"There is a Newborn Pumpkin"by Marie "Grandma" Corwin

There is a newborn pumpkin
Picked in time for Halloween
From a patch in Boston town.
She’s plump and round and clean.

A little Polish pumpkin
On cue for Halloween.
Her Italian name’s Giuseppa,
But in English, Josephine.

Her daddy calls her Josie,
And she’s still a little green.
She just came this October
In plenty time for Halloween.

She came a good deal early,
Not on twenty or thirteen.
She surprised us on the seventh,
Way ahead of Halloween!

She’s bigger than a mango,
An orange or tangerine,
Seven pounds and four ounces,
Exactly right for Halloween.

We think she’ll be a president,
Ambassador, or queen.
For real! Not just a costume
Worn one night for Halloween!

We thank God for our pumpkin,
So perfect and pristine.
Our cute Bostonian pumpkin,
She’ll be ripe by Halloween!

Happy Holloweenie!

We've received a lot of requests for more photos of the little one so here they are! :-)

Love Steph, Pete and lil'g

It's a Slonka!

Giuseppa "Josie" Marie Slonka was born on October 7, 2009 at 9:24, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz. Both mom and baby (dad too) are healthy and doing well. She is a ball of fun already, we love to listen to her "talk" in her sleep and watch her many funny faces! Word on the maternaty ward was that she was the cutest baby born ;-)

Woodworking Projects

Since Steph and I started dating, she has nudged me into doing more hands on stuff. Woodworking it was and I haven't looked back! Here are pictures of some of the projects I've completed so far. Woods include oak (red and white) walnut, mahogany, cherry, cedar, poplar and others. For more woodworking, check out finewoodworking.com. It's a great resource.

Our Wedding Day ! November 3, 2007

Well, it was over a year ago and we finally had time to post photos. Thanks to everyone for partaking in the celebration and to friends and family who couldn't make it. Please CLICK HERE to view the photos or click the photo above. You can also save pictures to your computer or have them printed online!

Love,
Steph and Pete

Home Sweet Home!

Well, after nearly 8 months of demolition and reconstruction, we are now living comfortably in our new home! The first floor is completely finished and the second floor still needs some drywall and paint, but we will take our time with that.

The renovations included all new wiring, heating pipes, walls, insulation, framing, AV and network cables, plumbing, a two-story addition and much more. It was a HUGE job but because family and friends helped out we were able to complete 80% ourselves and save a small fortune.

To see the photos of before, demo, construction and after just click here. Visitors are always welcome!

Love,
Steph and Pete

Mission Accomplished!

Rolling through the hills of CT

I just wanted to thank everyone for your overwhelming generosity and support in making the Tri-Stare trek bike ride happen. This past Sunday, after cycling 270 miles through the beautiful countryside’s of MA, CT and NY, we all crossed the finish line with lots of cheering and emotion. One of the riders who has ALS, Darryl Goss, even finished the entire ride, making it all the more worthwhile.

In total, the 150 cyclist raised $300,000+ during this fund raising event but this is just a drop in the bucket to the funding that will be needed to find a cure for this terrible disease. If you haven’t done so already I ask you to give what you can by clicking here. Every little bit helps.

I posted a few photos to share the experience and you can view them by clicking here.

Thanks again to everyone for making this possible!!

Pete

Riding for Charity this Summer

I will be riding this summer in to raise money to fight ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's disease. The bike ride is the Tri-State Trek, 270 miles from Boston to New York in three days. I'm doing the ride to support a worthy cause as well as a personal challenge. My goal for this ride is $1700 (the minimum) but I hope to exceed this. If you can, please donate online. The link to do so is below but if you want to mail in a check you can print out and use this form.

http://www.active.com/donate/Trek2007/Pete_Slonka (I'm rider 183)

All donations are tax deductible and you will get a receipt. Thanks for your support and wish me luck!

-Pete

Turtle Cam!

I got these two painter turtles, Pokey and Beaker, this past January and thought I would share them with the rest of the turtle fans out there. Watch them play, swim around and just chill out in the comfort of their little aquatic habitat! Click here to view the live webcam. Note: they sleep at night so the cam will be dark.

Westborough Nitro Breathers

So, I spent part of this Saturday with this crazy bunch of guys from Westborough that run these 1/8 scale, 4wd radio control trucks. They are nitro gas powered and can do 40 to 60 mph. Check out the air they get... nutty! I just got this model. It's 1/10 scale and 2wd but fast as hell! Click here for the pics.