11.30.08 JOY

I crashed the Belle Plaine JOY session this morning. They do it up with blueberry pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and of course, bubbly.

11.29.08 Thanksgiving - Round Two

Ma Green cooked up some mean casseroles and pies. There was enough food to feed the entire town of Wellington. It was delish and, after two Thanksgiving feasts, I should probably take a break from eating until 2009.

11.28.08 peace biscuits

That's Denise flashing a peace sign while her mama mixes the sausage and gravy we later poured over buttery biscuits. As you can see, the nonstop Thanksgiving noshing didn't stop on Thursday night.

11.27.08 the tryptophan has set in

The post-Thanksgiving meal nap is for all of God's creatures. Here's a short film I created of the meal that put this sleepy spell on all of us.

11.26.08 went to school

I watched Lexi this morning while her folks did some shopping. We played a game she created called “school,” which oddly resembles her school routine. The children (Beanie Babies for us) play, read, eat and nap. A naughty note is sent home if they don’t behave and that’s what Ms. Lexi is crafting in this photography. The little kitty to the left did not nap and, even worse, pushed a classmate.

I remembered that I also watched Lexi on the day before Thanksgiving in 2005. She was far too little then to be writing naughty notes, instead she spent most of the time gnawing the turkey bag box.

11.25.08 I now use cruise control all of the time

I rode around with a police officer while he pulled people over for speeding. This outing brought up some bad memories of my brush with the law.

He told me that even though I broke the law by exceeding the speed limit, I'm not a bad person. This made me feel better.

We also talked about one of my favorite shows (and his, too), "Dexter." I learned by watching that show that police departments pay people to be confidential informants. I told him that I have some acting skills and wondered if I could get the job. He told me that NObody would ever sell me drugs and I wouldn't know how to find them. Um, I guess that's a compliment.

11.24.08 Yard-O-Beef

I purchased this today. It's a sign that Thanksgiving is almost here. All of my loved ones love the Yard-O-Beef.

11.23.08 it's beginning to look a lot like a Cajun Christmas

The Mudbugs spent some time in the studio recording our Christmas song. It's good. It's real good and I can't wait to share it very soon.

We also managed to squeeze in a photo shoot (something we hadn't done since Juliah became our washboard player earlier this year). Here's one of the outtakes. I'm secretly firing the trigger with a hidden remote in my right hand while going in for a kiss at the same time. I've got talent.

11.22.08 champagne wishes and flaming cheese dreams

Celebrated Denise and Mike's birthdays with beautiful drinks (that's a floating raspberry in champagne) and FLAMING cheese.

11.21.08 Sweat & The Frigid City

I shot this running self-portrait after I took a group photo at the last day of Shocker Fitness. It was brutally cold this morning. 

11.20.08 not your traditional symphonic instrument

Kentucky White was a guest performer with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. They orchestra played Americana music for just about every elementary student in the metro area. Kenny played a few solos on the banjo and talked about its history. 

11.19.08 it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

That's Denise, her mama and me in an ornament at Dillard's. We're really good at taking department store photos.

11.18.08 spotted on Brian's desk

Hmm...very interesting.

11.17.08 It's gonna be a Cajun Christmas

Spent the day in the studio writing and recording a Christmas song for the Mudbugs. Somehow we managed to rhyme jambalaya with Christmas pie-ya. I know you can't wait.

Here's last year's holiday song. This year's is gonna be much more raucous.

11.16.08 cuzzins

Lexi enjoys some fall frolicking with her cousins Jack and Joe. The boys are here all week while their folks fiesta in Mexico. Denise is holding up well.

11.15.08 He thinks I'm high-larious, Part II

I shot portraits of Joanna's family today. As you can tell, I'm quite funny with the pre-school set. He's an easy crowd, though.

11.14.08 Blixie

This is her shy pose.

11.13.08 the Snapple Lady

I shot my Wendy bobblehead for a blog game that's going around.

11.12.08 from the rooftop

It's getting dark way too early. Not a big fan of shorter days.

11.11.08 neighborly visit

The crazy Kansas wind tore a piece of my fence off while I was away. I came home to find my neighbor's dog chilling in my backyard. 

11.10.08 Noah Webster and Barack Obama

Spotted this scene at Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School in Hartford, Conn. That's where Carla went to elementary school and where her monkeys (Jackson and Georgie) now attend. Everyone there looks like they work at Target since the dress code is red and khaki.

I also saw this very clever student council campaign poster. 

11.09.08 Italian weddings = limoncello

Went to another wedding with Carla. This one involved an Italian family and a lot of homemade limoncello (three shots for me at the request of the bridal party).

Those are chocolate shot glasses on the dessert bar. Yummy!

11.08.08 cops and cuffs

I shot a police officer's wedding today with Carla who had a brilliant idea of chaining the bridal party together with the groom's handcuffs. The photos turned out great and everyone was successfully freed at the end of the shoot.

11.07.08 large New England leaves

Those are Carla's Converse sneakers in a pile of gigantic leaves in Farmington, Connecticut. No trick photography was used - those leaves are really that freakin' big! It was off the heazy fosheezy.

Robin, can you help me out? What kind of tree is this?

11.06.08 the friendliest skies ever

I flew to Connecticut today and (for some strange reason I will probably never understand) I was put in business class for the flight from Chicago to Hartford. I will not question the airline gods who have punished me several times throughout the years, only thank them.

Unfortunately, I can now never return to coach. I have seen the promised land and it is alright with me. Here's to hoping the same snafu occurs on my flight home.

11.05.08 spotted on a bathroom stall

Information is power and no toilet paper in a stall is a good bit of info to know.

11.04.08 Obama wins

A tearful Emmadell Robinson hugs her granddaughter after the announcement that Obama had been elected President. I was at an Obama watch party that was filled with  joy, tears, lots of hugs, hollers and champagne. Here's the video I made.

Oh, and check out this photo Travis Heying shot when Obama visited Kansas earlier this year. Look for a pink jacket and a camera and you'll find me. I'm sure I got a great photograph of the back of his head. 

11.03.08 a spooky election eve

Spent some time beneath a bunch of birds this evening. Thankfully, they didn't leave me any souvenirs.

11.02.08 Chinese emperor

This is the hot item for sale at World Market (model not included). The pillow was made in China and the model was made in Michigan.

11.01.08 the newest Mudbug

Evelyn "Evie" Grace Ewing arrived on November 1, 2008 at 1:13 a.m. She's the second daughter born to our accordion and washboard players. In about six months, she'll be able to wear this gift I made for her. 

We played a gig that started twenty hours after her arrival. Greg made it to the show, but Juliah didn't. We decided to excuse her since she was still in the hospital, but we are all questioning her dedication to the band. Congratulations!

10.31.08 a haunting Halloween kitchen

Nobody was harmed in the making of this photo (in fact, you can see the ketchup in the background).