Sunday April 1st we stayed in. Nina demonstrated she was a real clotheshorse by going through four outfits, I did three hours of yardwork and finished Catching Fire and started Mockingjay after seeing The Hunger Games the day before. Saturday the 7th we celebrated Dad’s birthday party over at Mom’s, had a very nice dinner.

The next day was Easter and we went to church, then took some pictures of Nina in her Easter best. Wednesday the 11th we had a bonus day as Nina was in daycare (she’s usually there Monday, Tuesday and Friday). Jill got to do her thing all day, and I had an excellent afternoon playing hooky. I was the last customer at the Lemongrass food truck (and got an extra taco), bought a pile of used CDs at the CD Cellar in Clarendon, got some fresh Wee Heavy at Mad Fox, then bought a bigger pile of used CDs at the CD Cellar in Falls Church.

We weren’t able to make the Falcon Ridge preview tour, but we saw a pretty good substitute on the 12th: Robbie Schaefer (and Owen and Ethan) on a great cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You”, then Ellis Paul joined by Radoslav Lorkovic. We hit Angeethi for some tasty Indian before the show. Nina crawled for the first time on Friday the 13th and that weekend it started getting warm – on the 16th I turned on the air conditioning for the first time (never so early). Monday the 17th I was treated to a front row seat of the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery as my office is across the street from Dulles.

On Saturday the 21st I headed over to Record & Tape Exchange in Fairfax to see Colin Hay (from Men At Work) do a free show for Record Store Day, then met Jill and Nina at Tippy’s Taco House for an early dinner. We were supposed to go see the Nationals vs. Miami on the 22nd, but the game was rained out and we got new tickets for a game in July. Friday the 27th I got a fleeting glimpse of the space shuttle Enterprise leaving. Saturday Nina managed to make me use three pair of jeans in less than 24 hours, and she enjoyed the new jump up I got her; Dad stopped by on Sunday the 29th to see her.

On the 1st, Sue had another photo session with Nina. She’s a ham.

That Saturday the 3rd, Jill and I had a lovely brunch with at Harth (love their bacon jam), then Jill went out with Sue for afternoon tea. Sunday Jill made homemade brown sugar bacon biscuits for dinner, which paired nicely with a Founders’ Breakfast Stout. Saturday the 10th Nina had an afternoon outing to MOM’s Organic Market and Lost Rhino Brewery. I got my growler filled at Lost Rhino and a Spiedie for lunch from the BadaBing food truck (conveniently parked next to Lost Rhino).

On Saturday the 17th, Jill’s dad and his wife came down for the weekend. Nina and I started our weekly Artsplay classes, then right back home for her nap. The weather was lovely and we all took a walk over to lunch at Cafesano, then I made the classic Irish dinner of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. Nina slept through the night and everyone was well rested for a trip into DC to see the cherry blossoms (I’d never actually walked around the Tidal Basin while they were blooming before). Nina hit some more milestones later: sitting up on her own and going out on the water for the first time.

The next week Nina had her first cold and we caught it too. She slept a lot – 4 hours on the 24th, but then screaming and refusing to nap on the 25th. Thursday the 28th I headed to DC with James, a coworker. We grabbed pizza at District of Pi, then headed over to Verizon Center to catch Van Halen (with an opening set by Kool & The Gang). VH was mighty as usual – Eddie hasn’t lost a step. On the way home I had to come to a dead stop on Wiehle to let 6 deer cross the road.

Thursday the 29th I met Nina and Jill for lunch at Jason’s Deli in Fair Lakes (nice salad bar and extras). Saturday the 31st Jill took a lot of nice pictures of Nina across the street, then my mom came over to babysit. We headed over to Sterling to see the superb adaption of The Hunger Games (and got there so early the theater was empty), then had dinner at Stone’s Cove (excellent small plates).

When we left off, we were on vacation at Massanutten with Sue. On Wednesday the 1st, Jill and Sue had a spa day, and I stayed in the condo with Nina. Which kinda worked in my favor, as she broke the 3 hour nap barrier and totaled 4+ hours for the day. It did result in a late, screaming bedtime, but it was nice and quiet later, and we had bourbon barrel aged beer.

Thursday we went to Harrisonburg for the day. We hit Clementine for lunch (good sandwiches and good beer) and a knitting shop. Nina even enjoyed the knitting shop as they had baby toys. Friday we headed home in the afternoon.

