Magic Bullet Theory

Blueberry Hill

Karen and Natalie took the kids to pick some berries. Karen then proceeded to make a berry pie that was not as good as say a Hubbard Hop Festival placing pie, but pretty damn good none the less.

Dance Recital

No talking...just the pics!

Sophia Tap

Francesca Tap

Sophia Ballet

Dear Blog,

I need to start off with an apology. I used to tend you a couple of times a week. Then every few weeks. Now I have let you lie fallow for over two months. So I'm sorry and I promise to do better...at least a little better.

To make up for it, I leave you these pictures of my children in the hope that you will forgive me.

Sophia Fishing

The Big Catch

Ready for the Zip Line

Francesca Graduates (from Pre-K not Harvard...yet)

The Proud Grad

Release the Balloons!

My Girls

Dancing with Grandpa

Design

We've moved into the design phase. We were presented with materials and drawings that took our little layout and made it more tangable. When you click on the thumbnails below you will see the floor plan, the ceiling plan and a three dimensional look at what the shop will look like (sort of) from the door. The overall feel is a kind of modern/natural. Sleek lines, but using natural materials like wood, cork, etc.

Floor Plan

Ceiling Plan

View From the Door

Easter

Other than getting sick for the first time in about a year, Easter was a great day.

The Girls

Francesca Finds One

The Stress is Overwhelming!

You Have to be Nimble

Ready for Action. POW!

Don't Stop Now!

Let the Eating of Candy Begin!

In the Garden

Karen and the girls got out and got all of the beds ready for spring!

The Girls and Their New Friend

Sophia Shows Off the Roots

The New Vegetable Garden (maybe someday we'll actually grow something to eat!)

The Master Gardeners

Snow Day!

So I have 3 Kid related entries in a row, and I'm starting with the first one from a chronological stand point.

We had a light dusting of snow at the beginning of March. The girls and I spent about 15 minutes in the cold before they both decided that it was time for the 8:15 AM glass of hot chocolate. This is the earliest chocolate intake in their lives...want to take a guess as to whether they were wired?

But first:

Sophia had "Tie Day" at school, and she was happy about it!

Out We Go!

Are We Done Yet?

Layout

We finalized a rough layout. Here's a peek!

Click the image to enlarge

Empty Shop - The Beginning

It's official! Karen and I went up to my future home away from home to start laying out the space. Armed with a tape measure, an equipment list and blue painter's tape, we marked the floor. The kids played chase and ran around like maniacs. It felt good and we walked away making some progress.

The Future Cheesemongers

The Front

Steamboat 2

So yesterday was the worst when it came to conditions-- no visbility, wind and snow hitting you in the face. Today was the opposite and probably one of my best days on the mountain. The noring powder on the backside was beautiful and the sun was shining.

Beautiful Conditions

Who Let These Fools Loose on the Slopes?

The Backside

From the Top

Pines Among Aspen

I Get Some Fresh Powder

Mike the Powder Hound

Doug Skis Buddy's Run

Steamboat

I'm on what may be the last chance to ski for a while. The crew is small (Doug, Mike, and me), but we are having a great time!

It has been a number of years since I have gotten to ski in fresh powder. We just never seem to hit the right resoort on the right part of the year. That changed today. Unfortunately we had to ski through the clouds to enjoy the snow. The visibilty was right at the tips of my skis. This makes the act of actually skiing a little tough.

The Conditions

The Crew

Untouched Snow

The Lift

Doug Takes a Fall (While Skiing in a Cloud)

Sophia Plays

Sophia had her first piano recital a few weeks ago. Her teacher uploaded the performance. The first song is a variation she wrote followed by two short songs and then group improve with her teacher and me!

Scardello Cheese

Uncle Rocky 1952-2008

I got a call early one morning last week. It’s the kind of call you know is bad news before you pick it up. My uncle had a tough go of it in life. More recently, he wasn’t in good health either, but that doesn’t take the surprise out of someone’s passing.

What follows is a photo log of the journey there and back with my sister Christian. Lots of the photos are blurry, shadowed, humorous, inappropriate, or all of the above. I find that I am not good at taking stealthy pictures or dealing with death minus a good dose of irreverent humor. So I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I did. It was a short and strange one…

Every good trip starts with a potty break. After driving up from Austin, Christian needed one.

