Fly By Night

This morning CP stood up on her own for the first time. She grabbed a bag of spinach out of the fridge and just stood there holding it....with both hands!

Our visits with family in the midwest went well. It was a relaxed visit - sans holiday or reunion madness - and we all really enjoyed it. It was quiet. The picture nearby shows CP getting a workout on Grandma's front porch. She loved it - especially the stairs! CP got to see all of her cousins except SuperDave in this one visit and as an added bonus, she got to see the grandparents, the Wisconsin Schnorenbergs, Grandma Great, Jan & Steve as well as spending an evening with the lovely Cavanaughs. After picking up the car, we decided that since we were only 8 hours down the road from Dallas, it'd be a crime not to go down there.

The car is wonderful and we've really enjoyed travelling in it already. Our first fill-up was at around the 620 mile mark. From what I can tell, we ran around 46mpg under less than ideal conditions (rain, 20+mph headwinds, and high speed). It's a tight car with a few little imperfections here and there - and we love it. CP likes it too because she can see out the rear hatch window and is able to wave at everyone.

We made it home this morning around 5am from the whirlwind mid-America tour. The sun was just coming up as we pulled into our little street and let the noisy beast out of her car seat/straight jacket. After leaving Grandma Great's place in Euless, TX at around 1pm our time, we headed out into the vast expanse of rain and boredom that is West Texas. A stop here and there for food and windshield de-bugging were about the only things to break the monotony of the road. The LW took the wheel and drove from 830-430...oh, and there was some excitement provided in the early morning when, what the LW said was a housecat, decided to dart into the road out in the middle of nowhere. If you've ever been out in the open area near San Simon, you'll realize just how strange it is that anything is present to dart into the road. Well, this little furbag decided he wanted an exciting morning and decided to run out and kiss our new TDI wagon on the front fender as it whizzed by at 80mph. Sadly, it didn't end well for him or the car. The front valence under the bumper was torn loose, the inner fender well cover was ripped in half and turned into the wheel (thus making a hellish racket), and the fender attachment point for said cover was bent. It can all be fixed, but I wish that cat hadn't decided on that particular moment to fill his morning prescription for excitement.

Of course, all of this happend while I was as sound asleep as one can get while wedged between the car seat and the door panel in the back of the car. There's nothing like loud popping noises, akin to a few Rubic's Cubes bouncing around in your car's fenderwells at 80mph, to wake you up quickly.

TDI

The LW and I have been looking for a TDI that fits us for a long time. It's a type of VW turbo diesel that gets great fuel mileage. This week, with the gas prices climbing for no apparent reason and when the superjetta started overheating at stop lights with the AC on, we both remarked that it is about time we made the leap. I started searching craigslist and found this car. It looked as though someone else would swoop in and get it before us, but money talks and tomorrow our check will be on the way. The LW's parents drove down to look at it and just called us back to say that it is all but ours. We went today to see our favorite loan guy and he hooked us up with a blank check. Tomorrow it's off to the fedex folks. While we're there, CP will get to visit both sets of grandparents, several cousins, and get to meet her aunt Lisa for the first time.

We'll sell both of our vehicles to knock the loan amount down and will be off and running.... I can't wait to get the "BioDiesel - NO WAR REQUIRED" bumper sticker!

The LW's Day

No saccharine card, no bouquet of flowers,....this morning I loaded CP up in the Chariot and took her to the park for an hour or so. After I left, the LW got to spend this time finishing up her night's sleep and then luxuriating in the shower....this time without a little person who loves to sneak into the bathroom and pull back the shower curtain. It seemed to be the perfect mother's day gift.

She's wearing her Uncle Jason's hat in this picture. I kept putting it on her and she kept trying to put it back on my head. Fun stuff.

I picked up a file cabinet at the Planned Parenthood yard sale on Saturday. I passed it and was going to head home, but the local fundies were out with their picket signs, so I decided that it was worth a visit. (You'd think that they'd be busy adopting all of those children in foster care, or who are born to parents who don't want them instead of protesting Planned Parenthood.) Either way, I found the perfect file cabinet and today the LW picked out a paint color and we rattle-canned it a sage color. I remarked that it looked to almost be the color that many of them came in originally, but to no avail. It did however take about 4 cans and we still have not finished the job. The final coat/can will be done in the morning.

This afternoon we spent some time in the community garden. It was good to see squash, and whole lot of other plants growing in such a short time. We had our first two tomatoes this week. One was 9oz and the other was 11oz. They made really great BLTs!

Backyard Gardening

Just spent some time tending to "the girls" out back. They have fresh water and I harvested a fresh egg in return. The stickers from BackYard Chickens are ready to order, although the LW wants this one on a shirt. It would be funny for my mom as well, since they used to always have peeps at special events at her office.

I think that today might be the day for my first beefsteak.

MMR + Varicella + Anemia + Teething....add it up

It was CP's 1yr pincushion baby appointment this morning. She did ok with the checkup until they brought out the needles. One in the leg, one in the arm, one stick in the finger, then it was over to the lab for the fun with phelbotomists show. The doc, a nice guy, said mistakenly that they'd just probably do a heel stick for the CBC...nope. CP got the full human sized needle in the arm for a blood draw. I hope that they don't have to do much of that in the future. It hurt her in addition to making me want to break the needle off in someone's eye. The doc seems a bit worried that she's not getting enough iron and argued against what I said, which was that she's been sick for her last two appointments. The last time was when she got that norovirus stuff from me (and had it for two weeks) and this time she's got a cold and is teething and hasn't eaten much in about a week. Either way, she's getting the polyvisol like clockwork from now on and I'll make damned sure that she has it before her next appointment.

The LW and I stopped by Mesquite Valley on the way home and picked up some plants. I think that it's getting too late for seeds around here so we picked up some heat loving things. Crookneck squash, peppers, eggplant, and some herbs. This evening we went out to plant and while we were planning where things should go, the LW asked about the potatoes that she had going. We looked in the book and saw that it was the 90 day mark a few days ago. She started them from a red potato that had been quartered. This evenening CP and I watched as she began pulling them from the ground and the harvesting went on and on and on.... When she was done, there were around 5lbs of potatoes in her harvesting bucket. That's a nice return.

