Yesterday, I woke up from a halcyon induced sleep to the breaking news of Michael Jackson’s death. How devastating! Was he sick? I didn’t see it coming. What a shock. I was a little foggy at first, not understanding the big picture, but it started to sink in later in the evening.

I was sleeping because it was the day of my dreaded dentist visit and I received 4 fillings. I never thought I would say it, but it was kind of fun. These people were in my mouth-grinding, drilling, painting- it was no sweat. In fact I found myself really enjoying their conversation-which did not include me nor can I remember a single word that was spoken. It was as if I was just listening in on two people chatting with a really, really close up seat. I knew they were in my mouth, but I did not care.

So back to MJ, my neighbor came over right away to tell me of the news. She knew I was a big fan as a child and had the opportunity to meet him. I wondered if I was acting drugged. Then she informed me that Madonna, Prince and Michael are all the same age, 51. I did not know that.

I received several text messages and phone calls from other concerned friends. I still couldnt belive it. All of the television shows abandoned their previously scheduled programs to play his music, bits of videos and repeat stats of his accomplishments: 750,000,000 million albums sold, 13 Grammy awards, 13 number one singles!

This is very sad. Every time I hear a song, which is just about every hour on any radio or tv station, Im reminded of his powerful image. Im reminded that I was a part of something bigger than me. I remember the thousands of screaming fans, I saw them. My favorite montage I’ve heard so far was on NPR. They spliced together people from all over the world, India, Dominican Republic, South Africa- singing pieces of Thriller, Billy Jean, and Black or White. It was moving to be reminded that his impact affected the whole world.

Will he recieve Elvis status? Could he possibly become more popular in death? For now, I will mourn the loss, remember my childhood and enjoy his music more than ever.

Taking a little break from writing about our lives for the past few months. Back at it again, though with new stories. Anyone reading?

Harvested my bumper crop of carrots and radishes a couple days ago. I get the prize for the best looking carrot tops! The bottoms (the actual carrots) weren’t so bad, just small.

Celebrated Wolverine Wednesday this week. Tonight we are celebrating Sci-Fi Friday. Wonder what’s up next?

Went to a Kentucky Derby party last weekend. Great Bourbon, thanks Bulliet! Cute rocks glasses too. Had to get creative to sneak a few extras…

Planning a green chic party in June. Costa Rica trip in July. Dentist appointment sooner than I would like.

Lots of sunshine to come this summer. Stay cool!

Let me describe the scene. It’s windy as anything outside, like gusts up to 35 miles an hour, but a beautiful day-sunny and cool. We are secure inside the house listening to the baying tree branches and pieces of debris (random junk) from the neighbors yard tumble around.

I am baking. This is not my forte and I don’t attempt it very often. So, I have been to the grocery store twice today, plus I went yesterday to get the usual groceries.  I am attempting to make my grandmother’s prune cake. It’s the first time I’ve ever used a bundt pan.  It’s also the first time I’ve used club soda in a recipe before. After reading on-line the rave reviews about soda rather than water, I decided I should get some and not substitute for something in the fridge that seems equivalent-which is my usual.

So my cake is cooking and Alan is on the computer-what a surprise! The web designer extraordinaire is creating a site for his brother Bird. Here it is. Ed is looking for work as is the plight of many people these days. In Alan’s time off he has been very diligent at learning a new program called Flash. It’s amazing what he has picked up so far. Also there may be a job in his/our future?! We shall see…

Off tonight for a birthday party of cake and cocktails, hence the prune cake -laced with bourbon, by the way. Should be lots of laughs.

Here is a random picture from my desktop. Alan and I enjoyed a nice visit to the Zilker Botanical Gardens on Valentine’s Day. Alan is showing the ever changing Austin skyline.

This has been a somber month end to a strange year, 2008. We have had two passings in our lives, both very dear. I lost a loyal volunteer to stomach cancer and we lost our 5th family member, LB. Both have been hard on us.

We are ready to start a new year and doing everything we can to guarantee a good one- Creating new traditions, breaking lots of wishbones, and I will hopefully have a partner for black eyed peas on new years day!

Will is in town and he is doing Austin. New pics uploaded to flickr-more to come. Hopefully a new movie to come too.

Stay tuned…

It’s that time of year again, so that means lots of retail, lots of cooking, parties and cold weather. We are enjoying all of it! Well, the retail part can be draining, but I enjoy being out on the floor and hearing customers’ stories.