On Saturday Dave came down for the weekend. My mom joined us for brunch (had to make my Eggs Benedict) when he arrived, then Mom watched Nina while the rest of us ate at Ray’s The Steaks (I rarely like to eat at steakhouses because I like to grill, but it’s damn good). Sunday was the Super Bowl (Pats vs. Giants) and we went over to the Jewells to watch it. The problem with watching football every week with your infant daughter is that she thinks football is her God given right. So yah, she refused to go to sleep while the game was on, but was out like a light once we got home.

On Wednesday the 8th, I got to flash back to 2004 with The Darkness. Nice timing, since frontman Justin had just been in one of my favorite Super Bowl commercials. They didn’t seem to have aged a bit, bringing the bombast right away – it was a great show.

The next weekend was probably the coldest of the winter. I thought about wearing my ski gear to walk the dog. On Valentine’s Day, Jill worked late, but we still had a fancy dinner: sushi from Harris Teeter, crab rangoons from Safeway, I made edamame with olive oil, garlic and chili pepper flakes and Sue made lobster tails with a crouton topping. Yum.

On Saturday the 18th, Chris and I did some decent skiing at Whitetail ’til it got slushy, stopping in Frederick at the Black Hog for some delicious BBQ on the way back. Jill and I celebrated Valentine’s formally that night with dinner at Vintage 50 – decent food and beer, but I preferred lunch. Monday was a holiday, and I had Nina all day. Her longest nap of the day was an hour, I have no idea how the stay at home parents do it – it felt much longer than a workday.

Thursday the 23rd I didn’t even leave the house until almost midnight to see Guns N’ Roses at the new Fillmore, thanks to Twitter being useful and letting me know they hadn’t gone on yet. I missed a couple songs, but I didn’t feel too bad since the show didn’t end ’til after 3AM. Why yes, this was the latest ticketed show I’ve ever been to (not counting late night song circles at FRFF). Still, it was nice seeing Axl in a club – he’s lost a bit of his high end, but his midrange was just fine.

We took advantage of Sue being there the next Saturday as well, headed to LivingSocial’s new building downtown for a pop-up dinner from Birch & Barley. Unfortunately it got mixed reviews from us (good beer, so-so food, unlike their restaurant). We were hungry enough afterwards to split a small pizza at District of Pi next door. Sunday Nina had her first real solid food with cereal, as messy as I expected.

Nina started daycare on Monday the 27th; we took advantage of her second day in daycare to head into DC and finally get lunch from a food truck (Korean tacos, very good). Then we got a private tour from Hannah of the Library of Congress, and made it back to pick up Nina right on time.

We started the new year with a 3 day weekend. Sunday the 1st the Norwoods hosted a big brood of folks for their New Year’s brunch – delicious and good to catch up with folks. Monday the second I made Pecan Toffee Sticky Buns – a big hit (a lot of work, but worth it), then Sue and I took Nina and Illa on a walk around Lake Audobon to walk them off.

The 3rd we went over to Barnett’s after work as Akaemi had hurt her foot and brought over a ground beef hash brown casserole for her and Josh. Nina was very good, and the casserole wasn’t bad. Jill went back to work on the 4th, and there was much sadness. Sue watched Nina on the days Jill worked (and tried to work herself) and kept Nina nice and warm on their walks.

On Saturday the 7th, my company had its annual party, this year with an ’80s prom theme. A bit odd, but we did our best to dress up. It actually turned out to be one of the better ones, as the band they got was pretty good. The food was the same as it was every year, but at least I know what to expect.

The 9th we opened all the Christmas gifts we hadn’t received on Christmas. Nina got her first “Alice In Wonderland” book from Sue, and enjoyed the panda from her Pepe and Meme.

Friday the 13th was not bad besides some typical traffic getting to Arlandria. We went to Pork Barrel BBQ for a quick delicious dinner (rivals Willard’s), then saw Eddie From Ohio with the Jewells at the Birchmere. Great show, including some nice new covers and a hilarious new Michael Clem song. The next day we took a big ol’ family walk around Lake Thoreau.

I got Nina all to myself on Monday the 16th (Jill worked and Sue went visiting), so of course I took her to Target and Chick-fil-A. Friday the 20th we got a late start (somebody didn’t want to go to sleep) but saw most of Red Molly at Wolf Trap. It doesn’t matter if I’m expecting it or not, it’s weird to come out of a concert and see snow on the ground where there was none, but the drive home was fine.

