Xmas 08

Pix from Christmas day... a rainbow, a well-lit house, and a visit to the Mormon Temple.

Dawn's New Outfit

Here's Dawn trying on a swell new outfit given to her from her Mom! Check it!

decorating

OK, so we finally decorated the house a bit. Tree, Xmas cards, stockings, gifts. And its only Xmas Eve! Anyway, here are some pix.

Rawhide, hee-ya!

Carole, Dawn, and I visited Rawhide Wild West Town today. Oh, its kitschy, but ya gotta do it. Sunday also involved a visit to Scottsdale and a terrific burger at Tempe's ChuckBox. Here are some pics.

Here the ladies met some nice fellas. Nice fellas with six-shooters!

Dawn met this bald guy. Just another shiny bald guy....

Carole posed with a friendly cactus. We were told we had to get a picture of Carole with a cactus and we figured that is had to be a saguaro cactus.

I did some prospecting for gold, but as you can probably tell from the look on my face, I only found fool's gold. I guess that's just about right, ain't it?

Then we visited old towne Scottsdale where, much to our surprise, Santa was driving a trolley!

L'ecole

Went out for a fancy-pantsy dinner last night at L'ecole. L'ecole is the training restaurant at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute (where Merry-Berry went to school). Basically, it is a terrific way to get a five star meal for a no star price. When you add all the dishes together, you get full, but one of the dishes was this single stuffed grape tomato. Ha!

Guess who's in Arizona?

Dawn's Mom flew into town today! And the airline lost her luggage! Oh no! But it's all easy sailing from here on out!

some swell ideas....

Nothing particularly new here, but I think this video nicely sums up the way some folks believe Christmas should be. Except for the rampant comsumerism and commercialization, I'm a big fan of Christmas. Take a look:

a little under the weather...

Well, Dawn and I are both dealing with colds. Not the cold, mind you. Just colds. She's had it for over a week now. I'm just getting started. But I'm shooting for a quick recovery. Unlike this poor shmuck...

and the cotton is high

about seven feet high!

Have you ever seen what happens to cotton when it gets harvested? They smush it into giant rectangular shapes about the size of a semi-truck and cover it (to protect it from the rain we almost never get!).

Then, I presume it gets hauled away eventually. I'm gonna keep on eye on all this cotton!

jane, stop this crazy thing!

Saturday hit the Chandler parade of lights. Kind of a bust for shooting as bright lights in the dark on moving floats is not the most conducive situation.

However, I did like this shot of a little girl on a pony ride. No weird lights here.

Dawn and.... Santa!?!?!?!

Dawn's school had some fundraising events on Friday night and Saturday morning and I had the opportunity to take pictures of kids visiting with Santa on both days.

Here's one special kid who got to share her Christmas list...

santans

random desert image...

Old Town Scottsdale

Found ourselves in Old Town Scottsdale, today. Very much a shopping mecca for the tourist. Kinda cool, all the same. Dawn and I got some pix. Only the boy with the branch is mine. Here goes.

no 'mo

So we took Cosmo to Cosmo Park today and he had a swell time. See?

Except that this isn't Cosmo! It's a younger, svelter, softer-coated aussie that happened to be hangin' at the park, too! Aside from the skinny, pretty close resemblance, eh?

Happy Thanksgiving

... and how can ya not be happy when you're thinking about all you have to be grateful for!?! Of course, friends, family, health, shelter, and..... food!

hope everybody is having a nice day and enjoying their food comas! And how about those Lions, eh?

a spread from the Novack photobook

...so I've been working on a photobook for Becky and Kevin Novack's parents. I just finished yesterday and here is one of my favorite spreads...

Weekend Winnings

Hello Our Peeps and Homeboys! (eh?)

We had an interesting weekend of minor treasures.

First, some barely related grocery shopping. Saturday morning we ventured out to stock the pantry (in general and for Thanksgiving). When it came to look at the turkeys, they were pricier than we expected as Dawn had seen them cheaper elsewhere. So we resigned ourselves to going to the other store later.

Then in the afternoon, 2 events were being held around the corner at the golf club. One, a car show, and two, a vendor thing from a local business group. So, over we went. I figured I'd shoot some cars. The car show was lame-o. Only like seven cars and they weren't that impressive.

So, into the vendor event. One of the main sponsors was an computer repairman, web design, etc. etc. guy. And he was offering free laptop computer tune-ups! Now, Dawn's laptop has been slow, slow, slow for about forever. So we let him do his magic and voila! Now the machine is working MUCH better!

Then, to add compliment to terrificness, they were holding a raffle and we won a turkey!

So, sometimes the good fortune comes in small packages! Small, delicious packages! Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. The bird is actually rather large, so... to our friends and family from MI, feel free to drop in for Thanksgiving dinner!

The Non-News Gazette

Hello Friends and Family!

I feel the need to make a post even though nothing very interesting has been going on!

Dawn's been an extra busy lady, what with work and being a super-terrific wife and doggy-mama! The dog and I have both been extra needy lately. Thanks Dawn!

Last week was Veterans Day and Dawn's class had a special visit from a vet. Thank You, veterans!



Then Dawn made an appearance at a birthday party for one of her students. The pinata lost it's head in one swipe!

Lessee, what else? There are new balls in the air around these parts. In addition to the daily dose of golf balls, yesterday I found a football in the yard! Much easier to hit with a golf club, I guess.

Cosmo recently met his new veterinarian. Within walking distance from the house. They seem nice enough. But Cosmo was still a bit wary. Treats helped. Helped to make him fat that is!

Guess that's about all there is on the homefront. Hope everyone is gearing up for a terrific Thanksgiving. More soon.

Bye-0!

Weird Highways

We've got some odd highways here in the Phoenix area. Weird, weird, weird.....

How Hot?

Kind of fun to watch one of this big bad boys get all puffed up and rarin' to go.

fire hydrants...???

Three crazy fire hydrants that sit in front of a now defunct Tempe restaurant that Dawn once dined at. Those wacky college towns!

Mary's Gonna Fade Away...

Seems Mary had a rough Halloween. Something about a wasting malady or a flesh-eating disease. See for yourself, she's just a shadow of her former self...

Balloons in Anthem

A few miles down the road, there is a community called Anthem in the town of Florence. And part of that is Sun City, a planned community for retirees. They had a small festival today that included a handful of hot air balloons. Here are some pix:

I Shot The Cover (but I did not shoot the deputy)

I shot the cover of Glamour Magazine!

The super special in-my-mind-only November issue!

Oh, what have I become!?!?!

Oh, woe is me!

You Votin'?

You votin'? I'm waiting for Dawn to get home from school (she has the automobile) and then we are off to vote at the local elementary school (not hers - closer).

So, Go-bama!

I hear some places will give you yummies if you flash your "I voted" sticker. I heard Starbucks and Krispy Kreme but don't hold me to it.

HAPPY VOTEY VOTEY DAY TO YOU ALL!

The Nautilus Engine (online mag)

... of awesome speculative fiction has just put out another fantastic quarterly issue!

I just got done with the crazy little puppy and it reads pretty swell. Finished up Christian's Holmes story with part 2, and we've got 4 brand new stories. They are fun/spooky/thought-provoking, etc.

So check it out at www.thenautilusengine.com !

Thank You!

I'm little Ronnie Warren and I approve this message!

Last night the town of Queen Creek hosted a Halloweeen Trunk or Treat Night.  Folks (like us) sponsor a car trunk, decorate it, and serve up candy to the chillins in a nice, safe environment in the park, while simultaneously trying to promote our business.

Here's Dawn with our happy Halloween Candy Monster trunk.