I've been tired this week. It may have something to do with the heat, but it more likely has something to do with never getting quite enough sleep.
I led my last Hidden Villa tour of the season on tuesday, and caught an Alligator lizard - no doubt to make up for the one that got away while we were rushing around catching snakes last weekend. I'm not sure what my work schedule is going to be like when tours resume in the fall, so this may indeed be my last tour for the indefinite future.
Attendance at the museum has hit the summer doldrums, and I find myself keeping busy at work with drawing or playing the tin whistle. After next week, I'm cutting my hours down to an all time low of eight hours a month. This is so I can work at the Youth Science Institute for the summer.

At home, The Dickens has decided that she hates baths. This is an abrupt about-face, because up until very recently she was our household's biggest bath fan, often staying in the tub well after all of the water had been drained, and emerging somewhat prunish. Now she kicks up a fuss if we try to give her a bath. This must work on the same principle as a child deciding to really hate a certain type of previously loved food the day after you stock up on said food.
Willow was quite fussy today. Poor little girl.

It was a little windy out tonight, and a very light mist was drifting down from the sky.

cds listened to in the mist: Shinjuku Thief "Medea", Sixth Comm/Mother Destruction "Archive 1" and "Archive 2", Voivod "The Outer Limits" and "Negatron", and Skyclad "The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth" and "A Burnt Offering for the Bone Idol"

Even more Portland...

We woke up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am on Sunday, and in due order staggered downstairs (okay, it's kind of hard to stagger while taking the elevator, but you get the idea...) for our free breakfast. The dining area of the hotel was surprisingly well stocked, and soon we were hunched over coffee, eggs, fruit, croissants, cereal, and the like. M. even made his own waffle. G. and Steve were especially groggy due to their late night shenanigans the previous evening (if you can call signing autographs and attending a gig "shenanigans, that is). Surprisingly, we were all finished with breakfast and in the van by a couple of minutes after eight. Then the long journey homeward began. The view from I-5 isn't as fantastic as it is along the coastal route, but we were treated to morning mist drifting slowly across low hills, and beautiful yellow clusters of gorse.
We ate lunch in Ashland at some Italian restaurant whose name escapes me. While there, we found time to drop into a couple of stores and purchase more stuff. Then we continued south, passing over I-5's highest point (forty three hundred-and-something feet), denying we had any fruit at the California border, passing the snow covered splendor of Mt. Shasta, and slowly descending into the dull boredom of the Central Valley. Our van decided to make this stretch of our journey less boring by suddenly stalling while in the fast lane. At first I didn't even realize it had stalled. The giveaway was that it was slowing down as I depressed the accelerator. I pulled over onto the shoulder, and the van started again after a couple of tries. After that, I decided that we could do without the air conditioning. This made the remainder of our time on I-5 somewhat stifling. Then, on 80, just as we started ascending the first of a series of low foothills that border the East Bay, the van stalled again. Apparently the strain of hauling around a full load of people on such a long journey was proving a bit much for it. I got it started again and we made it another mile or so before it stalled a third time. This time some rather rude police were watching. They took exception to us sitting on the median, and ran a traffic break so a snappy policewoman could use her car to push over to the shoulder. Then, instead of helping, they all rushed off, leaving us sitting in the van with even less room between ourselves and the traffic whipping by. Steve was amazed at the rudeness of our local police. It was his fourth encounter with them during his stay in California, and none of the other ones painted a rosy picture of our law enforcement personnel either. I waited ten minutes or so and got the van to start. We limped into Berkeley and said goodbye to G. and Steve. M., Jen, Willow, and I arrived back at our place at 10 pm. Fourteen hours had passed since we started our journey.

The first words we heard upon arriving were from Nate: "Where are my presents?"

More Portland...