"The girls" continue to give us an egg a day on average. There are half a dozen in the fridge right now that will soon become the LW's tomato & basil quiche.

Hmmmm

Recently, my 20 year high school reunion stuff came in the mail. The LW and I looked at it and wondered how 20 years had passed. I went out to the website that the reunion folks had put together and, while most of it just blew by me, the "In Memory Of" section shocked me a bit. Two friends from there were listed as having passed away - Sydney Madden and Jason Duermyer. If they'd have been clowns, I can't really say that it would have affected me much, but they weren't. They were both really great guys through and through. Syd played in a band back then and Jason was my weightlifting partner. Being out of that area and that scene has left me only to wonder what could have happened to them. I guess that's not really important in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason, I'd still like to know.

This afternoon, I think that I figured out why CP has been cranky. I suspected teething, but didn't suspect it on such a grand scale. She has 3 or 4 teeth coming in at the same time and these aren't the little incisor type teeth either....they're large. She goes to the doc tomorrow anyway for her 1yr gig, so it's good timing, I guess.

My bro called me today and said that he'd been helping to move equipment away from one of the plants where he works. After 9 inches of rain in two days or so, the river's expected to come out of the banks and levees. No fun there.

Have Your Cake....

The LW loved the image on this website, so she had a cake made for CP from it. It turned out great and she loved the cupcake that Maribelle's made for her too. That cake is great! Not only did it look wonderful, it tastes great too. Chocolate with rasperry filling in the middle. The LW cut huge pieces for everyone after we'd been snacking and then most folks filled up with beer and bratwurst. It was a sleepy looking crowd after that meal and Oma brewed up some coffee to jolt everyone back around. We had a good time.

CP was at the Child Watch gig the other day at the Ott Y and there was a kid in there who was coughing. CP now has that same cough and is just out of sorts a bit - cranky, doesn't really want to eat much and her nose is constantly plugged up. The LW says that it's good for her immune system and that her cousin Teague was sick most of his entire first year at day care because of stuff like this. It's no fun though.

Teague now has his little brother around and Aunt Carie is doing well. The LW took some birthday cake to the hospital for her since the gestational diabetes is now finished. We just got word this afternoon that little Victoria came into the world recently. Good news all around....must be something in the water.

1 Year

CP came in with us at 5am this morning and slept until 8. It was nice. She finally kicked around and woke herself up.....we told her this story this morning. Time flies....

Last night we took CP to her first outdoor big-screen movie at Cinema La Placita. It was great! The movie was The Wild One in honor of this week's Tucson Thunder event. Nothing like watching a motorcycle movie while bikes blast up and down the street right next to the screen. The LW now knows the folks that put it on and it turns out that they're our neighbors and even have a small person.

Rialto Trip

Ahhhh kids. CP and I met the quite pregnant Aunt Carie for a bit of baby time in the park today. The little ones enjoyed some face time and were just beautiful. Soon they'll be joined by another little person.

Last night's show was great. Junior Brown was stellar. It looked as though he had just picked up a drummer for the show. The LW and I enjoyed watching him communicate with the bass player in order to keep up with Junior. The drummer did well - playin' behind that guy's a tough gig when you know what's coming up next. We sat in the back row and only had a couple of instances where someone thought that they wanted to sit in front of us. The LW actually got up twice and asked some people to have a glass or two of shut the hell up. I was impressed. Robert Earl Keen was good too. Just a fun character. His sound guy was deaf though. He kept cranking up the instrument levels as the set went on and by the end of the night, the guys were singin' hard just to be heard.

Wanted By The Police....

...and my wife thinks you're dead.....

If you recognize that bit of a song, then you'll know where we're headed tonight. The LW and I are off to revisit a bit of our past. I don't know how the Rialto Theater compares to the Bottleneck where the LW and I first met at a Junior Brown show, but it probably can't get any nastier. We're really lucky that Brown and Keen are going to be on the same show. The LW introduced me to REK after we'd started dating. I really didn't like him much, but the sound grows on you. Then, there is of course, that buckin' song. Auntie Melissa just flew across town from work (tail wind) and will watch CP tonight.

I think that this is supposed to be an early 5th anniversary outing. My wife is the best!

Delude Yourself...amen

It seems that there's not enough craziness in the world, so PBS is showing a bit of it this week. The Mormon show is on and my wife is spewing expletives at the tv over a Shiner Bock. What a hoot! I don't see how anyone can believe that some kids uses a seer stone in a hat and comes up with this crap.....then says that Methopendence Missouri is the garden of eden....oh, crap - you'd have to be a half-wit to buy this garbage. Sheeesh....you'd think they'd lump this stuff into the Abraham, Jones, or Hubbard craziness category, but it seems to feed on itself, a snowball of paternalistic mass delusion. Someday, folks will look back on societies of our age, and sadly read about all of the silly stupid things people of our day were duped into doing because of some crazy beliefs. Will society ever get over this superstition.... crap?

The LW and I went over to our local Y and joined tonight. I was just kinda rolling along with it - you know - yeah yeah, this'll be ok. We got our cards and got set up for an orientation on the computerized trainer system. The joy of this place really hit me when we set CP down on the floor of the Child Watch room with the two wonderful ladies that run it. There was a room full of little kids there. CP was sucked into the whirlwind immediately and began playing and enjoying herself. We were able to walk out of the room and she was perfectly fine.

Leaving the room, I didn't really know what was happening...it was disorienting and I just started to laugh. CP was safely in someone else's hands and the LW and I had some free time. It was amazing. Free time....free of worrying that we're bugging our friends by having them watch her. Free...that she was away from us, but still easily within reach. It's the first time we've put her in someone's hands who is not family, but a paid professional. Free.

Beautiful Garden

Just went out in the garden to log things down and found this while perusing the AP headlines. How can anyone in their right minds think that TerraCycle packaging looks like a Scotts product. You'd have to be nearly blind and completely unable to read. Sad stuff......they can keep their damned miraclegrow...my garden will grow without it.

