Gryphon has been getting cabin fever in our one air-conditioned room. He amused himself by donning Cheri's headband, but the fun only lasts so long. Jude stopped by today, but Gryphon felt intimidated by his loping gait and expressive piano playing. Luckily for Gryphon, Nanna Jo and Dar Dar showed up to entertain him. We had a delicious Mexican dinner during which Gryphon reached for a fork and used it to eat his bean burrito. Everyone applauded. Afterward a couple of us went swimming at the hotel pool.
Heat records are being shattered in the northwest lately. Jonah and Gryphon played in our air-conditioned upstairs yesterday, where we have moved our beds. It was 106ยบ (previous record was 101 in 1998). The Cunninghams joined us for dinner at Ya Hala, followed by a slow walk through air-conditioned Ikea. Today we hibernated upstairs until the sun went down, then ventured out to shop for groceries.
We loaded up the car and drove to southern Oregon on Thursday. It was dark by the time we got to our camp site, but Gryphon was happy to be there in the morning. The lake is very peaceful. Tad was there too, making good use of the rope swings with Nathan. Gryphon napped under the mosquito net. He came home without bites or sunburns, surprisingly. Gryphon finally enjoyed being in the lake near the end of the trip (we stayed four nights); we had to bathe him in a tub a couple of times before. We realized that we would be at this lake with our 15-month old baby only once.
Gryphon decorated his face with jam at a cafe this morning, and with cottage cheese in the evening. Tad came for a visit and we went to Jimmy Mak's to see the Mel Brown Septet. The trombonist, Stan Bock, was Tad's euphonium teacher in college.
Gryphon knew it was going to be a bad day when he trapped himself under a chair. It got worse when he had to have five injections into his thighs. Right after this photo was taken he fell backward and hit his head on the stone path. He's hoping for a better afternoon.
I was thoroughly disgusted with the blueberry diarrhea that Gryphon fired into his cloth diaper yesterday. I threatened to switch to disposables (which are significantly more damaging to the environment), but Cheri suggested we build a diaper sprayer first. I modified one of the designs she found online to make it more compact, and it's functioning now (we haven't put it to the real test yet). Here's how to make a diaper sprayer of your very own! Get a sprayer, some small hose clamps, a 1/4-inch ball valve, a couple of 3/8-inch barbed to 1/4-inch threaded adapters, and a 3-way 3/8-inch barbed coupler. Cut the metal end off the sprayer, cut off a short section of tubing, and assemble the parts as close to each other as possible (so that the valve will feel more solid later): The valve is to prevent the sprayer from being under constant pressure, but also allows you to control the force of the spray. Cut your toilet line to accommodate the apparatus, and make sure everything is clamped and tightened. Gryphon approves of the new sprayer.
It was ninety degrees here today, so Gryphon spent most of the afternoon as a nudist. He did some painting, and even got some on the paper. Like a true artist, he became frustrated.
We said goodbye to our Bellingham friends and family and took the train back to Portland today. We had been gone for almost four weeks, but Gryphon's aunt Bethany had kept things under control. Bijou got a bath from Cheri and Gryphon. I heard this song coming from the bathroom and got the camera after a few choruses.
We headed for Colorado on July 1 for another family reunion: this time the Shields side of the family. The chain of Shields men. Here's the family in Steamboat Springs on the fourth of July. Matt's board game Agricola took up half his suitcase. Gryphon met up with his 2nd cousins for some stair races. More photos from the reunion are available here.
