A Ben In The Oven

Lex and I went outside today and took a couple of pictures in the front yard to accentuate her new belly :) We haven't really gotten the chance to do an all out photo shoot but due to familial pressures (threats) we have decided to do some documentation. Alexia has felt pretty well so far without any major difficulties. She describes her pregnancy as "average" so far. As for strange cravings, Lex hasn't had any. Honestly, I was hoping she would crave dirt or something so I could have some solid ammunition later on. Our last appointment at the women's clinic yielded promising news that the pregnancy is progressing as planned and on schedule which is always a good thing. We will be sure to update everyone as we get news... For the moment it's a waiting game and we have a whole lot of work to do on the baby room. Little Ben is about four and a half months away from his debut. We can't wait and are very excited. Stay tuned.

Missing Summer

The forecast here in Greenville, North Carolina says that the high for today will be 82f. Not bad, however, I just went outside and it isn't there yet. Having grown up in a small town (at least it used to be) in California, I am used to sweltering heat. I can remember days that would reach 113f! But the heat was dry so any amount of shade would quell the blistering heat. Our first summer out here was definitely a shock especially given the fact that we moved here from Boston, Massachusetts. I can't say that we were necessarily ready for the humidity that we encountered upon moving down here. The humidity index likes to hang out at around 95% for a few weeks before it finally takes pity on us all and lets go in sheets of torrential downpour. Not that I don't like monsoons LOL. All in all it is a great place to spend a summer. Personally I could live in the heat 100% of the year and be happy. I do enjoy small (controlled) exposure to snow and ice, however, it is rarely something that I seek out for enjoyment. I was never any good at snowboarding or building snowmen. During the summer here you can find me, Lex and Chorizo at Indian beach, Nags Head, Manteo and anywhere in between. The sand in NC is not gritty like it is up North and the environment seems to be less commercialized than out West. Wouldn't be a bad place to retire. I've yet to surf out here but the water can be a little crazy out near Buxton and Rodanthe. We visited our friend's parents' house out there last year and learned quickly that riptides and jellyfish are an ever-present danger. Nonetheless, we will continue to make our homage to the coast as we do every year and stop at our favorite places along the way. Until then, we will be weathering the rest of the cold and looking forward to a very exciting summer.

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While I was typing I listened to:

Bachelors Of Science- Song For Lovers

Ben Sage- Geisha

Ben Sage & Savvy- Sleepless (VIP)

The Haunted Cauldrons

So I decided to complete some long overdue chores in the back yard... There was 1/4 acre of leaves to rake, fallen limbs to collect and thorny vines to remove that were slowly but surely making their ascent towards complete shrouding of our mature landscaping. This endeavor ended up taking the better part of 3 days!!!

During my battle with the thorny vines, I happened upon something in the ground. Upon closer inspection, I realized that these objects were black spikes made of iron. I ran to the garage (ok, maybe I walked quickly) and grabbed the tools I need to disinter these mysterious treasures. Ends up that these iron objects were two cauldrons that look like they are from the civil war era. One of the iron pots is about 25lb and the other is about 70lb. Although very cool, I

instantly felt like there was something a little spooky about them. Despite my apprehensions and back problems, I brought them into the house after rolling them across the lawn. The story begins:

Alexia and I were really excited about my find and couldn't wait to tell Cass, my mom Diane and my sister Carla about them- as they are all appreciative of things obscure and potentially antique. So there they sit; one on top of a table in our laundry room and the larger one below. Although not a great decoration, they need to stay indoors due to the inclement weather lately.

I spend a lot of time at home given my weekend option status at work so this allows me the luxury of keeping an eye on things. I woke up one morning to my usual routine of coffee and Chorizo (the dog not the sausage). I noticed that it was an exceptionally blustery day out and settled in for a predictable day of homework and laundry. I kept hearing a thumping upstairs and thought nothing of it assuming that it was the wind jostling something attached the house. About an hour later I decided "what the hell" I'm gonna go check this out. I walked upstairs with Chorizo in tow only to find that one of our upstairs closet doors was open. This closet is particularly creepy in that it has a square piece of plaster literally duct taped to the crawlspace opening occluding its passage. Not a huge deal I thought, but the kicker is that the light was turned on. This light is an old-fashioned twist-on light that gets hot after about 20 seconds of being on... when I reached in to turn the light off I found that the bulb was not hot at all. This means that it had turned on shortly before I ascended the stairs. I told Lex and Cass to be on the lookout for spookiness.

Last night Lex and I decided to go see Black Swan in Winterville. While we were waiting to enter the theatre we received a call from Cass in a hurried voice saying "did you guys leave the garage door open?" which of course we didn't. This could be explained by the wind but who knows. Cass proceeded to say "well, I'm not really sure what's going on but the dog won't come to the door- in fact he won't leave his bed." It's important to note that Chorizo always comes to the door and his bed is as far away from the front door as is possible. He was terrified of something. Cass ended the conversation with "you should also be aware that I found the hot water on full blast in your bathroom." In the end, I'm not really sure if there is a correlative relationship between the cauldrons and the strange occurrences lately, however, I am led to speculate that one didn't really happen before the other.... more to follow. These seemingly innocuous cauldrons may have more of a story than we thought.

A Brief Introduction

July 10th began the first day of the rest of our lives together. Alexia and I got married in beautiful Wade, Maine on my parents' property. Six months later, we are expecting our first new addition to the family. Chorizo our dog and our two cats Skid and Dishes keep us busy. Our new home is an ever-evolving project that occupies my time away from the hospital. I am a nurse on a surgical unit and Alexia teaches in a very small family oriented program. Here are a few photos that'll catch you up to where we are today.