Vino!

I had creme brulee last night, for the first time ever. I didn't even know what it was until I saw Amelie (which, if you haven't seen, you really should). Last fall, at the annual choir benefit auction, a group of parents sold their services as cooks (they sold a seven-course italian dinner with entertainment by Phil), and last night was the dinner. Turns out, the cooking was probably as much fun as the eating: a bunch of parents crowded in to the Roper's big kitchen and gabbed and cooked and baked and laughed and talked -and drank a lot of wine.

ITMFA (with a nod to Dan Savage)

Rep. Robert Wexler wants impeachment hearings for Dick Cheney, now, and so do I! Sign his petition to put pressure on Rep. Conyers to bring impeachment to the Judiciary committee.

Why is this so important? If you really need the reminder, it's because we live in a constitutional republic, and not a monarchy. As citizens, we reject the notion that one person should be able to rule on a whim on matters of who or what is legal. Instead, we accept that our constitution, as written and amended by committee, will be the basis of decisions on the law, which will in turn be made -in some sense- by committee. No one person ever gets to say what is legal and what is not. That's democracy (lower case "d").

No one -at all, ever-- should be allowed to break the law without fear of consequence. Especially people in positions of power, simply because they set the example for the rest of us. If they flaunt the law and get away with it, that tells us proles that it's OK to break the law. If you doubt me on this, take a look at the rising rates of violent crime among children, following the president's decision to use force instead of diplomacy in Iraq.

Happy Solstice

I noticed yesterday that the lilac bushes behind our house are budding. A nice Solstice gift. The apple trees are also budding, and that's not such a nice gift, because it reminds me that I need to prune them before they get out of hand. "Getting out of hand" with these trees might mean their end: they're probably as old as the house (which is closing in on 100 yrs), and the old limbs might not be strong enough to support all the new growth PLUS this year's new apples. All of which means that I need to learn about pruning.

So, add that to my plate of Things I Need To Do.

It's a big plate.

Life, for me, this year, has been all business. Businessy business, house busyness, self-analytical busyness, all kinds of business. Having got the financial and legal end of the leather business established, now I'm finally closing in on another goal: getting my web site set up. I've got the skeleton in place, but I need pictures to fill it out. For those pictures, I needed new merchandise, so last winter I started designing and making new stuff. In the fall I started finding some guys who want to model for me, and now it's just a matter of finding time to work with them.

It just happens

One of those things I do.

Vancouver December

Rare cat captured on film

Socrates is very shy. Few of our friends have ever seen him, because he hides whenever he hears a strange voice, or -god forbid-- the doorbell. His mom was a Maine Coon, and based on his markings, we think his dad was a Bengal. So, he's probably got some growing to do yet. Last time we measured (about a year ago; it's not easy), he was 36" nose to tail. That's a big housecat.

Life is a work in progress

Yeah, I drove up to Seattle yesterday (Renton, to be specific) and saw Gabe and Tawnya and some friends. It was overcast most of the drive up, but the clouds were really high, so the mountains were in clear view. I'm kicking myself now for not stopping to shoot Rainier, or even the mysterious snowcapped peak I could see over it's shoulder to the north. Traffic was heavy, though, and drivers on I-5 mean business! As an added bonus, Gabe showed me the first couple of episodes of a great new BBC crime/mystery/sci-fi kinda show called Torchwood. It's like the bastard offspring of "X-files" and "Kolchak the Night Stalker," in the best possible way. Good stuff! I'm hooked. This is not the BBC I remember from those old Dr. Who shows!

Holy canoli, I haven't written that much about a TV show ...ever?

I love Benjamin Britten, what can I say

Phil conducted the Salmon Creek Singers last night at the Grotto, a Catholic chapel in Portland, for their annual Festival of Lights. They were spectacular! Palestrina and Britten, baby!