too much digging

Back when I first heard the phrase "the world needs ditchdiggers," I didn't think it really applied to me. So I hit the books, kept to my studies and years later found myself knee deep in a trench on a beautiful May weekend in Anchorage.

When we buried insulation around the foundation of our house last year, we only buried it to a depth of about 2 feet. This meant that we got some frost heaving of the blueboards along the back of the house, where the soil is the wettest, which put our precious siding into jeapordy as the insulation crept upwards. So this weekend we buried more insulation, to insulate the insulation that was already there, and hopefully that should solve the problem.

Next winter, here's what things should look like alongside our house. By keeping the soil under the older (vertical) blueboard from freezing, we should prevent any further frost heaving.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Buckley

I flew back to DC this weekend for my friend Joe's wedding. He and his wife Abena started dating just before the last time I was in DC a little over two years ago, so this ended up being the first time I was able to meet the lovely lady. I've got to say, Joe, it looks like you picked a winner. So congratulations to you both!

It was a lovely outdoor ceremony, as the thunderstorms that were predicted held off until later in the evening. The reception was held at a small art gallery and was a lot of fun as well. Lots of people from Wilson were there, so it was great to get to catch up with some folks I haven't seen for probably 5 years at this point.

I also got to spend some time hanging out with my family. The highlight there was checking out the Monte's new house, which they have done an amazing amount of work fixing up in a very short time. It's a really nice house with a great backyard and I imagine that they will be happy there for a long time. Congratulations, Montes!

Now here are a couple of pictures:

Here is the wedding venue - the Spanish Steps (not to be confused with the other, more famous Spanish Steps, which are somewhere else but not in Spain). The ceremony took place on the first landing - about elbow height on Joe's brother, and best man, Matthew (in the blue suit). I was a groomsman, as were Joe's Wilson classmates Mark Jackson (left) and Jeremy Flattau (right)

Here are the newlyweds, getting ready to cut the cake. Joe's mother made the cake with a big assist from his sister Monica, and it was a big success.

Here we are near the end of the reception. That's Joe's grandmother Mary, on the left. She made the trip from Minnesota and was having a ball even before she got coaxed onto the dance floor!

All in all, it was a great trip. I'm very happy for Joe and Abena and I loved getting to be a part of their wedding. It was great to see my family, too, and the best part is that I get to see them all again next month at my own wedding!

The art keeps coming - Unicorn edition

This is why I didn't want to draw a unicorn myself: Unicornelius. A creation of my brilliant fiance, Unicornelius is living proof that just because your a unicorn, it doesn't mean you're cool.
This has me thinking: it's much easier to post other people's art than it is to actually make my own. So if you have any sweet MS Paint drawings, any doodles you've drawn during boring meetings that you can scan and send my way, or if you want to create a Unicornelius fan-fiction graphic novel, please send that stuff my way!

My latest work

A few of you suggested that I rebut Brigit's pony with a unicorn. I have three reasons why I ignored you. First, do you really think I'm going to just slap some extra details on a drawing my sister made and then call that art? Never. That's just not how I roll. Second, Beth has the unicorn-drawing market cornered in my house. I'll have to get a copy and post it here, although I'm not sure I want to drag an innocent person into this battle. Third, I've been tinkering with a little something else for your viewing pleasure, so without further ado.....

...I will describe at length what you are about to witness. First, I want to say that I actually drew this. And when I say drew I mean that I used a photograph from online as a template, then actually drew what you are about to see in Paint with pens and brushes and paint cans. I did not just press some magic button that altered the colors in the original picture. Second, I am actually really proud of this, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

New art from Brigit

I actually kind of like this one. Guess I'm just a sucker for ponies.

I'm gonna have to step my game up now in order to respond.

Update II

Word is, my sister may be somewhat distracted at the moment (Hi, Granger!), so I decided to help her out by finishing her earlier work. You're welcome.

Art War - Update

Here is my sister's clarification of her previous "art." I do appreciate the clarity, although I find the subject matter a bit disturbing.
She promises more art to follow. But don't worry, I'll be ready for it....


....by sitting next to a BARF BUCKET!!!

Art War

It seems that after I criticized a recent crappy drawing of my sister's, she took offense at my discerning artist's eye. We now find ourselves in the midst of an art war. It began simply enough:

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Brigit Moore to me May 1 (2 days ago)
whatda got?

In reply, I allowed her to feast her eyes on the drawing as it was meant to look:

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Eric Moore to Brigit May 1 (2 days ago)

Clearly defeated in the realm of canine renderings, she chose a different tack:

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Brigit Moore to me (1 hour ago)

My original interpretation was that this drawing was an attempt to show my admittedly difficuly-to-represent inner strength as I release my pet eagle upon the world to do my bidding. As such, I actually thought it was pretty good, with its bold use of aggressive colors and its delicate shading which defines my rippling physique. However, Brigit claims that it is actually an eagle attacking me. Because art is meant to simply convey a snapshot of a single event with no possible secondary meanings, I think the fact that this crude smear of pixels is subject to such differing interpretations speaks more eloquently to its artistic poverty than any individual less astute than myself could ever hope to.

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Eric Moore to Brigit (6 minutes ago)

I call this work "for i have crossed the many miles." It speaks to the coldness and desolation of the modern world, the frustrations so many of us feel in our hearts, and the coolness of aliens and interstellar travel.

No reply yet from my sister, but I will be sure to post her letter of concession when it arrives.