The next night all of us headed down to DC for an early dinner at AGAINN. I was way too overconfident about Nina in restaurants – we narrowly avoided a full meltdown by Sue driving her around the block 4 times until she fell asleep. She woke up again before we left, and went to bed 2 hours late that night. The food was well worth the trip, though (charcuterie was delicious). Sunday we had a delicious dinner of boiled bacon thanks to Hannah, then we did a family shop at Wegman’s, then finished watching the two excellent football conference championship games. Tuesday Sue had an informal photo session of Nina, got some great photos (most of the photos here she took).

Our vacation started on Saturday the 28th. We took a nice walk in the afternoon, then had Dad over for dinner, made roasted chicken and bought a delicious butternut squash and crab soup from Whole Foods. The next day Jill had a baby shower in the morning, then we finished packing (2 cars, but that included 4 people, 2 sets of ski equipment and a dog), then headed down to Massanutten in the late afternoon. We got there just after dark, unpacked and I headed over to the Food Lion for provisions and got takeout from Log Cabin Barbecue (very good ribs and sides).

Monday the 30th Jill and I headed over to the slopes to ski. She had some equipment issues and didn’t go for too long, I stayed out for about 4 hours, and it was awesome (first time skiing this season, plus I skipped last season). That night Nina had her first pool experience, and seemed to enjoy it.

The next day we headed to Charlottesville. It was a weird week for weather – the previous day it started well below freezing, but by late morning Tuesday it was in the 60s (I wore a t-shirt all day). We spent most of our time at the downtown mall, in shops and then lunch at Bizou (I wanted to try their fried chicken but needed a light lunch, nice compromise with their chicken Caesar salad). We also got some takeout fried chicken to save for the next day (couldn’t resist a repeat visit to Wayside Takeout) and filled some growlers at Whole Foods on the way out of town (with a quick stop for me at Plan 9).

Later that night Jill and I went to a beer dinner in Massanutten, and got lucky – it was an evening of all New Belgian brews, with introductions of each one by their East Coast head (who let us know they’ll be opening a second brewery in this area). We went to a beer dinner at our previous visit to Massanutten, and didn’t regret doing that again.

On Saturday the 3rd, we went to my dad’s house in Chesapeake Beach for a second Thanksgiving (since he wasn’t around for the first). He made us a nice feast with some roasted duck.

After lunch, we walked over to North Beach where their Christmas parade was going on, and Nina got to see her first Santa.

On the way back home, we stopped at Bojangles for takeout, then had it when we got home. A coworker swore it was the best biscuits and mashed potatoes fast food has to offer, and I have to agree. The next day we picked up our Christmas tree from a lot on Centreville Road (at West Ox) where Gerald Jones and his family grows trees from pinecones, it was an easy experience (even with Nina).

Monday the 5th it was our first big night out. My mom came over to babysit Nina, and we were off to DC, first we had dinner at Taberna del Alabardero (many wonderful Spanish dishes), then Tori Amos with the Appollon Musagete Quartet (the string quartet made it one of my favorite shows by her.

Saturday the 10th we held our annual holiday party. We started at a much more kid friendly time of 4PM and had one of our biggest crowds. Attendance ebbed and flowed, and much beer was consumed (nobody at all wanted wine that night).

The Wednesday the 14th I managed to get Nina successfully to sleep on my own while Jill whooped it up with the knitters in Reston Town Center (usually she would feed her to sleep). As a reward, the next night I had a night all to myself as Jill and Nina are away visiting friends Kelly and Chris and their new little one. But what did I do? Work until 8:30 (little short on hours this pay period), go shopping for a potluck lunch, make said dish, then make dinner, and then start relaxing at 12:30, and then it was time to go to bed.

Thursday the 22nd we went to see Todd Wright mc-ing his annual Claus-ter-f&#%. That was the plan, but Mom called before they played their first note as Nina was crying hysterically, and we headed home to find a perfectly calm baby. After Jill put her to bed, she bailed on returning and I went solo – glad as they played some of my favorite Christmas tunes (including this one).