Saturday we got up at around noon, and were soon met downstairs by Chris, Trey(?), and Heather from Beta-lactam Ring. They took us to a hip cafe called Paradox, where we swilled coffee and had some interesting (in a good way) food. Jen got the vegan meatloaf. I got the vegan sloppy joes. I also got some sort of smoothie that had bananas, molasses, and peanut butter in it. I was better than it sounds. Afterwards we split up, with the Beta-lactam guys taking Steve of to some hip-hop record stores and the rest of us going to Powell's City of Books. We bought less than would be expected, but picked up the all important gifts-for-the-kids-at-home. Willow pooped so much that people in the restroom offered to come to Jen's aid. The coffee shop was being renovated, so our thirst soon guided us across the street for some cold drinks. You would have thought that Portland would have reasonable weather, but it was very muggy, especially in the center of a city block spanning bookstore. Overhead, clouds threatened rain. Then, after inspecting a couple of nearby record stores and a Whole Foods (which had kombucha drinks in four packs! Our local one doesn't. I just checked.) we went back to the hotel where Steve was wearing his hands out signing records and cds.
A short time later we were at the Cobalt Lounge, where the record release party was slated to happen. Then came the bad news. Willow wasn't old enough to be in bar. They were pretty serious about it too, so I drove Jen back to the hotel. She told me to go back and have fun, which I somewhat guiltily did. My guilt was mitigated by the fact that there was a nice looking restaurant/cafe next to the hotel. Jen and Willow could have a girls night out. Back at the lounge, I decided it was just as well that they didn't let Willow in, because evidently in Oregon people are still allowed to smoke in bars. There was already a big line of people, back catalogue in hand, waiting to meet Steve. He was generous with his time, and people seemed happy. After awhile, since we had already met Steve, we decided to go back and hang out with Jen. When we arrived back at the hotel we found that she had indeed eaten at the place around the corner. She let me have some of the leftovers, and they were fabulous - some sort of tempeh/hummus/couscous dish. The only problem was there wasn't a fork. We left Jen to her luxurious time alone with the baby and went out to eat at a very bad pizza place. The pizza tasted like it had been taken out of a display window somewhere. Then, our stomachs theatening to rebel, we lurched back towards the Cobalt lounge. Steve was still holding court. I decided that I'd better go get some sleep so that I could drive us home safely in the morning. M. decided to join me. G. opted to go see Barbez and Eric McFadden at Dante's around the corner. He went with Mary, who we had met a couple of weeks previously down in our neck of the woods.
To sleep, to sleep....

More tomorrow.

cds I listened to while rushing around in the darkness: Six Comm ~ Mother Destruction "White Rose 'live'", Vintersorg "Cosmic Genesis", Voivod "The Best of..." and "Angel Rat", Sixth Comm "A Nothing Life" and "Content With Blood", and El Monte Aranos "Allied Cooking But Not As You Know It!"

To Portland and back...

