Good news for Jim - and sunny days!

Why the red plate, you ask? We were celebrating Jim's successful defense of his Dissertation Proposal!! He submitted his proposal - also the first 3 chapters of the dissertation - to his advisory committee (three faculty members at IU), and then set up the Defense. They talked through the chapters and his strategy to complete his research. Their feedback, in a word: Excellent.

Sorry, Jim, hopefully I'm not butchering the summary. The important thing is: he is now officially approved for his research! Now on to interviews and research and setting up his trip to Australia! More on that later.

(P.S. in the round dish is sweet potato spoon bread, a new recipe from the owner of Foster's Market in Durham. Quite tasty. And yes, that is Gemma signing "more" - she was hungry.)

On the home front, we have been really enjoying the mild winter - with the heat off, the back door open, and clothes & diapers out to dry on the clothesline!

Here's my new fun thing: re-growing green onions. Just keep them in water, snip & use as they grow, and they will continue to sprout.

Of course we also have been frequenters at the park on these sunny days. Say the word "park" or "walk" and Gemma races to the door, pointing to her stroller and ready to go. She is rapidly gaining new vocabulary and amazing us every day with her new words and sense of humor. New favorites: stuck, walk, Y (for the YMCA), outside, park, wet, achoo, pretzel, fast, snack, bath, bubbles and pizza. This afternoon when she got up from her nap, she said, "Momma, Daddy work?"

Here are some scenes from a sunny, windy afternoon at Olcott Park.