Christmas morning we slept in, then I made a baked French Toast with strawberry sauce before we opened presents after noon. Probably never going to be able to sleep that late again. Christmas evening was fun at Mom’s with Dad and Sharon, but ended way too late with a super fussy and tired Nina, but happily she got back to sleep ok after we got home.

Thursday the 29th Jill’s mom arrived for her two month stay with us. The next day I took a long lunch at Dogfish Head (with a Palo Santo Marron) and worked late, but it was worth it. On New Year’s Eve, we had dinner at Harth (in the Tysons Hilton) with a lovely meal of small plates, then on to Native Run‘s NYE blowout at Jammin’ Java (which included a Brindley Brothers reunion, very happy to see that) before retiring for the evening to the Comfort Inn in Fairfax, which I chose solely because it was the closest place with a jacuzzi tub (we were super classy and rang in the new year from there).

Leftovers (in no particular order):
A.J. Roach – The Poet
Beth Patterson – Range Rover
Crooked Still – It’ll End Too Soon
Dawes – So Well
Ember Swift – I Could Stay Here
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Great Lake Swimmers – Pulling On A Line
Hurtsmile – Love Thy Neighbor
John Popper & The Duskray Troubadours – Love Has Made It So
Mates Of State – Palomino
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Pat McGee – Juliet
Red Molly – Hold It All
Sara Radle – The Pins
Shane Hines – Leave It All Behind
Steven Wilson – Postcard
Telekinesis – Car Crash
The Decemberists – June Hymn
The Head And The Heart – Ghosts
The Jane Austen Argument – Holes
The Jezabels – Endless Summer
Tori Amos – Carry
Wax Audio – Thunder Busters

A water main break at the building where I work meant I worked half the day from home on Tuesday the 1st. The 3rd we headed over to The Barns at Wolf Trap to see Girlyman put on a great show (hadn’t seen them in a while and they’ve got some great new songs). Nina sat that one out with Grandma. The 5th brought a house concert in Herndon, featuring Stuart and his friend Sue opening for Maura Jensen (Jill and Nina made a brief appearance).

On Friday the 11th, I was off and picked up Dominic and Melissa from Dulles. They came down as they’re Nina’s godparents and that weekend was her christening.

That night, we ordered takeout from 100 Degree again; the first time I was disappointed in a meal from them (but in retrospect shouldn’t have expected excitement from a “lamb casserole”). Saturday Sharon came in and I picked her up at Dulles as well. That evening she ran out to visit a friend, but Jill’s dad and his wife came to visit. After socializing ran later than expected, it was a little late to cook so we did takeout again, this time from nearby Flippin’ Pizza (best chain pizza around).

Sunday was the big baptism, and we got to church early so Nina could be dressed and we could take pictures outside. She was remarkably well behaved during the event (although I took her out soon after when she started to fuss), and was happy to be walked around the rest of the morning. After we shared cake and other treats with the congregation, we headed home where we had more food with all our families.

Later that afternoon I returned to Dulles (which was the most crowded I’d ever seen it), and tried a Peruvian chicken recipe for us and Sharon. Sharon flew out of National the next day, so I got up early to get her on a bus over there.

Our first big road trip with Nina started on Saturday the 19th. We’d planned on trying to get an early start after her last feeding during the night, but all of us slept in, not getting up ’til 7 and not hitting the road until 9AM (I’d dropped off Illa at the kennel the previous afternoon). The first five hours of the drive went pretty well as Nina slept in her seat. We stopped at a NJ Turnpike rest stop to feed her (and get Nathan’s for us), then stopped again at a White Castle just before Newark (area was a little sketchy, but ok).

Once we passed into Connecticut, Nina was awake and unhappy and let us know. Eventually Jill was forced to sit in the back seat next to her (which forced an interesting luggage reconfiguration). We finally arrived in Boston around 6PM. The Cannons were just finishing dinner, and had made enough tasty chili to feed us as well. We got to socialize a bit before the kiddos all headed to bed, and then some more after that before we all were feeling the exhaustion.

Sunday morning Jess made pancakes, then Chris and I took his two older girls to the playground at their nearby school (and I found out I can still do at least one pull-up). For lunch, we were recommended to try Anthonys Roast Beef & Pizza. I went with the roast beef since it’s what they’re known for, and Jill had the fish sandwich.

