Anthony's Moving Day

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My co-worker, Anthony, packed up and moved with his family to his hometown in Massachusettes on Saturday 7/28/07. His parents offered to sell them their house for a nice low price and therefore, he could not pass off on the offer and the opportunity to be close to family. Anthony will continue to work at UVM but he will do so remotely. He will stop in at work from time to time for meetings and other matters. Anthony, Mark, and I often have lunches together and occasionally, Anthony and I do things together on weekends. We will miss him. Mark and I went to Anthony's place in Georgia on Saturday morning to give him a hand with loading the truck.

It's a Balloon!!

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We were having dinner on the deck a few days ago when we heard some loud noises coming from behind the trees in our backyard. We realized a few moments later that the sounds were coming from the burner of a hot-air balloon. I sent the kids to investigate and they came back shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, it's a balloon. Come quick!" I quickly grabbed my camera and dashed with my kids to see the balloon. It landed on my neighbor's property. It was good excitement. It's not often you see a balloon land around your house.

COMIS Picnic 2007

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We had a work picnic on Friday 7/27/07 at my co-worker, Heidi's house. She was kind and generous to host the picnic at her house for the second time. Everyone brought a dish or two which gave us a variety of food to enjoy. We didn't have as many people as we had last year but the picnic was still nice and enjoyable.

St. Hubert Sauces

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We received our stock of St. Hubert's BBQ and Poutine sauces compliments of Becky and family. These sauces are only available in Canada, so it's quite a treat to get them. Poutine is a Quebec favorite meal consisting of fries, curd cheese, and poutine sauce. Yummy! St. Hubert's sauces are the best! They have St. Hubert restaurants in Canada specializing in rotisserie chicken.

Fake Nails

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Here's Rachel tacking on some fake nails. I watched her do it as it was quite an interesting process.

Aqua Cousins

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My kids and their cousins enjoyed using the new pool this weekend. They had a blast despite the temperature of the water at only 70 F. That's cold but for some reason kids have a way to tolerate it. Becky and her family paid us a visit from Quebec City this weekend. It was nice to have them around.

Got Junk?

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For this past week, I've been seeing these guys every morning standing on the roof of their truck wearing blue colored clown hair, and waving signs to passing cars. Basically, it's free advertising for their business called "1-800-GOT-JUNK?" They park their truck in the Staples Plaza parking lot facing Main Street, and they seem to attract a lot of attention from passing motorist travelling on Williston Rd and Main St, and also from those getting off I-89 via Exit 14. It looks like their creative idea seems to be working. Good for them!

Staff Appreciation Reception

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J.Fogarty, the Dean of the College of Medicine at UVM held a reception for the Dean's Office staff in appreciation for their work and support. I thought it was a nice gesture and the pastries were pretty good too. The reception was held in the Atrium Cafeteria between 3:30-4:30PM on Thursday, July 19, 2007.