New Sounds

I'm sure there's some teeth grinding racket in the fundie camps over this man's story. I feel for him and his wife and it's exactly what the LW and I had planned for and planned on doing if faced with a worst case situation. I remember the lovely wife telling me that if she was incapacitated that I should save her so that we could have another chance at making another little person together or helping another little person who doesn't have anyone.

In other news, CP has started making word sounds. Three in the past two days. Yesterday was toes and today was light and....at lunch...hat. Soon she'll be throwing the LW's wordy logic right back at her like a handful of peas.

Weekend Away

I spent this past weekend helping out with a motorcycle race in order to get my "work points". Everyone has to work their club's respective race in order to qualify for placement at the end of the year. Since riders can't race their club's event, it doesn't make sense for racers not to work. It was a long drive (almost 5 hours - each way) to and from Prescott Valley. I found Prescott Valley to be eerily similar to that strange place we called home for a year, Canon City Colorado. Strange strip/frontage road layout with wierd turn/no turn lanes, chain smoking hillbilly women, etc....

I had fun working the race, but the rest of the time it was just cold. Cold while bored followed by sleeping in a tent while cold doesn't make for a stellar weekend. I got to work on some folks that were there and it really made my afternoon fun. I got the usual comments while people were on the massage table from the homophobic fox news/dittodummy fan club that seems to inhabit this sport, but other than that, it was good.

I thought that I was going to hold out and eat a pancake breakfast there with the gang this morning, but I just could'nt stand to be away from CP and the LW any longer. Snuggling CP at the door was enough to wash a weekend's worth of dust out of my eyes.

More Teeth?

CP's a bit cranky this morning and I think that she has more bottom teeth coming soon.

This past weekend was full of gardening stuff. 3 garden meetings, one steering committee meeting, and a great potluck. We had a good time and CP got to visit with everyone. Things are growing well all over and the newest gardeners are learning by doing - the best way. I'm a bit worn out with garden stuff this week and I feel like I need a break from all things garden.

Saturday morning we fell into a bit of livestock. 2 laying hens and a duck. We'd been planning on having hens for eggs and this deal was too good to pass up. We got the coop and some feed as part of the deal as well. "The girls" have been laying one egg a day each and it's been wonderful to watch them...well, be chickens. CP loves them! Yesterday Lemon (the duck) decided that he'd had enough of our hospitality and that he'd move along down the road. He evidently flew the coop and hasn't been back. He's a funny little thing and I hope that he comes back. One of the hens, Veronica (Lakenfelder), was quite attached to him. We look forward to having two more hens for eggs and that'll be it for us.

The LW has been getting out of the house this week and heading downtown on the bicycle to work. It's good to see her out and about although I worry about her in traffic with all of the bad drivers that inhabit this town. She rides on a main street that has wide bicycle lanes and really enjoys it. I told her yesterday that it is good to have her out of the house. When she's gone, it's just CP and me....and that's nice. I don't have to worry about CP bothering her while she's working and I'm doing chores. It all works out fine this way.....except for that whole mammary gland thing........

CP's first birthday is coming up fast. 5/4/6. I can't believe a year has passed already. It seems like a sleepy blur of crying, nursing, and sleep deprivation. Wouldn't trade it for anything though.

So sad to hear this morning about all of those folks that got shot yesterday. Parents and children left behind to find their way. What a senseless mess. Why don't the people that do this type stuff just save us all some trouble and use just one bullet to end their own misery? Why erase the future of people who are moving forward? I just heard a story on NPR about people praying about this and can't really understand that either. Pray to the supposedly omnipotent entity that allowed this to happen - that seems to me to be the height of foolishness and I don't know who to feel more sadness for - people who lost their loved ones from senseless violence or people who lose loved ones to a half life of supernatural servitude hoping for the promise of redemption of some variety or another.

It's a nutty world we live in....

Shangri La

This morning is chocolate chip cookies and Mark Knopfler on the wave radio. I didn' think the LW had the CD, but I found it misplaced in the book. Today was CP's first taste of the sugary chocolate goodness that is warm chocolate chip cookies contrasted by cold milk. I think that it's obvious from the picture that she absolutely loved it. She's been holding on for later naptimes these days. It's 11am and she just wound down for the morning.

this is all the heaven we've got
right here where we are
in our shangri-la

I've been trying to follow George's advice about planning and recording in the garden. It sure helps to know what's what, but also to tell where things were planted so I can guess about what the volunteer plants are. I really use it to know how late I can get away with planting various things....or maybe not.

Furrowed Brow

The furrowed brow is CP's latest trick. She's been employing it regularly of late, and I have no idea where she got that from. She's been exerting her will lately and is becoming quite the little person. Her sign for food is being used more and more, which has made things easy for the LW and I as our mind-reading skills only work on each other.

I got out and did some riding yesterday. As a friend put it, worshipping at the church of rotating mass. Pretty funny stuff. We put in about 20 miles, then I left the others to head home to the LW. I got home to find that the LW and CP had gone up the mountain to Molino Basin to try out the swanky backpack unit that Ma & Pa sent out recently. It was a big hit and everyone who saw them smiled. CP was evidently a vision of cuteness perched above her mom's head and was waving at everyone and everything. She started it when watching the Teletubbies (her favorite and just about only show).

Nights have been rough for the LW (and I) lately. CP's up and crying a good deal lately and she'll be standing up in bed when we go in to get her. The same, but different.

Blur

CP is all over recently. She doesn't want to crawl and will prompt you to pull her up by her hands so that she can walk with you. Funny little stinker. Tonight she and I went to the GABA meeting to see Ralph and Sherry talk about their cycling tour of Italy. It was great! We got to see some old faces and they were all smiles when CP rolled in the door.

The LW has been battling flats on the bike lately and can't seem to fix them. I think that I may slice an old tube and wrap the new one for an added layer of insurance against the little "goat's head" thorns that we have here.

I got out and took the little XR for a 27 mile spin yesterday morning. It was a fun ride and the terrain looked a good deal like Fantasy Island, the local MTB spot. It was great to get out of the house, even if I did suck up dust from the fast guys most of the time.

Quiet House

The LW and CP are in Rockford right now and I got a call earlier from a noisy hotel room. It sounded like a S+11 gathering in the background, but CP was singing in the foreground. I guess her cousin Eli has called her out, quite literally, on the scream-the-loudest game. The LW said that they are evidently going to play the Notre Dame fight song at the end of the funeral. Hmmmm...

