band names

You know ... in the course of conversation sometimes phrases come up that really should be band names. Like:

Manatee Freelancer
Subtleties of the Bean
Knit Uterus
Wooed With Pickles
The Emergency Onion
Awkward Triangle
Beer Hat

Can't remember the conversations within which these particular phrases came up -- but I just found the paper on which I wrote them down. So there you have it.

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[10:30:09 AM] Andrew Kraybill Burkhalter: i hate computers

summer

Pictures from summer, featuring Daron & Kirstin's wedding, my 10-year high school reunion, Kim & Joe's wedding, cute pics of Clare and Eli, and fun times with Ashley and Ben in Portland.

Bonus video!

spam

This week I learned a lot about spam (the internet version). Did you know that in addition to automated robot spam, there are also real people who get paid a pittance to register for websites and then post links back to the spam website? This week my work site got hit hard by spammers and I got to scroll through a bunch of bios that spam-people posted on our site.

"Hi im Getaflat Stomach"

"I love to travel around the world, and also believe in green produce"

"I am part of all wedding ceremonies"

"I am Sandra. I am severe fan of coach tennis shoes."

"I am in school to be an accountant though now I am afraid that this is a bad idea."

"I have buried hamsters, painted homes, and helped people through painful medical problems like hernias"

"Internet has influenced my life to such an extent that now I cant do without this internet."

hey. you should watch these.

They will make you laugh.

may and june

Here are some pictures from May and June. They are on Facebook (but you can see them even if you ain't).

It only seems fair to come up with some Bonus Notes for my devoted blog readers.

1. We found car keys on top of Rattlesnake Mountain. We still have them. What should I do with them?

2. I went to San Francisco! For me, that is like hanging out again with someone you dated 5 years ago but are still in love with. So - wonderful, but difficult. But it was better than I expected - Mr. Galore was in a conference and I surprised myself by being able to happily wander the city by myself, without getting bored or sad. Not that there wasn't some crying (that's to be expected) but overall I felt so at home and so glad I made the last-minute plans to go. And I got to see Steph & Neil, and Jodie, and walk by my old house and walk through Golden Gate Park, and I even got a sunburn that faded into what-passes-for-a-tan. Hooray.

3. If you have been anywhere near us in the past couple of months, you know we are putting a shower in our downstairs, because that is all we talk about. We are in awe of and incredibly grateful for the time and energy and patience and skillz that Terry in particular, and Sheldon & Debbie & Janis as well, have put into this project. It is almost done! And I now look at walls in a totally new way.

4. Heather & Will's wedding was a hoot. Have you ever seen Korean couples ballroom dance to hip-hop songs? I have. It was worth waiting 11 years for :)

hi

We're still alive.

Read this and laugh so hard you forget that you're mad at us for not blogging.

late april / early may

April showers bring ...

Sounders games:



Parents in town:



Eating on the porch (we love our new patio furniture):


Eggs from Lee and Rob's chickens:


A surprise trip to Virginia:


Bathroom demolition:


Oatmeal, eaten off a plate:


Oh, and May flowers too. Thanks, Debbie!

just because

with thanks to Corey and Tom

vacation, all we ever wanted

Non-Facebook people should be able to see these public photos from our recent trips to Indiana and Pennsylvania and Pasadena.

And blog readers get BONUS ALPACA VIDEOS!!

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"Andrew and Sarah will go back to their home in Seattle. I will miss them. My poop is in the bathtub." -- Niece Galore (age 2)

Note: Only the first two statements are true.

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"It can't be bland if you use oatmeal." -- Father-in-Law Galore

Watch out Lighthouse

(Or Vivace's, Ladro, and Zoka)

I made my first latte and am enjoying it while writing this post! Last weekend we attended a fundraiser for the youth at Seattle Mennonite Church. Another couple from SMC donated an espresso machine and after some back and forth with friend Laura, she decided to let me be the highest bidder.

P.S. For the record, I have nothing on any of the aforementioned Seattle coffee shops, which are fantastic.

einstein

stress

This week is going to be one of the craziest in recent memory. So much to do at work ... so many visitors and evening obligations that keep me from working overtime ... maybe that's a good thing. We'll see. I'll just be glad when February's over, to put it mildly.

At the same time, I shouldn't get too much sympathy these days for complaining about too much work -- and work I enjoy, at that.

Last night it snowed. Tonight it hailed. But Saturday was a beautiful, warm day, and we took a walk up to a little-known park overlooking Ballard.


And Father Galore is back in town for a short visit. Hooray! See on the left the way he has been for the past 20 years; on the right, his newly shaven, young-looking, Brother-Galore-resembling state.


And here is a squid carrot.