Happy Centennial Grandma!

If she were alive still today, my mum's mother would have turned 100 years old today. I am lucky to have so many strong, independent women in my family, helping pave the way for my cousins and I to find a path of our own. Last year we had a Guthrie Family Reunion with all the cousins and relatives from this side of the family, and it was amazing to see such a strong group of friendly and fun people. My Aunt and uncle Pete pulled together all these old photos and documents, and compiled an amazing family tree.

Vera Florence Guthrie was born in 1912 in Edmonton, as the eldest of 9 children. She grew up in Grand Prairie, Alberta with her father working as a chef with a restaurant in town. She was quite tall, at 5'8", which is likely where my sister and I have inherited the height gene, as my mum is 5'10". Two of her brothers died in early childhood, but the 7 surviving siblings were quite close.

  Grandma and her youngest brother Bryan

Guthrie Siblings

 

Horseback riding in Grande Prairie

Family Photo 1945

She moved south to the big city of Edmonton after she was done school to work as a pianist. She had a very vibrant life in her 20s, playing an active role in the music scene and making lots of friends. At 28, my grandmother had a son who she gave up for adoption, who we had the pleasure of connecting with in January of 2005, two months before she died. As the 1940's were a different time than today, Grandma had never spoke of this and held it secret. I believe that her strength in overcoming her previous shame and embracing her son after all these years really illuminates that you can always grow and open your heart a little more, even at 92. 

Paddling

 Camping

 Grandma in Edmonton

During the war, she worked for the war effort in an administrative position and played at dances for troops. She could type on a typewriter as fast as she could play piano! She met my grandfather in her 30's after WWII and was 37 years old when she had my Aunt and 39 when she had my mum. They moved all around Canada in the following years, living in Calgary, Toronto and finally settling in Victoria in 1975. I grew very close to Grandma in my teenage years and during university, happily running errands with her and helping her around the house. Grandma was always an amazing pianist, her fingers still had amazing agility and speed into her 90's. Her hands never ached with arthritis or any other age related ailments, and other than a little bit of osteoporosis, she was very healthy and mentally strong into her 90s. Part of this is due to her walking group, getting out and staying social.

 Grandma in Uniform

 Grandma and Grandad, Heather and Laurie (My mum on right)

 Cruising in San Diego

Grandma Playing Piano

From Grandma, I learned the following life lessons that I will always carry with me:

Keep being active all through life

Make time to pursue your hobbies

Be brave and follow your heart

Follow your own schedule in life

Stand up straight, embrace your height (because you'll miss it when you shrink!)

It's never too late to swallow your pride

You can return anything

Bunsen

It's been almost a month since I brought home our new addition. If you are not aware, Niki and I got a puppy, an American Cocker Spaniel by the name of Bunsen. I picked him up three weeks ago from Victoria, where he was hanging out with the in-laws and his sister. As a side bonus, I was able to combine the trip into a hang out time with some of my greatest friends.

Bunsen is pretty adorable, a little stubborn, and likes to bite. The first night here I think he was a little sad, as he had been with his sister Pippin up until that point. The valet parking service at the Edmonton Airport really screwed things up, so it took me over four hours from landing to getting home. He handled it very well, and luckily traveling with a puppy makes everyone treat you well. The little guy is a lot of work, and requires vast amounts of attention. The first week here temperatures were around -30, so that made the house training difficult, but it has warmed up, and Bunsen seems to be getting it. We have a little bell system set up, and he's finally ringing the bells every time he needs to go out. Up until a couple of days ago, I was just taking him outside every hour, ringing the bell as I opened the door.
He seems to view Niki as a giant chew toy, so that's the next problem to work on. People say puppies are a lot of work, and that's a huge understatement. I am looking forward to him being full grown, not needing constant supervision, and out of the chewing stage.
I wish I had more pictures. We have taken a lot, but he's blurry in most of them. Wiggle wiggle wiggle.
Cheers,
Scott

