external monologue

me and my niece

this morning i got to meet and hold my new niece, niamh (nev) montgomery, for the first time. she cried a bit at first, perhaps i wasn't holding her right or maybe my hands were cold (it's like 9 degrees outside) but then she settled down and before long had fallen asleep in my lap. she lay there for 30 minutes or so before "my turn" was over and grandma took over. so i'd have to say my first foray in to uncle-hood was quite a success! she's incredible though, she really is -- hard to put into words.

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after a very long travel day yesterday the first group of us arrived in pittsburgh. i missed my flight out of atlanta thanks to horrible traffic coming from chattanooga and spent the day wandering around atlanta, waiting for my rescheduled flight at 6pm. i did get to go to the high museum though and see their current exhibit on van gogh. its a pretty incredible collection - i'd recommend it for anyone in the area.

this morning we did sleep in, but the rest of the day has been taken up with helping jess and gel get the house situated. we've primed and painted and spackled and cleaned. a strange christmas i must admit, but i'll take it. it's good to be with family whether we're working or opening presents and it's nice for everyone to be able to put their hands to something in a helpful way.