Cumulus Clouds

It is a nice day to live in in Kentucky. The cumulus clouds are huge, deep, chunky and motionless in the deep blue sky. The hay rolls are sometimes scattered and sometimes lined up in the fields everywhere and the grass and trees are a rich summer green.

To celebrate the first day of summer, the 21st my best friend Todd and his wife Alice had a beautiful baby. Maude Elizabeth. We are going up to New York to meet her in a couple weeks.

I haven't been home in something like three years. It was Thanksgiving three years ago that I went last. I was chatting with Todd this morning and he sent me this picture of the building he works in to illustrate the degree to which the rains have flooded the area. The news last night showed images of Elmira NY that were more flooded than I've ever seen in New York. But that's not saying much. We haven't experienced any real natural disaster since we moved here. There are sometimes the wind picks up and there are tornado warnings but nothing substantial yet.

Last Saturday we went out for a walk at the big park nearby and went around the long trail twice, once to get Ren to sleep and once while he slept. We're trying to get him used to riding in the stroller more. He doesn't like it compared to riding in the carrier but now that he's over 20 pounds the length of time I can comfortably carry him in it is getting shorter and shorter. Eventually I need one of those carriers that is like a back pack so that we can go hiking together. He is, little by little getting use to his Maclaren Volo stroller that Ryota and Emi got for us. The whole time we were walking it was thickly overcast and humid and looked like it might rain soon. But it didn't really rain all day. We ended up going strait from the park to Danville to do some shopping and eat lunch. We ate at the new cafe/bookstore in town by the hospital where ren was born. We both got some kind of Italian sandwich and split a piece of cheese cake. The cake was not to our expectations but the sandwich was okay. We walked around to the Danville historical park to the gift shop to look around and headed back to the car after a few illusory drops of rain fell.

Sunday we went to Lexington and tried out another Indian restaurant near Harrodsburg road Beaumont center called Masala. I liked Tandor, the one in the Andover center better as it was bigger and had more to offer but what they did have was good. The tall young Indian looking waiter held Ren for a little while and Ren was happy. He like to eat the nan. We got Ren some clothes as all of what he already has is too big or too small. Now he has a couple new fancy shirts and pants.

Ren didn't sleep very well Monday night or last night. Last night I got up and slept in the guest room because I could tell it was going to be one of those nights that he would be awake and loud every hour and half.

Aya has been talking with her little brother Keita about him visiting Kentucky over the Obon (Japanese) vacation. He was here once before. It was before Aya came to visit the first time and he had a good time but I don't think he was terribly excited by the location. Aya was telling me about how he said he would probably never be back but I think he would be coming more out of duty to keep us company than to entertain himself.