Vancouver Island Christmas

Every other year Niki and I go to Victoria for Christmas. We love it. There are lots of puppy walks, good food, drinks, games and visiting with friends and family. It seems a few people decided to have a baby in the last year, so there are also a lot of baby pictures. I was finally able to meet one of my oldest and best friends new son, Niko. The little guy is adorable, and very healthy. Niki and I also found our own version of a baby, we are getting a puppy. His name is Bunsen, and he's a buff American Cocker Spaniel. I'm going back to Victoria on Jan 13 to bring him home. He was a little too young when we saw him to be taken away. His sister is going to Niki's sister Lindsay, and her name is Pippin. We're all very excited. As is tradition, we spent New Years in Campbell River with some very very good friends, the Lanyon family. We played a new to me game on New Year's Eve called Cards Against Humanity. The rules are very similar to Apples to Apples, but it is not for the easily offended. I will recommend it though, as I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time.
I didn't want to do a long entry, but just wanted to share our pictures from the holidays and say that while I didn't get to see everyone I would have liked, we had a perfect Christmas, miss everyone we saw, and love you all.
Cheers,
Scott

Thank You Past Scott

Scott with lots of mass density

On Sept 5, 2011 past Niki and past Scott made a lifestyle change. We started doing the "slow carb diet" found in the book The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferris. Past Scott was feeling inspired after hearing Ferris interviewed on The Nerdist. As well, my recent birthday, and license picture that went with it, were very depressing. Normally in those situations I say, "Screw you future Scott", and don't do anything, but not this time.
At that time I was 260lbs, and well on track to eating my way to 300lbs. I feel about food much in the same way an alcoholic would feel about beer, but maybe a little more so. Today, December 21, 2011, marks the point when the scale said 220lbs. I've probably also lost around 3 inches to my waist. Maybe a little more.
My goal was to hit that before Christmas. It's a few days early, but present Scott would like to thank past Scott for making a me positive decision. Present Scott really dislikes the word diet, prefers it to me more permanent, and will keep endeavouring to make me positive decisions. Hopefully future Scott can continue to enjoy being not obese, and having clothes that don't press uncomfortably against his belly. The fact that I don't consistently shove large amounts of delicious sugar based items into my mouth are in part due to my lovely wife Niki. If you would like to see a couple of examples of the food we have been eating, you can check it out at Niki's blog "The Slow Carbavore". That is about it, I encourage anyone to start making "you positive" decisions, it feels great. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Cheers,
Scott

Less mass density. mmm pie.

New York City

At the beginning of November, Niki and I flew to NYC for a Tim Minchin concert. Just for the weekend, a sort of whirlwind trip. It was fantastic, I love New York, and can see why people would live there. I would live there. It's a huge city, with everything you would ever want or need, with almost a small town feel. The people are friendly, and so many little shops and businesses. It's odd, whenever I travel I feel like the people should be different. I don't mean, like another culture or something, I mean different like in aliens from outer space different. This always leads to a little shock and sadness when they are just like us, but with accents and odd customs.

The Friday night we arrived was the Tim Minchin concert. He was witty, funny, touching, and a great artist. Everything a person would want in a concert. He sang all the songs I wanted to hear, and few I didn't know, but am very glad he included. Minchin did two encores, and led the entire theatre in singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". He said he loved travelling America, getting large groups of atheists together, then getting them to sing Hallelujah. That got a good laugh. The crowd singing was actually a very beautiful moment. After the show we waited around to get my DVD/CD combo signed. He was very gracious, though limited in time, and signed all he could. I got to say a few words, nothing embarrassing as is usual when a person meets someone they admire, and he even gave me a spontaneous hug. The whole trip was worth that one concert, and if you can ever see the man in concert, I highly recommend him.

Saturday was our day to check out the American Museum of Natural History and Central park. After the Minchin concert, AMNH was by far my favourite stop. I especially loved the "Hall of Human Origins". I talked to a PhD fellow about the mixing of Neanderthal DNA and human, saw lots of fossils, and generally went a little science crazy. The Fossil Hall seemed like it would never end, with giant turtles and even an Albertosaurus. It was fantastic. We only spent about four hours there, but a person could spend days. It alone could be a reason for a person to love NYC. After the museum we walked back to our Hotel via a lovely walk through central park. Stopped by Strawberry fields. We were lucky, as we didn't realize it, but Sunday was the NYC Marathon, so everything would have been closed off or really crowded. Our hotel, which was very nice, was close to Time Square, so we spent a lot of time walking to or from it, catching the subway there and whatnot. Saturday evening we checked out a comedy show at The Comic Strip. The comedians were funny, but unfortunately a few in the crowd did not know how to be a good audience. Hint, when you are at a comedy club, if you do or say anything but drink and laugh, you are a tool. We grabbed a pizza slice on the way back to the hotel.