On friday night I got home from work after only working half as long as usual. I found Jen still awake getting ready for the trip, and no sign of M., who was supposed to spend the night. It wasn't until after I had gone to bed (for once earlier than Jen) that M. trudged in. He had fallen victim to our poor public transportation system, and had walked for three and a half hours from the nearest train station. His feet were sore. In due time we were all asleep.
In the morning we left the three older kids in the able care of Unka Jay and piled ourselves, Willow, and our belongings into the van. An hour later we arrived at G's in Berkeley to pick up G. and Steve. It was about eleven O'clock. We had decided to take the scenic route, so we crossed the Richmond/San Rafael bridge and headed north on 101. The buildings gave way to fields and farmland. We passed hills dotted with oak trees and cows. None of the cows waved. Our first minor setback came when we tried to take 128 to cut over to Highway One. The entrance was blocked off by police. We traveled further north and took 253 instead. Heading westward, we passed into and under the redwoods, which Steve had never seen before. He was beginning to wonder what California didn't have. We all thought for a moment, and more or less simultaneously arrived at "space and low prices." It was also pointed out that California is home to a lot of less than pleasant people, but I guess that could apply to anywhere. It is hard to think of the down sides of living here when you are floating along under the redwoods.
Soon we arrived at Highway One, and turned northwards, marvelling at the sea mists and isolated beauty of our surroundings. We began to feel the need for sustenance (other than the trail mix we had been voraciously consuming) and a bathroom break, so we pulled into the parking lot of a little market/gas station on the seaward side of the highway. They didn't have a bathroom. Steve headed for the field, and the rest of us gradually wandered inside to check out what kind of food was to be had. We found a lovely selection of sandwiches and coffees which would have been right at home in a college town, but seemed a bit out of the ordinary for a little seaside market on an out-of-the-way section of coast. As we started ordering, Steve rushed in and calmly told us that the field was full of all sorts of snakes. We forgot our orders and rushed out to see for ourselves. He had indeed seen snakes, and soon all of us but Jen and Willow were rushing around after them. In the end we caught five, and missed two. We also missed a good sized Alligator lizard. It was harder to catch each additional snake because the ones already in our hands were demanding attention. They all proved to be Garter snakes, but from Steve's description of one he'd seen initially, I think there may have been Western Racers about. It was a great deal of fun, and an uncommon experience for Steve, who currently resides in a snakeless country.
We moved on, and slowly wound our way inland. The next stop was at the junction of One and 101 where the Chandelier Tree grows. Once upon a time, somebody carved a tunnel through it and now people pay three dollars to drive their cars under it. We were no exception. We dawdled a bit and then hit the road, realizing that we had a long way to go. It grew dark as we shot northward. At one point we saw a coyote dash across the road. At another we interrupted a pair of crows as they pulled at a bit of roadkill. Inside the van a rather eclectic succession of cds followed each other through the cd player. We stopped in Crescent City for dinner, which was filling but unremarkable. The main selling point was the coffee, which I needed in order to finish the drive. We left Highway 101 soon after that, and headed for Grant's Pass on 199, which we arrived at around midnight. Then we whipped northward on I-5 for another five hours or so, and arrived in Portland just as it was starting to get light. We flubbed the directions and circled around a bit down the confusingly laid out city before finally finding the hotel, which had been booked in advance by the as yet unmet people who run Beta-lactam Ring (the label that Steve's new record is on). In the room, we discovered that they had thoughtfully provided us with trail mix and cookies, as well as bottled water and beer. There were copies of the new record and cd on one of the tables. Also on hand were a couple of t-shirts and limited edition prints to go along with the record. These were the things that would be on hand at the record release party the next day, at which Steve was to be the main attraction. We smiled and crawled into bed. Jen and I curled up on either side of Willow, and soon all was quiet, except for some snoring.

It's late, so I'll continue this tomorrow.

cds I listened to while getting back to the old grind: Cronos "Venom", Vintersorg "Till Fjalls", "Odemarkens Son", and "Hedniskhjartad", Mother Destruction/Sixth Comm "Fruits of Yggdrasil", Antony and the Johnsons "live at Cafe Du Nord, November 1st, 2002", Six Comm "Turn of the Wheel", and The Gathering "Souvenirs"

Willow has now smiled at me as well. She is starting to look around a bit too. Her eyes are clear and blue - windows into the mysteries that all babies carry within themselves. One by one the mysteries will be forgotten, or shoved into some corner of her mind by the pressures of our world. It is our job as parents to make sure that all of the mysteries don't disappear. We need mysteries.

We leave for Portland the day after tomorrow. I miss the kids already, especially The Dickens, who is not going to understand our leaving at all. The trip should be fun though. I haven't gone on a long drive in at least three years now. In fact, the last time I did, it was to the same place - for the wedding of an old friend. M. and I made the trip on no sleep, and after the wedding found a hotel and slept for something like fifteen hours. Then we drove home.

I'm not telling why I ended up driving to Portland without sleeping. ha ha.

cds I listened to while planning to sleep this time: Sigur Ros "Von" and "Agaetis Byrjun", Venom "Skeletons in the Closet", Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson & Sigur Ros "Englar Alheimsins", and V/A "In the Name of Satan - a tribute to Venom",

I found a Ringneck snake at Hidden Villa today, but it slipped through my fingers and vanished into the woodpile. They're so small and quick that if you miss them on the first try you had better just give up. I remember once as a child putting a pet Ringneck snake down on a lawn and actually losing it after it wriggled down into the sod. Such is life. I did catch a Jerusalem cricket, a California newt, and a Slender salamander though.

