From KC to AZ…and SNOW!

The Christian churches were offered two things: the spirit of Jesus and the idiotic morality of Paul, and they rejected the higher inspiration... Following Paul, we have turned the goodness of love into a fiend and degraded the crowning impulse of our being into a capital sin.
- Frank HarrisWhen last I wrote...

We were preparing to leave the snowy climes of Kansas City (actually Independence, MO) for the sunnier winters of Apache Junction, AZ... but of course we were delayed for a day ... as the trailer repair man came back out to correct the job he didn't do properly after the poopsicle incident. So...

Saturday AM saw us departing Kansas City.
The whole experience was a little weird... the weather was beautiful, rather than dangerous or foreboding... as it turned out we just beat a scary blizzard that held up many others trying to escape the Midwest... It was comforting knowing that we were driving AWAY from winter.

I've put together another montage photo to highlight our trip for you.

 

The journey away from winter

The base photo was taken by Heather, who is always scared as I drive ahead of her... that is our house cruising down the highway! I'm a bad driver at the best of times... but pulling our home, and doing things other than just driving (talking on the phone, futzing with the iPOD, checking email on the phone...) makes it even more problematic. At least this time I was actually staying in my lane.

Clockwise from the top:

Got to tell you though, one thing really freaked me out: we have this system when we're driving... these patterns we fall into... but it was hours into the trip and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't find any of my normal XM radio programs... none of the stuff I normally listen to. Then it finally dawned on me; "Hey dummy, today is Saturday, you don't normally travel on this day!"

We get into town late, late Sunday night... and weren't allowed to move in until Monday AM... so (as we often do on long trips) we slept in the parking lot. Sigh.

Finally we arrive at our spot in Arizona. With Heather's assistance it was a quick and easy time getting the trailer in place... but then she decided I needed to move the trailer, and move the slides in and out several times as she moved her little trailer ("the attic" we call it; it is full of her superfluous stuff) into position.

Monday was spent moving in, settling the house, aiming the satellite... and the very next day, I had to go to work for "The Man". And by 'the man' I of course mean Heather.
Last year, I was looking to make a little extra money, and Heather's boss, Jack, needed a little extra muscle. So I went to work for them both.
Well that's just become a habit, now.

Heather had me instantly go to work, cleaning, building, organizing, and setting-up all of the souvenir shops with her for Jack.
So now Heather was not only my Hunny-bunny, but she was also, at least temporarily my boss!

This lasted until Friday, when I had to fly away to do our one and only weekend in Florida.

 

It is not yet clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.
- Stephen HawkingIt was an uneventful non-stop flight from Phoenix to Tampa. Riki and I are both aisle-seat guys, so we sat across from one another. PSP, iPOD, books, all the things we needed. A four (or was it five?) hour flight and we were back in our home state, our home town. Jimmy the supersoldier picked us up at the airport; we went for wings and large breasts at the competition for Hooters (WingHouse!) and then to our destination. We stayed in Jef's house (for the umpteenth time) and arrived just in time for the crappy weather to hit the gulf coast.

The Sarasota show was smaller than it used to be, and was very very sparsely attended... it was the first time the show was extended to two weekends, and only the second time in the new location.
And the rain didn't help.

 

Stars in the wet

 

Dean's lovley wife Liz

We shared the show with some of our favorite performers... from the top:

Besides the very nice paycheck the Sarasota show was really about catching-up with old friends. And dear... In fact at one point we noted that if the strong contingent of our fans hadn't showed up, the attendance of the fair would have literally been cut by sixty percent!

Jef's wife, Sharon had to run her booth in Gainesville, FL... so Dean's Lovely wife Liz (we were at their wedding!) was running her shop (Ruth Thompson's) for her.