Sunday was our walking and Broadway day. We meandered from our hotel, down through Little Italy, China Town, occupy wall street, Wall Street, and finally Battery Park. It was a lovely, albeit tiring, walk. I ate like a pig all weekend, had a mini pie every day, and didn't gain a pound. I didn't see many overweight people walking around, and I think I know why. If you live in Manhattan, you walk. Lots. The Lion King we saw at night. It was a great show and deserves all the accolades it has received. We even met a performer in Starbucks before the show. He noticed my poppy, as he was originally from Toronto. Asked what we were up to, and we said Lion King. He laughed and said he would be "2nd wildebeest on the left". Very nice fellow, wish I had taken a picture with him. We capped the weekend off with a visit to 30 Rock and going to the top of Empire States Building.

That is a quick summation of the weekend. It was a great trip, and I could probably type for pages on all the little reasons I love NYC. I suggest just planning a trip there yourself. More pictures below. :-)
Cheers,
Scott

August and Wedding Tips from Moose Jaw

The month of August has ended. This summer has gone by way too fast. I turned 32 sometime in there, which was a shocking reality. Niki had a book printed of all our blog posts so far, as my present. It's nice being able to turn the pages, see all the pictures and what we've done since we got married. Speaking of married, we went to Moose Jaw for a wedding of our friend Colin and his beautiful lady Kimberly. Even though we don't get to see him much, Colin is one of my favourite people. It was a very fun trip. The hotel we stayed at happened to be the location of the last Peter Gzwoski morning-side broadcast. Which made me all sorts of excited! My favourite morning side episode is his interview with Carl Sagan. I strongly recommend listening to it. We did the Chinese tunnel tour. Canada was not so nice to Chinese immigrants, holy racist batman! If you can ever do the tour, we highly recommend it. Most of all the wedding was great, the way weddings should be. I laughed a little more than usual, as Colin is prone to make me do. Fortunately, he didn't giggle uncontrollable through his vows. Thankful for that, would hate to be at a wedding where the groom did that...*cough* *cough*

Anyhoo, sad to see summer slowly winding down. Going back to my birthday, on that fine day, we ate some super hot wings, saw a fringe show, and generally had a good time. My car decided to catch fire. Saturday had a nice, it was my birthday, visit with the Klassens. As my womb evacuation day was on a Wednesday, we had a get together at my parents on Sunday, where Niki made a chocolate/raspberry trifle. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My favourite liquor store in the whole world also imported some beer I had been requesting from Denmark, so I drank that. All in all, a good month. September is gearing up to be even better, with Lindsay(sis-in-law) arriving tomorrow, so I should get back to cleaning the house.
Cheers,
Scott
PS - As always, more pictures can be had by clicking on this link and going to our Picasa pictures. 
PPS - Here is a video of very special song being sung at the wedding. It's apparently a tradition. I would say it's the best tradition ever. Unfortunately, I didn't get the whole explanation on why it's a tradition.

Edmonton Folk Music Festival 2011

The Secret Sisters

The Hill from the top

Mr Matt Andersen

Deep Fried Oreos

Our favourite fellow volunteers

     For the second year Niki and I volunteered as Liaison Security for the EFMF. It was fantastic. I had forgotten how much fun it was. The constant music, the colour of the hill filled with tarps and people, the food, and the general fun atmosphere. If you have never been, I suggest planning for next year. Tickets sold out in two hours this year, so it will definitely take planning. Or you can just try and volunteer like us. They feed you and you get to go to the volunteer party afterwards. Delhi to Dublin played this years party on Friday night, and we had so much fun dancing to their music. Made us instant fans. Niki and I also had dinner with Peter Brown one night in the volunteer tent. We very much enjoy his radio stylings and humour, so that was a treat. I was very excited, but tried to be cool. On top of hosting Radio Active, he is the producer of CBC's 'The Irrelevant Show'.
If you asked me for a quick list of my favourite performers from this year, I would say: Matt Andersen,  Brandi Carlile, KT Tunstall, Delhi To Dublin, and The Secret Sisters. I could name quit a few more, but those are the ones at the top of mind. I would suggest going to these artists web pages, and if they come to your town, go see them. Matt Andersen gave me goose bumps and no one does a Johnny Cash cover like Brandi Carlile. More pictures can be found here.
Cheers,
Scott

