az part 2-- christmas

late... these are pictures from christmas '06... but still... determined to get them posted...

so, without further delay, here is christmas in arizona...

christmas eve:

my camera didn't get to the food in time... a meal traditionally made up entirely of appetizers... this is what's left of them.

where did the food go?

after food, before gifts, everyone pauses (except greg... i think he's still eating) to say hello and merry christmas to the camera, and consequently, veralouie...

merry christmas

merry christmas (during presents)

sean's gift to his dad included a poem of sorts... had it not been written, tom would have created one to recite, as if it had been written... a gift-opening ritual.

here it is...

sweaters are something to smile about!

next morning... christmas... and if you can believe it... santa still makes his presence known...

see those weights on the chair?

how many guys do you think it takes to get those weights out of their holder?

not one...

not two...

but three.

double that number... and then multiply that number by 2 and you have the amount of time it took.

christmas afternoon, we hiked halfway up a mountain to what is variously known as "the quartz" and "the crystal"...

a small feat, even for an energetic dog.

the view...

the crystal/quartz...

half of the group...

benleigh...

last but not least, delicious christmas dinner...

one side of the table...

the chef and her son...

a corner of the table...

and somehow, sean's friend rob... not an uncommon sight at the family events. he was, apparently, at thanksgiving dinner... even though sean was out of the country at the time...

and lest you think this is all a very normal holiday affair, i will leave you with tom in the pirate garb which mysteriously appeared in his stocking this christmas...

merry christmas!

az part 1

the world of arizona is much different from the world of the midwest, except that the bulk of arizonians were once illinoisians and minnesotians and ohioans. self-transplants. but they didn't change the weather (much) or the natural landscape (okay, maybe a little).

but there are still these, everywhere:

and mountains in the background...

and very often, blue, blue skies in december.

and also in december, t-shirt wearing.

this house lacked an official frisbee, until one was purchased yesterday. but before that time, all that was available was a super (deluxe, large) frisbee.

it does not fit in baskets well, but it does attract little kids who are willing to exchange their (unofficial) basketballs for the super deluxe frisbee.

guitar monkey and dog.

the wonderful thing about puppies, is that puppies are wonderful things.

birthday alert

happy yesterday birthday brenda!

monkey christmas eve

guitar monkey

it's amazing how much easier it is to draw pictures using a real mouse!

uss arizona

while in arizona i...

ate noodles

attended a football game

visited siblings

and just generally left my camera in wisconsin.

but it's here now. so, perhaps az photos in the future.

shiny, bright things

finals... urg...

let us move on to more exciting events... like lights on a bridge! (when the majority of days are filled with legal text... anything else is exciting)

and look, it's november, and people are hard at work making thanksgiving dinner...

the table...

taking pictures of taking pictures of the table... i told you this was exciting!

and after dinner, we set up the train set my dad's parents gave him when he was a kid

lights on a train (i told you this post was all about bright and shiny things)

thanksgiving's end.
while waiting at the airport we came up with a new game. it's fun and free as long as you don't lose the pieces. it's called spin the wedding rings...

doesn't it look like fun?!

that one's mine.


so, turns out traverse city is the home of curious signs...

back to december

christlemess lights...

dr. poo...

the beauty kitties...

rupert jane and the ghost of me.

end of break. back to this...

something to remember this time of year

"Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don't; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us. Animals are so easily overlooked, their interests so easily brushed aside. Whenever we humans enter their world, from our farms to the local animal shelter to the African savanna, we enter as lords of the earth bearing strange powers of terror and mercy alike. [A]nimal welfare is not just a moral problem to be solved in statutes, but a moral opportunity to fill our own lives with acts of compassion. How we treat our fellow creatures is only one more way in which each one of us, every day, writes our own epitaph- bearing into the world a message of light and life or just more darkness and death, adding to the world's joy or to its despair." --Matthew Scully, Dominion.