Once we got on the road it was a quick trip to Holyoke. In the afternoon, Jill’s mom Sue hosted a bunch of family and had a cake to celebrate Nina’s baptism, then we had pizza for dinner. Nina got to meet Gram, her first great-grandparent.

Monday we headed over to Jill’s grandparents on her dad’s side where her dad and his wife met us and we all had lunch together. Nina saw her two remaining great-grandparents, and many pictures were shown and taken. Later on Sue was tired (her hours are crazy this time of year) and I cooked breaded pork chops for dinner.

Tuesday I picked my Mom up from the Hartford Airport. We picked up dinner at Antonio’s in Easthampton (Jill and I both had some spicy wings).

Wednesday we went and took Jill’s nephew Jake out. We had lunch at and then shopped for books at. Table and Vine. Sharon and Robin came around dinnertime and Sue made Shepherd’s Pie.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Sue was the chef, so I mostly stayed out of her way. The dinner was the classic lineup, the stuffing was particularly good, as were the pies (way too many to count). After dinner I got to disassemble both turkeys, which took quite a while. Most people came after dinner for dessert, and after that there was a round of board games.

Friday we went to Northampton for breakfast with Robin at Sylvester’s, where I had a nice Eggs Benedict. After that, Jill shopped at Webs with Nina, while I shopped in Turn It Up. We visited Robin in her new house and got the tour, then visited Jill’s friends Jude and Jen and their daughter and son. For dinner, we headed to Opa-Opa and got some tasty meat and all their wonderful seasonal beers (the pumpkin and Winter Warmer are recommended).

Saturday was picture day, and all kinds of folks were over in their nicest clothes. Afterwards Sue had made pasta, and we cleaned her out (I only got a half serving since I had salad first, had to fill up on leftover pizza).

Sunday we had an early Christmas at Jill’s sister’s house. Nina’s not quite ready for gifts (she likes sparkly lights much better), but I got a couple nice ones, including some Rush playing cards. Dinner was homemade spaghetti and lasagna.

Monday morning we tried to make another early start, and did leave by 5AM. We skirted around New York City, and had an early lunch at a Sonic in Edison, NJ (it must truly be the fast food mecca: both a White Castle and a Sonic). We had to stop at the last three rest areas in Jersey as Nina was awake and fussy, so once again Jill sat with her. But after that the trip went smoothly – we even took a free ride on the ICC to skip Beltway traffic. We made it home by 3PM and I went and picked up Illa from the kennel

It was a pretty good month, but it closed on a sad note. On Tuesday the 29th, I went to a funeral for the born too soon and too ill daughter of my friend Eric. The coffin was just too tiny, but at least the rain seemed appropriate.

The month started off slowly. Weather wasn’t great on Saturday the 1st, so we cancelled outdoor plans (also Nina wasn’t interested in doing much between being fussy, feeding, and sleeping). Sunday Jill let me sleep in while she and Nina went to church, then Nina slept on my lap through the Skins game while Jill went out for lunch.

On Saturday the 8th we went to the Reston Oktoberfest. Nina slept through a fair amount of it (including through the polka music as we waited in the beer line). The brats from Clyde’s were good (as was the Old Dominion Octoberfest brew), but the find was Pollo Peru – great charcoal cooked chicken and sauces.

Friday the 14th I went to see Terry Pratchett at the National Press Club. He’s fading now, but still is funny. The next night Mom came over for a trial babysitting run, and we went to Paradise for Indian (not bad, but I think there’s better Indian restaurants in Herndon).

On Thursday the 20th, I needed to get my car serviced, and Jill and Nina came out and had lunch with me at Pollo Campero in Manassas (they do very nice fried chicken). For my birthday, we took a road trip to Charlottesville on Sunday the 23rd. We went down in the early afternoon, and checked into the Omni right on the Pedestrian Mall. We went out and had dinner at Zocalo where our friend Jeremy is maître d’. Luckily it was warm enough to eat outside, as Nina was unsettled. A great dinner and tour of Southern cuisine – Jill even liked the grits. Next we headed next door for a show by the reunited Jayhawks. It was great, and Nina and Jill stayed long enough so I could dance Nina around during “Blue”. The next morning we had a quick breakfast of paninis at the Calvino Cafe before heading home. Nina traveled well, which made us very happy.