Edmonton Sunset

Hovan's Birthday Trip

All our tix

At the beginning of June I went to Victoria for a little trip to visit my friend Hovan, for his birthday. He's a proud new father, and as such doesn't get out much anymore. For his birthday his lovely wife let us watch movies, play video games, and generally do the things working and parenting full time don't let you do. We ended up seeing every movie playing at Silver City in Victoria. Hangover II was probably my least favourite, while I enjoyed all the others. That's a picture of all the movie tickets. The island seems to be fertile ground, so I also got to see some new babies, and see some about to be new babies. Feeling the baby who was going to be Niko move around inside my friend Yarrow was amazing. I've never felt a baby move around like that before, it was brilliant. All in all it was a good trip, and I am very much looking forward to Christmas when we get to go out there again. We did a stop at Phillips Brewery in Victoria too. They do this thing called a growler, and I got one and brought it back to Edmotnon. Alley Kat fills it up for me when needed, so that has me pretty happy. As always, more pictures can be found at my picasa albums.
Cheers,
Scott

Months of Photos

It's been a long winter, but spring is here. I've finally gotten around to putting up pictures of our last few months. A lot has happened. We went to Mexico, where our camera got stolen. Sad day. There was curling, Said the Whale and Tokyo Police Club, lots of board games, visits from friends, Logicon, a trip to Victoria to see friends and family. Many good times. The lack of a camera has been a bummer. Oh oh oh, I held baby turtles!! They are so cute. It was definitely the highlight of Mexico, especially since it was the wrong time of year to see baby turtles.
Just for you Brad, the victory shot of Rhonda after she DESTROYED us all at settlers last weekend. The caps was justified.

The viking helmet only gets worn by winners.
Here's the links to pictures of the last few months.

Make it stop

     The snow just won't stop. Although not a record breaker, no one has seen this much snow fall in awhile. My parents left for Hawaii just as it all started, the stinkers. I'm just really tired of shoveling, and hearing people on the Wimpy Coast say how cold and snowy it is. When you have temperature highs above zero and know your snow will melt shortly, keep your opinions to yourself please. I do like the cold in some ways though, and if I had a snow blower, I don't think I would care about the constant snowfall.

The new year has started off well otherwise, Irwin and Rita Harder stopped by Edmonton, so there was a mini Homewood get together. It was thoroughly enjoyable. Niki was unable to come as she had the cold that I gave her. Such a bad husband. Avoid the cold going around if you can, it seems to be one that likes to stick around for a couple of weeks.
I've uploaded some more pictures from December to our picasa albumns, 2010 ended well, we even got to see Santa.
Stay warm and drive safe,
Scott

How To Make Snickerdoodles

It's Christmas, and therefore it is Snickerdoodle time. If you google them, the first link to pop up is the Wikipedia entry. The picture in the entry is not how finished Snickerdoodles should look. They are too flat. I'm picky about how my Snickerdoodles look and taste, so I thought I would write a quick entry on how to make them.
The Recipe:
-1 Cup Butter or Margarine. One or the other, mixing them leads to improper doodles.
-1 1/2 Cup White Sugar.
-2 Eggs
-2 3/4 Cups Flour
-2 tsp Cream of Tartar
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1/4 tsp Salt
In a separate small bowl
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions:
 -Cream the butter + sugar + eggs in mixing bowl. This is important.
-In a separate bowl, blend the dry stuff all together. Dump and mix gradually into bowl with sugar/eggs/butter.
-Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or freeze for 2. I don't recommend the freezing. It never really works properly.
-After dough is cold, make a roughly one inch ball, and roll around in your bowl of sugar/cinnamon. It should not be that sticky.
-Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. That's a rough guide. They burn easily. It depends on your environment, stove, etc. In Alberta I bake at 340 and set the timer for 11 minutes. If they flatten out, you've messed something up. This is roughly what they should look like when you're done.

I like to dip mine in milk, and many in my family like them frozen. Oh, and I never make less than a double recipe. Making a single batch is just silly.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Scott

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since the last posting, since the Folk Fest I believe. We had a very active summer and fall. Niki's sister Lindsay got married. It was a great trip out west, in which we got to see lots of friends and family. We've had a few people come out for visits this fall, which was very enjoyable. Hopefully we can go west again in the new year and return the favour. The family had a big birthday party for my mom. It was the first time all four brothers had been together since Niki and I got married. Chris invented a new drink, Peppermint schnapps and diet coke, which we're calling the Christmas Nuke. Lots of concerts, games, the usual Neufeld activities. I guess usual activities for childless married couples :) I'm gonna just post pics of the last four months, peruse if you like.
Cheers,
Scott

