Sarge is getting ready for his big trip

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I was in NYC for the big CU annual meeting, visiting with friends, and working. Tomorrow we leave to Minnesota for the big weekend at the Clay Coyote.

Here is Sarge getting ready!

Minnesota, here we come!

It is that time of year, Fall Studio Sale at the Clay Coyote Pottery. Ian, Sarge and I are getting all packed and ready for the big trip to one of the greatest places on earth: Hutchinson, MN.

We will arrive on Wednesday, set up on Thursday. Studio Sale starts on Friday morning, Saturday we can only work half a day because we have to drive over to Stillwater for Mary Jo’s wedding.

Then back to work all day Sunday. We are looking forward to seeing Claire Swanson the basket-weaver. As well as Patty Conlin the jeweler and the two new artists that I have yet to meet: Jennifer Ionta does her own glass bead jewelry and Sharon Cherney is a leather smith.

Monday we can relax in the newly remodeled house (I can’t wait to see it!) and then Tuesday we have to head back to Austin.

It will be a whirlwind trip, but if you are looking for a fun afternoon, an adventure in farm country or a visit with us, come on out to the Clay Coyote (Click the link for a map.)

PS: if you are far away you can visit them online at www.claycoyote.com. (I know shameless plug for the family business, but I can’t help myself.)

Consumer Reports Annual Meeting

Next Saturday I am going to go to the Consumer Union Annual Meeting and Lab Tours. I can't wait. It is one of THE COOLEST places on earth. One day, every year they open up the labs to the public. Last year I took Ian, Aron and Liz. It was a blast! This year Aron, Liz, Anne and Joel are coming (Ian is staying home with Sarge).

Here is the CU Headquarters and below is a look inside the building. It is a wild place. Where they test everything you can dream of.

From the Vault: Chatham, MA

This is a house I covet in Chatham, it is zoned residential and commercial. I dream of living there in the summers and running a "real" Coyote East.

So I made this funky movie today...

It is a little "left" - but so am I - so watch it or don't.

You can make your own by going to www.congressin30seconds.com.

And you can make a difference by voting in four weeks.

Why dogs shouldn't lick frogs: Part Deux

Oh No! What happened to Sarge?!?!?!

Poor little fella, he should have never licked that frog.

The Waterloo Queso Incident 2006

Ian, Jax, French and I participated in Austin Found a treasure hunt/race for charity last Sunday.

We basically went around Austin solving clues. The rules said you could only travel by foot or bus (and anyone who uses public transportation knows that buses run less on Sundays – so this was a major challenge). Below is our foot path from start to finish. According to Google Earth we went 8.04 miles total. But French did the majority of the running. (Click on the image to make the map bigger)

My good friend and former FF-PIC Jonathan Werve (click on the link and see his other work) created our beautiful logo:

In the end, we didn't come in first BUT we didn't come in last AND we had a great time!

To all you other teams: we will be back next year!

Why dogs shouldn't lick frogs: Part 1

Last night he licked a frog, got sick, could barely stand and had to go to the doggie ER. Thankfully he is ok and doing fine. But ideally he will never lick a frog again ...look at this little face!

Gateway: Grandma's hometown

Tuesday night at Trivia there was a Gateway to the West question – it reminded me that last year I took some amazing photos in St. Louis. I was at the National Conference for Media Reform. I was over worked, hadn’t slept in days, the conference had finally ended and my flight wasn’t for 4 hours. I walked over to the Arc and took a nap below. Here is what I saw…

October: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Like many other sites on the internet I changed my site to pink for the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is my very little way of showing my alliance and support to all those who have been touched by breast cancer. This is a terrible killer that is indiscriminant. It has taken some of the very best people I know.

So this month consider giving something back:

Go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and donate.
Visit BreastCancer.org for information about mammograms and prevention.
Send an e-card to women in your life.
Join a race for the cure.

And take a few minutes, close your eyes and remember those who have fallen to this terrible disease.

A favorite photo of me and Ian ...

We haven't found an Atomic-like bar here in Austin yet. Austin is a smoke-free environment so all we need is the cool lounge, great staff, free games, cheap pool and bottles of #9.

From the Vault: Buoy

These are some shots I took in May 2005 in Provincetown, MA on a trip with Ian and my Mom. It was a nice day, but we missed the whale watching tour - so I was a little bummed. Never believe the posted times on a website.

I pity the fool who doesn't like bats!

Sarge was getting jealous of the bats. Here he is with his Mr. T (namesake) Chia Pet that he won on eBay. We tried to get it going, but we think that the seeds are from the 80s. Mr. T would never give up, and neither will we. Stay tuned for the mohawk!

More Bats...

Bats, Bats, Bats...

We have recently had the opportunity to volunteer with the Bat Conservation International. And they invited us out to their nature reserve to see the Bracken Bat Cave. The largest urban bat colony in the world is downtown Austin – with almost 2 million Mexican Free-Tailed bats. But, if you have been to the Congress Ave Bridge, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The Bracken Cave has 20 million bats!

And I took so many amazing photos of the emergence; it is going to be a few days worth of postings! So stay tuned for more bat pictures…

PS: if you want to support the bat education center that Bat Conservation International is trying to build, just go to this page and learn more!

And then there was light...

As promised...

UT Campus

We have been taking an informal class at UT on buying and financing your first home. Here is the fountain by the main entrance.

Sorry they are so dark, I will take better ones tomorrow. (Reminder: Clink on the photo to make it larger.)

He was a good fish......

Tonight our fish Will'e Makeit passed away. I am very sad. Will'e had a wonderful life, he lived a long life for a beta fish, and he had many who loved him. Below are photos of Will'e over the last few years (from his first day home, christmas, and his first birthday party...).

As I think back about Will'e I know he will make it to fish heaven (or come back as a pirate - if he was a reincarnated kinda fish).

Yoshimi was here

Why yes, that is Wayne Coyne in a sphere hamster surfing the crowd!

The flaming Lips rocked, however, they did talk alot so they only did six songs in one hour.

We didn't make it to the Tom Petty show (but I did hear Free Fallin from the Barton Creek Bridge), we were just way too tired after the other awesome shows we saw today. For all you reggae fans, Damian Marley was awesome. And I went to the BoDeans during Muse, but they were a hit at the festival. The other big hit was the Brazilian Girls.

Ween, this one goes out to Laura

(I hear she is a big fan!)