it snows in the desert

one of the reasons i moved to Tucson was to get out of cold crusty snowy winters. last night there was a pretty good snow storm here in middle of the desert. i was working hard in my little pink home office last night freezing my ass off (you might say 'ya right, freezing in Tucson' but we only have space heaters in our house and when it gets cold enough to snow, they don't do a whole hell of a lot) when a good friend called me up and asked if I had looked outside recently. as I hadn't left the computer for several hours, i promptly went out on the front porch to find at least an inch of snow making the ancient cactus in our front yard very sad. it was snowing and it was sticking. my car was covered, the street was white, the poor desert plants were shivering. of course, the batteries in my camera were dead, but I did manage to get a crappy phone pic of a tiny snowperson at the park today (all the snow still hadn't melted at 10 this morning!). look at that sad little thing - it doesn't even have boobs or a pecker!

there are a bunch of much better photos of the January 2007 Tucson snow storm at flickr.

ugly glasses

i went to santa rosa to visit my family right before christmas. when I arrived, my mom pulled this picture out and said, "Look what I found!" My reaction was immediate and swift, "Mom, how could you have let me wear glasses so ugly?!" Check out those gigantic plastic circles on my face (and my fab 80s mullet).

Her reply, "It was the 80s, those were the only glasses available. Besides you should see what I had to wear when I was a teenager." In this picture my mom is about 13 and had just received a very special home perm from my grandmother. I love this picture. Those glasses, that dress, the hair, the nose (my brother, once he was able to breathe again after laughing so hard, asked, "did somebody punch you in the nose right before this picture was taken?").

some tancretos visit tucson

it's been a while since I updated this poor little blog. had a visit from my folks and aunt Peg and uncle Jim last month. I took Mom and Peg to Tohono Chul Park, where Peggy had a run-in with a jumping cholla cactus, while Dad and Jim went to watch Cal lose to the wildcats because Jim didn't wear his lucky clothes, or something like that. We all went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where we saw a raptor free-flight demonstration - owls and hawks and ravens and such flying around and buzzing the crowd. it was cool, but i don't have any pics - can you send me those, Dad? we ended up at Caruso's for a real eye-talian dinner that night, drank some wine and heckled some of the cute waiters and bussers (well, that was mostly Peggy).

together again

me, minnie and justin
Originally uploaded by sparkypants.

i had a micro-reunion with Minnie and Justin in Vermont last weekend. Lindsey and I flew to DC, where Justin retrieved us from the airport. Friday, Lindsey set off to visit Suze and Nick in Anapolis, while Justin began our 12 hour drive to Vermont. We had a blast wandering around Burlington (visiting all possible dog parks), dancing at retronome, and laughing until we nearly peed ourselves. click the photo for more pictures from beautiful vermont.

gossip on swan island with mika miko

last night the Gossip played at Plush in Tucson. We arrived just in time to be surprised by the first opening band, Swan Island, who grabbed my attention from the first old-school hard rock guitar riff to the last. I immediately got my hands on their debut CD and a button for my bag. Mika Miko were entertaining and energetic, and I was absolutely captivated by their drummer, Kate Hall. Finally, the Gossip came on and did not disappoint. I have been wanting to see them live since forever. the large undeniably danceable sound that trio can make with just one guitar, one drum set, and one voice is remarkable. and Beth Ditto is as hot in person as you would think. she came into the crowd and danced with Sallypants causing both of us to squeal like little girls. sorry, no pictures, i was too busy dancing to bother, but rusty wasn't - i got some from him. All three bands are on myspace, so go there if you are interested in hearing what they sound like:

Swan Island MySpace
Mika Miko Myspace
The Gossip MySpace

Leslie and the LYs

Leslie Hall, keeper of thyn gems, graced Tucson with a de-speachifying show last Thursday. Leslie and the Doctor performed all the hits, bestowed names on 5 local gem sweaters, and even showed up at Dougie's afterparty. I was seriously blown away by Leslie's energy, humour, faith in the gems and, especially, her dancing. Douglas and Logan were two of the lucky to be on stage with her and had the incredible honor of supporting Leslie as she flew through the air suspended from a two-by-four. It was magical. Behold Leslie and friends after the show. See all the pictures at flickr.

brought to you by unions

we got out of town for a quick trip to Sedona and Wet Beaver Creek over the labor day weekend. the line of cars getting off the freeway and headed into Sedona was discouraging, but Sedona's beauty overwhelmed all that. after visiting with the Deeds household and Sheila, we headed off to the best swimming hole ever. nobody was there, the water was refreshing and cold, we swam and slept naked on the red rocks. i am refreshed. of course, i forgot the camera, but here is a picture from a previous trip to the wet beaver.