Aunt Brandy came over for a bit and we both realized that we really haven't been out of the house since Friday. Well, maybe there's an escape from these four walls planned for tomorrow. We'll see..... The LW and I watched an interesing little film called Night And Fog. Not something to watch on a full stomach nor is it something to reinforce any semblance of faith in humanity.

Ahh, the dangers of sending the LW and Auntie Melissa to the video store. I still kid the LW about Morvern Callar...with good reason.

I ran over to Shakespeare's Sister and found this. May the sleeping giant that is the populace of this country shake off it's amnesia in the coming year and wrest our collective fate from the warmongering draft-dodgers that only serve themselves.

Organized things today. Papers tossed and shredded. The LW took a HUGE nap and caught up on some sleep that was lost due to yet-to-be-seen teeth.

Saw footage of the lines to get up the mountain today. What a mess. Glad that we beat that rush by going yesterday. If you didn't get included on the email list for the photos, shoot me an email and I'll send it.

Watched the movie 39 steps tonight. Hitchcock was good with a camera.

Last week was great, up until the point at which we knew that VitalCheck and "Brown" weren't goint to come through with CP's birth certificate. Evidently "Next Day Air" means "whenever" in BrownSpeak. Everything was pretty much planned out for a run to Kino Bay....and then it wasn't. We ran over to the Garbe home to break the bad news and then headed home.

Auntie Melissa was supposed to have gone with us, so we just had her over for the xmas time stuff. Of course she's a complete stinker and bought us a gift. She walked out of her apartment with a burnt red/orange colored chimnea. It's really cool and we can't wait to fire it up. She got some things for CP as well, but all she really needs is a box and a spoon.

CP really loves playing with Melissa and it was good to get to visit with her. She and the LW made some sugar cookies and just goofed off all weekend. We went over to Oma's house on xmas day afternoon and visited with her and George's gang. Oma had all kinds of great things cooked and we had a great time. She sent us home with a whole salmon that was flown in from Washington. Sweet! It was pretty funny that in August of last year, that salmon was the thing that sent me to get the EPT and sent the LW face down at the porcelain altar.

We remarked this morning about where 2005 and 2006 went.

On the day after xmas, we were sitting around wondering what to do. We had played around with the idea of going to IKEA, but figured that it would just be a complete mess. At around 10am or so, I called it. We were going. The LW and I began measuring the room and fumbling through the catalog. We settled on some things and called Enterprise. They had a minivan for the same prices that Orbitz spit out, so we snagged it. We were off to Phoenix by 1:00 or so. Melissa had never made the trip there and we listened to her CDs all the way there. There was still plenty of parking space left in the lot when we got there....odd. We made it in and began wandering. Melissa was a bit taken aback just as we were on our first foray into the store. So..much..stuff. It was funny to watch Melissa go into one room, write things down, then cross them off at the next room. We did the same thing on our first trip there. Classic. We made it through and found everything that we went for...and then some. The tricky part was getting it all in the minivan. Melissa helped pack it in and soon we were off for On The Border on Ray. The LW got a gift card there from the contracting company that she works for. All of us had a big dinner and drinks - it cost us $10. CP had her packed lunchbox dinner and a boob for dessert.

The next day was the unloading and building. It took all day and part of last night. Everything in the living room has now been spun around and organized. 1 Expedit 72" cube and 2 Expedit 58" rectangles allowed us to put up some of our books. We replaced our old desk with a red Alve desk/bureau unit that is really great and has tamed some business clutter. The bike rack has been moved to the west wall and the wall behind the stove is clear. The LW is anxious to put up my photography work that's been shelved for years. It was a good adventure and my back hurts. One massage comin' up!

On the motorcycling front, I got my row assignment for the upcoming race in Phoenix on the 7th. We'll see how things shape up in the 30+ C class. This could be a tough run since the last race really showed that I'm in pretty poor shape when it comes to wrestling a 250lb motorcycle through deep sand. That may get fixed soon.

CP is cranky and teething again. We look forward to some upper teeth soon. The bottom teeth are really sharp now.

Off to work today at noon. This leaves the wife to watch the baby, but I really couldn't turn the chance of it down. I was referred by a wonderful client and it'll be fun. Whether it's the season, the office, or my increased evening availability, business is good right now. It doesn't hurt that this is the time of year for cyclists around here. It was really slow as I ramped back into it after CP came along. It's really hard not to tie personal happiness to work or at least a job well done.

CP is doing well and is happy today. Her nap schedule is back to normal, but will get upset again in the morning when we head out to Kino Bay, Sonora, Mexico. 6 hours in the car sleeping will make her an interesting tot this weekend. We'll be taking Auntie Melissa along with us and that'll be great. She's a good egg.

Bad dreams last night for CP and she didn't even wake from it during a diaper change. I had to work to get her out of it and it took about 45 minutes for the LW and I to get her settled down and back to sleep. This was about 3am or so. The LW worked on a proposal letter that may net some funding for the gardens - the bad thing is, she was up until about 1am. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this grant stuff. It'll get a garden going at a home for men here in town. I tried to get something going on it last year, but I had to back out as the time for planting passed. I just got a little busy with a little person. The guy that runs the home is nice, but when I talked to him recently, well, let's just say he wasn't really full of holiday cheer.

Yesterday was a rough work day for the LW. Some things going wrong with spurrious XML code here and there. It's all settled now and we're enjoying the quiet of our chilly afternoon. Oma Darlene dropped by to visit CP and drop off some paperwork. CP enjoyed her brief visit. Auntie Melissa called a little bit ago and said that she's been called back for a 2nd interview of sorts after the first of the year. We hope that she gets this one and will be an employee of the U. Healthcare is not really a good place to be these days, unless you've got your own practice and drive a Porsche, that is.

CP was up at the baby butt crack of dawn this morning and the LW let me "sleep" until almost 8am. There's just something about the little food processor we have that defies sleep though. I woke up to a house filled with the smell of cinnamon apples. CP's appetite has increased lately and she can put away half of a banana as a light snack. She really puts those two teeth to good use. She's been enjoying the stuffed animal that we bought a few weeks back. It's a monkey and we call him "Cheeky". Since we don't bring him out all of the time, he gets a huge response and it's pretty funny to watch.

We hope to catch a concert this coming week by the Sons Of Orpheus. Our friend Pete sings in the group and is quite a character. I've only met a few people in their late 80's who have as much spark and life as he does. He just got back from a trip to China and I heard that he had more than 7 performances in a little over a week.

Tonight we're off for a party in honor of Aunt Brandy's upcoming birthday. It should be fun and there should be some other small people there. That's the only bit of planning that we have to work around today and that's rather nice.

The LW asked me the other day about an idea: What if we spent all of the money that we were thinking of spending on "stuff" and instead put it into making our house as self-sufficient as it can be in the next few years? I think that it's a grand plan. She was nursing the idea that she should get me an expensive digital SLR camera so that I could take pics like I did when we were in Arkansas. That's almost $1000 to start with right there. I hope that this plan will bear fruit.....tangelos and Meyer lemons. We'll get the cistern finished soon and go from there. I think that we'll increase the garden, plant fruit tree or two, change the herb garden to add grass and fencing for chickens, and add a grape arbor. It should be interesting. I'm hoping that I can probably make enough from selling the diesel to cover alot of this. We'll see.

Yesterday the negatives and contact sheet came back from Centric Photo. Some of them came out ok and some of them will take work to make prints from. All of them are good to see though. There is a B&W shot or two of the LW when CP was getting close to arrival and I'm glad to know that those photos will be around for 100 years. Where will all of my digital photos be? I hope to print out some of them soon and send them to the grandparents. I was able to do this when Olivia first came into the world, but have not done it since. There's nothing like having an 8x10 or larger photo in your hands that you can touch and look at without batteries or electricity.

