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.