It was a beautiful day here and I didn't dry heave while changing a diaper, pick food up from the floor, or chase a crawling baby. I got out and started working on the diesel project. I finished up with the wiring harness inside the cab and got the new dash put in. It had to come out once because I forgot to change the VIN tag, but after that it went together nicely and looks alot different than it did when I picked it up.

I realized by mid-morning, as I was contorted in the cab of the truck, that delayed-onset muscle soreness was sneaking up on me after my ride yesterday. I put in 42 miles on the XR and really enjoyed it. There were lots of great folks out playing and one of the guys had a helmet cam - funny stuff.

For the LW, Auntie Melissa, and the nemesis: Bucknell, Bruins, b b buh bye KU. Sheesh......

I had a good day today, but I sure missed CP's sleepy snuggle and the "sleep song" that she hums just before she's ready to snooze.

Changing Seasons

It's cold and rainy today as it was yesterday...cold being relative of course.

News this week of the LW's grandfather's death. He was in his early 90s and had a full life. The LW will be off to the great lakes region this coming week and since the flights are screwy and she can't make it there and back in the same day, she'll be taking CP with her to avoid premature weening. Everyone there gets to see CP again of course and it will be her first introduction to many.

Today's the day that one of the LW's friends bids her long-time canine friend his last goodbye. He also had a full life and has been all over the country, camping, cavorting, and just being a good woman's best friend in general. His body and mind have evidently deteriorated to the point that he just can't hold on anymore. A good pup, that's for sure. He showed me that animals really do like massage and that they often can pick the massage person out of a crowd.

Aunt Lani and Uncle Phil took off last night bound for Pheonix, then home. We had a great visit with them. A couple of new photos made it onto the flickr badge and a few hundred were deleted from Lani's overfilled hard drive. That poor laptop.......

On the way home, the LW and I discussed whether or not I should be allowed out in public after making the jackass noise at a lady who would not answer her phone while we were eating at the B-Line. It wasn't as if everyone in the place wasn't thinking it already.....sheesh.

The LW had lunch with Aunt Brandy on Friday and took CP all the way downtown in the Chariot. It was a good trip, but CP was pretty warm by the time they got home. Saturday was a blur and Sunday morning was a trip to one of the Community Gardens. Everyone was happy to see the baby and I really enjoyed not really having to do much...well, except change another front flat on the LW's bicycle. Not being pulled on for water repairs as a rare treat and I hope for many more days like that. Things just breezed along at the garden and George shared his abundant wisdom with everyone as usual. Later Sunday, Lani & Phil made it to the Arizona Inn and we went out for Sonoran Hot Dogs down at BK's....mmmmmmm It was a first for all of us and man, they are really good. Auntie Melissa has a new blog and it's good to see her out and about playing on the web like a regular slacker...as opposed to a prisoner in scrubs doomed to work strange 14-hour shifts for days on end.

Mom called tonight to say that they had made it to Santa Fe and were tired. They left T-town this morning headed out after a whirlwind visit to see CP and get some smooches in. Did they ever......

She's suffering from grandparent withdrawals today, so it's a good thing that I took her for a 3-hour tour this morning. We went to the park and played with some other kids, saw the ducks, and then hit Trader Joe's on the way home. (note to self - Trader Joe's is a mess at lunchtime) I discussed the nearby pool in Ried Park with two moms that were there and found out that the pool is a "beach pool" where you gradually move into deeper water without having a real edge to descend from....just like a beach. This afternoon, we made a family outing and CP enjoyed herself. She thought that she was the cat's meow and I think that we'll be regulars there once it heats up more.

There are some new pics on flickr, but it seems to want to turn them on their sides. Good for downloading, I guess, but not much else.

Just put CP down for her morning nap. We're really excited for the grandparents to get to see her new teeth and funny expressions. The grandparents parked the land yacht in Shamrock Texas last night. Mmmmmm....nothing quite like middle-of-nowhere Texas and a little highway noise to put you to sleep. CP's changed alot since they first saw her.

One of our "neighbors" just had one of his three junk cars towed away for good. It was an 80s model Taurus station wagon with one window still in it - the windshield. The passenger floorboard doubled as an ashtray and there was hardly any paint left on the thing. We're glad to see it gone and hope that the others, and our "neighbor" will soon follow.

The LW was just chatting with the sister and that's how we just found out that she's got a monster.....a 950 monster that is. Man, that must be fun. There's a track day coming up soon at Firebird, but it'd be tough to get the bike shipped since we all know that she can't ride that thing all the way across the country....she's a girl! (ohhhh, I know that the wife will pipe up about that one) Anyway, it's good to know that she's got the toy and can get out and play every now and then.

There are some new pics on the flickr. Some of CP when we put her in the sun on the bed to help get rid of some diaper rash that came with her two front teeth and a few shots from our trip to Aqua Caliente park a week? or so ago.

Off to the garden meeting tomorrow, the neighborhood association Friday night, the trail riding group cleanup on Saturday morning and the newest garden's meeting on Sunday afternoon. There'll be some time for a breather in there somewhere and I hope that my LW and I can find it. Oh, well, scratch that, my folks arrive Saturday evening - maybe they'll take CP so we can take a nap. Speaking of which, we actually took a nap the other day - one of the few that we could remember in the last 10 months and it was the best ever. No worries, no baby into everything....just snuggly naptime with no where to be......... It was better than chocolate.

More money for stamps and now this? Pulling clocks?

The LW and I watched Al Gore's movie tonight. Say what you want, but unless you've got a good lead on 650,000 years of data that refutes what came out of the ice cores, you should probably turn off Fox "news", bitch-slap yourself a few times, and wake up. It was an interesting movie, but the data presented was what stole the show. If you haven't checked it out...do so.

Played in the garden a bit today. Peas, sunflowers, butterbeans, Armenian cucumber, and eggplant seeds went in the ground. The LW wanted to get a tomato plant from the nursery, so we chose a beefmaster and I layed it in the ground sideways. George cast a bit of sad news on the beekeeping front recently. The LW had so hoped to get a hive going. I guess it will be up to the desire for chickens and the completion of a water harvesting sytem to keep her occupied now.