I got some time to get out and play with the BioDiesel Datsun project this past weekend. Al from up in Washington sent me a great wiring harness that was salvaged from another Diesel 720 that has A/C. I ripped the dash off and got into in on Sunday. By the end of the afternoon, the old harness was out and the "new" harness was installed into the engine bay, with a few connectors that remain to be sorted out. The crack-monkey that owned this truck had it wired together with electrical tape. Red Green would scoffed at the job this guy did though. It was a mess. I hope to finish it up this coming weekend, but it really showed my hands a thing or two. I guess in my current line of work, my hands have gone all soft and every little knick and ding really left a mark.

CP is doing well. She's sleeping right now and it's pleasantly quiet in the house. The LW is clicking away at the laptop in the background. There are some new photos posted in the flickr badge on the right, so check them out.

I had a discussion about mortality with my brother this morning. It's a tough thing for most folks to grapple and digest. We talked about ~2060 or sooner and how we'd both be pushing up daisies eventually. I think that people have tried to deal with this issue for eons and that it led them to wonder - "is this all there is"? For the LW and I, staunch materialists (body only, this is it), the answer is yes. We're a cosmic oddity, we'll have our time, then we'll pass right back into the cosmic dust from which we came just like plants. This is our one shot in this long continuum of births and deaths on this rock. Our ancestors broke into dualism (body & spirit) as a way to explain away the evidence of what happens when you assume room temperature and answer the question of why, it opened the door to all kinds of speculation. Who's right? What makes my spirit any more than the spirit of a tree or another form of life? Ahhh there's the rub.... Who draws the lines here? Rhetoric, wars, and early indoctrination of children (Sunday school) have been used to answer this question in one way or another for years with no end in sight.

The LW and I heard this story on Morning Edition. Kohn discussed being given little information other than some interesting theories and lots of information about surgeries for carpal tunnel. To give him credit, he did note toward the end of the story, that he had been told that it could be referred pain. I wish that I could contact him and let him know that he's probably close to hitting the nail on the head there. Travell & Simons will show him what he's looking for. Maybe he'll find his way to someone who does trigger point work.

We switched back to NPR from the am radio side where we stood all that we could listen to of our blatherer in cheif dodging questions about his failed staying of the course with no compass. Nowhere in his speechifying was any time given to what happens when you back the lighter of two dark horses in an ugly fight, have the CIA train and arm them, then abandon them when you're done. Nothing about rampant fundamentalism among our "allies" either. Nothing about this whole mess still being blowback from the overthrow of Mossadegh! Thanks BP!

Nice.....just stay on Kaptain Karl's message Dubya.

I'm sore. 40+ miles on a dirt bike in my first desert race and the 3rd time I've been on a bike in 15 months or so. This pain isn't just your average, "ooohh, that's a sore spot" kind of pain either. As long as I don't really move much, everything's fine, but when flexion or extension are involved, things get ugly. It's referred to as DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. I pretty much blew through every one of the suggested preventative measures for DOMS.

The first lap of the race was pretty rough. The guys on my minute were faster than me in the washes. The race started out in a wash that had a good bit of gravel in it, which was good. It went through some nice sections of trail, then turned into what's sometimes referred to as "sugar sand". This was not so good. Throw in some whoops that were the size of VW bugs and it was a recipe for a good helmet fire, you know, where you have to dive off of the bike head first to put it out. I did this a few times. The first couple of times, I used a tree or a creosote bush to break my fall. After this, I was thoroughly beaten and then it got interesting. They sent us into a narrow wash section that was about 6-10 feet wide. It was full of rather large rocks. Anyway, I made it back to the finish and I've never been happier to see 20 miles on the odometer in my life.

I didn't really think that I'd go back out for a 2nd lap, but Eric and Joe wouldn't let me DNF. I thought about it for a bit, then decided to go back out and finish. We had about 30 minutes to rest between the two 20-mile laps- I ate a snack and juiced up with some Cytomax.

I learned some things from the first time around and was able to use them on the second lap. Don't get me wrong, I still got smoked here, but I changed the way I approached things a bit. The first time around, I was running the little XR in a gear that was too high most of the time. This didn't really help much because the throttle response was sluggish (putting it nicely). On this lap, I ran it in a lower gear and revved it out. This helped with throttle response and made it so that I rarely had to use the brakes. Just like riding the ATCs with no brakes that Jason and I learned on. (Yeah, and dad said that motorcycles were too dangerous) The sand wash and whoops were considerably easier this time around and I was able to negotiate most things....except a hill where two guys stalled in front of me. I wasn't racing for money, so I just sat and waited it out. It was ugly, but I made it up on my run at it and got the thumbs up from the guy behind me. I did have to take a break though. After that hill, I got back into my own little groove and had fun. It was a beautiful day, the dust wasn't too bad most of the time, and I proved to myself that I could do it. It's the longest I've ridden since the Colorado trip a couple of years ago.

I camped again on Saturday night because the thought of driving home from Wickenburg was more than I could safely accomplish. I loaded everything up and settled in around the campfire for a bit. It was nice to hear the different things that had happened to the others and to hear about their experiences. Everyone had a good time and there were no really serious injuries.

I got up this morning and headed for home just after sunrise. It was a beautiful drive out by Lake Pleasant. When I got here, the LW was nowhere to be found, so I walked back into CP's room. There she was, in her crib watching the mobile. She smiled when I asked, "where's the beautiful baby...?". It was the best! 2 days away from CP and the LW and I couldn't wait to see and hold them both.

My folks sent my camera cable out, so look for some new additions on the flickr spot soon. I'll try to get a link to the main cache of photos once I get them posted to the yahoo account as well. I have some videos too for all of you on high-speed. I'll put links in the blog.

Life is good.

Two good days in a row. Last night we went over to Oma's supposedly to have dinner and I got surprised by Oma' merely being the babysitter. We went out for dinner, then picked up Auntie Melissa and the cake, and headed back to Oma's for a round of Quiddler. It was good.

The sound of rain splattering on the concrete woke me up this morning, well after I'd gone back to sleep following CP's 3:45am vocal lesson anyway. I got the bike gassed, loaded, and headed out for Reddington Pass to give the XR a little bit of a test. IT WAS COLD! I dressed just like I would for a winter ride back east. It felt just like all of those times my bro and I would load up - headed for a weekend in N. Mo. farm country. It's supposed to get down to around 25-30 tonight. Nothing like the desert for wild temperature and weather swings. I got about 15 miles or so of trail riding in and finished up around 30 with fire road riding. It was fun not to have to keep up with anyone and I found a good training loop. Trail #4438. In one section it's nothing but bowling ball sized rocks laid next to each other....for about a 1/4 mile.

We're off to see Warren Miller's new movie Off The Grid tonight. They're handing out Telluride lift tickets with an entry and there's a guy that wants ours. He's going to get us in to see the movie in return for our lift tickets. It's a good deal for everyone and it'll be Dianne's first Warren Miller movie. My first time to see one on the big screen.

Aunt Brandy is going to babysit! Yayyyyyyyyy!

It was a good a day as any to turn 37 I reckon. CP was great all day and I got lots of calls from people that were happy to know that I'm alive and well. As a friend often says, "Every day I read the obituaries and I am always pleased to find that I'm not listed". Best of all, my wife let me do what I wanted to do today for a bit. I got some free time to tinker with the XR250 and it was a blast. I'm convinced that tinkering is profound therapy for whatever ails, but insurance doesn't cover it. Tonight she bought be dinner and ice cream. Life is good.

The LW got out of the house today and zipped over to Ike's Coffee and Tea to work for a while. It was so wonderful to see her get out of the house and I must admit that I really enjoyed having the house to myself, well, almost. CP kept me company and was just all smiles today. We soaked up some sun in the yard for a bit and before we knew it, the LW was back and sequestered on a conference call.

We're watching a bit of football on and off. It's going with the TV muted and is completely pleasant that way. I think that the last time I watched a snowy football game, Terry Bradshaw was playing as quarterback.

