And you thought it only happened in cartoons: Yesterday I was walking down K Street when the person next to me suddenly lost her footing and had to scramble to keep her balance. I instinctively put out a hand to help steady her. Hands still clutched, she and I both slowly turned our heads to see what it was that had cause her to slip. And there it was: a banana peel.

Mike's dad came to visit us this weekend, and boy did we put him to work! The front yard is now rototilled and re-seeded, several unsightly tree and bush stumps were literally given the axe, and we have a lovely flower garden and azalea bushes where ugly dirt patches once sat. Between his labors in the yard and my folks' moving and unpacking and rewiring and organizing, the place is really getting cozy. I've put together a little gallery of progress here (Ofoto login required; I wanna know who's looking!), including a few shots of the gardeners in action. We can't thank our families enough for the amazing support they've given us during the move-in process -- they've given a lot of time, energy, and money to help us out. Frankly, the most precious of all has been the time, and we're truly blessed to have folks who will travel so far to be put to work!

Shameless self-promotion: You can hear me explain the ins and outs of copyright royalties for the public performance of sound recordings by means of a digital audio transmission (ie, Music over the Internet) here. You can see me pass notes to my boss and look somewhat lawyerly at a Copyright Office Roundtable regarding the recordkeeping requirements to accompany said royalties here. Just click on the respective archived videos (Real Player required).

Reality: Mike and I have no idea what we are talking about when it comes to reality TV. Oh well.

Prediction: On Survivor tonight, Richard Hatch will make an appearance, and tell the Survivors about the events of September 11th. That's what Mike and I have decided. If that does happen, I'll add that I will likely be almost as upset as I was on that day, if my reaction to the Real World the other night (or to Spider-Man, for goodness sakes!) is any indication. Watching other people experience Sept. 11 for the first time, even if it is actually months later, breaks my heart all over again.

We had weekend guests last weekend, including one of the actors in this documentary. Most days, he is just a mild mannered Dutch ex-pat living in Rome, New York with his American wife, my college roommate and high school friend Connie. Who knew Niels could also wield a field telephone like a Marine? Then on Monday, Mike and I celebrated our two year anniversary with dinner at the restaurant in the hotel where we had the wedding reception. A fun but busy week.