Checked out some stuff from MS today in the Clarion Ledger. It seems as though the mayor is having a tough go of it. Pretty funny.... I can almost imagine what my grandfather has to say about that - probably something similar to his views on his former neighbor Benny Thompson.

Sunny, but cool today and some seeds went in the garden a little while ago. Tomato, pepper, pole beans, and we still have to get butterbean and eggplant seeds. The garden's shaping up and should be nice before the summer blazing begins. I got a late start last year - April 15th - and it feels good to be ahead of that time.

I think that there's some stuff going on at the Pima Air & Space Museum this weekend. There was a P-51 and an F-4 making circles over the house earlier. They landed the F-15 early and I think that he only made a couple of circles with the P-51.

Got a call today from Oma to let me know that a guy wanted to donate a tiller. I'm always a bit suspect when folks want to donate things to the gardens, but this was a shocker. Oma said that it sounded nice, and she was right. It's a Sears rear-tine model in very good shape. The fellow that was donating it said that he just picked up an electric Mantis and was very happy with it. Those things are great and if we could get one for each garden, we would. This rear-tine will serve us well in breaking ground at new gardens.....something that seems to be happening lately.

The LW has sent off two grant proposals in the past month or so and we already have been short-listed for one of them. One is a max of $15k for a garden to be set up and another involves an amount that's about 10% of that in equipment and starter equipment. Both would be nice and we hope that everything works out. Now, we just need to find a lawyer that'll set up our incorporation as a 501(c)(3) without running us into the poorhouse and all will be good in the world.

CP's teeth in the front continue moving into the open and it's funny to watch. She's been a bit finicky with food lately and that seems to be the pattern that surrounds teething for her. She's crawling faster and faster and has really begun to understand what "no" means. She's a wonderful baby and we both see these as some of the most beautiful days of our lives....even though we're sleepy and cranky. =0)

I don't know that I'd want to go head-to-head with Richard Leakey, but it seems some people there choose to remain willfully ignorant.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02/06/kenya.fossil.ap/index.html

Don't drink anything when you watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBE2h8Gdmvc&eurl=

It's India, and apparently no rules apply:
http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/

Third paragraph from the bottom says it all.

CP's two front teeth are almost through the skin now and the grandparents will have just one more thing to grin about when they arrive in a week or two. Been working on a new website design for my work site and it's time consuming since I'm just a hack. It'll be a good change. I'm supposed to go out to the garden today and look around at how the work is progressing. I have some questions about how to hook in the irrigation timer to the existing wiring and I hope that I can get that figured out soon without turning myself into a light bulb.

Using compeed style bandages on my elbow and they are amazing. They form a little gel pad over the wound and it makes a nice cushion for when you're clumsy, like me, and tend to smack into things. 3 days and the road rash is healing over already. I'm going to pick some of these up and keep them around the house. It doesn't really make sense to have anything but these, peroxide, and some guaze for wound cleaning.

The LW took off for the coffee shop this morning, so I'm the man of the house. As in, I run things...when she's not around.

Just talked with my broand he's looking at getting some tire balls from the gang at BulletProof Designs due to all of the flats that he gets on the CR450X. I think that it could have something to do with not having a good tire gauge. I think that he just mashes on it and guesses. Not really a good plan unless you like walking.

MMmmmmm 10am - time for Sesame Street.

Just got back from speaking with the neighbor across the street about the booming stereo that he just installed in his car. He said something is wrong with it and that it cuts out when it's loud. There's some justice for ya.... Anyway, the thing still rattles every window in the house when he comes down the street and it'll be time for Five-O to remind him of the limits to his freedom if it keeps up.

Had fun at the race this weekend, but I ended up crashing on lap 3 and I wished that I hadn't given my elbow pads away. I've already spent 3 times what it would have cost to buy a pair just in bandages from the drugstore. I hope that I'm able to work tonight, because if I can't, this injury will cost me $100 or so in short order. I

I was chasing a guy that I had caught. It was my first time to catch anyone really....ever. I enjoyed going by him only to crash and get passed. I caught up with him again, but we both caught another guy. He got by the guy and I didn't. By the time I got around this guy, he was slipping away and I needed to make up some ground. I came out of a turn in a creekbed/rockbed and got just a little off balance or something because before I knew it I was face down pushing up rocks with my right elbow and shoulder. I was just lucky that I didn't break anything. One rock punched through to the bone and it even punched a hole in my shirt. I drove back home and the LW fixed me up. It still hurts, but everything's fine.

CP is back to the wake-mommy-up-all-night stuff again. It started with the sickness and hasn't stopped. The LW is hitting the wall and I figure that she'll be back to letting her cry it out soon enough.

Another week disappeared in a fog. We've seen the virus stuff run its course and as soon as CP could eat, she started teething. I don't know which is worse, seeing her not feeling well and being sedate, or seeing her go full blast teething all the while. Of course, I'm happy that she's up and around more. She's been laughing alot lately and when the LW was sleeping off an entire night spent soothing a fussy baby, I was shushing her with my finger over my mouth. Now she does it. It's pretty funny stuff. Her appetite is back 3 times over. She eats just about anything in her path - edible or not. Tonight, she crawled from the living room into the kitchen and headed straight for the cat bowls. Almost nothing is safe....including the cats. She found out recently that Violet doesn't care for her brand of petting by leaving her 4 little claw marks on the side of her face. Just like her dad, CP learns the hard way.

I'm still working on getting the motorcycle boots stuff figured out. I picked up some Alpinstars Tech 3s the other day and I like them. My ride this past Sunday was good and the boots did well. I wish that I could say the same for the handlebars and clutch lever which now both have a snazzy new "custom" bend created by gravity and it's aftereffects. My buddy Kermit says that he has another set of stock bars, but I hope to get into a set that are a little more sturdy. We'll see how that pans out.

Word of 5" of snow tonight from the family in Kansas City. Yikes! I actually had a long sleeved shirt on when I went out to get the mail tonight in my shorts and sandals. I'm so glad we don't have to tolerate that anymore. Everyone seems to counter with the high heat, but 110 here is really not much different than a 98 degree day back there.