If I was superstitious, I would have been bothered by the black cat who seemed to be waiting for me to drive closer before dashing in front of me. In my rearview mirror I saw him do a frantic, tail-spinning arc on the lawn fronting a business complex and dash back across the road to his original starting point. Perhaps he was just having fun. Maybe there were other cats waiting somewhere out of sight egging him on - "betcha can't run right in front of a car. What are ya? Chicken? buckbuckbuck..."

Willow is now nearly eight pounds.

cds I listened to while slowing for cats: Venom "Cast in Stone" and "In Memorium", Sigillum S "Heteromorphonicks", Backworld "The Orchids/Flowers in Flame", Iugula-Thor "Forced Flesh", and Six Organs of Admittance "Dust and Chimes"

The Dickens has given herself some brand new varicose veins using nothing but a pen and a little imagination. It is warm outside, and the various pollens are either spotting our windshields or making members of our family sniffly and reddish. Despite this, it is nice to sit outside under our backyard trees in the evenings.

This weekend we pretended we had money and went traipsing about in a large group, wantonly spending along the way. Friday we all ended up at R's mom's house in honor of R's 33rd birthday. It was a small gathering mostly consisting of relatives. Nate and Lexy honed in on Steve, who is visiting the area from Ireland. They wrestled and rolled around on the floor while I kept The Dickens occupied. There was pizza, cake, and Brainwash, which dyes your insides blue.

Saturday a bunch of us went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Nate wandered off and got lost almost immediately, but had the presence of mind to find an aquarium employee and have us paged. During our visit, we got to see a diver give an otter some "negative reinforcement training". This consisted of blowing a whistle and spraying water at the befuddled creature, and then, as it turned to get the hell out of there, bestowing upon it a (as R. put it) "big nasty mammal spank" The idea is to get the otters to keep away from divers, because not all divers have the otters' best interest at heart.
Later, at dinner in a nearby restaurant, Steve flipped over Lexy's menu (which featured drawings of fish for kids to color) and drew a large Angler fish which put the ones on the other side to shame. He instructed Lexy to color it in, which Lexy proceeded to do quite nicely. A short time later, The Dickens knocked a glass of water over and ruined it, dashing Lexy's chances of ever being able to sell it on ebay.
Then, after some mandatory fudge, we all went back to our place and had a slumber party. I slept on the top bunk in the kids' room. Jen and all of the kids slept on the bottom bunk. Steve slept in our bed. M. slept on the couch. G. and Dawn slept on the floor. We all got up too early the next morning and Jen made a big batch of eggs and toast. After a bit of hanging out and a quick trip to the record store, we went to the Winchester Mystery House. What a lovely place. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and found myself appreciating it much more as an adult. I wish it was possible to walk around inside without having to follow an obnoxious tour guide. Oh well.

cds I listened to while for the first time this year not wearing a jacket: Trouble "Manic Frustration" and "Plastic Green Head", Unholy "Gracefallen", Sigillum S "Dispersion: Sliced Carrions and Pixel Handcuffs" and "Live Assault", and Nurse With Wound "Chance Meeting of a Defective Tape Machine and Migraine" (this one is M.'s fault)

I got home three hours late due to mechanical difficulties with the printing press. While waiting around for the papers to arrive I reflected on how I really hate depending on other people or machines for anything. I'd really like a job that is not part of a chain of events with weak links somewhere in the middle.

When I finally got going I had to drive slowly to avoid the gangs of ducks who have taken to hanging out along my route. They're so tough that they just waddle slowly out of my way, refusing to fly for any reason.

I also saw a lone shooting star.

