Good news -- the Ghostbusters game for the Wii is very authentic and fun for fans of the movies.

Bad news -- it's not M'e friendly, apparently. Certainly not in two-player mode. Played yesterday for about 20 minutes with David and had to quit because I was becoming nauseated. Will probably try one more time in single player mode, in case that helps with the vertigo, but I'm guessing I just can't handle the POV. Will probably have to stick with Lego Indy, etc.

Good news -- nature provided entertainment for us last night with a great summer monsoon! And the spadefoots came out to celebrate!

Sadly, at present, that literally applies to Karma. She got to make a special trip to the vet's last week, because I came home from San Diego and thought she looked like she had wet patches on her legs, because they were a darker color than they'd been when I left. Further analysis led to the conclusion that her legs were dry, and looked darker because she's had patches of hair fall out. Dr. has examined her and she is on thyroid meds for a month in hopes they will be able to effect a short term remedy. She may have developed a thyroid problem from her previous Klingon forehead infection experiences, sad to say...

Also, mangling mutt. G'nort was very pleased to see me come home the other night, and scratched my leg with his vicious little claws. We forget that we need to cut his nails on a more frequent basis because he's not heavy like the girls, and doesn't wear them down naturally. Hope the leg will heal and not be an unintentional Zombie fashion statement by Comic-Con.

No particularly remarkable stories about Stormy at present, other than resurgences of butt-headedness.

Accidentally stranded Will on the carport freezer this AM by removing the Santa Fe and reparking it. Fortunately she was amenable to being assisted down by hand. She's actually been here almost a year now, for which we are appreciative. It's pretty exceptional for an outdoors cat here at the ranch.

June has been busy.
Apparently.

Proving, as usual, that he has a better work ethic than moi, Jeff has documented some of the sights and experiences of our June 13  Sedona trip on his blog in a much more timely fashion.
I'll add that the friends we saw all too briefly in Taylor were coppervale  and family, and there was PIE, as well as a chance to play at a busman's holiday at Crossroads Books.
Also that we stopped at the Pickle Barrel Trading Post in Globe along the way, and not only found a gift for my b-i-l's birthday, but a great scrap metal armadillo for our yard. Great fun. And I later got to discuss armadillo passion with Jeremy. :)

The trip was pretty long -- it took us as long to travel to Sedona as it might to reach San Diego, given our indirect route, but well worth it, esp. as we saw many parts of AZ that were entirely new to me.

David was at his NURC competition in Phoenix, so Saturday was a nice "couple" day for Jeff and me. We started at Sedona Sweet Arts for breakfast and spent the morning on a short hike to look at the Red Rock scenery . We detoured by the Tlaquepaque stores and galleries, where we saw many wonderful creations far beyond our budget, but I did get a new pair of green glass earrings at the Kuivato Gallery, where our favorite art was the wonderful pieces with glass fish by a Japanese artist.  Lunch was at The Black Cow Cafe -- we probably should've just had ice cream for lunch, as my smoothie was delicious, but their actual lunch item selection was kinda small. I love their standing 15% discount for locals policy! 

Kris and Joe hosted a great workshop at The Well Red Coyote for Jeff and COLD BLACK HEARTS, and we enjoyed having some author / bookseller / bookseller / author / (musician!) chatting time. WE spent some time exploring a little more of the outdoors, then had an entertaining and very filling diner at the Red Planet Diner before our date at The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. Sadly, we did not spot the very good Elvis impersonator performing at the little coffee shop near the theatre until it was too close to show time to be able to go inside and listen.

Sunday AM included breakfast at the Coffe Pot restaurant, with its nice outdoor seating and 101 omlette menus. Then we headed to Phoenix and retrieved David after the conclusion of his NURC competition.

A couple of days at home to do laundry and let the dogs sniff the suitcases, and then David and I were back on the road, headed for San Diego for separate trips. We traveled to the airport together, and stopped at Babycakes before he went to Max's and I went to
untamed_sylph  and Tim's. I suspect this will become a new regular stop. Yum! We had a nice dinner at Sipz (also recommended), and actually had time for conversations, which was more than I managed with many friends during my visit.

Thursday AM I drove to meet my friend Lori in Carlsbad at the Argyle restaurant at the Four Season resort's golf course, which was the perfect setting on a lovely June day for a girlfriends' lunch. Then it was back to MG to meet and brainstorm and enjoy time actually speaking to each other in person with Patrick and Terry.