I should be able to post photos once my camera's cord arrives in the mail from Arkansas. It's always the tiny important things you leave behind.

CP fell asleep in my arms tonight and that's the best birthday present of all.

We made it! The trip out to Chicago is in the history books and we're enjoying a beautiful and quiet Saturday at home.

All went well on the trip and it was good to meet the LW's paternal side of the family. They were all cool. CP got to see some new people. Some folks that I'd met before and some new faces. The Betsy met us at the airport and it was relatively smooth sailing from there on out. We had a great thanksgiving and topped it off with smores by a bonfire. Some of the in-laws stayed at the Blackhawk's Trail Lodge just outside of Byron. It was a nice spot and the folks there are great. CP traveled well. She slept most of the time and was happy for the rest of it. Wherever we went, people told us what a good and beautiful baby she was. She loves everybody. We made it back to O'Hare with time to sit down and eat a nice lunch before ambling down to the gate for the 4 hour flight home.

We've got the flight travel thing ironed out, but I hope that we don't have to go anywhere anytime soon. We tried out something new this trip - the Magellan NeverLost system that they put in the Hertz cars. Man, that thing was really sweeeeet. It's really easy to use and is so much better than all of the hassle (and interspousal yelling) that goes along with being lost in a foreign town.

CP has learned recently to employ her new teeth to shock her mom while she breastfeeds. It gives the LW quite a start and makes me laugh. I don't think that the LW sees it to be quite as funny as I do though.

Off to see the Betsy tomorrow morning.

Today will be spent washing, cleaning, and packing. I hope that this time we can prepare a bit better to make it through the TSA (Take Shoes off Again) checkpoints. The last time, they completely unpacked our perfectly, and tightly, packed baby bag and we almost didn't get on the plane because it took time to repack.....while trying to get the carseat out of the way and our shoes back on.

As if that wasn't enough stress, I made us miss the flight. I printed the information for the trip that we had originally booked. It later changed and I printed the wrong information. There were 4 connecting flights about an hour apart on our way home, so it wasn't a big problem. We just shifted to the flights that were an hour later than the flight we were supposed to be on. Not fun though. We discussed getting stuck in DFW and figured that we'd just go visit Gramma if that happened.

Our car seat is an issue. We love our trusty Britax Boulevard, but getting it through the airport is a pain. It now has it's very own hand cart so we can roll it through the airports when it gets gate-checked. For this trip, we'll see about working on packing and consolidation. For those of you who have never had to gate check any baby stuff....welllllllllll you're in for a treat! I only hope that you don't get some of the same cranky childless gate agents that we've had to deal with. The airlines treat them poorly and sometimes you can really see it.

A beautiful Saturday outside.... spent indoors. I only got out to put laundry on the line and I had to rush and juggle the baby with the LW just to do that. The LW has been in the kitchen and I've been puttering when CP naps. Doing things while CP naps ends up not getting either of us very far. We finally got some sleep last night, but it was a rough go. It's hard to look forward to holidays when you're only semi-functional due to sleep deprivation.

O'Hare the day before and after Thanksgiving is looming in the not too distant future. It hangs there like dental work that you know you have to get.

There are a few new pics in the flickr box now.

Back from Arkansas and CP came home with one more tooth than she left home with. It was a good trip and we got to visit with people who had never seen CP. There are plenty of pictures of CP with her grandparents and great-grandparents. It was the first time that Jason got to see the baby and it was nice to get to visit with him.

As always, CP's sleep schedule was fouled up by all of the travel and has yet to really sort itself out. It's a really fun time, let me tell ya. It should be back in order by today some time. Next week, we do it all over again.

J and I broke away on Friday to try and get some dirt bike time. My buddy Pat from KC had loaned me one of his spare bikes and J brought it down with him. We sneaked away on Friday and headed out, only to be stymied (a second time) by a KTM that wouldn't perform. Last time it was the 400EXC that I bought (oil leak) and this time it was a loaner that had some seeeerious carburetion problems. We think that the main jet may have fallen out and landed in the float bowl. It was like riding a bike with a throttle that acted like an on-off switch twice every second. Not fun in a rock bed.

I'll post photos and more stuff later. Work is busy this week with our big cycling tour.

A toof! Right before we leave town to visit the folks in Arkansas. How fitting considering the prevalent stereotypes.

It was a good weekend around here. Dug in my Community Garden plot and then got to watch Long Way Round all day on Sunday. I saw it on the shelves at Casa Video, but thought that it'd be some half-arse docudrama about a couple of rich Brits running around the countryside. Well, it was kinda like that, but still good. Other than McGregor not being able to ride in sand or potholes worth a crap, they did really well and it was a good recording of the trip. It also showcased how KTM threw them under a bus at the last minute of their trip and how BMW saved the day. It's one of the few DVDs beside On Any Sunday and Dust To Glory that I'd consider owning. Now I know why my friend Pat really wants to get out on that XR650 and stir up some dust. My throttle hand started to twitch just sitting there watching the movie. It looks like a trip to Moab is somewhere in the future....I'd guess somewhere before my 40th birthday and just after I get a GPS and figure out how to use it. Maybe I can pry my brother out of the armpit of the midwest and get him on a bike out here.

The LW got to sleep in until almost 10am on Sunday. It was good to see her stumble into the living room with squirrelly hair and sleepy eyes. CP had been up since about 6:30 and she and I had a good morning, so it started everything off right. Aunt Brandy visited in the afternoon and then the LW went to see Maya Angelou with Aunty Lisa.

Haggard...you silly fundie republican. You may remember this guy from the "Root Of All Evil" series that Richard Dawkins did. It's funny to see that some of the folks who rail the hardest against gay marriage and promote "family values" turn out to be rotten to the core. All we need now is a pic of W huggin' ol' Teddy Boy.

From Wikipedia:

Haggard is a firm supporter of President George W. Bush, and is often credited with rallying evangelicals behind Bush during the 2004 election.^[7] Author Jeff Sharlet reports that Haggard "talks to... Bush or his advisers every Monday" and opines that "no pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism."^[8]

In a June 2005 Wall Street Journal article, "Ted Haggard, the head of the 30-million strong National Association of Evangelicals, jokes that the only disagreement between himself and the leader of the Western world is automotive: Mr. Bush drives a Ford pickup, whereas he prefers a Chevy."

It's a shame that you can't share a cell one day with Dr. Dino the dummy. Tip: Pharyngula

Halloween was fun for us and CP got to see some of the little ghosts and goblins when the LW handed candy to them. We had more than last year, which wasn't saying much, but it's a start. Hopefully more lights next year will do the trick. It helps that there are a few others who have kids on our little dead-end street. Next year will bring more decorations and an actual costume for CP. We expect a good time.

Soon we'll be off to Arkansas for a visit with my side of the family. It should prove to be interesting as there will be about 20 or so people in my parents' house at one time....and not all of them are really social animals. Having about 6 kids running around should make it fun though. We won't make it back there for xmas, so this will be our visit with everyone. Xmas in Mexico this year with some friends. Kino Bay and a beach baby xmas.

Watching and reading more news and views and I can't help but think sometimes that this country is headed down the crapper. The pendelum is still swinging. Our once good AZ senator, has all but sold out his last ounce of decency and pork-busting. Today a law was passed that allows indefinite detention without charge. Someone questions a candidate who is running on the family values platform about whether or not he spit on his ex-wife and he gets jumped. Umm, yeah....spitting on an ex-wife. Those are family values. Our fake-texan-in-chief seems to be moneying up to buy a 99,000 acre property in Paraguay. Do you think that mineral and water rights come with that? That's not just scenery. Maybe he'll flee there after he gets impeached and convicted of war crimes. I think there are probably some people left in that part of the world that speak German. They weren't part of a tour group either......

