back in business

My computer monitor is working reliably again, thanks to David and one of his friends who gave us a "spare" video card. (It's so foreign to me to think of having extra computer parts just lying around.)

We had a good weekend visit with Grandma Mickey and Grandpa Bud, up in the cool Virginia mountains. And they took us on a scenic steam train ride in Cass, West Virginia, with a one-of-a-kind steam locomotive designed for logging, called a Shay engine. It has gears instead of pistons so the wheels don't look the same and it doesn't sound the same (except for the whistle). E did well on the 5 hour trip, spending her time playing with toys from my bag, eating snacks, swinging with her sharp little elbows on my knees, sucking her thumb and cuddling her blanket. There were a few opportunities to stop and stretch our legs. She enjoyed picking flowers. On the long car ride there and back, one of her most engrossing tasks was unlacing and relacing (creatively) her shoes. "This shoe is suss-ter-ated!" (or something like that) was what she would yell out suddenly when she got frustrated.

One of the latest demands she has of me is to sing "This Old Man" over and over while she stares at my mouth (apparently trying to memorize the words I guess). She refused to sing it herself, vehemently, for the longest time but finally this weekend sometime she let herself slip and offered up some of the lines. In the long car rides I also made the mistake of trying to entertain her with that finger play song, "Where is Thumbkin?" She now thinks it must be done with a "rubber ducklet hat" on one of the fingers (a baby bottle nipple). That song is now on the play list too.