Tomorrow I'll write about my weekend. Maybe - if the damn papers aren't so late again.

cds I listened to while keeping one eye out for waterfowl: Trouble "s/t", Sigillum S "Cybertantrick Quantum Leaps" and "Bedscanner Philosophy: An Updated Boudoir Mode", Jello Biafra "If Evolution is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Evolve", and Current Ninety Three "A Little Menstrual Night Music",

Okay, why is the computer not letting me open my own page? It thinks I'm downloading a file when I try to do it. Let's try again...

As I left for work tonight, the police were searching for someone. Up beyond the police helicopter was the moon, looking like somebody with really large, dirty fingers had smudged it irrepairably. It was, of course, an eclipse. As I drove to work, the untainted white sliver grew, forcing the brownish shadow back. By the time I started delivering papers, the moon was round and white, and some different police were looking for someone. A little while later, I got pulled over. After noting that my car was full of yet-to-be-delivered newspapers, the policeman let me go.

A sure sign that the economy is in bad shape: One of my co-workers, who used to boast about how well he was doing in the stock market, now uses duct tape to hold his tires together. He just sticks it on over the exposed steel tread. Apparently it works too. If the manufacturers of duct tape knew this, they'd probably have him do a product endorsement. Then he could go buy new tires with the money they gave him. It would be a win-win situation. Maybe he should get on the phone and let the world know about his desperate duct tape usage.

cds I listened to while watching the moon come back: Sigillum S "Helix Parasites", "Atom!", and "Malattia", Tristania "s/t" and "Angina", and Ashes "Ashland"

Well, I finally did it. I finally threw away the Christmas tree. It was looking sad and brown as it lay in the corner by the gate, with an equally brown wreath balanced on top. Speaking of brown, that was also the color of the water that we emptied out of our new steam cleaner after we cleaned the front room. A lot of the stains are still there, but they are noticably fainter. I'm sure The Dickens will have them back to their original color before long.

I even managed to clean the back patio without the mother hummingbird getting upset. I'd been putting it off because the last time I went out there she popped out of her nest and hovered in my face until I went back inside. How's that for an excuse not to sweep...

The moon is nearly full, and sits above our house like a pearl formed in the belly of a cloud. Uh oh... that was almost poetry. Time for bed.

cds I listened to while being shone upon: Sieben "Forbid the Sun's Escape", Sigillum S "Abstraction" and "Bardo Thos-Grol", Rube Waddell "Bound for the Gates of Hell", Tristania "Beyond the Veil", and Roy Harper "Unhinged"

I've heard people mangle the english language many times over the years, but here's one I've never heard before... A co-worker was talking about a band he had seen while in Reno, and he related to the rest of us that the band had "badgered" several songs rather badly. I'm guessing that he meant to say "butchered". I hope he doesn't ever use "butchered" in place of "badgered". I can see it now - "I'm going to butcher you until I get that raise." Ouch!

I'm taking the next couple of days off from the museum, ostensibly to spend time with our friends from overseas. I may indeed do this, but then again I may just use the time to help get the house in shape for company. Or maybe I'll just use it to sleep. It looks like it's going to be a busy weekend.

cds I listened to while thinking about sleeping: Zmrzlina "s/t", Rube Waddell "Stink Bait" and "Hobo Train", Darrin Verhagen "Hydra", Shub Niggurath "s/t" and "Les Morts Vont Vite", and Woven Hand "Blush Music"

It finally feels like may outside. It reminds me that I don't really like hot weather. I've always preferred darkness and fog... and damp. Maybe we should move to Seattle. We're going to head in that direction the weekend after next to go to the Nurse With Wound record release party in Portland. Of course, we're also going to Powell's bookstore, which is so big that you sometimes need a map to find your way around.

