It has been crazy-busy these last few weeks: dissertation-writing plus teaching and grading plus job applications plus finishing my Rahner/Thomas Logos article and now this last weekend taking some time to help babysit my nieces for the weekend. It's good work if you can get it, but it's keeping me zooming around, and this can't yet try to be a full entry about the time I spent with the girls. I did get some personal time Monday night to go over to the cookout at the Lloyds' house celebrating Crip Stephenson's successful defense of his dissertation on theological method among pentecostal systematic/constructive theologians, which I think Dabney directed. So it was cool to catch up with Crip and Lisa over brautwurst, to see Bill and Rachel as well, and to be joined by Professor Del Colle later in the evening.

Some of you mentioned getting a kick out of the odd sense of humour my nieces displayed in July when they presented me with their gag gifts of paper underwear emblazoned with slogans. Never ones to let a joke just fade away, they continued this trend, having a large pile of these gifts waiting for me on Saturday morning when they woke. Their preferred colours had switched from red and blue to greens and yellows, and they were experimenting with new, thicker material. They had also – I have no idea where – become enthralled with a new figure in their imaginations: Pac-Man. And so, here are my new treasures:




I also note that their earlier delight in potty humour still was lingering around in that last sheet, much, I'm sure, to their mother's chagrin. Although I recognize the creativity and industry that went into the underwear emblazoned with a full Pac-Man figure, my favourite out of this lot, though, has to be the slogan "Awsome [sic] Underpants World". I don't think that they could dream up a better name for their fashion line or store. Second place (with my chagrin) has to go to the "Shake It" slogan, which I think is evidence of their too-great fondness for contemporary dance music. To hear 2 1/2 year-old Sophie shout out "Shake it!" over music both makes me want to bust out laughing and grit my teeth in fear of their developing terminal bad taste. I made a point of listening to more Ray Charles with them over the weekend.