I called the AMTA today to renew my membership and was told that my license basically wasn't good enough to renew/upgrade my membership. I'd have to go and find my diploma and send in a copy. WTH? I had to do that to get my membership! The lady on the phone at the AMTA said that they had no record of my documents there. Nice. It seems that they didn't like the grandfathering that was done when the AZ licensure program was set up, so they won't recognize your license if it was issued before 12/31/05. I called the AZ massage state board office and the lady on the phone basically could have cared less. It wasn't a problem for her, so it wasn't a problem. She said that my problem was with the AMTA since they didn't consider the license valid. Having a license that the state issues not be recognized by one of the biggest massage therapy organizations in the country is not a problem? Hullloooooooo!! That's like someone earning a license to practice medicine in AZ, but being laughed out of the AMA. Probably wouldn't happen. I promptly wrote an email to the AMTA president and the president of the local chapter. The local chapter president was very interested to find this out and I have not heard back from the national folks. It looks like I'll be getting my membership from the ABMP. The AMTA membership decision folks can sod off, even if they do have a fancy convention every year. Oh wait, I helped pay for that for the past two years......

I called the ABMP (they support NPR) and they said that after I applied, they would check with the AZ license folks to make sure that my license was in good standing. They also said that there was no problem with my licensure in Arizona, no matter what the date. It's a state license and they accept it as such. I wouldn't be so miffed about this if I hadn't put all of that time into getting a Tucson license. Practical test, long written test, and haggling with city hall. That was back when you had to have 1000 hours of school, a medical checkup, and a TB test. Now, since AZ went statewide, all you have to have is 500 hours from some national chain community college in a strip mall and take a computer test. That, in my mind, officially puts massage therapists back down in between the hookers and hot dog vendors as far as the public's view of us is concerned. Before this, the shady folks had to set up shop on the outskirts of town.

A busy day today. Left the house after 10am and didn't get home until about 7pm or so. My hands are completely cooked, but this week will pay the AMTA for my first year of professional dues. Yayyyyy....well, kinda. It gives me insurance and a link on the massage finder portion of their website....and a few more requirements for continuing education.

The LW had a meeting today, so she dropped CP off at Oma Darlene's place. It was our first time giving her up where we were actually more than 20 feet away from her. I guess she did pretty well since she loves her Oma, but was quite perturbed when she realized that the rescue-boobies were out of range.

The Halloween decorations are out and there's nothing cooler than your first ever set of yard skulls and reflective bats. We've had a good time putting up all of the bats and the other stuff. It's the first time that we've ever done it and the LW especially liked it....a second chance at being a kid it seems. We went to the zoo last night for their little Halloween shindig for the kids. We didn't dress CP up since it probably would have made for a rough evening and it's just as well since she has no idea what's going on anyway. Next year though....look out! The Deatherages were there with the little one(s). It seemed as though we all ran off and left something at the house. A hat, a wallet, an extra umbrella.... It was raining when we left the house and I was worried what we were getting ourselves into, but it stopped when we got out of the car and turned out to be a really fun time. There were so many cute little ones out and about. Good stuff. Blogger won't upload the photos, so check out the flickr badge on the right.

Well, it's finally done. I got George's blog up and running. The first post is up and I think that it looks good, but it will still need a little detail work. WordPress is great and I can see why alot of people are running it now. The garden newsletter was sent on its way on Friday and we'll see what happens there. I'll call on Monday to see if it showed up in their inbox.

It's a bit cloudy and overcast today, which is nice considering that it's always sunny here. CP has been up, played, and is now sleeping before we take off to meet a friend, and fellow LMT John, at a nearby coffee shop. We're going to discuss what days and hours I will work at his office. He got into it a while back and the main person has moved on. He and the others will now operate it as a co-op type business. Everyone takes a share of the hours that the place is available and that gets divvied up based on expenses every month. It's a great way of doing things and allows for everyone to do things their way without compromising the integrity of the group. I'm looking forward to this. I'll have the office in the evenings, since I mainly work evenings anyway, although tomorrow is an exception. I've wanted to work with John since I met him. He and I do the same kind of work and avoid the same kinds of metaphysical methods. This will be good.

The LW sits with her laptop reading some sort of funny blog writing this morning. She's chuckling in the background. Other than her chortles, the only noise is the birds chirping.

"The specter of Vietnam has been buried forever in the desert sands of the Arabian peninsula."
George Bush Sr. - 1991

A beautiful day today and we didn't even get out of the house until about 5pm. The LW went out back and planted some lettuce seeds in the plot closest to the fence. Hopefully it'll shade them a bit and keep them from bolting. We put CP in her swing in the garden and she did pretty well. We put in small broccoli, cabbage, and romaine lettuce yesterday before the rain came. It was nice to hear, but with every storm I'm reminded that our water storage tank still needs a concrete base.

I've been trying to get the CGT newsletter out the door for the past two days and it just isn't working out. Most of the space is filled and I've almost completed it, but the input this time outside of the regular contributors was, to put it nicely, scant. I really don't know what to do to get more people involved, but something has to change. There are a world of interesting topics out there without even going outside the vegetable realm. Getting into it and picking a topic is the hard part and our gardeners already pay their money and take care of their plots/gardens. It's a tough spot.

CP is constantly surprising us with funny stuff. This evening she looked right at the LW and said, "mama". The LW said that it was just a fluke, but I know better. That kid already knows which side her bread is buttered on. Today was also the first full solid poo day.....yayy! Our sprout is growing fast.

The trip to the zoo last week with the MomDems went well. CP had a good time and enjoyed seeing all of the other small people. We still have not fed the giraffes yet, but someday she'll hand that big beast a biscuit. This Thursday, I think we'll go somewhere that has swings.

The LW needed some quiet sleep time this morning since CP kept her up most of the night, so CP and I took off in the SS Chariot for spin around 'da'hood'. We stopped at Wilshire Heights park and sat in the swings for a while before returning home to find a sleepy, but refreshed LW.

This past weekend was the CGT pot luck dinner. It went well although the turnout was a bit lighter than I had hoped for. All in attendance seemed to enjoy it and most got some sort of raffle gift to take home. I loaded up with stuff from Lee Valley and I can't wait to hear some reports of how the soil thermometer readings affect the planting dates and the dialogue among the gardeners.

We haven't been doing much lately and the walls are getting a bit close. I look forward to handing CP off to someone for an afternoon and enjoying some "just us" time with the LW. I also look forward to her overnighting somewhere else some time soon. Mmmmm quiet. We're noticing that CP is staring to shift more toward and depend more on solid foods. She's been enjoying cantelope, avocado, and pears......broccoli, not so much. We'll see how this food transition plays out. To me, it would be nice to have CP not depend on the boobies every two hours or so. CP and I could then go places and do things without having to worry about the 3-hour meltdown limit. It's not pretty.

I was actually able to sneak into the garden the other day before everyone woke up and turn over some of the ground. I pulled about 9 big watermelons out and cleaned out the vine. One of the cherry tomato plants got yanked and the garden area is somewhat tidy again. I think that the doves line up on the wires when they see me turning over dirt in the garden. I always toss the fat grubs that I find over the fence into an open area right below them. George has some broccoli plants that need to be moved soon and I will probably take as many as possible. Some will go to our garden plot and some will go in the yard. The soil still looks good in a few of the backyard lots, but a trip to get steer manure and other amendments is in order. We're getting a reeeeally late start, but it can't be helped.

I don't really know where yesterday went. It seems as though since the weather cooled down a bit, I've been skipping days on the calendar. It is an odd thing to get to Friday and not know where your week went.

This morning was another wonderful ride down to the U and back. This time we stopped at Wild Oats for a smoothie and some decaf coffee. It was good fun and CP enjoyed watching the traffice on Speedway. We went a little later this time and were caught up in the flow of bicycles headed for school. It was akin to the scene where Nemo falls into the current with the turtles. The LW absolutely loved it and CP got plenty of smiles as folks passed by the SS Chariot.