Tomorrow is a Hidden Villa day, so I'm going to bed now.

cds I listened to while being warmish: Dead Raven Choir/Furisubi/Timothy the Revelator "s/t", Tarentel "Mort aux Vaches", Shinjuku Thief "The Witch Hunter" and "The Witch Hammer", and "Oh God! Mother Blood!" - Vaccination records compilation

Well, Willow got to go to her first concert on saturday. She arrived at the Great American Music Hall accompanied by her mother, father, and paternal grandmother (who was there in honor of Mother's day). She elected to sit up on the balcony, and after a bit of fussing, settled down for the main event. The music started with some soft piano and sweet singing. Later, guitar and cello appeared, fleshing out the sound. Raucous applause ushered in the encore, which ended with a manic version of that old folk favorite, "Oh coal black smith".
After the lights came up, Willow descended and mingled with the crowd. She was introduced to people from exotic places like Singapore, Portugal, Ireland, England, and Indiana. She met a guy who drives trains. She met some of her dad's old friends. She met some minstrels. She got to go backstage and hang out. Later, outside, she got to witness the sad spectacle of a drunken clown falling down in the gutter. One of the minstrels sagely noted that, "these things happen." Nobody knew why a clown had attended the show. Maybe he had gotten lost on the way to the circus. Maybe he knew something we didn't.
But Willow won't remember the clown. She won't remember the show, or the other people she saw. All that was important to her was that she was being held by her mother. Perhaps she also took comfort in the fact that her father was nearby. She probably wasn't aware of her grandmother being there. That's a bit far for a small baby to extrapolate. I was aware though. Three generations were represented. Happy mother's day to Jen and both of our moms (I guess since I'm typing this on monday morning that this is belated, but such is life).

Today, we aired out our mattresses by strapping them to the top of the van and driving them all over the Bay Area. Now they're at G.'s where the process can be reversed. Hopefully they're coming in handy.

cds I listened to while eating wasabi peas: Rawk Party - Vaccination Records compilation, Sigur Ros "Rimur", Carla Kihlstedt "Heavy Oven", 7% Solution "Gabriel's Waltz", and Sharkbait "Blowtorch Face-lift"

Oh no! My postcard has grown horribly large and is threatening to take over everything! Alas, alas. Have pity on the poor luddite.

Willow may go to her first concert this weekend. It's going to be a sit-down affair, with no excessive loudness. Just piano, guitar, and voice. Simple is always best, I say. The only problem is that the club doesn't allow children under six. We're going to try though, because if Willow can't go then Jen can't go either. It helps that we're on the guest list. But will it help enough? Stay tuned...

I almost ran over a rat earlier tonight. Why are rodents always so single-minded about crossing the street?



cds I listened to while avoiding scurrying rodents: Stone Breath "Green Shrouds For Dead Gods/Green Swaddling for Gods Reborn", Saint Just "La Casa del Lago", Joseph Spence "Happy All the Time" (minstrel approved!), Sanctum "Lupus in Fabula", Tiamat "Skeleton Skeletron", Paul Schutze "Deus ex Machina", and 7% Solution "All About Satellites and Spaceships"

It's cold and windy outside, but the promised rain hasn't fallen. I saw one pretty impressive lightning flash which seemed to come from near the coast. Moments later I saw a police chase, which seemed to be heading away from the coast.

I took the Water Monitor to the museum garden today, and he had a great time digging holes and sunning himself. He showed special interest in a lady who later admitted she'd recently eaten a turkey and salami sandwich. I moved him away from temptation. I still remember the day when he showed the same sort of interest in a volunteer's chin. There wasn't a lot of blood when he decided to see if the chin tasted as good as it apparently smelled, but even a little blood is too much. Now I know enough to nip (so to speak) this kind of thing in the bud.
One little boy spent a lot of time following him around, informing me roughly every ten minutes that he was pretending the Monitor was his pet. Several other kids also showed an almost obsessive interest in him.
When things slowed down a bit, I lay down in the dirt next to him as he sunned himself. The day was mostly sunny but not too warm. It felt good to just relax among the plants. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a nice cup of coffee, which I, for some reason, had a sudden desire for.

