Finally get a chance to surface. It's been busy.

Work - Wentworth has 450 or so new alumni after our graduation ceremony on Saturday. Busy as hell in the couple of weeks leading up to it, as we have more than four times as many students graduate in August than in May (a ratio that will only get worse once the new architecture curriculum is fully in place).

At least next year I'll get an extra day, as both of our ceremonies move back to Sunday. They'd moved to Saturday after a lone complaint about having graduation on Mother's Day. It may just be me, but I think seeing my child graduate from college would make a swell Mother's Day present.

Me - As mentioned before we had birthday fun to deal with, capped by a trip to Maine. Not only did we have the requisite birthday cookout, but we also got to take in the 150th anniversary celebration for Stockton Springs. We caught the parade, and I even have pictures if you're into public safety vehicles or horses.

I did not manage to get a picture of Susan Collins, the junior US Senator from Maine. I'd forgotten she was going to be there (it was mentioned in the paper). This is easily the closest I've been to a sitting Senator, at least since the time I got to ride the shuttle underneath the Capitol. Fair to say I'd not have recognized most of the Senators at that point.

Or now, I suppose.

Other crap - the only thing of note here is that I broke the lawn mower yesterday. Or rather, it broke itself. I was pushing it along, minding my own business, and a wheel just fell off. Thankfully I was close enough to done that I could freehand the rest with the weed whacker.

I spent about 15 minutes trying to put the wheel back on, but didn't succeed. I can see how it needs to go on, and even had a wrench that'd allow me to fasten the wheel securely. I just didn't have the third hand necessary to manage the wheel, the mower, and the wrench at the same time.

That's the sort of thing I didn't miss when I was renting or living on campus.

It should also be noted that while the sweet pea isn't in the same league as kudzu, it is one hearty plant. One of the neighbors has it growing along his bushes and grape arbor, and it's everywhere in my backyard, both growing up the side of the house (the one I yanked down yesterday was a good eight feet up) and in the middle of the yard. I fear that I'm going to have to invest in some sort of lawn care products to give the grass a fighting chance.