I was asked last week if I would like to take over a room in a Chiropractor's office and I declined this week. After doing that, the next day I got a call from a good friend and fellow LMT who wants me to throw in with him and a few other LMTs in an already established office. I'd thought after I met this guy that he and I would make a good team. We have similar training backgrounds and we don't really buy into the whole feel-your-groovy-aura kind of massage and bodywork. That stuff is fine if you do it, but it's not my gig...and it's not his either. It looks to be a wonderful opportunity to have an office address and will work well with my limited schedule. CP got a little unruly about two weeks ago and ever since then, I've been required by the boss to work in the evening after she's done pecking on her laptop. It's what we'd planned when we started on this baby journey anyway, I just hadn't been forcing the issue with my clients. I'm really excited about it and I had hoped that something like this would happen if I just held out long enough.

CP got her picture in the paper today. I wondered when it would run. They listed me as a democrat although I run in the independent crowd and find the two-party fiasco rather distasteful.

I talked to my dad today and he said that his Clyde and mom's Bonnie were in today and that they should be able to pick them up soon. I'm glad to see that they're going to get out and about and can't wait until we can take them around Tucson next year.....all five of us! Dad said that he didn't know about the 15 mile run down to the U and back, but he'll do it and not even know it. Just keep watching that grandbaby and the miles will click on and on and on......

Last night was a mommy marathon. CP just wouldn't stay asleep and kept waking up crying for some reason. Teeth? Bellyache? Just don't know. We both wondered if she had somehow found some of the cactus spines that I had to pull out of the LW's behind. Ya'see.. the LW was watering the front yard (gray water) and got a bit too close to the prickly pear. CP slept on the couch with the LW until almost 8am this morning as a result of her evening fun and games. When they woke up it was too late to get out for a bike ride, so we just settled into the routine and had breakfast.

CP's been sitting up and standing up more when propped. She hasn't figured out how to go from lying down to sitting up. She tries to pull herself up whenever she can grasp anything, but she can't get traction. I know that she curses the slippery surfaces and the socks that we put on her somehow through all of that drool.

Tonight we went out to Beyond Bread with some friends. Kermit and his girlfriend Alice met us there (with their swanky VW bus) and we had a nice time. Good people. Alice told me how she had made this book. It's pretty wild looking and it was cool to hear how she did it. Alice also knew about Mr. K's BBQ here in town. I had never heard of it, but she said that is was somewhat of a hodgepodge, dirty, and well, very similar to some of the hole-in-the-wall places that existed where we grew up; she in South Carolina and me in Mississippi. I can't wait to try it out!

Mmmmmmmmmmm..I don't think that anything will ever compare to Chuck's Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork though.... If you've never had slaw and Chili on a hamburger, you're missin' out! As kids, that was THE treat ..to get to go over to Chuck's for burgers and fries when we were visiting my grandparents in Cary. My parents went there when they were young and still know a good many people there. I took the LW (then lovely girlfriend) there one time, back in her consistently vegetarian days, and it was a funny thing to see the look on that lady's face behind the counter when the LW, asked for a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes and onions. Ooooooh, that was a classic! It was that semi-polite "yuainfrom rounhere isya?" looks.

Kermit's on his way to Mexico to do some dirt bike riding soon and it makes me want to get the XR out of the storage room and dust it off. The only problem is, the Datsun diesel is in the way of the door and it doesn't run yet. I may get it pushed into the back yard or something soon. Anyway, dinner was nice and CP was, as is the case most of the time, happy. I look forward to hearing the stories from Mexico....Kermit's a good rider. He and I went riding once and I thought I was doing good to be able to see his dust before it blew away or settled back to the ground. It was one of my few rides in AZ.

A new video clip is up this morning. I wish that there was a way for all of the relatives that live in the red-state boonies to see it using dial-up connections, but that just isn't possible. It's a good thing that private companies willingly put in cable out there for the public good.

It's pretty funny stuff to watch CP eat...or at least attempt to eat. Most of it ends up on the bib, but she has fun with it. We picked up a booster seat lately since holding onto her while feeding her solids was getting to be a problem. I actually found one that at least says that it was made in the USA, although the Marianas sweatshop manufacturers come to mind when I see that now.

The LW made craisin and raisin scones this morning for breakfast and they are great. Ths house still smells like them a bit. Aunt Cyndi should get out of the hospital today and head home after having the dangling vestigial portion of her large intestine removed. The LW is having a co-worker over for lunch to discuss some of the tricks for DITA. I've got to work tonight and then run home for the neighborhood association meeting. It should be a good time. All of the grandmothers present latch onto CP whenever she's there and she really enjoys the attention.

I don't know where Sunday and Monday went. Did anyone see 'em?

Our tour of the neighborhood went well this morning until I started looking around and the LW stopped calling out her turns. By the time that I saw the SS Chariot making its turn to port, I could only jam the brakes and hop off of the pedals. The back end of the bike came up and hit me in the family jewels, but I avoided hitting CP's little ship. Even with this small incident, we all had a good time. CP was out by the time we headed for home and happily bounced homeward in dreamland.

This weekend is the Great Tucson Beer Festival and Tucson Meet Yourself. We went to the latter festival last year and I got to load up on Phillipino food. Mmmmmm adobo! I think that we'll visit both this year since we garden with Sam Wymer, one of the folks setting up the beer festival. I'll play designated driver since beer isn't on my list of favorite things.

I wouldn't mind going to see The Life And Death Of The Peoples Temple tonight at the El Con, but the neighborhood association board meeting is tonight at the same time. I've heard the story of Ol' Jim before, but this documentary is supposed to have some footage made by some of the people who were in line for some of the kool aid.

That's going to be three non-profit board meetings this week. At least I'm getting them all out of the way at one time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7hOSuvIRPE

The LW made it to the stork sale at the birth center this morning and found CP some new clothes. I would have posted the direct link tags into the blog, but my html skills are nonexistent and the image shifts everything in the blog.

Made it over to the Corbett Garden this morning and it was a busy place. The Mantis got a real workout and the garden looks like it should. It's time to get the fall plants going and I hope to catch up with everyone else and get my green things into the ground soon. I've been bothered with a bit of cervical spine pain today and the oxycodone is all that seems to keep it at bay. Yes, I know, I need a massage. This coming week will be a chiro visit and a massage.

Just talked to my folks who are visiting my bro up while camping up near Smithville lake. They are excited to get bicycles and start exercising and the LW and I are excited for them. They've been looking at Electra Townie 7s and I hope that's what they get. We're going to have a great time in Feb when they come out to visit. I told mom that I could switch the skewers out and that she could pull CP around town in the SS Chariot when they get here.

The LW picked up her Raleigh today at Pima Street after the garden meeting. Her friend Brandy is going to commute on it. We pulled it out of the backyard shed and dropped it off on Thursday.....Phil and Judy really hooked the LW and Brandy up. If you're in town or visiting and need anything bike related, Pima Street is the place to go. Their service is unbeatable. We're so happy to see the bike actually getting used and cared for. I think that CP is looking forward to a bike outing with Aunt Brandy some time soon.

A smooth day full of smiles and giggles from CP. I got to play with her on her fun mat this afternoon for a while and it was pure joy. She really likes standing up now and whenever she is put into a sitting position she digs her heels in and will lift herself off of the ground. I don't know if she'll crawl or not. Maybe she's just hardheaded like her dad and will go jumping in with both feet without even thinking much about it.

Read a bit more of the Economic Hit Man tonight and got to read about how, covered over by the charges of drug smuggling and other stuff, the real reason that we invaded Panama, killed a whole bunch of folks, and snatched Noriega was because he went up against Bechtel. That was after his predecessor was assasinated by the CIA, of course. No wonder the USA isn't very well liked...anywhere. The more historical information that I dig up, the more I realize that this country has been run by corrupt or inept rich white rats almost since its inception. Bush had led the CIA and Cheney was the SecDef at the time. These rats have to go. It's a wonder that they haven't been charged with treason....or worse.