Now it is time to sleep, or perhaps surf the web.

cds I listened to while being illuminated by distant lightning: Risaedlan (Reptile) "Efta!", Ronan Quays "The Ebbing Wings of Wisdom", Rosebud "Thundermug Honeypot", Culper Ring "355", Bug Guts "Great Spangled Fritillary", Tiamat "Cold Seed", and Night Soil Man "Chief Left His Settlement (in the) Garden of Delights"

And hey!! Look at all of that blank, white space at the bottom. I sure know what I'm doing...

I caught an Alligator lizard and a California newt at Hidden Villa today. Of special note is the fact that the lizard's tail had never been broken. It was without blemish, and prehensile enough to wrap around my fingers and hold on. He did have a few ticks though. That fascinated the kids, and made them a little nervous. Perhaps they thought that the ticks would set their sites on bigger prey if given half a chance. Everybody knows that people have much more blood than some scrawny little lizard.

At home there was the usual jumping up and down and general chaos. Jen and I stole a moment for some kissing while the kids were getting out of the bath. This earned us a stinkface from The Dickens, who obviously has her own ideas about how adults should comport themselves.

Ah well, time for sleep. It's overcast outside, and is supposed to rain at some point this week. There were a couple of brief showers today. Rain in May!

cds I listened to while waiting for raindrops: Noe Venable "No Curses Here" and "Down Easy", The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus "Paradis", Tiamat "A Deeper Kind of Slumber" and "Gaia", Finntroll "Visor om Slutet", Reptile "Fame and Fossils", and Opeth "Damnation"

now: Current 93 "When the May Rain Comes"

Jen went and got a cavity filled today, leaving me home with the three younger kids. Willow used my arm as a bed, pressing her cheek up against the crook of my elbow and occasionally sending a stream of spit-up down my arm and pants. The Dickens smiled and laughed and then tantrumed about not getting a ride in the wicker basket. Nathan spent most of his time using the couch as a trampoline. I swear somebody is secretly feeding that boy some powerful stimulants. He never stops. When Jen came home the local anesthetic hadn't worn off yet and she couldn't feel one of her eyes. Despite this, we bundled all of the kids out the door and went around the corner to mail some bills and get some food. I got grumpy when I discovered that the little mailing center by our house doesn't send things via registered mail. Jen took everybody but The Dickens into Safeway, so I supervised her while she tore up the landscaping and deposited it in the fountain. Flowers look kind of nice floating in the water. I had to replant one hapless bit of greenery that wouldn't relinquish its flowers when The Dickens tugged on it. Then we came home, ate some wonderful soup concocted by Jen, and watched Gamera. The Dickens amused herself by turning off the TV every couple of minutes.

cds I listened to while appreciating Jen for being able to take care of four kids at once: V/A - Drinking From Puddles: A Radio History, The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus "The Gift of Tears/Mirror", Tribes of Neurot "60 degrees", and Negativland/Chumbawamba "The ABCs of Anarchism"


.

Friday...

As predicted, it was raining when we all converged on the airport to greet the minstrels. Then they got treated to the double-your-fun combination of heavy rain and heavy traffic as we crawled towards the center of San Francisco in our family mini-vans. We made up for this dubious beginning by taking them out to dinner at a nice Mediterranean restaurant. What fine food! Then we dropped most of the minstrels back at the hotel so they could try to regain the nine hours they lost by flying so far to the west. We took the one remaining minstrel to Berkeley and G.'s apartment. M. and I struggled to muffle our cries of amazement at the state of the apartment. It was... clean! Even the stains on the carpet were gone.

Saturday...