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You might be surprised to learn that Christian likes to fly less than I do. I was really (pause here and let that last word soak in….REALLY…) worried that she was going to freak out on the plane, thus making me freak out. We decided to keep the chances of that to a minimum with the help of our old friend, the screwdriver.

Christian has a friend with a list of saying that he is searching for the perfect moment to say them. We almost got the chance to use one prior to boarding the plane, but this priest was on the pre-board list. But what the heck, “Not today, Padre!”

After blowing through a stack of drink coupons on our one-hour flight (yes it is only an hour, but it is to turbulence land, otherwise known as Amarillo), we realized we could not drive the 90 miles to Dalhart without an automatic time-out. No one was available to come get us, so we decided to see a movie. Sadly, we picked “I Am Legend” on the recommendation of some very misguided friends who from this point forward can not be taken seriously…ever.

Some people have a problem with my corporate cup, but this heathen needed a triple-shot!

While driving, we did a lot of politically incorrect humor-making.

After a viewing at the funeral home, I was feeling unnerved. While inside I couldn’t get to close to the casket. (I swear I was going to get grabbed!) To shake it all off we drove half a block (how L.A.!) and ran to the 50 yard line at the football stadium. Christian can still sing the fight song (and do an odd marching-type-thing).

While I can hold the press box between my hands! I swear I saw Zach Braff and Natalie Portman coming around the corner.

As we were going down my dad’s street there was a wreck. Some guy had crashed into a tree and while he sat on the corner looking unhappy with himself, about 25 other people were milling about. Two things: I’m not sure where these people came from! 25 people don’t even live on that street. Secondly, I found it ironic that the only 2 other people to probably have a wreck on that street were in our car! The folks at the crash site were not happy when we circled the block a snapped a picture, but I like the fact that you can see Christian and the camera in the side mirror.

We had dinner at Bar-H. The only thing that has changed about the place since I was a kid is the name. (It used to be called K-Bobs, God bless’em!) I caught Christian at the salad bar, one of the only places in the panhandle where vegetables are legal.

There was a group of red hats behind us. We were informed the next day (the joy and curse of the small town) that several of those women had some unkind things to say about our table, thus they get a slot in the log.

What we a quick trip like this be without a quick hello with mi Madre!

Driving into the cemetery…as barren and depressing as ever.

My sisters, Leslie and Christian, on our way back from our grandparents grave. Even though I haven’t been there since they died over 10 years ago, I was able to find it with out a moment of hesitation—weird. This was also the point in our journey where Leslie used the unfortunate phrase, “baby garden.” I know that this is an accepted cemetery term, but I can’t say I approve (calling it that or visiting one).

My sisters and my dad; sadly, Jenny had developed a serious version of the flu and couldn’t be there.

The blue Carola, aka the tin can. For anyone that drives one of these, I feel for you. I don’t think you could increase the road noise if you played it through the speakers!

The pre-flight ritual. Notice how Christian hides behind the screwdriver.

It may be bumpy, but our stewardess doesn’t mind. I think we need to take the hint and just get over it already. Too bad saying that doesn’t make it happen.

Ahhh…landing! The closer we get to the ground, the bigger our smile becomes! Terra Firma! We survived 24 hour trip, and you survived this photo log!

Sonoma

I would like to apologize to myself and my very limited readership for the delay in new entries. I have been crazy busy. I hope not to have such a lapse again, but life is what it is and I only have a small amount of time these days to update my memory banks. I now will take you back in time to mid-October. By the end of November, I plan to be coaght up to "real" time.

We met Janet, Dr. Bruce and Karen's sisters (including Jeremy, who I hear is someone who "gets shit done!") in Sonoma for a weekend. It was a great time and I actually took some photos!

Cheesemakers at Cowgirl Creamery

Me and my double chin putting curds in a basket!

This was a great selection form a great cheese shop. The best part was enjoying it all at the beautiful Arista!

The spread from the Pasta Shop in Oakland (I still crave that aged goat cheese!)

Karen says, "Molto Bene!" (The kind of picture your wife will kill you for posting!)

Karen and her Dad

This is the best picture I took on this trip. I liked it so much that I put a B&W version on Flickr.

Jeremy Picks a Grape

Jenn ruins a picture (after many rehearsals!)

Jeremy and Jenn at J