Haven't heard anything about the cousin who is in Air Force boot camp right now. Suckerrrrrrr. It'll probably be a good thing for him and I hope that he's getting hammered on right now just like I did. He's a good kid.

The LW's back to work now. She'd been on 30hrs/wk to do nothing for 6 weeks and it looks like the two companies that she works for are finally playing nice with their contracts. It's good to see her back in action again. We've both been working lately and it's been fun.

Got a call yesterday to remind us that today was CP's ninth month appointment. Of course, her weight was really off due to her week long fight with the latest noro-roto-crap-til-you-puke virus that's going around town. [Enter Daydream like JD on Scrubs: Hmmm... this stuff comes to Tucson in the winter - I wonder how it gets here? Snowbirds that crap like geese, maybe?] Anyway, the doc gave CP some vitamins after checking her hemoglobin levels..which were off a bit as well. He mentioned that sometimes breast-fed babies don't steal enough iron from their mothers. I wanted to pipe up and say that they sometimes don't get enough because their mothers are just recovering from the above-stated virus, but I played nice.

The LW is working on making bread and I'll be off to the new garden soon. It's 80 degrees and beautiful out - we just awakened from a well-deserved nap.

CP is still making norovirus diaper hollandaise, much to the chagrin of her parents. The LW is coming out of her bout with it, but CP is still drowsy and quiet. I've even had a chance to give her some snuggles and have her sit quietly on my lap. I know something's amiss when that happens.

Found an interesting read this morning from the Lactivist. It seems as though Big Pork thinks that her "The Other White Milk" stuff is too close to their offerings. Their lawyers must be suffering from BSE or it's been quiet at the office for the quarter and they need to prove that their retainers (hefty, no doubt) are worth it. It seems as though it'll all work out in the end. I'd hate to be the guy that thought going after a stay-at-home mom for shirts that make you think of pork and giggle about boobs would be a good idea. Headed for a "production" job at McD's?

The LW's got wheat bread in the fridge and pork roast will be on the grill soon. I made it out into the garden this morning to turn the compost and tinker a bit in sandals and shorts. Email from the bro this morning and it's supposed to be all of 26 degrees in KC today. Yikes. Sucks to be there.

CP officially has the norovirus stuff that I had. She seems to be handling it well and the diapers are bearing the brunt of the gale force GI blast. I think at times she's definitely hitting an 8 on the Beaufort scale. The LW has avoided it so far.

"We are the people who run this country, ..We are the deciders." ~ Molly Ivins
Who will fill the shoes of this woman? 62 short years on this rock just wasn't enough.

The LW and I watched the Supreme Court show on PBS last night and it was good. There were some interesting decisions that came down under FDR. It was interesting to me to be reminded of the New Deal public works stuff that went on during the depression era and contrast that with what little I've seen of the what I consider the "lame deal" public works efforts in foreign countries by US corporations.

New Deal - US citizens got jobs to build US infrastructure.
Lame Deal - US government "loans" money to foreign countries and then has US corporations do the "building", thus leaving foreign countries as debters who can be controlled. Throw in regime change before or after the loans and things get interesting.....

Ahhh...nothing like life on the edge of the rough parts of town. Our neighbor came over this afternoon to tell me that some clowns ("crazy crackheads with gold teeth") that somehow know him through some past (and somewhat dubious) associations ran into him while he was at work today. Not only did they run into him, evidently there's some sort of grudge that's still held and this led to them chasing him through town, through red lights, and finally putting a gun out their window and threatening to shoot him. I'm not really clear on exactly whether they recall exactly where he lives, but soon after he told me this, he and his wife loaded up the kids and left home. He advised me to be on the lookout for their car.

I soon started looking on the web for various shotguns since it doesn't look like my folks will make it out here any time soon with the one that I've been waiting on for over 3 months. This set the wife off, since we have differing opinions about what to do should someone try to break into the house. She wants to somehow grab the baby, finaggle the back door open, and scoot out, while I'd rather stay put and punch big improved-cylinder 12ga sized holes in them (thus saving my fellow taxpayers alot of money in the long run). I've tried to convince her how easily fences get hopped and glass gets broken, but .... I'm arguing with someone who used to coach a debate team.

Been out of commission since late Sunday night. This morning I got out of bed for more than 5 minutes and actually ate something. I don't recommend this type of stomach flu/food poisoning diet as it leads to spousal overload when there's child care involved.

It rained last night and the LW got out back and planted her peas. They germinated quite well inside and we hope that they'll bring good plants before the summer sun comes around and cooks everything.

Life is good.

Haven't slept much in the past two days or so....getting... a... bit... punchy..'round here.

CP is so close to crawling it's funny. She really likes going after the cats, the remote control, and our phones, so whenever they're close by she gets up on all fours or close to it. Soon though. I figure that by the time her grandparents (oops, time's up - she's awake) get here, she'll be motoring around. Gotta run.

It started snowing yesterday as my continuing ed class was finishing up at around 4:30 and continued until after CP went to bed. It's wonderful out with what looks like almost 2" on top of the car. Pictures to follow some time soon.

The LW went out a while ago with CP to the store. Before leaving, she noted that her car had been broken into and that everything had been rifled through. When she returned from the store we had a heated discussion about a fence in the front yard versus a web camera and a shotgun. It looks like we'll soon be getting all three of these and the fence will have sharp wire points at the top of it. If someone's coming into the yard without an invitation, I want them to bleed...alot. I'm really tired of having stuff stolen from my place and from our neighbors.

A third set of exposed pipes had problems yesterday and got fixed today at the Community Gardens. It was cool because someone had installed a union in the line, so I didn't have to do much. It rained here most of last night, so I didn't have to worry about the plants starving for water. It's a bit cool out though, and it makes it tough to work in the water.

CP has been enjoying raisins lately. She's just now able to work them around in her mouth and chew them up. It's pretty funny since she can chew them better than she can hold them. She drops them into her bib and then begins to look around as if someone has taken them from her. and want more. The LW is reading Ten Little Ladybugs to her right now and she's squealing and talking to the raised plastic bugs on the pages. CP is almost crawling as well. She gets up on her hands and knees, but hasn't quite figured out locomotion...yet.

