Error 18

Here's a big apology to all the avid bannappudding blog readers (that goes to both of you): I'm sorry. My computer hard drive, after years of faithful service, failed. It keeps giving me Error 18 messages and telling me that there are unreadable logical blocks, and that device sda3 and sda2 have irreconcilable errors on them. And we all know what that means, don't we?
Richard keeps telling me that it's okay to use his computer, but I can't shake the nasty suspicion that alien buggers came in one night and implanted magnets into my fingertips, a sure fire way to destroy any hard drive. So I don't want to mess up his, too. Right now I'm booted from a linux flash drive, but I can't access any of my files. Which are, thankfully, backed up safely, secretly, and separately from my magnetized fingers.

So I haven't posted any of the exciting things we've been doing, like kindergarten, kayaking, rick climbing, Children's Museum visiting, Wii boxing, Kung foo panda, playgroups, stranded by a dead battery, alien encounters, and all the like.

Does anyone know what error 18 is?

Sam is nuts

Okay, here's another reason why I love Sam. My parents have this game, Flippin Frogs, and it's a big hit, you know, flinging frogs through the air. But sometimes it's not so easy to share:

Sam: (screaming incoherently)
Me: (firmly, having already counted to three) We're going outside. now.
Sam: I wanna...gasp...(screaming continues)
Me: It's okay baby boy. calm down. tell me what you want.
Sam: (wailing) I want the FLIPPIN' FROGS!!!
Me: (laughter restrained with difficulty) you want the flippin' frogs?
Sam: (subdued, now that someone understands.) uh-huh, I wanna all the flippin' frogs.

The clairvoyant genius who named this game can only be admired.

Our almost house

Here's the floorplan! You'll have to click on the image to be able to really make anything out.

We choose to wall in the dining room so it could be the music studio for Richard. That's right- no more garage band! This way he won't have to thaw his equipment in the winter, and we can all listen to him jam. We're also hoping one day to make the humongo screen porch (3) a sun room.

That's about it! They haven't started construction yet because they're waiting in permits and such, but it should be done by Thanksgiving.