Friday and Saturday I enjoyed breakfast at the Original Pancake house, which was perfect, since it meant I could have a half order of Hawaiian pancakes one day, and a half order of pecan pancakes the next time. I satisfied all of my cravings without giving myself indigestion. Spent time just with Patrick that afternoon reviewing our plans to date for Comic-Con (BTW, check out marysgarage1 's rant on "Girls at Comic-Con" if you haven't already). Dinner was at the very tranquil Bali Thai in the Valley, with my dearly beloved and I don't get to see her nearly enough friend, Martha. I spent most of Saturday working in the back room at the store, but occasionally being able to be a bookseller and interact with customers -- yay! Then I headed towards the airport, with just a brief stop at Bread & Cie for a salad and chai tea for lunch. Where I ate yet another cupcake.

While traveling, I read VAMPED by varkat  (fun! with surprising background complexity) and MISSING MARK by Julie Kramer(fascinating insights into investigative journalism -- sorry I will miss her July event).

Then I came home and reimmersed myself into Comic-Con preparation, barely raising my head long enough to wish Jeff a Happy Father's Day.

How's your mid-June treating you?

On the kind of day when one most needs the comforts of chocolate -- because everything is just ever so slightly off, and annoying -- one's more likely than not to spill chocolate. More than once. On both stainable shirt and pants. :: sigh ::

And I can't decide which is more astonishing -- the fact that during the pantry invasions, neither the remains of  my chocolate Easter bunny nor David's fell victim to the ants, or the fact that it's June and we still have bunny remains to consume...

As the boy's underwater robot building continues (but only through this coming weekend -- NURC), Jeff and I continue to sacrifice work time to parenting and "hey, no trust fund, so you'd better have great extracurriculars" transportation.

Yesterday we made the rare choice to travel to Sierra Vista together during the week, as we were meeting friends for dinner immediately after robotics. We both took work to do at the Sierra Vista Public Library (rapidly becoming a home away from home). But we also took time to have a nice lunch together at the Baker's Flor (okay sandwiches, good cookies, GREAT cakes!) and then go onto Fort Huachuca and visit the historical museum. Fortunately we have been on base in the past, since the main road was under construction, and we were very confused by the gate guard's "directions." We eventually found the park area and visited the Historical Museum. Much, although not all, of the history is about the experiences of the Fort's Buffalo Soldier companies. Well worth the half-hour meandering on base, and the hour spent at the museum. We will have to return sometime for the Annex and the Military Intelligence Museums we didn't have time for yesterday.

We enjoyed our time with our friends and their kids (David's best friend Quincy and his family) at Peter Piper Pizza, where they appear to have invested some time and effort into improving their food, rather than relying on their arcade to draw diners.

Then we came home to discover the dogs found the mesquite pods we'd missed in the corral. Digestive problems abounded. :: sigh ::

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm154317.htm

Dear Swallows:

We are thrilled that you survived the winter and returned to our carport with your parents this spring. We hope your parents successfully raise more chicks on top of the carport light, since we have surrendered that battle. However, you really need to find a different spot to build your nest. One that's not on top of the insect zapper.

Sternly,

Us

Not So Dear Ants:

The purpose of spraying insecticide on the perimeter of the house yesterday was not to suggest you relocate inside, and invade the pantry.

No love,

Us

*****

Dear Will:

We are aware that you have mad hunter skills. Good on you. Could you maybe not hunt owls, though, since they also eat rodents and other not-wanted-by-the-humans critters? Or at least not barf up the owl bits that don't agree with you in the laundry room, attracting more ants?

Thanks!

Love,

The humans

*****

Dear Dogs:

If you are going to bark at something invisible and inaudible to us, and then fail to explain to us in English why you are barking, you are going to have to reconcile yourselves to our inaction.

Love,

The humans

Went to Jeff's signing at Atalanta's yesterday. When we arrived, we were a little surprised to see the author we thought was signing from 12 to 2, instead was apparently signing from 12 to 4, overlapping Jeff's 2 to 4 signing. Owner Joan went out and helped the author condense her books on half of the signing table, then we gathered up COLD BLACK HEARTS and Jeff's other books, and set up his side of the table. Once the books were in place, I thought it would be polite to strike up a conversation...

Me: "So, you're a local author as well. Do you live in Sierra Vista?"

B.J. Kurtz: "Yes. I'm your son's math teacher."

:: facepalm ::

In our defense, we only met her once at the beginning of the year, and just hadn't closed the Ms. Kurtz Math Teacher / B.J. Kurtz Author loop in our brains.

The new tea cozy is definitely made of win, and wonderful at keeping the tea in the pot warm without reheating! Score!

However, if you leave a mostly full mug of tea on the counter to completely cool, it is difficult to add enough still warm from the pot tea to make up for the neglect.