The LW's been looking for work in other countries since it looks like this one is headed down the crapper. It would be nice if I had a degree and a million bucks to pump up our immigration points, but I don't see either of those happening any time soon. The thing is, if we leave here, it'll just make it all the easier for the inmates to run this nuthouse.

The LW read this and had to laugh out loud today. I don't know why. Honestly....

This morning was the Democrat(ic) PlayGroup at Ried Park. I think that it was one of the first meetings and there were a few of us there with 5 little ones total. CP enjoyed visiting with the other small people. Patti and Mamta from the AZ Daily Star were there as well. They interviewed us and took pictures of CP. They were really nice and it will be fun to see what gets printed and what gets snipped.

It was great to get out of the house and get to meet some other folks who will actually discuss what's going on. I'm sure that we won't always agree on issues, but if today was any indication, I know that I'll enjoy the company and the discussions. This country needs more "impolite" company. You know, you're not supposed to discuss politics or religion in "polite" company. That's just plain BS. I wonder who made that statement popular...queen victoria? hitler? pol pot? All it does is discourage the discourse and exchange of ideas that democracy depends on. If we're all just passively listening, what gets done? I'll tell ya a little about what gets done. Things like offshoring in the Bahamas and "Made In The USA" labels get attached to garments made in the Marianas sweatshops. Thugs like Willie Tan get to do whatever they damn well please, which includes shaking hands and rubbing elbows with the crooks that "we the people" seem to keep electing. We watched the Moyers On America show last night about the traitors Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, and Mr. Xtian Coalition himself, Ralph Reed. These guys and their antics like the Native American Casino scandal are proof of what happens when the populace and the media are basically asleep at the switch.

CP was up blathering on about small furry animals and her need for nourishment at the butt-crack of dawn this morning before the sun was even remotely considering the act of cresting the Rincons. We decided that there was no sleep in her immediate future and broke out the bicycles. It was early and there was very little traffic, so we hopped onto the #2 bike path and headed toward the U. It was just cool enough that you wouldn't heat up, but warm enough that a jacket wasn't really needed. We saw lots of interesting landscaping and fence ideas in the neighborhoods as we passed through and even saw one nice lady who was out for a walk with her leashed ferret. He was cruising along and seemed to be enjoying his trip around the neighborhood.

Just as we crossed at Alvernon, Ralph Phillips came by in the lead spot on the Wednesday morning Fair Wheel ride. The group was all smiles.

We made it back home in time for the LW to start work and for me to get out and grab some groceries for breakfast. CP is asleep and the day has fallen back into it's slow hum. The weatherguessers say that it's supposed to get up to almost 100 degrees today. Ahhh the desert.

Last night we bundled CP up in a footed onesy and whisked her down to the UofA for a movie. It was a part of the Monday Night Film/Lecture series and the movie is called "The Power Of Community". We really enjoyed the proof of concept stuff with the local agronomy and power solutions, although I was a bit skeptical about the times and reasons given for the peak oil portion of the movie. I'd really like to go there someday and see the way that they grow things and find out more about the biological garden pest control methods that they have discovered. The LW and I were left wondering what would happen to all of the gardening knowledge and techniques if the embargo were to be lifted one day. Would all of these folks be suckered into buying seeds from Monsanto or into allowing a big Wal-Mart into every small town? They survived their oil imports being cut by 2/3. Would we be able to do it?

CP was out of it toward the end of the movie and she went to bed quietly after the short ride home. We learned our Americano lesson well. Yesterday was a tough day. This morning, it was cold watermelon at breakfast and she really enjoyed gumming it once the LW had eaten it almost down to the rind. She worked this piece of watermelon over thoroughly. She's been asleep for a while and I actually got some housekeeping done. Now that there should cause some shock and awe folks. Me doing housework.... The LW is off to drop some things by for the BWHC Stork Sale, pick up some dry ice, and to get some blood drawn for the Milk Bank in Denver. Our freezer space is going to grow this afternoon when that box of breast milk leaves town.

This morning's bike ride took us around the mall and we stopped at the Starbucks there. It was a good break, but I wish that we'd been there earlier and had the place to ourselves. As it was, we got to watch a steady stream of workaday folks in for their morning jolt. One nice lady actually took her 4 kids in for cocoa. I can't imagine being their caregiver after that good shot of sugar. Yikes! We sat near enough to 3 Paris Hiltons in scrubs to smell their smoke and hear little bits of their idle cursing. We believed them to be a representative sample of the trite tramps that Auntie Melissa must have had to work with at various health care establishments in the not-so distant past. We motored home after that and CP has been really cranky for some reason .....after she started the day off with a breast-milk Americano.

Off to meet Carie soon. The LW has some baby stuff to return. The rest will be going to the Stork Sale that's coming up at the birth center. We will soon have to actually buy clothes for CP. With all of the things that she got, we could have changed her 3 times a day and never had to use the same thing twice in a week. We really hope that the Birth Center can make a good deal of money from the sale and use it to further the great work that they do.

The LW will be out protesting the Shrub in Chief this week. There's going to be a rally down at the UofA and she'll be there...probably with the baby. I hope that the TPD doesn't get all goofy again this time.

....and now this.

I didn't count them, but there must've been 10 police cars and a CSI van out in front of the house this morning during breakfast. It seems that some of the neighbors had a visit from one of the wandering crackheads in the area who was looking to score something to sell for his next fix. The police said that they had already hauled the guy away before I could get a good look at him, but at least they caught the clown this time. I asked when they were going to shut down Lon's Hot Kitchen (aka Crack Central) and they said that was an entire mess unto its own.

They advised us to continue to lock our stuff up, watch out for the neighbors, and to install motion lights when we could. This should fuel the neighborhood rumor mill. The last time the police were here, one of our elderly neighbors said that they must have been checking for blood in my neighbor's car. It's pretty interesting to see someone who has lived through the great depression and countless wars be so quick to cower and to judge a book by its cover. She did grow up in Kansas City, so I guess it just has to be (rock) chalked up to that.

The LW broke out the Jamis Aurora and went out for a spin this morning up toward Mt. Lemmon with some friends. She said that she only had to stop once - riding with a gut full of fried eggs and oatmeal just wasn't treatin' her right there for a while, but she made it through and came home with the biggest smile I've seen in a while.

This afternoon we went to see the moths at the UofA art museum. It was pretty cool and CP really enjoyed it....and the ladies in the museum. We went from there over to the CCP and got to see some great triptychs and other collected photos by Milton Rogovin. The LW was moved to tears by some of the lower east side photos and I really enjoyed seeing what he had done. It's hard to believe that this guy was labeled as a communist and persecuted for some of his views on social inequity. What do the people who do this today get called? Liberals? Traitors? Number One Communists? It's sad how history repeats.....

CP's little wails had us up this morning before 6am. The LW got up and was going to take her out and about in the SS Chariot, but I just couldn't stand to miss the fun of it. We rode over to the grocery and picked up some ice cream cones (for us) and Iams for the bad cats. After that we took a longer stroll around the neighborhood.

Yesterday the CTS Cycling kit finally arrived from Canada. We ordered this thing back in August...silly Canucks. Next time I'll know not to order things that will arrive or be shipped around the time that InterBike is going on. Alot of bike businesses are sending folks there. The LW got a lovely surprise yesterday of her own from the bike shop. She'll have to tell you all about it though...

It is a blast. We went out for a short jaunt last night and it was really cool to see CP bouncing along happily. By the time we made it up to the mall for our spin around the smooth pavement in their parking lot, she was out like a light.

On another subject, the LW and I lament the passing of a bill that has the potential to label us both, since we're bound to protest something W is doing sooner or later, as unlawful enemey combatants. If anything happens to us and you don't hear from us for a while, come down to GITMO and bail us out will ya? ...and drop by D.C. on the way and give Lindsey Graham a good bitchslappin' for us.

