February 26, 2014 - Kris's parents, for reasons passing understanding, seem to like me pretty well, and for my birthday they gave me a very generous pile of goodness, including a delicious "fruit of the month" subscription.  The other day I received a nice gift basket full of pears, cheese, pears, pepper relish, pears, crackers, and pears.

It was all really lovely, and arranged in a nice basket, thusly:

Very nice, no?  In addition, it came with a lovely, personalized gift message:

.....you guys are frickin' hilarious.

Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!!  :)

Feb 22, 2014 - "Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful' and sitting in the shade."  -- Kipling

Occasionally, one gets to feel that one is all grown up.  Saturday was one of those occasions.  We were invited to support the Sacramento Children's Hospital at a charity auction and crab feed.  We dressed up and went to go hang with the beautiful people for a very worthy cause.

The food was great, and the venue itself was literally NEXT DOOR to the Folsom State Prison.  If you listened close, you could juuuuuust hear Johnny Cash singing...

Below are just a couple of random photos from the night.  The first one, of the lovely ladies, features Kris and her colleagues, who patiently put up with me as the only male at our table.  (NOTE: I am not in the picture; I am TAKING the picture).

I love that picture of us that Kristen took! I had a "selfie" picture, but this one is way better.

It was a lovely and enjoyable evening, and a truly worthy cause. 

Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!!  :)

February 2014 - Walt Whitman, one of the great American poets and the father of free verse, was handy with a well-turned phrase.  It is a shame that this poem has been drafted into the service of the Apple iPad, of all things, but it remains a powerful and wonderful reflection on the nature of life, and I think that it's particularly important to keep it in mind when you feel, as we all do from time to time, that life is overwhelming. 

O ME! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; 
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish; 
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) 
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d; 
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;   
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined; 
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?    
                       
                                            Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity; 
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

I try to do something creative every day, if it's as simple as my little doodles or a little writing or working on a personal project.  It's important to occasionally notice that, for all of this, the most important thing that I do every day is interact with other people.  Not all of us will cure polio, but all of us will impact those around us, and we have a responsibility to do that as positively as we can.  We all make the world better, every day, even if it's just a little bit, and I am grateful that so many wonderful people are in my life, including you.

Thank you.

In other news, I turned 40.  :)

Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!!