Edmonton Folk Festival

Niki and I volunteered at the 2010 Edmonton Folk Festival. It was our first year volunteering, and it was amazing. We were on the security liaison crew, which basically meant we walked around and made sure everyone was OK. It was a blast. When you volunteer they feed you, and when not doing your work, you get to check out all Folk Fest has to offer. Even while working we could check out folk fest, as it was our job to walk around. My favourite show was Brandi Carlile. I had never heard of her before, but the way she rocked Folsom Prison made me an instant fan. Niki got to hear lots of Basia Bulat, which made her happy. I think we attended every single one of her work shops. Ben Harper put on a good concert, though he skipped a few of his hits.  There were so many great performers. The range of music was such that I think everyone could find an artist they would like. I even got to meet Peter Brown, one of my favourite CBC people. Our friend Shelley was a paying customer, so we were able to hang out with her, which made the festival even better. I could continue to rave, but I'll just say that we are definitely planning on volunteering again next year. Now we're off to Victoria.
Cheers,
Scott
PS I have embedded some of the videos we took of the music. It should work so that you can just click on the highlighted video, the video should just pop out and play. Let me know if it works for people.

Shakespeare, Camping, Weddings and What The Whale Said

Every summer I think the world spins a little faster. Time seems to have sped up.
Niki and I just returned from a wedding in Ft St John, which was also a big family reunion. The most remembered moment, for me, from the last weekend involves my Grandfather. He is 92, and a very blunt man. At one point, while everyone was visiting and walking around, he came up and put his hand on my shoulder. He had something he wanted to say and ask me. These are not his exact words, but he basically said.
"Your cousin Darryl has a business, is married, and has a baby coming. What's wrong with you? Don't you know how to do it? I know how to do it. I had six kids and a chicken farm."
I was a little speechless. What do you say when the patriarch informs you that you should have some kids by now? I did not want to say anything, I was a little scared he might start explaining things in more detail.
One of Grandpa's main joys in life is counting all his offspring. He loves telling people he has six children, thirty grandchildren, twenty four great grandchildren, with one in the hatchery. The hatchery would be Darryl and Laura's baby. It was pretty funny. I've now been told! I had better learn how to get things done.
A little side note, aunt Eileen played for the wedding. I was not able to get any videos of that, so I asked for a quick little concert after the ceremony. Forgive me Auntie, but I must share:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVa3jQnibNo
The weekend before this last one we were camping with some good Edmonton friends. My parents graciously lent us the truck and 5th wheel. I don't know if I would every want to camp in a tent again. Camping like you're an old man is awesome. I just wish we could camp with them again before the summer was out. Waking up to little voices talking to their food outside our window was a pretty great way to wake up. Especially if you don't have any responsibilities concerning said little voices.
A Said The Whale concert was also squeezed in during the last two weeks. Here's a video from that concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkrLYTiNf4g 
Cheers,
Scott

Canoeing and Concerts

It's been really rainy lately, not that I am complaining. Love the smell in the air, and I am not a big fan of heat. It's been sunny when we've needed it. Such as at the Bon Jovi concert last Thursday. Thank you Shelley for getting us $2 tickets, it was awesome!
Saturday we visited Aunt Kay in St. Albert and checked out St Alberts farmers market.  I love farmers markets, and all the free samples. Picked up some pie too. For the rest of the afternoon we boated down the North Sask with Aaron and Shelley. First time on the river for me, and I highly recommend it. A minor warning, if you have to go to shore as a result of liquid intake, make sure not to put ones foot down on an anthill. It's tricky to stop the ants from going up your legs and to take care of the whole reason you stopped on shore.
Sunday we had our first volunteers meeting for Folk Fest, which Niki and I are getting pretty excited for.
Tonight we're going to see Macbeth. We saw Much Ado when Niki's parents were out, so now it's time to see the other play on this summer. I've not been to a lot of live theatre, but I have yet to be disappointed when I have seen it.
Cheers,
Scott