Thewickthewick thewickthewick.....
Cady works her thumb as the lays her head on my chest
So much time spent chasing, pacifying
The small things yield to necessities in lines of days
But this morning a little reprieve
The grapefruit impression that her abdomen makes into mine
Inflates and deflates as she quietly breathes
Rustles every now and then
As she falls asleep her arm slowly falls to my side
Warming a spot that needed it

A friend will soon become competition - cranked out of one of the many schools in town that continue to balloon the ranks of massage practicioners with new-agey teenies who just "hated math and science". He's a good guy who will most certainly differentiate himself from a sometimes mentally slothlike pack and will do very well for himself. He's an artist, who can do as much on paper as he does on bicycles. The ability to see in 3 dimensions and his personal knowledge of what the body can do when pushed will serve his future clients well.

I did a search on the American Massage Therapy Assn website not long ago for my zip code and came away astounded that I have any work to do at all. It seems as though the number has decreased recently though: a result of the statewide license requirements, I presume. Either way, there are alot of folks out there, as I put it, "rubbin' butts" for a livin'. I get by because the LW busted her butt to make it through KU on student loans and actually has, what I consider to be, a real job.

Reading the book from the right sidebar over there ----> has me thinking what a joke it is to hear our supposed president talking about how our job is to spread liberty, freedom, and democracy. His real job appears to be spreading contracts and maneuvering for more of them. As long as there's a religious war combined with oil fields, there will always be work for Bechtel and the other money laundering contracting companies. All the while we're being lulled into passivity by the great distraction that parades as entertainment on the idiot box in just about every public and private room in this country. Ever wonder why the morning "news" people always talk about some celebrity's private life as if it really matters? That's because it does. As long as we, as a society, are worried about which scientologist psycho does what, then we'll not really see what's going on in our name around the world.

Try this some time - watch the News Hour on PBS. Sit there and see just how out of touch most people really are. Do you recognize any of the topics being discussed? You should. Here's the interesting part. Watch what they show at the end of their broadcast every now and then. It's a quiet slide show of all of the dead armed forces personnel that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Watch the ages and rank of all of these guys stream by in silence. You'll see senior enlisted guys and a few junior officers, but watch for what isn't there. Rarely will you see a senior officer. Then look at all of the faces of those PFCs, SPCs, and L.Corporals. We'll be told that they're spreading democracy and freedom while Halliburton et al funnel their contract money through the Caribbean so they don't have to pay taxes on it. I watched CSPAN recently as Durbin and Dorgan questioned the Halliburton lawyer until he resembled a stammering moron. Money is going out of our treasury for these contracts, being handed right back to these contractors, and all that we're left with is a disentigrating mess of a middle eastern country and dead kids whose parents cling to the hope that they were there doing the right thing for the Iraqi and Afghan citizens.

I got lucky a few times on the deck of an aircraft carrier and didn't end up as fish food. Another time and one of those guys could have been me. And for what? What would my mother have been handed the folded flag for? A token of thanks for a Bechtel, Halliburton, or KBR contract? An apology for training Bin Laden and his ilk? An apology for toppling elected leaders in the middle east and other places for the last 50 or so years?

I watch events unfold and wonder what in this country will still be viable when my daughter is my age.

Yesterday was CP's first trip to the zoo. I bolted out the door early to get over to the Chaverim garden meeting so that I could drop off some freshly donated implements and composters that were filling the bed of my truck. When I made it to the garden, I got to meet some of the new folks there and razz the old timers a bit. I even had one of the gardeners try to get me to fix some "leaks" that turned out later only to be normal operation of the drip irrigation lines. As I was getting ready to go and bidding everyone goodbye this same person told me that "she's too young to go to the zoo". It's a good thing that it was a beautiful morning - I just turned around and left. The LW had cooked bacon, eggs, and biscuits by the time that I made it back home. It was a rare treat. Mmmmmm pig, chicken, and little rounds of wheat flour.

We picked up the Auntie Melissa and made it to Reid Park by 10am or so. Driving around the lot to find a shady spot, it seemed as all of them had been taken. Just as I was about to give up, we saw a spot that was almost covered by the shade of a mesquite. I didn't notice until we were pulling in that the car parked right next to us had DG plates on it. Yup, Douglas County Kansas. Schnikeys...I just can't get a way from KU people. The LW left a note on their windshield that said, "Rock Chalk".

CP enjoyed being pushed around in the SS Chariot. She looked at the giraffe, the mandrill, and a few assorted birds, but was almost out in napland by the time we made it to the parrots where her mom smiled for the "pirate picture". It was fun for everyone though. We all got out of the house and got to see something a bit different. We returned to the car to find the piece of paper, the one she had left for our parking lot neighbors, on our windshield with, "GO KU" written on the other side. Pretty funny stuff really. Melissa wondered how they knew who put it there and the LW showed her the KU plate on the front of the superjetta.

I'll update with pictures once blogger wakes up from the little dirt nap it is currently taking. Flickr has some new images too. A couple are from this weekend's garden meeting.

Yesterday evening was the maiden voyage of the SS Chariot. I saddled myself up only to realize that the shirt I was wearing closely matched the color of the Chariot. We were out the door once some minor additions were made to the main cabin....toys mainly. It seemed like no time and we were out at our neighborhood park. I even did a little off-road test of the hiking kit and it did well. There are some new photos added to the flickr stream over on the right hand column, so check 'em out.

CP is fussing this morning and I woke up with a mean headache. The LW is suffering from some pretty rough sleep deprivation and is snoozing some of it off while CP hangs out on the couch with her ducky and a plastic keyring...oh, and her newly found feet. It's shaping up to be an interesting Friday morning around here.

Update: 1pm

CP just awakened. She's been down since 9:30. Last night was a bit rough since her little sniffer was clogged up. The LW spent alot of time turning her over and calming her when she couldn't breathe effectively. I've been doing laundry, cleaning the garden and harvesting tomatoes, and cleaning the kitchen. It's absotively beautiful here today and it reminded me and the lovely wife why exactly it was that we thought Tucson was a good place to land almost three years or so ago.

Oma Darlene took good care of CP yesterday during the garden meeting. Chloe, her newest pup, is always happy to see the baby and get a few licks in. The steering committee meeting went well and there was a good cast of characters in attendance. The fall potluck is coming up and should be fun. I'm in charge of putting it on, so who knows what'll happen. It looks like this fall will bring a broccoli trial and another round of Contessa onions from Dixondale Farms in Texas for the gardeners. I've been slacking, but I really need to get my sweet corn in the ground.

We got some info back about the health insurance from Life(not so)Wise. They want to exclude the knee still, but changed the wording to just read "knee" instead of all of the possible excluded ailments. Oh, it's so much fun when lawyers and doctors get together with an MBA. It's enough to make ya feel all warm inside. The other company that I checked with through the AMTA still hasn't come back with anything yet...even though they took $200 out of our checking account just for grins.

This weekend a trip to the zoo may be in order. Aunt Melissa wants to go with the baby and it'll be fun to see the brachiating antics of some of our distant primate cousins, the Hylobates lar. As nice as it is to see them safe and well-fed, it pains me to see these fast moving beasts in cages.

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis

..and these people are our allies?

Last week was a good week around here in CP's world. I met with the folks from the Colonia Del Valle Neighborhood Association and we went to our first meeting on Friday. It was fun and we met quite a few of our neighbors. Our city councilwoman even stopped by to meet the baby. It was her first brush with a politician. I had a dentist appointment on Thursday and didn't really enjoy tasting my own blood. I went out afterward and purchased a matching pair of Sonicare toothbrushes. The LW and I had been debating it, but I finally, spurred by the taste of my own blood, I broke down and spent the $120 at Costco. I got back in the swing of working after the knee work and the subsequent sinus nightmare. I had some appointments on the weekend even. The LW has decreed that I should start working after her normal working hours. She just isn't able to get anything done when she's left at home with CP. It was good to work on people and earn wages again. Saturday morning, CP and I ventured out to the Presidio Garden meeting. There was a great crowd of folks there. CP got held almost the entire time by other folks. It was a nice break for me. There were other children there and the weather was great. Oma Darlene was working hard in her plot and didn't have time to hold her. We'll make up for that some time soon.