This morning we were serenaded awake again by the neighbors barking dogs - yup, the same one whose pit bull escaped a few weeks ago. It seems that "animal control" is a misnomer as they don't really appear to be doing much. This morning I called the PD and spoke to them since the animal control phone# only rings once, then picks up with dead air. An officer took my information, but I haven't heard anything. The last time that I called, another neighbor had also called, so at least I know it's not just me being annoyed by these pooches.

Still no word on the LW's contract stuff, so she's been hanging out with CP and I. This week she's actually made it out in the herb garden and started on the spring herb crop. It sounds promising.

It was cold last night and didn't warm up a whole lot today. It's nice seeing snow on the peaks again this year, but it's not so nice having to get out and work with frozen water pipes. One of the gardens sprang a leak last night and I just got word that a second set of exposed pipes may have some sort of problem.

It's pretty funny to hear that people were actually calling the water company to ask why their water wouldn't run this morning! What a crackup! If you did something like that back in the midwest, they'd probably send the paddy wagon out to your house with a nice warm white jacket for you to wear.

CP is as cute as ever and becomes more expressive every day. She was really happy today and enjoyed watching the bird fiesta in the front yard from the window.

Went out with the TPD last night and it was cool....literally about 30 degrees. I took a couple of Dramamine an hour or so ahead of time and got ready to go. I found the helipad easily and rang the doorbell. Noone answered and I began to wonder if I was in the wrong place. Shortly after I rang the doorbell the second time, a rather serious looking fellow in a flight suit opened the door. After the requisite stern and ever so Paul Schnorenbergish (retired police/also father-in-law), "Can I help you?", I explained to Jeff who I was and it was all good from there. I filled out the required form and got to talk to Jeff and Antonio (sp?) about stuff. A preflight rundown and a couple of trips to the men's room - I was all set. The helo had leather seats in the back and was pretty much what I expected - sweet. The cabin warmed up quickly and we were soon off the ground and moving out toward the inactive runway at the airport. The tower cleared the pilots and we were off.

It was smooth as a baby's butt with only an azimuth wobble in the wind every once in a while. These guys got pretty busy right off the pad and we were soon over an apartment building where someone lived who was suspected of calling a pizza guy and then robbing him. Nice. That incident cleared and then it was a trip over the top of our local mall for some reason. Back across town for a 250lb woman in a running suit running from the ground units in the dry riverbed. That took a few passes with the FLIR and NV goggles. It was really fun to look around at the city. I began to recognize the streets since the mountains were dark and there wasn't enough moonlight to see them. After clearing that incident and one more where the FLIR was used to check a car for occupants, the real excitement started.

Evidently someone had just carjacked a truck and was racing away from the police down Mission Rd....at 80+ miles per hour. This is a tiny two-lane street in parts that runs through residential areas. He really opened it up when it turned to four lanes and opened up. At 115 knots of airspeed it only took a few minutes to be over the chase and I could see everything as it unfolded. It was like being in an episode of Cops....really. The TPD pilots handled themselves really well. They warned me that this could get exciting and we'd discussed keeping off of the mic earlier. They said to hang on and see what happens.

Soon they made contact with the police car that was in charge of the chase and let him know that they had the guy and the pilots then started relaying information to the guys on the ground about directions and street names. It was interesting too that they called the street light conditions and warned the patrol cars about busy intersections. The clown in the truck must have watched the show Cops a few times because he was trying all kinds of things to evade the police cars. He avoided the spike strips, unlike one unlucky patrol car, and would cut the corners whenever he saw a police car at an intersection. The copilot was flying the helo at this time and would keep the left side down so that Jeff could see everything. This meant that I could see everything too. This meant that a few really tight turns were required every few minutes as the the guy switched direction in the truck. I found myself grunting/valsalva manueuver and looking around a good bit so that I wouldn't get dizzy. The guy sideswiped one person at an intersection and probably would have completely t-boned this person had it not been for a raised curb. He was soon up to about 100 mph on the highway and back off again into side streets. The pilot told the person in charge of the pursuit to back off so that this guy wouldn't kill anyone and they did. The guy in the truck must have thought that he was getting away and decided to cut into a neighborhood area. This would be his last move of the chase. He was hauling it down a four lane street and took a left turn into a small street. It was a small Dodge pickup and they're not exactly built to handle fast turns. The truck started to drift as soon as he turned it and he was soon up over a curb and head on into a power pole. The passenger got out and ran as did the driver. The passenger was subdued by the ground units and the driver took off into a group of houses. He soon realized that he had nowhere to go and gave up until the officers tried to take him into custody. After a small scuffle and a gravity check or two, he was cuffed. It turns out that the passenger was a pregnant woman. Nice going there dummy. The incident was soon being debriefed by the ground folks and the pilots moved on. I guess that I was really lucky to see this because it rarely happens around here and when it does, it's sometimes over when the helo gets involved. There's just not room to run in T-town.

One more check of a person running from the police and then it was back to the hangar. I was tired and a bit dizzy from the final spotlight check of the night, but was really pleased with the ride and the way that the pilots worked. I think that having this helicopter is a good thing for our town and would challenge anyone who thinks otherwise to go for a ride.

I've looked all over the newspapers and can find no report of this incident that involved over 10 police cars and two or three different collisions. I don't think that most folks around here really know what goes on in different parts of their neighborhood, much less different parts of the city and the "news"papers don't really report what happens.

A good Saturday spent at the garden and at home with CP and the LW. Pork roasted on the grill this evening in anticipation of tomorrow's Brookbank festivities. It should be fun if a tad chilly. We're looking forward to spending time catching up with familiar smiles.

Tonight I'm off to spend almost two hours doing a police ride-along with TPD. It should be fun, but I hope that I don't get dizzy/airsick! =0) Dramamine here I come! It'll be nice to see the city from above.

It's Friday already and it doesn't seem as though I have accomplished much this week. I worked a little earlier in the week and we got out for a family bike ride to the park yesterday. We arrived to find the water fountain tagged and that someone had farmed the ball field with their truck. Niiiiiiice.......

