Around nine o’clock we had one of those momentary glimpses of what amounts to neighborhood chaos: picture a white pickup truck, front driver-side wheel folded limply under the vehicle, swerving and accelerating down the street in front of our house. Now picture him doing multiple u-turns, slamming into the curb and at least one [...]

Scenario: Derek and I stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream after a less-than-taxing visit to the lumber yard. As is typical for this particular location we are nearly the most senior people in the building, the restaurant itself employing kids of a median age of roughly fifteen years old, and the bulk of the [...]

EDMONTON (Starkware Press Service) - Residents of a south side neighborhood are relieved this morning at reports of a conclusion to the week-long standoff between homeowners and an unwelcome invader in the north-eastern corner of the small municipal territory. Authorities have confirmed that following a stalemate of failed negotiations for a peaceful settlement to the [...]

I was just thinking that the cube van with the scrolling advertisement panels, the one that drives up and down the highway and around major city streets giving exposure to paying customers in what amounts to an ever-changing mobile billboard, would do much better were it driven by someone who had some driving skill. [...]

December 20
The folks at Karin’s work must like her. They keep inviting her to staff functions — parties, meetings, and other gatherings with food and such — despite the fact that she’s still on maternity leave for another nine months.

Day 20: Little Miss Grumpy, fighting The Sleep Monster once again.

Today, yet again, they asked [...]

As it happens Derek, Shannon, and LuLu are in town for a few days and we met up at Red Robin for dinner this evening.
We arrived at roughly the same time, and actually ended up meeting in the parking lot. We tottered towards the door, four adults and a one-year-old slow to reach [...]

It’s that time of year again. I spent the evening at a volunteer orientation for the Fringe, rehashing the procedures and getting my four shifts of photographing assignments. It’s a great opportunity because:

I (literally) get a press pass to take public photos at an event with international prestige and attendance.
I get solid critique [...]

It’s like a little chunk of family history coming to an end. Last night the sale went through on Grandma’s house and sixty-plus years of the little island of refuge and stability amidst the bustle of the city passes into a memory. Grandma, of course, is happily getting settled in her new home [...]

December 21
Five Twenty One. The dense autumn air stretches the moments between the cracks in the sidewalk, calling out to find a whisper that dampens the impending second of solstice dawn. The season fades, leaking one last oozing chill across the city, the fading light of that now distant sun spanning towards the waft [...]

For the twelve months that Sparkle has been living with us she’s been sheltered from the deeper cultures of the city. We haven’t avoided them ourselves those large people-things, events of congregation in the streets and parks, thousands of citizens gathering for food or fun, fancy and free. But Sparkle, and her country-bumpkin upbringing, [...]

I’m sitting on the deck with the laptop, drinking coffee, and checking my email. I need to write a blog post because as I sit here a man drives up to the construction sites behind us. He hops out of his red SUV, loads up a dozen pieces of brand-new lumber from the [...]

I guess that means my warantee is up. Karin and I celebrated yesterday by ordering pizza and falling asleep in front of the television. That memorable date June 8, 2005 is when we took possession of our house and spent the day moving junk across the city. It was raining then, too, [...]