Happy Birthday Kimberly!

Technically her birthday was yesterday (May 10), but it is still yesterday for all you west coasters. Happy 34 to my sister!

The toys are now officially in big stacks of colored bins, and no longer on the floor. And, we built the first 2 of 6 dresser sets, so the pile of my clothes is also off the floor. You can actually walk through the room. I would post some pictures but I can't find the camera cord. Don't get me wrong, it is still a disaster in here, but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
This article I just read in the NY Times makes me feel a whole lot better about our apartment. Or at least it validates our experience in hunting for one.
We are hot here. I hate to start complaining now because I realize that come August we will have 30 more degrees than we do today, but I can't believe how warm it has been. Like you can go out in a T-shirt, all day, even at night, and you are warm. The wind is warm. That is so cool. Or not. And today in the apartment, I got that grouchy, too-hot feeling. Admittedly we couldn't turn the fan or the AC on for assorted moving-in type reasons (OK, if you must know we can't find the extension cord to plug in the AC and we just got a new remote for the fan and none of the switch combinations worked). It all worked out OK--went to the market next door and bought a cold watermelon for my grouchies, and Brett finally came up with the switch combination to make the fan work.
Went to Costco this week--guess what I can fit in my backpack?
Two bags of almonds
One bag of walnuts
One bag of pecans
One jug of maple syrup
One bag of dino chicken nuggets
One bag of salmon burgers
One pack of men's dress socks
Oh, and I carried a 2 pack of apple/peach juice. :)
So now I have been to Queens. Was impressed by some cool shops along our route--stopped in to a nice bakery, and there is a sculpture garden park right next to Costco--that was kind of cool in a funky sort of way. They have yoga and tai chi classes on the weekends.
There are raccoons in the park and when I walk Banchi at night I see them slinking up tree trunks. They hold perfectly still, staring at the trunk in front of them, disappearing into the shadows and willing Banchi and I not to see them. I have this strange impulse to let him run after them...not sure why, must be something I inherited from my father. I know the raccoons are nasty despite their cute appearance and they will probably win a battle with my dog, but I still have this desire to let him go...let him exercise his predatory instincts. Last night, just as I was wondering why I hadn't seen any, a big fat raccoon popped out of a garbage can and went lumbering off, only a few feet in front of us.