I'm not usually a big fan of Sports Illustrated, but they've just put out an article that every American citizen should read.

Yesterday was the last day of Biax from the doc. It seemed to do alright while working the sinus infection over, but it was quite a bit more effective when mixed with Benadryl. The amaranth and other assorted weeds are all pitching pollen right now, so the next few weeks will be a good test to see what will happen with my snout.

CP's been lounging this morning. I can't quite seem to get through to the LW about how CP should be able to play alone on her mat while I take care of the simplest of household chores. Nothing works. As soon as I step out the door and she whines a bit, the LW ditches work and goes into full rescue mode. I come back in the house to find an abandoned laptop. There's all kinds of writing out in the ether about how your kids will turn out rotten if you don't constantly hold them when they whine. I think that the LW can recite from each of the texts on demand.

We continue to lose gardeners at the Community Gardens Of Tucson and it's a bit disheartening to see so many of the long time and successful gardeners leaving the group. New folks are always right around the corner, and we have a few ready to get started, but it's hard saying goodbye to good friends who've helped keep the CGT program going for so many years.

The newest photo(s) here and in the stream on the right are from some of the latest CP vs BabyBear cage matches. She's been giving this bear a good smacking whenever it comes close enough to her. The bear pinned her a few times, and she was close to going the full count, but she managed to kick it out of the ring a few times and save herself for the next round. She gave the bear's ears and arms a chewing that would make Mike Tyson proud. You can see "Myrtle", Baby Neptune to those outside of this house, hanging on the ropes and cheering her on.

It's pretty quiet today. We're supposed to head over to Oma's house today for some bratwurst and assorted side dishes. We'll probably get into some board games as well. We haven't played her and George in anything for a long time. It's funny, but by 9pm, I'm usually cashing in my chips for the night. Getting old, just like my grandmother said the other day.

I had a little excitement in the "new" truck yesterday. I haven't had much experience around dynamite or road flares and as such can't really tell the two apart. Since I bought this truck from a crackmonkey, I expected the worst. I was a bit jittery until we found some pics on the net that matched what was in the truck. Pictures of the truck are here. It's pretty ugly, but it should be a good biodiesel project vehicle. Parts are plentiful for the body and most of the drivetrain since they made plenty of these 720 style Datsuns. Alot of stuff interchanges with the gassers.

CP has been ruling the roost lately. Just today, she reached her feet with her hands and began playing with them. She has also become more adventuresome during tummy time. She spins around on the mat like Curly from the Three Stooges did. It takes her a while and her mechanism is different, but she still ends up spun around from the way that we put her down. She did it in the crib last night and the LW almost grabbed the wrong end to pick up and kiss this morning. The pic in the yellow onesy is the one that says, "if daddy says no, ask grandma" and yes folks, that's her standing up on the couch. She is perpindicular to terra firma. Today, after I got off the phone with the family's newest retiree, she started pulling her knees up under her hips as if to get only half of the crawling machinery in order. She's posing here on the right while the LW holds her upright. The LW's Fetish Cycles - Discipline is in the background on the rack. Mmmmmmm daddy's gonna steal those forks someday......

I've been sick and has noticed that the LW, well, the LW's feeling a bit stressed and (according to me) may be riding that old-school wooden-trussed hormone coaster that comes as a prize for carrying the majority of the organs and chemicals that are necessary for procreation. It doesn't look like a fun ride and I'm trying to keep his neck off of the tracks.

The LW and I have been watching as Dutch and Wood, the main grownup characters at SweetJuniper, make their way across places where grass grows without irrigation. It screams of the inevitable super long car trip that hangs out there somewhere in our future. The LW grew up making car trips with 3 siblings and remembers all of the games that her mom used to keep them occupied. I mainly remember wrestling with my brother and then being threatened repeatedly with all manner of beatings. I seem to recall a time when we rode, oblivious to any hidden dangers along I-20 and the famous MS Hwy61, in the back of a 1975 Toyota Pickup that had a camper shell and thick foam mats for our protection. We went all over in the back of that thing. My dad was nice enough to install an intercom so that we could ask, "are we there yet?" without having to use hand signals.

The LW just walked in from her latest haircut and just seeing her with short hair brough tears to my eyes. She looks exaclty as she did when I first met her five years ago at that Junior Brown concert in Lawrence, KS. Seeing her smile with that short hair makes me think of our first big trip. We'd just met and we decided that New Orleans was the place to go visit. I wanted her to meet my grandparents anyway, and we could see them on the way through. It was a strange thing going across Ponchartrain, to have a car full of elderly women look at us. I was driving and the then Lovely Girlfriend was my cowboy-hatted co-pilot. They all smiled big happy smiles as they passed and I was struck by how happy we both were. Rolling into a town that we didn't know and into a life together that we couldn't have really imagined or hoped for - those ladies had the wisdom to smile at true happiness when they saw it.

Got a letter in the mail today about how the new insurance company wants to exclude my knee for five years. Now I could understand excluding related things like patellar cartilage, but not everything in the entire knee for five years. I have good ligaments, but if I fall off of a ladder while trying to get my monkey ass up to the swamp cooler to fix it or shut if off for the winter, I'd like to have the ligaments fixed. The insurance broker is going up to Marrricopa county tomorrow to talk to the underwriters and will see what the deal is. My doc seems to think that they can only exclude it for a year under AZ law. The top two circles show the patellar cartilage before the doc went in there to work his magic. The bottom two circles show the same view after he was done. (2nd row is the stuff as he was trimming it and the ligaments. 3rd row is the meniscus.) There's alot less crunch~n~munch goin' on in there now.

CP has been a bit funky lately. She got her 2nd round of shots on Saturday. She did well, but has been a bit cranky and just a bit out of the norm. Friday night she slept all the way through the night. 9pm-7am. She's been going until about 5 or 6am since then. Her great-uncle Mark gave her this onesy and her mom absolutely loves it. Grateful Dead....pfffffffffft

An interesting woman passed away Sunday. Whenever people like this pass away, I wonder who will fill their shoes. Newdow recently tried, but didn't seem to get very far and I doubt that many others will get very far when they follow against the supreme court. Shermer and his ilk do what they can, but it's going to take quite a few people like Mrs. McCollum to keep things in check around here in adult fairy tale land. If any of these self righteous right wing nuts lectures my daughter about anything....ever....they'll be waking up to the taste of their own blood and several dysfunctional bones, joints, and/or teeth.

..and then there's this from Sam at ProRev.

CP managed to keep her mom up for most of the night and then slept until about noon. So quiet and cute. Today was her first day to roll completely over and sleep prone. It's funny to see the small changes. Last night was cool and dry. The effectiveness of the swampy was way high and we woke to a bit of a chill before the heat had a chance to catch up. I put CP in a onesy and some socks and she was good to go. We think that she's teething since she's got a few little white spots on her gums that look like pressure spots from teeth. She's aggrevated and yesterday went on a bit of a milk strike.

There was a show on Science Friday about local foods. It was good to hear someone call in and mention LocalHarvest.org and hear about local agriculture being supported. The fact that Iowa imports almost all of its food was mentioned again. That's just sad.

The other day they had a story about BioWillie. Pretty funny stuff to recruit truckers and rednecks for positive change. That, my friends, is genious. It makes me wonder when ADM will want to take it over and sell it off to the highest offshore bidder though. When the used stuff gets to be scarce, then it'll get interesting. Or course, when prices at the pump reach the fresh veggie oil prices on the shelf, things will change also. Folks in other parts of the world are already buying it right off the shelf to run in their cars. The old diesels on the market are already becoming a hot commodity. The LW and I have been chasing an old Mercedes or an old TDI for the last few years, but good ones come at a stiff price.

It looks like rain out, so the laundry has to come in.