma and I have gone to a park alone and we just laid on the ground, enjoying the outdoors. Even though the busy street was close by it still felt quiet and peaceful. All that was missing was a hammock and a glass of lemonade!
Emma really enjoyed laying on her back and looking up at the leaves, branches, sky and the light playing off of it all. It was like one giant green mobile. She would get excited when the breeze picked up, “talking” and waving, sputtering bubbles and kicking vigorously.
swim season
We received a page-long notice yesterday saying that the pools in the complex will open this Saturday (yay! get out your towels and sunscreen!).
That statement took up one line.
The rest of the page was taken up by rules and the consequences (i.e. pool being closed) for not following them.
There are some very basic and expected ones, such as:
1. Pool hours are 10:00 am to 9:00 pm daily.
2. All person using the pool or pool area do so at their own risk …
4. Residents will be held responsible for all actions of their guests
7. Proper swimming attire is required. No denim …
8. No glass allowed in pool area
9. No running, pushing, wrestling, dunking, horseplay …
15. No pets allowed in pool area
But then there are also some that, well, aren’t so basic or expected (or at least, I didn’t expect to see them):
7. … water rafts and play equipment must be approved by the management
10. Chewing gum is extremely unsafe in water and is not permitted in the pool area
12. Do not swim when too tired, hot, cold, or within two hours after eating
And my favorites:
21. Splashing, spouting of water or similar unhygienic actions will not be tolerated
24. Public display of affection is not permitted: hugging, kissing, etc.
Hmm. Well, I guess they have to draw a line somewhere. But no splashing? And calling splashing unhygienic? I laughed. I know it wasn’t very respectful of me, but I did.
I also laughed at the one about chewing gum, although I’m sure it is very possible for someone to get excited while swimming and choke on their gum.
And I laughed at number 24, the one about pda. “Don’t you dare be affectionate. This is your home, but affection is not allowed” (the same person who wrote the rule about no live Christmas trees being allowed in the apartments must have written that one). So if I want to give John or Emma a kiss, we’ll get out of the pool and walk outside the gate. Uh, yeah.
I really am not trying to mock them, it just struck me as being funny. Ridiculously funny.
Maybe I just have a hard time with people putting unnecessarily harsh limitations on my actions (or any limitations, really. but I’ve learned to accept the reasonable ones). Maverick Liz.
I have a feeling that there may have been “situations” in the past, and the management is trying to prevent those from reoccurring by adding a rule for each situation.
But the funny thing is, they actually already have rules that address those situations: splashing (as unhygienic as it may be) could be classified as “horseplay”, for example.
p.s. you also can’t use the pools if you have a cold (#14)
first field trip
cincy is so natty
-from Babes In Toyland
I’m not sure if I would say Cincinnati is “the best city in the USA”, especially since some people rate it as the third poorest large city (pop. of 250,000+) in the nation.
There are some truly lovely parks, city squares, old homes and estates that could make you wish for a gardener, a maid and a butler. There are also some areas that send shivers down my spine. This is the city God has placed us in, though, and we are finding friends and making memories here.
John and I celebrated our anniversary (April 12) last weekend. His mom came over from Indianapolis to spend the afternoon with Emma, and John and I drove down to our old neighborhood. We parked and fed the meter, and then walked the old, old streets where I used to go jogging. We window shopped. We thoroughly enjoyed being out together, and I realized that I really missed living there. I even missed our first tiny apartment. I will probably also miss living where we do now when we move. Maybe not the neighborhood as much, but I knowI will look back at this apartment and the memories we made in it, and miss it, too.
winter Saturday
A neighbor boy, enjoying the week’s snow before it turns to slush. Oh what fun.
today
Scattered flurries early this morning…otherwise becoming mostly sunny. Highs 15 to 20. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Wind chill values as low as 20 below this morning.
taken from the weather underground website
Currently the temperature is 6.3*, but with the windchill it’s -1*. This CA girl is feeling the cold!!!
O’Bryonville
O’Bryonville is just up the street from our apartment, and sometimes I walk through to window shop.
mmm, yes ……… well, that’s the place I walk to!