Summer Time Visits and Fun

As of June 30, 2010, Niki and I have been married for three years. It's been pretty awesome, and I can't believe our wedding was only three years ago. It feels like forever! In a good way of course :)
Niki's parents, Laurie and Brian, were out for a visit to help celebrate. They brought the puppies, which was great. I really miss having a little spaniel around now. Such cute dogs. We really enjoyed the visit, and wish Victoria was closer. One of the bonuses of guests is checking out what Edmonton has to offer. We went to Telus World of Science, Canada Day Fireworks, Farmers Market and the Freewill Shakespeare Festival. Brian also dug us a beautiful little flower bed, and Laurie painted the fence. Last time they were here Niki had them working in the basement, but she decided to go easy on them this time.
My dad recently had a birthday, which Alley Kat kindly celebrated by choosing to release their anniversary ginger beer. We also check out a Capitals game, which the good guys won.
Ok Go came to town, it was a good concert. I just wish they did not have to always start so much later than the doors opened. I'm getting too old to wait that long.
I love the window shaking thunder storms we sometimes get. It's been awhile, but one rolled through the end of June. It was also the day Niki chose to bike home from work. So proud of her.
Cheers,
Scott

My favourite month

I love June. Longest day of the year, the full potential of summer, and it's usually not too hot. It feels like the month just started, and already Canada day is fast approaching. The concerts this month have been Xavier Rudd and The New Pornographers. I must admit, The New Pornos concert is the first time I have left a concert not liking the bad more than I went in. We've had celebratory BBQ's. Congratulations to Rob on officially being a PhD, and congratulations to Dave and Jeanette on their baby boy. Our friends Megan and Pam ran a half marathon. Very impressed. Niki tried to kill my mom by taking her on a super long bike ride. My cousin Madeline turned 16, but I refuse to acknowledge it. Oh, and the male cousins and I saw The A-Team. It was awesome. It might have been the fact that anytime something blew up, or amazing happened, Mike and Steve vigorously cheered. The G&T I sneaked in probably helped too. I would recommend the movie, just realize what type of movie it is, and have fun with it.
Cheers,
Scott

Wedding in May

May ended well for us. We had a great little trip out to Victoria for the long weekend. I had the honour of being a co master of ceremony with a friend. Thank you Erin. I think we rocked it, probably much due to your organizational skills. Not many of our pictures turned out, but it was a great wedding, you'll just have to trust me.
We have so many friends and family on the island, that even me getting mildly ill from a headache could not dampen the trip. We're looking forward to the next trip out for Lindsay and Chris' wedding.
Niki's work had a function at Northlands raceway, which I always enjoy seeing the horses, but did not enjoy getting my car broken into. A warning to all Jetta owners: If someone rams a screwdriver into your lock, it will open all your windows. Just get a mechanic to swap it out and have no manual lock. I sure wish someone had told me that.
The month was finished off having a guys day. We played Guitar Hero, had a variety of different beers, watched movies and generally relaxed. Good times.
Scott

17 bands in 10 weeks

I was thinking yesterday that this year has been quite heavy musically for me. I actually went back and counted up the bands and such I've seen so far this year. The grand total was a whopper: 21 bands, 29 including openers that I wouldn't have normally seen. In the grand scheme of the blog, I have decided to start documenting these concerts on an offshoot blog as a review, inspired by a friend's concert blog Life in Progress, Hopefully I can keep it up to date! I think I'll have a slower summer. April was a particularly crazy month for music; with 10 shows, six concerts in only 4 weeks. I am so lucky to have people around me that support this addiction, so I don't have to go to concerts alone (which may push me into the concertaholic category), especially my wonderful husband, with the help of whom I was able to win tickets to 4 concerts this year.
If you are interested in music, particularly live music, you can follow this offshoot blog: Notes from the Bourgeoisie. The first post should be up in the next few days.

Growing Older

     This little boy turned fourteen on Monday. Those are my he's wearing. It really does not seem that long ago I took that picture. I don't know if I like being that guy who can remember when all these kids were so tiny. Though I do enjoy being a member of a family that is constantly growing and is active.We had a paint ball party for the little guy on the weekend. Niki was the only girl on the field, and she definitely held her own. In fact, the only people that ever were able to shoot her were her husband and brother-in-law. It was a fun time.

One of my best friends is currently in Nepal. His lovely wife is helping bring babies into the world, and you can read all about their adventures here and here.
I don't remember when this picture was taken, but it sure made me smile. I have a lot of pictures that make me smile I wish were digital. Anyone have advice on a good picture scanner, that maybe has a multi photo input feed? It would be great to get all those old pictures into a quality digital format.
Scott

PS - It's our friend Pam's birthday today.
Happy Birthday Pam!!