Countdown to Prelims

It is time, dear friends, for the countdown to begin. Prelims begin a mere three weeks from today...and as my wonderful, calming husband pointed out, that means they also end three weeks from tomorrow.

Days until prelims start: 21
Days until prelims end: 22

What with Andy's busy work schedule extending into evenings and weekends, and my endless to-do lists for the various research projects, studying efforts, and house-related projects, we seem to have seen relatively little of each other the past two weeks. This made last Friday evening's little excursion to Como park all the more enjoyable, as we got to actually spend time together, enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery, and most importantly, test out our new blanket from Diane. This is a handy-dandy picnic & outdoor-ready blanket that is nice and soft and flannely on one side, but water proof on the other. It folds up & has handles so it looks like a small laptop bag for ease of carrying, too. We love it :). We're sure you will too, so we decided to show you some pictures:

Sixty years...

My grandparents in 1946:

...and one week ago, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary:

Andy and I, approaching our two-year mark in August, have a lot of years to go!

On the cute side of things, here are the three youngest of Grandma & Grandpa's progeny who were able to be there in person to help celebrate:

Knock-Knock...

...who's there?

Well, if you live in a certain district here in the metro, it may be a DFL volunteer, recruited and sent out by the amazing Master Andy. They've let him loose to coordinate his first door-knocking effort today.

They have maps.
They have walking lists.
They have pamphlets.
They have coordinating binders.
That's right: undecided voters, beware!

(If you don't agree with the cause, surely you'll at least agree that these poor door-knocking souls are impressively organized!)

In other news, I do have photos to post from last weekend, which I spent in Wisconsin going to my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary celebration. Unfortunately, having Andy work from 10 to 10 most days means that our home laptop, which houses the photos, is rarely accessible to me, so I have yet to download photos from the camera. Perhaps tonight will be the night...

JESSICA IS COOL.

My dear lifemate Jessica has been so kind of late to keep you updated on several significant goings on in our life that happen to do with me--gradation, new job, etc. What is missing from these accounts, though, is a major thank you to the person who helped get me through both the job search and painful paper writing required for these achievements.

That said, this post is dedicated to my beautiful wife, Jessica, to thank her for all her love and support. Without you, I would've had a difficult time mustering a title page, much less a thesis!

Among so many other wonderful things you do for me, Zoot, laughing with you is one of the best ways to make a hard day brighter...

Master Andy

Andy is no longer JUST Andy.
...oh no, he is now, since graduating with his Master of Arts degree,
the amazing, the spectacular, the fantabulous
Master Andy
(please, hold your applause)