 

Beer and buddies

Speaking of our amazing contingent... As Jef and I celebrate in the background photo... (mmmmm celebratory beer at 11am!) We were joined by (from left to right):

 

It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.
- W. K. CliffordI'm smart enough to know I have an extraordinary life, and have been 'blessed' (I use that ironically) to meet really cool people. Coming back from Sarasota I met this fellow in the Tampa airport... Talk about stories! His name is Joe Frazier (but NOT the boxer!) He is an Episcopalian priest, and used to play in a folk band called "The Chad Mitchell Trio" who opened for the Mammas and the Pappas. John Denver worked with them many times; their banjo player went on to form "The Byrds"... WOW! You should look up the group on Wikipedia, or go to this link to see them on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PFZ24FXOgA

 

Isn't a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it?
- Richard DawkinsWhen we finally got home, things started getting even MORE hectic... We were schedule to work SEVEN of the first TEN DAYS. (Four regular weekend days, President's Day, and two Student's Days) when you add working for "The Man", and regular Twins' work... (we're writing new projects even as we speak) and trying to clean and maintain our household... well, things get hectic.

 

A different Joe Frazier

Valentine's day

Heather, Collette, and her Mom

Valentine's Day fell directly between the two children's days... so rather than try to make some scattered plans (and compete with the masses). We chose to celebrate our V-day on Monday (before the student days...) but I did take my baby to a very nice, very sweet dinner at "The Melting Pot". Yummy! Doesn't she look B-E-A-Utiful!

Somewhere in there I also got sick... Sheeeet, I used to get sick maybe once-a-year, now it seems like every three months! So my voice and my system were certainly put under strain... We were originally scheduled to attend the graduation recital of our good friend Collette, on Thursday. But had to beg off. We rescheduled for the following night... how often does your good friend graduate? And she (and the rest of her college troupe) put on a hell of a show. My favorite critique was that by the time I figured out "modern dance" and started to enjoy it, the show was over... her Mom was there as well.

Also somewhere in the hubbub Heather received her new computer from her boss... this was good for me because it got her off of MY machine... (we would both get grumpy when trying to use the same computer) but it was bad because of the multiple trips to Ikea for her new desk (and I got stuck doing the returns) - she built the desk herself.

I also had to help her set up her new machine... a MAC damnit, so I guess I'll learn how to use MAC now... eventually I had to give up and defer to Jack's MAC guru... but it still meant more trips to Sprint, and Ikea... grrrrr.

Once the desk was up and running, then Heather had to prove that she is, in fact a girl... and decorate. What she does, dismissively and without thought is to me incredible, and impressive. I hope one day she gets to decorate professionally... and I cannot wait to see what she does with our house, whenever we get one.

 

Heather builds her desk...

...then gets more creative

Look at all the beauty

As if that weren't enough... our boss at this fair decided to have a passel of us over for sunset and drinks in his new house. Jeff Siegel is a great guy, and the house and view are lovely... I will tell you one thing, however, looking at the mansion the boss lives in, I'll have no problem asking for a raise next time our contract comes up!

 

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So, it is Monday after the third weekend. We have been here, Heather and I, for nearly a month... and haven't yet gotten to use our free gym passes... though I am slowly losing weight
Things have gotten so busy the only way Heather and I can keep track of our commitments, social and otherwise is by writing everything down on our calendar... it has gotten so bad that we have to schedule dinners two weeks in advance, and schedule time to go to the movies!

 

Luck is probability, taken personally.
- Chip DehnmanOh, and work on getting my Tattoo colored in too OUCH! I have at least two more sessions before it is (finally) done.

Last but not least, in December Heather told me that our dog Jazmine wanted a kitten, so for Christmas I gave Jazmine (and London) a certificate good for one kitten. On the day we arrived here a tiny, energetic, long-haired kitten jumped out of the desert, more-or-less into Heather's lap. We eventually found the kitty's owner, and when we gave her back I jokingly said, "If you want to get rid of her, see me first".

 

That's a lot of ink

A gift for us

Our new baby-cat reads email

A few days later she came back bearing what has become the newest addition to our family... Fans and friends let me introduce you to our newest family member, who after a few days of arguing between mommy and I, we have named 'Berlin'. Here you see she is helping Heather decorate her storage boxes for her desk... and later when she was away using Mommy's computer to read a comical email, ironically enough about cats!

So that's about that for now... Heroes is on, and we have a Galactica to watch... but first we have some work to finish (which I am just a few sentences away from doing) and some dinner to eat.

Goodnight everybody!