We went to Aquarius Records to show everybody M.'s art, which still graces the walls of the store. Everybody ooohed and aaaahed. Then we ate at a mexican restaurant. At least one of our visitors had never had a burrito before. Then, after paying the homeless parking attendant, we stuffed ourselves into the mini-van and drove up to Haight street. In a record store there, an employee recognized a minstrel or two and almost filled his shorts with glee. He was overheard to say that in his eight years of employ at this particular shop that this was his greatest day. Even greater, apparently, than the day that Michael Jackson stopped by and wiped his sweaty hands on some tissues that were still carefully archived somewhere in the shop. We left as soon as we could, and spent some more time meandering about. One of the minstrels sang beautifully as we walked along.
It's really interesting to see a familiar city through a first-time visitor's eyes. It makes everything fresh again.
Later, we drove back to Berkeley again with a couple of the minstrels so that we could see Two Foot Yard perform at 21 Grand in Oakland. While waiting for them to go on, we wandered through a nearby asian market and gawked at the dried squid and live sea cucumbers. We bought some stuff that sure tasted strange. The rice punch drink I purchased was okay until I got to the solid bits, which texturally resembled sodden newspaper. The toasted melon seeds, however, were quite good. Back at the performance space, Two Foot Yard did very satisfying things to their cello and violin. Come to think of it, we once surprised Carla, the violinist, in London while she was playing with a different band (we nonchalantly approached her between sets and complimented her on the show, as if we weren't half a world away from home) while in the company of a man who also occasionally plays live with the same band as the people we were currently with. Is that confusing enough? Everybody liked the show. Then and now.

Sunday...

I stayed home with Jen and the horde. Sometime during the morning hours the older members of the horde discovered our sugar supply and gorged themselves upon it, making them hyper and cranky. This, in turn, made us cranky. We all stomped around being cranky together. During this time, we made some gingerbread cookies. Somewhat later, The Dickens discovered the food coloring that had been used to color the gingerbread frosting. She artfully decorated herself, the kids' table, the floor, and a doll. Then everybody had a bath.
The boys and I almost watched the newest Gamera movie, but just as we started, The Dickens announced that she was, "scawed of the RAAAgghh" (translation: I'm scared of the giant turtle because I'm too young to realize that it's just a guy in a rubber suit). We ended up watching Little Bear instead.

cds I listened to while wondering where the hell the weekend went: Roy Harper "Garden of Uranium/Descendants of Smith", The Naysayer "Deathwhisker", Tribes of Neurot "Silver Blood Transmission", Monster Records promotional sampler, The Sonora Pine "s/t", and Tiamat "Wildhoney"

now: Maja Elliott "Truth"

The things you can do with a little spare time...

I made it through the night without being rained on, but the clouds are moving in and the wind is picking up. This is all happening just in time for the arrival of some minstrels from overseas. Their lovely british weather seems to have preceded them, and will no doubt be waiting to welcome them with torrential rain. So much for sunny California. I have to get up early(ish) to go to the airport, where I will be meeting up with G., M., and R. Then we will greet the minstrels and whisk them away to their temporary lodgings, so that they may plot and plan long into the night. The fruits of this plotting and planning will be ready for consumption next week. Should be fun.

An additional word of explanation for the picture below: We have an activity at the museum where kids get to make their own postcards. While I'm facilitating this activity, I draw my own, ostensibly to use as examples, but really because I just like drawing. I have a stack of them now. Most of them are unpleasant in some way.

cds I listened to while anticipating minstrels: Therion "Deggial", Tara Jane ONeil "Peregrine", Tiamat "The Astral Sleep" and "Clouds", Retsin "Egg Fusion", and Legend "Still Screaming"

First in series of postcards from places you wouldn't want to visit.

I upgraded to blogspot plus, so there will soon be pictures here. The possibilities are endless. To go off on a tangent - one of my co-workers couldn't make it in to work tonight because the cops weren't letting anybody out of his apartment complex. It seems there was a guy with a shotgun holding hostages. It may be still going on for all I know. I think I'm going to go hide from reality and read now because I've gotten all sorts of books in the mail lately and I want to read them all. Escapism.

cds I listened to while escaping: Therion "Crowning of Atlantis", Rasputina "How We Quit the Forest" and "The Olde Headboard", Swans "Forever Burned", Reptilicus "Temperature of Blood", Reptilicus and The Hafler Trio "Designer Time", Retsin "Salt Lick", and In Gowan Ring "Exists and Entrances vol.3"