The weather is chilly and my scarves have received a lot of attention, so has our heater. We haven’t had any rain just about all year, so a fire in the pit is out of the question.

It was a year ago today that we inherited our little furry friend, LB. And now, she is just one of the cats! It’s fun to watch her hop around the house and jump in the cat’s comfort bubble. I think her favorite is Rudy, because often we see the two of them laying beside each other taking naps.

Looking forward to entertaining Will this Christmas. We shall show him the Austin that we know and love and have a great time. There might be a movie in my future…

Kitty

To continue the tradition of creating a movie each Thanksgiving, I have just completed Thanksgiving 08. It is a video time capsule that captures our life and times each year. Enjoy! When I get a chance, I will upload 06 & 07–Enjoy!!

So…I just had my wisdom teeth yanked out. Finally. I have been putting this off since I knew they were in my mouth. Having already been through the procedure once with four teeth prior to braces, I wasnt in much of a hurry to have my wisdom teeth removed.

Unfortunately, they were starting to bother and it was time. As much as I tried to wiggle out of it, it just had to be done.

I titled this more wisdom, because I had never undergone a surgery before where I was totally out. But after having lost 45 minutes of time at 9am on Tuesday morning due to an IV filled with I dont know what, I am much wiser for it. As one of my friends said to the nurses about his former operation “I dont want any part of this operation”. Wise words-I didnt either.

After getting over the anxiety of the drive to the appointment, imagining what it was going to sound and feel like, sitting in the chair, looking at all of the machines -it was fine-(the valium helped big time). It was over before it had begun.

I wobbled to the recovery room and sat down. I knew everything was okay when I heard Alan’s voice. Now I could start to get back to normal again.

Well, its day 3 and Im wondering when normal will happen again. It will come. Alan is having fun with me while it lasts…

That is a homemade matza ball in my soup. Notice the drugs to my right…

Here is my youtube site featuring videos of us, me and the animals. Plus some of my other faves.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mrskrb

Alan and I enjoyed a great day in Austin today.

We started out by sleeping in…9:30am. For some that might be early, but since I missed the CBS morning show that starts at 8am its late for me. Alan made us a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast and I enjoyed it with my coffee. We made a little time for ourselves to tour the internets a bit, looking at our various sites, catching up with friends and the news.

After I found out that the end of my day would be filled with bureaucracy in the shape of a “quick” budget meeting along with the addition of extra agenda items that i needed to prepare for, I needed to let out some energy. My first choice for us was to ride bikes. But all we had to do was walk outside to scrap that option.

ooooh! Barton Springs was my second choice! yay! I will admit it, I was a virgin. This was my first dip in the famed Barton Springs Pool and now I’m hooked.

We found ourselves a cozy little spot and watched-watched all of the shapes and colors walk by (shapes of people, colors of bathing suits). When we finally decided to jump in we were hot, sweaty and ready for the jolt of the 68 degree sting. Only for a second did you feel like you were having a mild heart attack, but soon we were used to the cold and it felt great. We spent several hours watching and enjoying a couple of dips.

On the last dip we decided to race across the pool. Even though Alan reached the other side by merely an inch, it was obvious that we were out of shape. I really wanted to beat him so I gave it all I had, apparently he did too. We struggled to climb the ladder to exit the pool. That was a hard race.

I found out that the aforementioned meeting might be cancelled. I stayed within earshot of my cell phone and decided to take Alan out for the best club sandwich in Austin at Cissi’s market.

The batting club is your usual club -but upgraded. Crisp, perfect bacon, marinated arugula, thick slices of turkey (not deli meat), avocados, tomatoes, and beautifully grill marked sourdough bread. Plus it doesn’t contain the extra piece of bread in the middle. I know that is standard for club sandwiches and I’m usually chastised when ask for it without, but I just don’t need anymore bread than the two pieces holding the insides together.

It did not disappoint. Then I got the call-meeting cancelled. Hallelujah!

What a great day.

-Kitty

Whoa! Alan narrowly missed a robbery at our local bank by 15 minutes. The time on his deposit slip states he was there at 10:47am.

-as reported by KEYE Austin police are investigating a bank robbery in East Austin.
It happened just after 11 a.m. at the Guaranty Bank, 5720 Cameron Rd. near Capital Plaza.
Austin Senior Police Officer Veneza Aguinaga says police are looking for two males. The pair entered the bank and demanded money. They left with an undisclosed amount of cash. Investigators don’t know if they used a vehicle to flee, but a STAR Flight helicopter searched the area for the alleged robbers.