Saturday the 29th we headed over to my mom’s house to celebrate my birthday with her and Dad. She made one of my favorite meals, her homemade egg rolls and moo shu pork wraps, along with her homemade applesauce and Cold Stone cake for dessert. Monday was Halloween, and although Nina dressed up nicely (as a chili pepper) and we had lots of candy, we only got 6 trick or treaters.

September was a bit of a blur, neither of us got a lot of sleep and didn’t do too much. On Thursday the 8th I was up even later than ever as Hurricanes Lee and Katia combined to unload on us and water started coming up in the unfinished part of our basement.

The next night was Nina’s first public outing (and concert) as we went to Wolf Trap with Sue to see eddie from ohio, as well as the Jewells and Chris Chin. We used our encore circle tickets so that everyone but me had a nice place to sit during the opening act. A fine show, good times.

Jill’s sister Robin came down the next weekend. Saturday the 17th we went to the Younce’s housewarming, had a great time, but didn’t stay too long because someone was getting fussy. The next day I went to the Skins game with Dad, got club seats for the first time. A nice win vs. the Cardinals, plus a Ben’s chili dog = nice day.

On Friday the 23rd I went over to GMU with Melanie to see Stephen King. First we got to see him at a reception, then he gave a talk, finally he signed books. Very entertaining storyteller.

Here’s the talk, the best part being a reading from The Shining sequel, Dr. Sleep:

Stephen King from GMU-TV on Vimeo.

Jill’s niece Maddy came down for the weekend so she could keep Sue company on the drive home, and on Saturday we all went out to the Plane Pull at Dulles.

On Wednesday the 28th we headed over to Jammin’ Java to see Séan McCann (from Great Big Sea). We weren’t able to stay very long, but it was nice to see him in such an intimate venue (and he played “Wandering Ways”.

Jill’s dad and his wife finally got a chance to visit on the last 2 days of the month, so all grandparents got a visit in the first month.

On Thursday, September 1st, Jill and I decided to celebrate our anniversary early. We had dinner at Bazin’s on Church in Vienna, sharing a lot of tasty appetizers (standouts were the crab roll and the mac and cheese with truffles). I wanted to get some sleep to be well rested for the next day, but finishing off tasks and dealing with an anxious dog due to storms meant I didn’t get to bed until 3AM, and then I needed to get up at 6AM. But we were right on time at Fair Oaks Hospital, although there was a backup and we didn’t get admitted until nearly 9AM (good reason for a backup: 19 babies born that day).

Jill was induced a little after admission. After contractions started getting intense in the early afternoon she had a rough patch, but before that and after she had her epidural, we mostly sat around and slept, napped or read. Her mom had joined us before noon, and I got a chance to go downstairs for a quick lunch. Everything kicked into high gear around 5, but it went as smoothly as it could go, and Nina Grace was born at 5:36PM. She was 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and not happy about it, but calmed down when she got back to her new mom.

More pictures here.

After a little wait (and a visit from my mom), they moved us to the postpartum room. Jill got some dinner, and there was a lot of visits from staff before things finally calmed down after 8PM. Sue and I were hungry, so I headed out to 100 Degree Chinese, a new Hunan place nearby, for some carryout (pork dumplings for Sue, Cumin lamb for me, both fantastic). Sue headed to our house for the night, while I got as comfortable as I could in the fold out chair (not very).

Nina was in the nursery for the first night so Jill could get some rest, but they had some bad news for us in the morning: she had jaundice. That meant for the next day Nina spent her time under special lights in the nursery, and Jill only saw her for feedings. Not the best way to spend her time, and I headed home for a while while Sue stayed with her during the day, then I came back to spend the night.

On Sunday they had good news: the jaundice was on the decline, and we’d be discharged on time anyway (the early diagnosis may have been a blessing in disguise, as if it had happened a couple days later as it usually does, they would have had to readmit Nina until she was cured). We headed home, and Illa got his first look at our new addition (first impression: meh). Mom came over for a visit, and we started settling in to a routine.

The next day was Labor Day, so I got another day to adapt (and a little more sleep). Dad came to visit with his girlfriend, Patricia, but it was an early night for all of us.

More pictures here.

For those curious about her name: on our weekend trip to Luray in July, I packed a pile of CDs to listen to, and one was from Veruca Salt. We talked about the band, one of whom was Nina Gordon (and later solo fame), and Jill asked me what I thought of the name. I liked it, and we liked the meaning (which is similar to Jill) and the popularity ranking.