The big news of this week has been that people with the LW's contractor & contractee companies apparently is slacking off in the actual contract signing, so the LW was told to basically put down her pen and not work. Bureaucracies are funny things sometimes.... She's getting paid for 30 hours a week, which is nice, but it definitely puts a dent in our plans for little things here and there since it amounts to almost a house payment's worth of decrease in a month.

In the good news department, Auntie Melissa was called back for a position at the UofA this week. She's finally free of the hospital setting and should start this "real" job some time near the end of the month. We're all happy for her as the hospital scene has been wearing her down for quite some time. The LW is out with her delivering the necessary paperwork and enjoying a laptop internet and scones run over to Ike's Coffee & Tea.

CP watched part of Sesame Street this morning and was out. She's almost crawling. She had the hands and knees stance the other day, but she hit the floor with her face before I could catch her and wasn't too happy or enthusiastic about trying that again. All is well though. She's sleeping soundly in the footie from Byron.

Finally got out of town on Friday at about 2:30 after having to turn around and come back to get my race paperwork. The one thing that I needed to do, call the garden folks, I forgot to do before leaving. I passed a wreck just south of Red Rocks on I-10 and traffic hadn't really slowed down yet as they hadn't even removed the people from the truck. Flat road - flipped vehicle. What's wrong with these people? Just plain silly. Got into Pahoenix right at quittin' time and went 30mph or less most of the way through town. Finally made it to the race area after dark and it was chilly. The weather folks said it was going to be close to 32 degrees and I think that they were right. I got signed in and realized that I forgot my duct tape. D'oHH! Some of the gang had a roll and I was all set to put my check in/time sheet on the front fender of the XR. Setting up the tent wasn't too bad in the dark and the wind. Some of the Arizona Trail Riders gang had already set up a campfire and it was nice to meet some of them.

On Saturday, I figured that I'd leave the little gel cushions out of my Tech 8 boots. This way, theoretically, my ankles would have more space to move around. Well, that didn't really work out and by the time I got it fixed, I had about 5 minutes to get my helmet, camelback, helmet, and gloves on in order to make it to the start line. Being frazzled at the start added to the nervous feelings that I already had and made it tough to ride for the first few miles. I made it to the first special test check-in a little behind the guys on my row, but not much. I don't remember much of the first special test except that there were some rough spots and that my hands, especially my throttle hand, started to go numb because I wasn't relaxed on the bike at all. Then came the sand whoops. Schnikeys! I made it through and checked out into the next transfer section.

I stopped for a few minutes in a sand wash and loaded up on a mocha flavored Clif Shot. After washing it down with some Cytomax, I was off and running. The transfer section was nice and easy and I began to really have a good time. I don't know how much the 50mg of caffeine contributed to this feeling, but it probably didn't hurt. I actually clicked up into 4th and 5th gear in this wash and that's a rare thing for me. For one, I know that if I hit the ground going that fast, I'm not going to bounce really well and second, the XR is only a 250cc bike and it can't really handle pulling my heavy butt in the sand in that gear.

The second special test check-in had a line because everyone seems to take a break there. Since I'd already had my break, I fell into line with a 50+C rider on a KTM - #7V. I went into the test first and he started 15 seconds later. A mile or so into the test, he had made up that 15 seconds on me and came around. I hadn't heard him getting this close and it was a bit shocking to see him scooting around me. Well, that was the kick in the pants that I needed. I just couldn't let him get away and it seemed like he had a pretty good pace going, so I wicked it up a bit. Once I started at his pace, I found that I could not only keep up with him, but I started gaining. Shortly he was right in front of me and after a few bursts of the horn, I was past him and still not going as fast as I could. Another gear, some self-talk, and a bit of singing the theme to the TV show Green Acres into my helmet, and the course just started coming under the front wheel in slow motion. Everything was just right. The bike was behaving as advertised and the trail was beautiful. This special test section had some fast smooth trail, good uphill runs, and of course, sand whoops. It came and went in a blur though and I was happy and sad to see the mile markers that showed the course was almost done. I ended that special test in a wash and would have been happy to have gone another 10 miles or so, but the final tranfer section was short back to the pits. Since I slowed down and stopped at the check-out, I started off again riding like a complete goon near the end where everyone could see. Oh well, they were only watching and I was done for the day. I took my finisher pin, thanked the crew, and was off to get things loaded up for the 3.5 hour drive home.

A smiling and beautiful baby and wife met me at the door around 4pm and my day ended peacefully in the company of family.

The new year has sneaked in quietly and found us just as short of time as last year. My new year's resolution if you can call it that, is to answer emails/use the internet when CP is napping or when the LW is off of work. CP's been taking steps while held up standing and will stand against the couch and play. It's pretty funny. She's still doing the pat-a-cake thing. It's still funny. The LW took her to baby time at the library this week and I may take her next week.

I'll be getting ready tomorrow to take the XR and head out to Phoenix for this weekend's race. The flyer says that it's 25 miles or so. It sounds simple, 25 miles on a motorcycle, but I know some of the guys that helped mark the course and I don't think anything on it will be simple. My race number for 2007 is 506V in the 30+/Vet-C class. It's when CP came around and that's easy for me to remember. I hope to use the season of racing to get me back into shape. 15 months of sitting around with a sick wife, then an infant didn't really help the waistline any. I've recently begun acquiring sponsorships using sponsorhouse.com. It has worked out pretty well for me so far, but I don't really compete at the level where they give you anything for free - just a price break. Every bit helps though.

We've got cauliflower and lettuce sprouts coming up in the garden and it's great. The LW built some hoop houses for me the other day and with plastic over them, they make great little greenhouses. Cabbage and broccoli are coming along slowly.

Up in Phoenix, some folks are protesting prop 300, which says that if you're not a legal citizen of this country, you shouldn't be allowed to pay in-state tuition for your college. What part of you're not a legal resident don't you understand? I had to pay my year of out-of-state tuition to go to school and I'm a veteran for cryin' out loud. Come to this country using illegal means and then expect the right to cheap tuition? Would you like a boot in the arse and a bus ticket to Calderonville with that?

Another beautiful day.

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.