Me too, Eddie Rabbit

Morning, actually.
On my way to work.

Daylight tries to break.

But Mother Nature wins.
And I wish I had umbrella.

Colonoscopy thing

You're older than dirt. At least that's what your kids tell you.
You can't remember what you had for breakfast most days.
The carpet and the rug are both a little threadbare and faded.
Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Bottoms up, baby.
It's time to get thee in to thy friendly neighborhood colonoscopist.
Pronto.

Been there, done that.
I'm here to tell you, it's a piece of cake.
But don't take my word for it.

Cut and paste the address below into your browser and take a few minutes to read Dave Barry's thoughts on the subject of his colonoscopy.
He'll explain why he made the appointment and all....
......well, almost all the details of how it went.
No one has ever described it better.

Now, go read what one of my favorite humorists has to say.
And then come back, because Mr. Barry left out one tiny little detail......

Go on, now. Go read:

www.miamiherald.com/418/story/427603.html

(Cut away to Jeopardy ticking clock song here......)

duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duhhhh
duh-duh-duh-duh-dee-duhduhduhduhduh
duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duhhhh
dee

dee dee dee
dee. dee. dee.

While you were away reading, I Google'd the subject of Colonscopy and found the Internet to be a bottomless wealth of information. I realized that I am a little behind in my research on the subject. I assume most people my age are smarter than me about these things......
...butt .......maybe I am wrong.


Here's an interesting little factoid for you.

In a study at a well-respected university, physicians offered Ear Buds
to colonoscopy patients so that they could listen to music while
they underwent the procedure. The study did not detail the patients
tunes of choice, but it certainly begs the question, doesn't it?

Baby Got Back?
I've Got You Under My Skin?
Honky Tonk Badonkadonk?
I've Got Friends in Low Places?
Dancing in the Dark?
Cuts Like a Knife?

Ok, sorry.
I'll stop.



So anyway, you read Dave Barry's article in the Miami Herald and now you know that you have nothing to fear. The preparation is fairly miserable but you endure it in the privacy of your own home and certainly won't die from it. The colonoscopy procedure itself is just what he says:
a piece of cake.

There is just one itty bitty thing that Dave Barry forgot to mention.
It's not THAT big of a deal. But when you wake up and it's all over and you're lying there thinking to yourself, "wow, that was no big deal" you will, as your mind begins to clear, become aware that you are in a recovery room full of other patients and nurses.

As you listen, it becomes evident that the nurses are on a mission.
They are coaches, in a sense. Directors, perhaps is a better word.
And you have one more important job to do before they'll let you go home.

You have to join what I think of as the Post-Colonoscopy Chorus.
At first, it'll be weird. But it won't take long before you realize
you're just another voice in the chorus and you'll join right in like
you've all been friends for years.

"Come on, everybody!" your Nurse/Choral Director will say....

"One, two three...fart, everybody! No one goes home until they've passed all of that gas!"
And you will. You'll fart like nobody's business.
With gusto!!!

Yup, it's Spring.....

Three baby showers in one week.
A sure sign of spring.

Matt and Kelli are expecting twin boys real soon.
Kelli and I graduated together last year and our class thinks new babies on the way
are a great excuse for a little bit of a reunion.

Big sister Makenna knows there are two babies on the way and she is
real excited about little brothers. She was born while her mom was in school with us.

Can we play shower games?

Deep thought and consideration as we all try to figure out if Demi Moore had freckles and nerdy glasses when she was a kid.

(Note to classmates who couldn't attend - Shaylon's restaurant opens in June!
Locust Mall. Tell all your friends!)

Although he was a complete novice to the shower game thing,
Jerry cleaned up.

And while Kelli opened her gifts....



Paula, who raised twins of her own, shared a helpful hint involving the use of Karo Syrup. Let's see, I think she said they were called sugar ti..............eh-hem. Well, let's just say it was a very helpful hint and very educational for some of us.

More gifts.

Cake.

And hugs from great friends.
It was a fun night. Let's do it again real soon.
Ok, Class of 07......who wants to get pregnant so we can throw a party?????

Good luck Matt, Kelli and Makenna.
Can't wait to meet the baby boys!

And another baby in Chicago....

This little baby already has a great nickname,
they call him the little BarFit MisFly........

Nawww, I'm not gonna explain that.

Family, biking buddies and friends from Carl's came to Chav's shower --- a party that broke from tradition: instead of shower games, the girls turned us all loose with markers and paint to custom-decorate little onesies for the baby boy that she and Dana are expecting this spring.

There was plenty to eat, but everyone was pretty intense on the creative mission-at-hand. Mama-to-be and several of the girls are all art-school graduates.
You'd think that might intimidate the heck out of everyone else.

Notsomuch.

How quickly time passes.

Students with back packs turn into new mommies with diaper bags. It feels weird at first.
(Are we really old enough to be parents? When we still feel so much like kids ourselves??)
Yep. I remember. I always tell new mom's to enjoy every minute, that babies grow quickly. And I tell them to have fun. These girls have the right idea. They'll do things their way.

I think they're going to be great moms.

Form and color on a grey day

I work with artists. There are over 100 of them in our building. We have craftsman woodworkers and cabinetmakers, designers, engravers, painters, seamstresses and artists that work with wire and metal. Only these artists will truly understand when I say that during our work week we collectively spend our time seizing the day, living life to the fullest, cherishing family and frequently respecting others, eating good food and of course, sharing. Every now and then we kiss the cook, take walks, hike the dunes and (don't tell anyone) but a few years ago, every now and then we'd make time for...........

..........well, our artists will know what I mean.

Anyway.

When the work day is over our artists lay down their work pencils, burners, brushes and leave the recognizable style of our company's product line inside the building. Many of them go straight home and pick up the tools of their own art work. They paint, they draw, they sculpt and compose. They write. Sometimes they exhibit their work.

This afternoon I enjoyed talking with Jacquie and Holly about their art as I took a few photographs at a show running through the month of March in a nice, big space with several other artists that also work for our company.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

First, Jacquie's work. Many of her pieces were a study of roses. She uses a variety of materials and has incorporated some interesting textures into the backgrounds of her pieces. Old text, pieces of lace. Tissue. The kind of textures that make you want to touch the painting.

I love all the variations of neutral colors.

Holly's are fun, colorful pieces with alot of detail, long trails of words and comical little images that remind me of what a busy persons thinking process might look like if you saw it collected on paper or canvas. Her work is really playful.

Meeoooowwwwwwwwwwww

Holly loves birds. She also enlisted the creative talents of some children to help her with characters and shapes.

I would love to look at this piece with my little granddaughter and see how she reacts to all the characters and color. She'd love the little birds!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I saw alot of other interesting art at the show, too. It's great fun to see what your coworkers do in their free time and many of our artists are quite successful in their own right, beyond what they do for our company when they're on the clock. Each of their styles is different but I think the collective creative energy that they eexperience during the work week benefits all of them when they go home and do their own thing.

The diversity of styles and personal vision is very cool thing to experience.

Thanks for the invite, girls.