Is in the house. In fact, it is burning down the house.



We have been in the mid-one thousands around here. But, it is a dry heat.

ACK!



It's sooooo pretttttyyyyyy

Oh how do I tell you that I bought a beautiful car that has no air conditioning during the summer time without sounding like a complete blonde? Oh wait, that is right, I am the same girl who owns a Fiat...no one is surprised.



Oh, forget it. I am a blonde, if not by nature, because of my obvious adulation of all things shiny and new, I must be in spirit.

Mom is doing well, I will be going to see her this weekend. It has been nice having my life back. I work late pretty much every night and bring work home with me. Knowing mom is on the mend is great. Her sister who lived in Oregon died over the weekend. She is pretty broke up over it. The sister had had some health issues the past couple of years but her recent serious decline came on fast.

  

Alak performing at Cesar Chavez Park in Sacramento for the Summer Sammies, my daughter is amazing

This weekend I attended the Summer Sammies Award performances in Sacramento put on by the local happening rag SN&R. On Saturday in the one hundred and seventy two degree heat. My son and I arrived around two-ish. My daughter had been nominated again this year. Last year she won in her category. This year she was able to perform at the big shin dig. Lots and lots of media. She deserves the attention.



The very cool thing about this, at least for my family and myself, is that, for many years the kids and I have attended quite a number of the concert in the parks over the summer season. So many cool bands at this downtown park venue. Very lively, a great place to people watch. All this great music. Bands the kids thought were so cool, bands that were friends of ours.



The cool kids are sitting in the left corner of this photo (your left)

This year, Jocelyn was the cool band. A couple of her friends also were invited to play. A number of her friends were nominated in a number of the categories. We hung out together after Jocelyn's performance with all the kids cool band mate buddies. We hung out in the beer garden where Jocelyn got me some free adult beverages that she was entitled to because she had performed. They got to be the cool kids! I had so much fun!



Sister Crayon, that is Jocelyn's friend and previous band mate Genaro on key boards (and I am in this picture! Kind of middle about three people over from the orange tent)  They had a terrific set

The awards were at the end. I was pretty exhausted from the heat and the long day. I was careful and drank quite a bit of water. But, we did not leave until 9:30pm. I was happy to be home and drank an ice cold beer then went to bed.



MOM is considered a bit of a mystery because she never shows her face

While Jocelyn did not win this year, the families friend Hayley, who goes by the moniker MOM, did win in that category (Outstanding Experimental). It made it all so cool and fun. We have known Hayley since the kids were in middle school. I met here when my son was in a band called Corporate Corpses, they had a show at a Rico's Pizza in Placerville. Hayley came up from Sacramento for the show. Michael was probably in seventh grade around that time. He went by Mohawk Mike. He had died his hair black and had a towering mohawk.



Natalie of Agent Ribbons

Another group that are good friends with us all, won a major award too! They won Outstanding Pop! I love these girls. The girls and the music!

  

Dog Party - they were quite the hit! The Power Pup Girls!

These girls are both probably in middle school and they were quite the power pop duo! They played several original tunes and then a TV on the Radio song. Me and the cool kids were blown away! Somebodies parents listens to good music! Whoa, besides me????



My son is so handsome. He is with his friend, Lindsey, in this photo taken by the stage.

My camera's battery died so I am quite fortunate to have found all these great photos on the web taken by a SN&R photographer who shared them on his Flickr site. Thank you Nick Miller. You made this mom very very happy! We had a wonderful day. Kind of a family day in the style of our family!

All Sac Sammie photos were taken by Nick Miller for SN&R

So's anyway... I think it is time to start celebrating my birthday!

And this, on Saturday morning Joc called and came to Davis for breakfast with her brother and I. Michael had come over to visit, he is just back from a two week mini tour up to Washington and back. We had a nice breakfast and I headed out to help some friends that were moving up to Washington. This would be my friend Fawn and her fiance. He is a tattoo artist. In fact, they are moving to Olympia as he has a job in a tattoo shop up there. They are both excited.

Anyhoos, I offered to help them clean their empty place. Which I headed out to do. When I told Jocelyn what I was doing she asked if maybe she could get the matching tattoo that morning. Kind of short notice but  I thought I would ask

They said they would do it. Joc came over and got the "Mankind Kindman" tat on the back of her neck in red with a small self designed glyph. Her first tattoo!

Now, I am next. I will have to find an excuse to drive to Olympia but I am sure a road trip is in my cards!

Tomorrow I am taking Mom home.



YES! HOME!

You can only imagine how happy she is. I am so happy too.



I am so mean...but isn't this recovery picture awesome?

For very true reasons because she is definitely steadily improving and doing better daily and selfishly because it will be so wonderful to just go home after work.

Work is so so so busy. I work late every night and usually work through most of lunch. Going right home afterward instead of fighting traffic and sitting around a hospital room only to go home to finish up work (this I will still do...) I needed to take home is going to be so amazingly awesome.



I am always on the go...

I have not really had much of a chance to sit around on my new couch.

Poor poor pitiful me...you know it is not true. I am just whining. Being a baby ass.



My son is heading out on the road for a mini tour. He has come to hang out with me for a couple of days. It is really nice to have him around, if only for a couple of evenings after work.



This is a 1974 model, the antenna on mine is on the back

I did in fact bring that sweet little Benz home. It is sitting in my carport right now. This is a cute little car. I will not be able to drive it much til next week. I have my mom's Jeep, my Fiat is being extremely persnickety this time around. More headache then head turner. Knowing that mom would be coming home any time, I left the convertible at her place and have been borrowing her Jeep since the weekend. I will have to drive her Jeep home for the night after taking her home since the Fiat's head lights sometimes work and sometimes...not so much...It is so very very Italian.



I look forward to settling into a more homebody mode so very soon. I want to hang around my place and get my backyard in shape for summer. Mowing and weeding and spray testing the mister. It is finally heating up to the higher digits around here. Finally...half way through June. Can you believe it?



My son tells me of a Placerville local who goes by the moniker "Hangtown Homeboy", who, during the Brewfest, climbs this very bell tower and rings the bell managing to escape the cops every year...true or so I hear...

I have managed to squeeze in a little fun and rabble rousing in between long stretches of nothing. The weekend following this one is Brewfest in Placerville. I will go stay at my friend Kim's place. We will mill and swill. Her couch is reserved for me to stumble on to. I have confirmed my reservation this very eve. I will have to alert my Placerville Posse of my arrival.



I do mean YOU!

Thank you for coming around and commenting and supporting me through this trying time. Life is life, for all of us, when times seem tougher than usual there is no group of people that I can count on more to rally around and see the bright side no matter how dimly I present it than each and every one of you xanga-neighbors. I love you all.

Thank you!
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